The Powers That Be (905)

[Quinn Mallory]

[QUOTE=lionel_pendergast_rocks]So, General Landry is Dr. Lam's father? When they were fist talking at lunch, I thought they were an old couple, and that would've been really weird. So, what do you guys think about this? It sure makes for some interesting character development.
QUOTE]

I thought it was interesting that TPTB tried to set it up so that there is some ambiguity about the relationship between Lam and Landry. Since I read the news brief about the hiring of Lexa Doig, I knew about the relationship before hand but wouldn't it be weird (and a bit gross) for people to think that they might be an old couple only to find out that it's father-daughter?

[Quinn Mallory]

In regards to Mitchell getting sick, not all the villagers were sick, so it's not like only the SG-1 party (minus Mitchell) were immune. Maybe it was a random thing, or maybe everyone would have eventually gotten sick. Don't know, but maybe it will be mentioned next week.

I'm sure we will learn more about this virus used by the Priors in the future. I think it's probably set up in such a way that something that SG-1 had encountered in the past (and Vala being a host to a Goa'uld in the past) may turned out to be a vaccine to the virus.

[Uber]

Sort of a heart of gold? Because Vala finally shows some concern some someone other than herself; actually shows some genuine compassion /tears for suffering people, she now has sort of a heart of gold? Sounds to me like she's just showing some human feeling, which is very different from having a heart of gold, IMO.

While she may have a great sense of humor, is crazy and fun/annoying, she still is a liar, a thief, an opportunist, a woman of questionable moral values -- not someone Daniel would likely get involved with romantically, I should think. (After all, he is the "moral compass" of the SGC, isn't he?) If Daniel wants to really like and care for her as a friend in spite of all her shortcomings, that's great. But why that should turn into anything more than friendship is puzzling to me.

I don't know if she has a heart of gold or not...right now I'm leaning toward not...but The Powers that Be went a long way in breaking through the façade she's been putting up since Prometheus Unbound.

I posted about Avalon 1 that there was one scene there that gave me hope...she seemed to have been genuinely bothered by the idea that Daniel would be more concerned about a beast that could be living in those caves to the point of warning it about her...and then there have been several other times where Vala has essentially said "You don't really know me."

And why is that? I think Daniel hit the nail on the head and pointed out the fact that her outrageous behavior was just her defense mechanism against getting hurt again. She of course made a flippant remark about his observation but I think it was because it hit too close to home.

My point is she endured a lot and became who she became because of what she's endured. Who is the real Vala? I think we were closer to seeing who she really is in The Powers that Be than all the other eps combined.

I think she is worth getting to know...to break through that exterior and find out what's really there. I personally hope that we see more of her in the future...she'd make a good recurring cast member.

I hoped that we'd see more than the over the top sex jokes and wardrobe. I believed that we'd learn something about her that would be redeemable. And I'm glad I was right.

[Uber]

In regards to Mitchell getting sick, not all the villagers were sick, so it's not like only the SG-1 party (minus Mitchell) were immune. Maybe it was a random thing, or maybe everyone would have eventually gotten sick. Don't know, but maybe it will be mentioned next week.

TPTB is my favorite ep thus far of season 9...it actually felt like a Stargate episode to me...

...but the whole thing about Cam getting sick was forced. I was concerned about the villagers but at no time was I concerned that Cam was going to die.

Another thought...are Daniel and Teal'c (well Teal'c was only exposed to it...junior protected him from actually catching the disease) and now Cam immune from future outbreaks because they've had it before and have been healed?

[Lys]

TPTB is my favorite ep thus far of season 9...it actually felt like a Stargate episode to me...

...but the whole thing about Cam getting sick was forced. I was concerned about the villagers but at no time was I concerned that Cam was going to die.

Another thought...are Daniel and Teal'c (well Teal'c was only exposed to it...junior protected him from actually catching the disease) and now Cam immune from future outbreaks because they've had it before and have been healed?

