Avalon, Part 2 (902)

[Tok'Ra Hostess]

I'm interested to see what being burned to death and brought back to life does to her character! It HAS to change her somehow????

Actually, I'll be disappointed if this experience changes her too radically.

Remember, she was posessed and tortured by a Goa'uld for who knows how long, had to watch helplessly as her mistress did horrible things to people, got caught by her own liberated people and tortured some more. This woman should be somewhat immune to torture by now, or suffer really, really severe, incapacitating mental trauma.

[akimbo]

Moving on....(from the fight scene, which I stated earlier that I get now so if some of you would kindly please stop quoting me out of context already....) Thanks chillin for shining the light - my brain is happy!

Sorry if I've offended, it was not my intent.

[Seshat]

I would like to point out a little quote by Joe Mallozzi from the "In the Making, Avalon, Part Two" article posted in the Stargate News section of GateWorld:

...The horrific Vala-burning sequence that aired was, in fact, a significantly toned-down version of the one that appeared in an early cut....

I KNEW there should have been more screaming...

Also some interesting comments about why the two-parter suddenly became three. Am I the only one who thought Parts One and Two dragged a little in spots and perhaps should have been condensed? Anyone?

For the entire blurb, read here: http://www.gateworld.net/sg1/s9/making/902.shtml

[WhatFateAlmondRoca]

Remember, she was posessed and tortured by a Goa'uld for who knows how long, had to watch helplessly as her mistress did horrible things to people, got caught by her own liberated people and tortured some more. This woman should be somewhat immune to torture by now, or suffer really, really severe, incapacitating mental trauma.

You bring up an EXCELLENT point - I kept thinking about that while watching Pt. 2 and I was wondering if that was TRUE or if that was just another line o bullstuff she was feeding Daniel in PU?

Also, there have been other former hosts who have not turned out to be too mentally traumatized - I'm thinking of Skaara and the woman from Thor's Hammer. Oh, and Sarah/Osiris althought that was for less time. But, you have a point - Oma herself says that that much power/knowledge corrupts, as it did Daniel in Absolute Power.

So I guess what I'm saying is the writers could take it either way and be consistent with previous seasons. From a personal standpoint I hope it changes her character. CB I think is a terrific actress but I didn't care for Vala as she was in Part 1, but for totally personal reasons which I won't impose becuase its not all about me.

[WhatFateAlmondRoca]

Sorry if I've offended, it was not my intent.

absolutely NO worries my friend, I just didn't want people thinking I still didn't get it - it IS all about ME you know???? haha

I'm so bummed I didn't get it when I watched it. I've been changing diapers too long!!!!

[Lida]

Actually, I'll be disappointed if this experience changes her too radically.

Remember, she was posessed and tortured by a Goa'uld for who knows how long, had to watch helplessly as her mistress did horrible things to people, got caught by her own liberated people and tortured some more. This woman should be somewhat immune to torture by now, or suffer really, really severe, incapacitating mental trauma.

I would think, that burning to the consistency of a lump of charcoal, and then being revived, while still possessing the memory of the experience, might change even a former Goa'uld host.

Just my opinion, as I've never personally been burned to a cinder.....

[akimbo]

absolutely NO worries my friend, I just didn't want people thinking I still didn't get it - it IS all about ME you know???? haha

I'm so bummed I didn't get it when I watched it. I've been changing diapers too long!!!!

Crap! Now that its all about YOU, MY delusions of grandeur have been dashed.

[Piratejenna]

Actually, I'll be disappointed if this experience changes her too radically.

Remember, she was posessed and tortured by a Goa'uld for who knows how long, had to watch helplessly as her mistress did horrible things to people, got caught by her own liberated people and tortured some more. This woman should be somewhat immune to torture by now, or suffer really, really severe, incapacitating mental trauma.

I agree, it seems likely that being burned alive is just another horrible memory to add to an already overloaded brain. It's possible that Vala's extreme behaviour is a way of dealing with her past. You could interpret her approach to life as someone who is refusing (or unable) to look back. Perhaps she's shutting out memories through distraction tactics? I see it as a Never-Look-Back approach to life, combined with humour as her primary defence. She's got a childlike quality of constantly looking around for the next pretty shiny thing to attract her attention, and then going after it with great determination. She's always in motion, alert, looking and listening but never appearing to think too hard. If you've got a history like Vala's, I imagine the last thing you can cope with is too much introspection. I don't want her to suddenly change and become boring and philosophical. The great thing about Vala is that she IS wired differently from the usual characters we meet in Stargate, most of whom are relatively well-balanced adults. Vala''s unpredictable, possibly unstable, but still someone who has some good in her. I think she's a fascinating character.

