The Powers That Be (905)

[TheCorpulent1]

Late with my opinions on the episode, but whatever. I really liked this ep. The Lamdry drama was a nice subplot, the opening teaser scene really felt like old-school Stargate (despite the fact that it only featured two of this season's new characters), and the A-story about the Ori's influence was great. I especially liked the fact that the heroes lost this round. It's never a good sign for the good guys to start kicking the bad guys' asses right out of the gate, after all. Hopefully we'll get more episodes like this over the rest of the season and fewer purely laugh-driven eps like "The Ties That Bind."

My two complaints for this episode are:
1) Teal'c with a P90. Staff and Zat, dude. Come on.
2) Mitchell's getting sick was totally glossed over initially. I didn't even realize it was Mitchell lying there until the Prior healed everyone and he sat up. I thought it would be the leader of the village while Lam was talking and then, when it panned down to show him, I thought, "Oh, not the leader, just some random red-shirt who died from the disease." No clue it was Mitchell.

I did enjoy Daniel's conspicuous lack of a P90, however. I hate seeing Daniel walk around with the heavy armaments. He's a diplomat and explorer; give him the bare minimum for self-defense and send him on his way.

[ShadowMaat]

The most telling scene was the very end. The final minutes of frame, when after raising and curing the ill, the Prior walks directly towards Daniel - no one else. He walks up to him, they lock eyes, and the Prior smiles as he instructs Daniel to "tell the others what you have seen."

How much you want to bet he was referring to the Ancients? *arches eyebrow*

[Osiris-RA]

what was Vala's symbiote name again? O-something?

[TheCorpulent1]

what was Vala's symbiote name again? O-something?

Qetesh

[lily]

<snip>It is quite annoying when you combine "like" threads.
<snip>
Anyone else agree?

Not me
I would agree with you if we didn't have an especific thread for every episode. But since we do have an especific thread per episode, I think any kind of post that's related to a particular episode has to go to the same thread (the one corresponding to that episode). And in fact I think this is great, so we can find all people's comments about a certain epi in just one thread, instead of having to browse through lots of them. Just MHO, of course

[Nikkirose]

Yes yes, its me again.. I know I said only Origin screamed for my opinion, but... well so was TPTB (sort of)..

DISLIKES:

-I just gotta say it.. THE PRIORS ARE BORING!!!!!!!!!!! The writers/producers and such made this huge deal that the "big bad" for this season was gonna be worse then the gouald by far. We've barely seen the Ori, all they are is "energy". *YAWN* All they do is talk and yack and go on and on and on about how their way is the only way. And a plague? THATS THE BEST THEY COULD DO?? C'mon!! Show some awesome ass kicking skills or some out of no where army that comes to destroy all those that dont believe. But instead all they do is bring on a plague, and the prior isnt even around to show the spread or on bringing of it. SNORE FEST!!! I for one watch Stargate (SG1 and Atlantis) for the action, team interaction, and ass kicking of the bad guys. NOT ENDLESS TALKING!! AAAAAAAAARGGHH! Ok now I'm done with that.

-Is CJ even getting paid this season? He barely has but a few lines in the episodes. I feel bad for the actor. He comes back for another season and what happens, Teal'c suddenly looses his voice? Did they decide to make him mute? Thinking maybe if he just stands there and looks Teal'cish he'll be just as good as if he had lines?? I dont get it!! Why wont they show case CJ's acting skills? We all know he can act. And we all like the Teal'c character. Why change that aspect now? I feel bad for CJ and really hope that things will change for him. He's not being used as well as he could be!! WE'RE HERE FOR YOU!!

-The new doctor. Okay I dont care enough about the character to try and catch or even remember her name. Shes BORING! Give her more life! Not just some drone that walks around spitting out "they are ill, now they are better" And the arguing with Landry.. GET OVER IT!!! She makes me wish even more Dr. Frasier was back!!

LIKES:

-LOVED the interaction with Vala and Daniel again this week. The scene with Daniel telling her to turn off the fake goauld voice. And when she revealed that there actually was a hidden way out of that room she was in earlier and Daniel hit the cell.. Just too funny!

-I also love that she doesnt just pester Daniel, that she gets on Cameron's nerves as well.

-Next weeks episode... SAM!!!!!!!!! FINALLY!!!!

[TheCorpulent1]

I suppose it all depends on what you're looking for in an episode. I find the ability to summon a plague on a moment's notice a hell of a lot scarier than someone in a Halloween costume with a few technological trinkets.

I think the Priors are going to get a lot more badass, too. They're starting off very unflappable because they know that the SGC has no defense against them and they know that the hapless, primitive cultures of the MW will buy into their rap very easily. Once the Tau'ri start finding effective ways to combat them, I think the Priors will stop being so serene and start trying to kill SG-1 on sight.

I will agree that Teal'c definitely needs to find something to do. Even if it's just to rile Mitchell up a bit now and then, it'd be nice to see him DO something.

[Maxum]

How much you want to bet he was referring to the Ancients? *arches eyebrow*

You know I did think about that. That's part of what I find interesting in the animosity between Daniel and the Ori. Are they angry at him for being one of those "evil ascended" beings who refuse to act like Gods or are they angry that he's fighting them? I really hope TPTB flesh this out; I think it would be interesting to see where all this is going.