Daniel never got the disease before. He was ascended by the time SG1 encountered Ayianna and was exposed to the plague. I don't know how he could be immune to it. And I found very strange that only Mitchell got ill. I understand for Teal'c, but Daniel not being sick is a mystery, unless the disease chooses its targets.

[Kalliope]

Really? I didn't get that sense at all. It seemed pretty logical that Vala spurred the SGC to send her back to that mining planet under false pretenses (to protect them from the Ori) so she could retrieve her treasure. It was an apparently selfless act built on her normal and, as far as I'm concerned, pretty monotonous selfishness of the last few episodes and "Prometheus Unbound." Once there, however, her soft spot for Daniel and her horrifying experience with the Ori sways her to the side of the angels, at least momentarily, so she confesses to being a false god in order to keep the people from falling under the Ori's thumb. After getting thrown into prison, however, she retreats back into her selfish shell, but once her people start dropping like flies she can't help being moved to offer them aid again. After all, nothing we've seen of Vala suggests that she's a sadist who enjoys watching others suffer; quite the opposite, in fact. In "Prometheus Unbound" she could've easily killed everyone on the Prometheus, but she sticks to Zatting them and ditching them on a ship with tolerable, if not comfortable, life support. And again, in this episode, she makes it clear that she never physically abused her worshippers, which is something, I guess.

So, back to the topic, I don't think Vala was noticeably more goodhearted or anything. Rather, the situation at hand simply brought those qualities that we've already seen her display to a limited extent to the fore. Granted, even that much surprised me the first time I watched "The Powers That Be" because the real PTB have constantly been giving us tiny little doses of her inherently good nature, then burying them so quickly I wasn't even sure I'd seen them. It was initially odd that they allowed themselves to take it so far this time.

That's why I'd love Martin Gero to write more Vala-centric episodes, 'cause we really don't know the REAL Vala yet.

[Uber]

Daniel never got the disease before. He was ascended by the time SG1 encountered Ayianna and was exposed to the plague. I don't know how he could be immune to it. And I found very strange that only Mitchell got ill. I understand for Teal'c, but Daniel not being sick is a mystery, unless the disease chooses its targets.

Ack!!! You're RIGHT!

Frozen was Season 6...so Sam, Jonas and Jack caught it...and Daniel of couse was at the Astral Waffle House by this point...

...WHOOPS...



However my point about Cam still stands. I didn't for an instant believe that he was going to die...

So my post was partially redeemable...right???

RIGHT???????

[Lys]

Ack!!! You're RIGHT!

Frozen was Season 6...so Sam, Jonas and Jack caught it...and Daniel of couse was at the Astral Waffle House by this point...

...WHOOPS...



However my point about Cam still stands. I didn't for an instant believe that he was going to die...

So my post was partially redeemable...right???

RIGHT???????

I don't know...maybe... still not sure...
I didn't believe he was going to die either. It was the same feeling I got for Daniel at the end of Reckoning. I mean he died so many times and always came back. The only suspense with Daniel for me at this point was if he was going to descend with or without the naked part of deascension.
As for Cam, he's the new guy, he's supposed to be the focus of the season, why would the writers believe we're going to buy him getting sick ? I guess they didn't know what to do with him, again. What a convenient thing to make him sick, he has nothing to do apart lying in a stretcher. Great character development there !

[Kalliope]

Daniel never got the disease before. He was ascended by the time SG1 encountered Ayianna and was exposed to the plague. I don't know how he could be immune to it. And I found very strange that only Mitchell got ill. I understand for Teal'c, but Daniel not being sick is a mystery, unless the disease chooses its targets.

It's quite probable in this case. The Prior obviously wanted Daniel to witness the disease around him and then a miracle with bringing all these people back to life, and tell the others what he has seen.