PJ

[TheCorpulent1]

Or maybe Vala's experiences of helplessly watching while the Goa'uld that had possession of her did unspeakable evils just hardened her and created the self-possessed attitude she presents, but now being burned alive might shake loose some vulnerability from that long-toughened exterior. There's never any real way to predict how anyone would react to such an extreme traumatic event.

I also liked Cameron's reaction about the stones, about him say reading the report. The TPTB must of use this because Ben had watched all the SG-1 shows before starting his new role.

I thought it was more of a contrast to Jack's style in the context. Jack wouldn't bring something up and make educated guesses based on reports he'd read. As the series progressed, Jack seemed to like being blissfully ignorant of a lot of stuff, trusting Carter and Daniel to do all the heavy thinking and suppositions while he focused on the tactics to ensure their survival on a moment-to-moment basis. I thought the point of the scene was to drive home that Mitchell is a lot more hands-on than Jack would be in most situations, due to a combination of Mitchell's newbie status vs. Jack's experienced veteran and Mitchell's fanboy attitude vs. Jack's irreverence.

[WhatFateAlmondRoca]

Crap! Now that its all about YOU, MY delusions of grandeur have been dashed.

Hey, the Orii are supreme over us both, dontchaknow? Yasureyoubetcha!

[TheCorpulent1]

Hey, the Orii are supreme over us both, dontchaknow? Yasureyoubetcha!

You forgot the "snookums."

[WhatFateAlmondRoca]

Or maybe Vala's experiences of helplessly watching while the Goa'uld that had possession of her did unspeakable evils just hardened her and created the self-possessed attitude she presents, but now being burned alive might shake loose some vulnerability from that long-toughened exterior. There's never any real way to predict how anyone would react to such an extreme traumatic event.

So you guys are thinking that when she told Daniel about that on Promethius it was true? Just about everything else she said in that ep was a load, unless I'm not remembering (I may go back and watch it again). I thought maybe she was making it up to gain sympathy from Daniel. In any event, Corp has a point - there really is no way to predict how someone will react and change as a result of a traumatic event.

I thought it was more of a contrast to Jack's style in the context. Jack wouldn't bring something up and make educated guesses based on reports he'd read.

Jack read reports????

Seriously, I did think it was a contrast to Jacks character who - according to Landry - never even unlocked his desk during his time as Supreme Commander of the SGC, let alone read reports, memos, etc. (a la Window of Opportunity and Zero Hour).

[Kalliope]

So you guys are thinking that when she told Daniel about that on Promethius it was true? Just about everything else she said in that ep was a load, unless I'm not remembering (I may go back and watch it again). I thought maybe she was making it up to gain sympathy from Daniel. In any event, Corp has a point - there really is no way to predict how someone will react and change as a result of a traumatic event

Episode 5, "The Powers That Be" is going to answer your questions, I suppose... And yes, I think that the part of being a host to Goau'ld in the past is true.

[ChillinTheMost]

I've never been burned alive, either, but my theory is that if it doesn't have any long-term affect on Vala it could be because she was healed so quickly.

The brain has a way of shutting down during intense pain when the body can't do anything about it. Pain is our body's way of telling us to stop doing something harmful or to get something fixed. I've heard stories about some soldiers that are gut-shot don't feel pain and the theory is that the brain knows that pain wouldn't do any good at this point; you're going to die. But sprain an ankle and your brain will let you know every time you try to put your weight on it.

Anyway, while I believe Vala felt intense pain, especially during the beginning of the burning, I don't know that her brain will "hold" that pain enough to change her general long-term outlook on life.

I think it definitely would have had an effect if she had had to endure the slow burn-unit recovery that most serious burn victims on Earth have to endure.

I'm not sure if all that made sense and I'm not trying to in any way negate the pain of burning, but the human brain can do many things to endure what we put our bodies through, especially if it goes through it relatively quickly. [Minutes of burning vs. months of recovery].

[akimbo]

I thought it was more of a contrast to Jack's style in the context. Jack wouldn't bring something up and make educated guesses based on reports he'd read. As the series progressed, Jack seemed to like being blissfully ignorant of a lot of stuff, trusting Carter and Daniel to do all the heavy thinking and suppositions while he focused on the tactics to ensure their survival on a moment-to-moment basis. I thought the point of the scene was to drive home that Mitchell is a lot more hands-on than Jack would be in most situations, due to a combination of Mitchell's newbie status vs. Jack's experienced veteran and Mitchell's fanboy attitude vs. Jack's irreverence.

I totally agree. They did the same thing with the book Daniel found. Jack would not have wanted to know the story like MItchell did.