[binkpmmc]

So you think the Ori are cliche? ... so were the Goa'uld

At least at the time the Goa'ould were original . . . .

[Erik Bloodaxe]

It's not that I can't believe that the SGC allowed Vala through the Stargate again...it's that they allowed Vala though the Stargate again!

It's not that I can't believe someone forgot that Daniel and Vala are still bound together again, it's...

And...one would think that after eight years with the SGC, Daniel Jackson, would realize that you can NOT expect those bent on world -- uh, no galactic-- no wait, universal domination! -- to behave with any reasoning based on logic or have any thought for the common good other than their own viewpoint?

He had a good point. Why should ascended beings care about the mortal realm at all? The goa'uld lived lives of luxury and had the best armies and labor from their deception, so clearly there was some form of "logic" that they subscribed to. And at what point was he expecting them to have any regard for the "common good"?

Didn't Daniel learn ANYTHING from his false belief that he could protect Abydos from Anubis?

Be quite the trick for him to have learned anything from that, considering that he FORGOT all those memories.

-Bloodaxe

[Erik Bloodaxe]

I know what you mean. It really didn't make any kind of logical sense that they would be willing to just go to a planet because Vala says that the people there trust her without asking for any kind of back story. It's pretty much established that Vala cannot tell any kind of full truth so it stands to reason that there must be something else going on there but, oh no, they just go blithely strolling through the gate to where she says to go because her word has been so trustworthy so far.

The reason they went is pretty much revealed in Mitchell's immediate reply; that if these people trusted her, they were in the most danger of being swayed by the Ori.

-Bloodaxe

[Erik Bloodaxe]

What's w/ all the complaints of "why didn't the rest of SG-1 get the disease" anyway? Considering that there were a number of other villagers walking around perfectly healthy before the healing trick (in the background in that scene where the Prior returns) and that not even all Ancients were afflicted by it (those who left for Atlantis were just fine), why can't it simply be a disease that albeit much more viscious than any other one, is still one in which someone can be immune to? Heck, it wasn't even a contagious one, so the Ori probably infected them randomly, w/o really the need to infect all to get their point across.

-Bloodaxe

[Erik Bloodaxe]

TPTB obviously wanted to make our new enemy the most dangerous one yet, and they have certainly succeeded in doing that. The Ori appear to be all-powerful, unstoppable with no appearant weakness. The Goa'uld? The Replicators? The Wraith? They all seem pathetically trivial when compared to the Ori, who may just be the most dangerous villains I have ever seen in fiction. If they were any worse, they'd have to be the devil himself.

The Ori almost practically are like the Stargate's devil (or rather demons); they apparently inspired the hellish symbolism for fire and also seek to twist a good belief (that of seeking enlightenment) to suit their own sinister agenda.

Random Observations!
- It's nice to have Teal'c back, but... Why exactly is he back??

Good question; perhaps seeing that the Ori are just as much a threat to the Jaffa, but it still felt like there was a scene missing.

- The Prior was the same guy who had Vala burned, right?

Yup.

- On-screen confirmation that Lam is Landry's daugther. Now I'm wondering why she's acting so cold towards him.

Guess we'll find out.

-Bloodaxe

[SciFiGeek]

And my love for Season 9 continues.

Sure, the episodes may not always be top-notch (The Ties That Bind sure wasn't Forever in a Day quality) but they are, without a doubt, fun to watch. I've read complaints that the philosophical debate of the Ori (is it spelled Ori or Orii?) is boring, which is fair enough; but I find them creepy, and a great new villain, particularly since they're intentions in posing as gods don't seem as blantantly malicious as the Goa'uld. And I can't help but enjoy any scene in which Daniel gets to speechify and make great philisophical debates; he's so good at it. (Even if he doesn't always succeed in suading people to his pov...)

My sister kept pointing out that Daniel has yet to bring up his own ascension in conversations with and about Ori/Proctors, and I'm really hoping that means it'll be brought up at an opportune moment and play a role in the fight against the Ori. Particularly since, IMO, I don't think Threads brought enough closure to that storyline. (Or really, any.)

I almost hate to say it, but I'm kind of dreading Carter's return. No offense to her and AT, I think they're both great, but I just have this sinking feeling that once she returns, the show will resume the mediocrity of so many 7th and 8th season episodes that seemed to feature Carter storylines more often than they deserved (particularly with RDA's schedule). I've loved this season so much because Daniel (my favorite character) has gotten so much to do, I get a total kick out of all things Vala, I've formed a greater attachment to Mitchell than I ever did to Ford on Atlantis, and everything so far has been so much fun and so cool. Just please don't let Carter's return be a bad thing. (And bring back Claudia Black to guest lots and lots this season!)

[Erik Bloodaxe]

My sister kept pointing out that Daniel has yet to bring up his own ascension in conversations with and about Ori/Proctors, and I'm really hoping that means it'll be brought up at an opportune moment and play a role in the fight against the Ori. Particularly since, IMO, I don't think Threads brought enough closure to that storyline. (Or really, any.)

He's alluded to it, but I think there's good reason behind the strategy of not laying all your cards on the table in regards to dealing w/ the enemy. It should certainly come up eventually, assuming the Ori haven't already figured it out.

-Bloodaxe