[kryon22]

Maybe the prior technology is based upon advanced nano-technology. The nano-tech in HOT ZONE was deactivated by an EM pulse. That big flash by the Ori staff could have been an EM pulse. The two technologies might be mutually exclusive and Ori technology is obviously more advanced than the technology in HOT ZONE, imo. Sam eventually will figure it out and counteract it and then if these are good villains the Ori will adapt their tactics. There is a lot of exposition in these first five episodes, now I expect the action to pick up next week. I need some space battles please. Oh well, I'm patient I can wait.

I think it is unlikely that it's an EM pulse. Reason simply being that all the earth medical personnel will have most of their electronic equipment frizzed by an EM pulse, and we would probably know about it.

[valaCB]

Dont kill me. PLS!
but i loved 'The Ties That Bind' more.

[KatG]

...but the whole thing about Cam getting sick was forced. I was concerned about the villagers but at no time was I concerned that Cam was going to die.

I might have been concerned about Cam, if I had realized that it was Cam, which I didn't until he was healed. Watching it the second time, we see him not feeling so good, but we never see where he collapses and is hooked up. And when we see him lying there, I honestly can't tell who it is just by looking at him.

[Seshat]

I might have been concerned about Cam, if I had realized that it was Cam, which I didn't until he was healed. Watching it the second time, we see him not feeling so good, but we never see where he collapses and is hooked up. And when we see him lying there, I honestly can't tell who it is just by looking at him.

Yes, it was the same for me. I know they were going for shock value, but there didn't seem to be enough of a set-up to make the scenes work. I definitely blame that on the editing.

[SierraGulf1]

A couple more points that I forgot to make in my episode reactions a few pages back, as well as new ones based on posts made since:

There are three possible reasons as to why Daniel didn't get it, shown following this section from most likely to least likely:

1. The Ori released the virus and selected Daniel to not get it so he could witness their power.
2. Daniel's being ascended at one point prevents him from getting it.
3. Daniel never actually deascended in Threads, seeing as we know very little about how he did and he still has his memory.

Yes, #3 is very farfetched, but it'd be a cool twist. I'm betting on #1.

I liked how this Ori showed some emotion. In Origin, the two Priors and the Doci were very wooden, but this one smiled and seemed to enjoy preaching to the crowds and trying to disprove Daniel. I like my Priors like that. Keep this one around or make more Priors like him.

I also like how the Priors interact with Daniel and the team. With the Goa'uld, rare was the moment when SG-1 were ever in the same room as Apophis or Anubis. It seemed Anubis was the only Goa'uld who even knew their names at time. Now, Daniel seems to have a personal battle with the enemy, and I like how he hasn't revealed his being previously ascended yet.

As far as Vala goes, she's still a greedy, selfish skank and I like her for it. I'm sorry that some, like ShadowMaat, don't, and I agree that this is not a Vala worship thread and you have your opinions. I'm sorry you can't feel the excitement about Season 9 that I am, and I hope things look up soon. Like I said, we must figure out something by The Fourth Horseman to survive their attack. And who knows what the Ori will try in Crusade/Camelot?

And finally, I wasn't sure about when Daniel would shave exactly, but in Beachhead, he's cleanshaven. Perhaps to symbolize the return of most of the old SG-1. Teal'c better get something to do in the next two weeks or I'm going to kill a puppy.

Keep 'em coming!

[Uber]

I don't know...maybe... still not sure...
I didn't believe he was going to die either. It was the same feeling I got for Daniel at the end of Reckoning. I mean he died so many times and always came back. The only suspense with Daniel for me at this point was if he was going to descend with or without the naked part of deascension.
As for Cam, he's the new guy, he's supposed to be the focus of the season, why would the writers believe we're going to buy him getting sick ? I guess they didn't know what to do with him, again. What a convenient thing to make him sick, he has nothing to do apart lying in a stretcher. Great character development there !

I'll confess that I didn't even recognize that as Cam the first time I saw it...and at the end when he sits up I was like...THAT WAS CAM???

The second time I paid more attention...but still the camera angle didn't do much to give me a clue it was him...I noticed the dogtags and that was about it...