The Powers That Be (905)

[Dr. Weir's Hair Gel]

I like Vala much more now. Why couldn't she have been this way from the beginning? Were they afraid we'd like her too much?

Its called character development. Lady has been through a lot in her short time at the SGC.

[Seshat]

Well, Beachhead should be interesting, now that the "band" will be back together.....I wonder if they will be playing any blue's? Guess not, RDA was the guitarist......

Well, we already know that at least at least three of them can't carry a tune...

[LoneStar1836]

So far, the best episode of the season, imo.

*I’m still not ready to eat my hat about Vala being nothing but a sex kitten to spice up the show, BUT the character actually had some much needed depth in this episode that made the episode worthwhile, and the highlight of the episode for me (well, other than Daniel). *gasp* Something I never thought I would say about that character. So thank you Martin Gero.

* Poor CJ. I hope he doesn’t get paid by the word. Why was he even in this ep except to have someone for BB to play cards with. Oh yeah, BB was in this episode, too. Almost forgot. Guess he will become the new whipping boy, instead of Daniel getting injured/sick all the time. Good stuff from Daniel in this episode. Back to the Daniel I love, rather than the gun toting, wise cracking, trying to fill the Jack void-Daniel of last season. As much as I like Daniel, I’m hoping that the focus on characters will balance out. I want some good stuff for BB damn it. He is the whole reason I was willing to give this season a chance, though the improvement in Daniel has given me hope as well.

* I am absolutely not liking Dr. Lam. I think it’s more the actress than the character, though I find the whole thing with her being Landry’s daughter too contrived.

* These so-called new and improved enemies might have potential. I’m not that crazy with all the “Hallowed are the Ori”, worship us or die dialogue, etc. but the writers have peaked my interest in how they plan to combat/defeat these baddies. Though I did find the philosophical stuff in this episode interesting.

Good episode. For once I have a harder time saying which episode of Stargate I liked more because I wasn’t that impressed with SGA’s story this week.

[joasia]

The Ori are a larger threat than formerly thought....well, gee, I should hope so. They were supposed to make the Goa'uld look like Teddy bears.

And they certainly do. I wonder about a few things:

1. Did SGC accepted the cut budget or did they go for the "watchdog" deal?
2. If they chose the second option - did the watchdog arrive or do we still waiting for him/her to appear?
3. After seeing what a Prior is capable of (why do I suddenly hear O'Neill's voice? ) will they give SGC some money back?

[MrBojangles]

I have a feeling this doesn't look good for Daniel's future. The scene with the Prior getting into his face during the religious debate was a little freaky. It gave me the impression the Ori have a particular annoyance with him, though I assume that Daniel might be under the watch of the Others.

Don't worry about Daniel. He's amazingly hard to kill. How many times has he died, asceneded, brought back to life? Like 30?

[Giantevilhead]

Teal'c has the tritonin which boosts his immune system as if he still had a symbiote, Vala had a Goa'uld in her before so she probably retain at least some of the powers of the Goa'uld, she could use the healing device, and Daniel was cured by Ayiana so he probably developed immunity to the disease either that or it had something to do with the fact that he has ascended before.

[shockwave]

Teal'c has the tritonin which boosts his immune system as if he still had a symbiote, Vala had a Goa'uld in her before so she probably retain at least some of the powers of the Goa'uld, she could use the healing device, and Daniel was cured by Ayiana so he probably developed immunity to the disease either that or it had something to do with the fact that he has ascended before.

looks like you may join qasimjavid on a doctor visit =p

[GateAngel]

GateAngel's Ramble - The Powers that Be: There was something missing..and it was Jack
There was something missing in this episode and definitely something that put me off.

What was missing was Jack O'Neill.

Daniel and Vala were incredible once more, don't get me wrong.

What I liked most is the things we learned in Vala's backstory and what we and Daniel got to see of the woman under the flippant mercenary she hides behind.

Also when Vala came out dressed and acting like Quetish (sp), my first thought was that if we had more Goa'uld with her presence, they might have been more of them that were interesting and formidable to go up against. I would have loved to have seen a showdown between Quetish and say Nirrti.

It was in Daniel's scenes and his interaction with the Prior that, for the first time in season 9, I missed Jack's presence. Yet I have to clarify that by saying it was the presence of the Jack O'Neill in say Red Sky. The Jack O'Neill that took a pragmatic approach that was a counterbalance to Daniel's more esoteric approach to a situation like this.

There was no one in this situation to give Daniel the support and grounding he needed. There was no Ying to balance out his Yang. Daniel desperately needed someone like Jack in this episode. The situation needed someone like Jack (not dumb silly Jack..but the one we had before).

I have to say in all honesty, that Mitchell was a nonentity to me in this episode. I don't know what the plan was for bringing Ben Browder in for this role or what the character was suppose to be in terms of being an audience draw or a leader of SG1, but he was just so much white noise to me in this episode.

Mitchell faded so completely into the background to me that I didn't even notice he was gone when they started showing scenes of just Daniel, Vala and Teal'c. It didn't even register with me that he was the one lying on the cot dying even when they showed him. When Lam said she had to get back to Col. Mitchell, I thought he was just helping her with her medical team. It wasn't until the end when the Prior did the healing thing and Lam was with him that I realized it was Mitchell.

So because of this I felt no connection to him and his fate, I was unconcerned about the character. Because I didn't even realise he was missing from the scenes, the impact of Mitchell in jeopardy was totally lost on me. I really wasn't worried about him and really didn't miss him in the scenes he wasn't in.

But for the first time, I missed Jack's presence and the dynamic of friendship he once had with Daniel a heckuva a lot.

Daniel really was in over his head and he needed Jack to help him. No wonder Daniel admitted to Jack that he was afraid. He has good reason to be.

On another note, this episode bothered me for some reason. Left me feeling vaguely uneasy with it. Just not sure why yet

[EventHorizon]

... is simple. If you listen to Daniel in the episode, he gives the reason. If you kill the opposition in a religious war before you've converted eveyone, you have a martyr. A martyr is much stronger than an enemy.

The Ori may know Daniel has already ascended.... he knows how to do it. How would it look if the Prior killed Daniel and he just ascended after turning his back to Origin.... it would kind of prove the Priors wrong, now, wouldn't it? ;-)

[Zoder]

The way I see it, Vala and Daniel were intentionally spared from the virus so that the could be used by the Ori in convincing the villagers to convert.

They knew that Vala would use the Goa'uld healing device to try and heal the sick. By seeing Vala, their "former god", fail and the Prior successfully heal them, it made them believe that the Ori are the real deal.

I think Daniel was spared for two reasons. First, he was the anti-Ori voice to the villagers. Daniel spent his time at the trial telling the villagers why the Ori shouldn't be worshipped. That his way was the better way. But when the plague hit, he was powerless to help them. All Daniel had were his words while the Prior offered them "salvation". From the villagers point of view, what good were his ideals about freedom, if everyone was dead. Also, Daniel has been the Ori's main adversary so far. By letting him witness what occurred there, it truly let's him see what they're up against. Also, maybe they are hoping that his report will start to convince a few people back on Earth.

As for Teal'c, he was immune in Frozen, so we have to assume the same immunity applies here. Especially if it's the same disease, as Daniel theorized.

[Ugly Pig]

Heeeeeeeeeeere's

PIGGY'S USELESS OPINION
of 'The Powers That Be'

Interesting episode. At first, it seemed like it would be a repeat of 'Cor-ai', and it was... for about five minutes. Then the frickin' Prior showed up and everything went all creepy.

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.

Random Observations!
- It's nice to have Teal'c back, but... Why exactly is he back??
- The Prior was the same guy who had Vala burned, right?
- On-screen confirmation that Lam is Landry's daugther. Now I'm wondering why she's acting so cold towards him.
- The Goa'uld healing device has been brought back from the abyss of the forgotten Stargate things. Maybe someone will remember the sarcophagus next?
- Soooo... the Ori's tactics are to give people the Ancient plague, and then to cure them when they pledge their belief?
- Daniel brought up an interesting point: Just why do the Ori demand worship? Why is it so important? Why would they even care? I get the feeling we've only scratched the surface on this whole Origin deal.

This was a good episode, and one where our heroes actually didn't succeed in what they set out to do. In fact, it ended up with more or less the worst case scenario... with chilling implications for the future of the Stargate universe. Well, I'm sold!

[creed462]

Daniel can't asend w/out help. But to kill Daniel would make him a martyr as well so it's a stand off

[Ugly Pig]

I think Lexa D. is still acting like her Andromeda persona, she is still acting like a robot! Although her little spit spat with her daddy dearest made her have a little life, well sort of...

No offense, but I think your mind is playing tricks on you... I have never seen Andromeda, and she comes across as completely natural to me.

I think it was a good episode for fifty minutes, then they had a big missed opportunity at the end. They should have used it as an opportunity to show that the Ori can be fought and beaten, just like it was obvious the gu'ald were at the beginning.

That's exactly what they shouldn't do. Not yet. They've just been introduced, it's way to early for the good guys to get the upper hand now. For them to be at all believeable as a threat, they need to be unbeatable, at least for a while.

What a cliched ending - in a span of 1 minute all is healed and everyone is up and walking . . . give me a break. Heal them all 2 minutes earlier and then have the Ori wreck a different kind of havoc to prove they're deadly mindset and maybe, just maybe and a very BIG maybe it is, I would buy this schtick.

Sounds to me like you missed the point, bigtime. The Ori are not out to kill people - but to turn them into worshippers. This is just the way they do it - have the people contract a mysterious disease, then cure them of it - voila! Instant followers. That was the whole point! Killing them afterwards would serve no purpose, and make no sense whatsoever.

I really liked this episode. I mean the Ori can kill on whim and raise the dead? It has me wondering how they are ever going to defeat them.

Bingo!

If the Ori created the plague, where do the Wraith fit in?

I don't think they do. IIRC, there's never been any indication that the Wraith had anything to do with The Plague...

And if it IS the Ori, does this mean that the plague sample the Atlantis team found in Hot Zone is from the Ori?

Nah... Remember, that was a nano virus... and IIRC, one that didn't affect the Ancients. Hence, it was not The Plague.

[LMichelle]

Oh joy, the Ori again. I'm already suffering from theological indigestion. At least we didn't have to hear "hallowed are the Ori" over and over again. Hey, it's the small things I'm thankful for.

I was surprised that Vala didn't have the matching shoes for her Goa'uld getup. She had to wear the boots. LOL!

How come they never go to a planet where the inhabitants have fitted clothing? Everyone seems to be in rags.

Another reckon from Cameron. Pretty soon he's going to say he's fixin' to go through the Gate.

I loved the vulnerability from Vala. I knew there was more to her. I wish TPTB would fill us in more on her backstory. I think we would have gotten some comforting from Daniel had they not been interrupted. *shakes fist*
But he did stay with her overnight. Awww. . .

Lisa Michelle

[acdj31]

Good ep better than last week's. Good points: Vala caring for someone else. Only one or two "sexy" comments form her. Dr Lam and Landry scenes. Daniel being Daniel in this ep.
Bad points: No reason for Teal'c being there. Mitchell being sick. Our heroes not winning.

Daniel can be my lawyer any day. The scene with Daniel and the Prior arguing was great. Daniel on the side on humanity and probably the Ancients; the Prior on the side of the Orior both equality agrued. So much so that the Prior had to up the ante by release the viruse.
I think the Orior/Prior have a interest in Daniel because they know he was ascended.

Cann't wait to see how Carter doing to react to Vala next week.