Ethon (915)

[bcfc]

100 POST


I really enjoyed this episode for its great effects for the destruction of Prommie and its rollercoster storyline. The end sequence with Mitchell and Daniel was a great summing up of the days events, although a negative would be not explaining how Carter escaped

[JUNIOR]

So we now have the blueprints of that satellite weapon from the Caledonians, right?
Build 'em!

Even if they did get the enough of the blueprints to reverse engineer the weapon the international committee might not approve; and I think Daniel might have some thing to say about it (Daniel having gone through that whole weapons thing in absolute power). Although it would be cool if they could adapt those blueprints to upgrade the weapons on their Daedalus class ships it would be a big help to them.

[Chaka's_Mum]

and I think Daniel might have some thing to say about it (Daniel having gone through that whole weapons thing in absolute power).

Too true. If nothing else, the whole mess that followed their return to Earth would throw that experience back into sharp relief.

Having said that, though, with that knowledge of what superior firepower did to his principles and where that led, what on earth was Danny playing at in insisting the Rand Protectorate be allowed to retain possession of the satellite? Surely he must have considered there to be at least a possibility that they would fire the thing if things didn't go their way? Did he really believe that the ordinary Caledonian in the street would happily comply with forcible exile? Yes it would end the civil war at a stroke, but it would also leave matters in a 'victor' and 'vanquished' situation, which would in itself be a major sparking point. Faced with the enforced displacement of their entire population, not to mention the whole shadow of 'defeat' it was almost inevitable that the Caledonians would jam their heels in after the Earth-folk left. Besides, chances are the Rand government would start using the Satellite on any area of their own country were the populace were perceived to be less 'faithful' followers of Origin once they no longer had any Caledonians to point it at.

I appreciate that Danny was under enormous pressure to come up with some sort of solution that wouldn't bring about an immediate bloodbath and this was probably the best he could come up with in the time he had. But the idea of leaving the Caledonians so hugely outgunned and facing permanent exile (not to mention patronising Rand sentiments about 'nobility in defeat' - I don't believe for a moment that they wouldn't have some of that thrown at them) seems so bizarre a solution that I wonder what made him propose it.

Either way, not destroying that satellite while they had the opportunity was a bit of a major cock-up, I reckon. But then, they do say that hindsight is 20/20, don't they?

[Izzy]

The trouble with being British and a Stargate SG-1 fan and a GW poster is that by the time I've seen a new episode the discussion thread is 17 pages long and nearly everything has already been said. Nevertheless, here are my thoughts on Ethon:

- The destruction of the Prometheus and Pendergast's death were very sad to see but both were well handled and added to the story. In the interests of good drama, it is necessary to show 'our side' taking losses in the fight against the Ori (and their worshippers) and for it to hit home it has to be someone we care a little about. Pendergast fit the bill for me; I'm glad he got the hero's exit on-screen that he deserved.

- The delay in firing on the Satellite when the Prometheus first popped out of hyperdrive gave the weapon time to power up and led to the ship's destruction. There has been quite a bit of discussion about this. The delay was due to concern about Daniel but although Mitchell did take the final decision, he and Sam seemed to be trying to reach a consensus on what to do (NOT what the mission leader is meant to do but these were uncommon circumstances). Of course he didn't know the weapon was shielded, so he thought he had time... It would be interesting to see where an inquiry would place the blame for the destruction of the Prometheus but I doubt the PTB will go that route, if for no other reason that it would be quite boring telly...

- Sitting in Landry's chair. I saw Sam and Cam declining the General's chair, not as a bow to their co-command, but as a mark of respect to Landry. Even when he is away they won't sit in his chair. I was quite surprised when others read something deeper into it.

Talking of reading something deeper into things...

- Teal'c taking a backseat in Mitchell's plane and then not giving the hug to Sam. I'm not sure why either of these things should be a problem for people. Ethon was the first time I've seen Cam and Teal'c in a plane and maybe the next 9 episodes it will be T up front. Cam is a pilot and it is only natural that he pilots sometimes. Onto the hug...

Sam walks up to the guys, who had feared she might be dead. Cam hugs her in a nice PLATONIC way and Teal'c takes her by the shoulders and gives her the most sincere look of relief and regard. His is (and, I think, is intended to be) the more intimate. It's really well acted by CJ. Teal'c has hugged Sam in the past, but it is not his preferred way of expressing his emotions. THIS is very Teal'c.

- Daniel being Daniel. When will Daniel learn? Never. Which is why I find him frustrating and lovable in equal measure. MS did a good job of showing Daniel's grief when he thought SG-1 were dead and during the scenes with the Rand president.

- Daniel and Cam drinking on Base. Whether or not rules have been broken, I'm not sure (Cam's off duty, in Daniel's study and Daniel's not even military). But I liked the way that Cam sought out Daniel in his spare time after having a bad day - they are becoming friends as well as colleagues - and the rest of that tag played out beautifully. Nice performances from both men.

I really enjoyed Ethon. It was tense and filled with the team action that I love (even though Daniel was stuck down on the planet for most of it). My favourite episode of S9 so far, I think.

Izzy

[shester]

I liked Ethon too. I agree with Izzy about Landry's chair. I saw it as respect.
In fact I pretty much agree with everything Izzy said so I won't do a repeat.
Sybil

[ChillinTheMost]

Izzy, not that you care, but I always check back to see how others felt about the show, so please don't think we're not reading anymore.

Plus, I totally agree with everything you said, so I definitely want you to come back often and post your thoughts!!!

[Apparently, I'd already greened you recently, so I couldn't again. Catch ya later!]

[AnotherEvilAlien]

Ok, i've had enought of pathetic whiney b***ards who whine on and on about OMG, blowing up promethius was a bad move. or WHy didn't they let it live. the fact is THE PROMETHEUS IS GONE NOW, AND THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO SO GET OVER IT. You don't like it fine but you go and rant at tptb about it, coz i couldn't care less about you thinking it shouldn't have been blown up. What about that wraith ship in the seige part one, i bet you were all like You can't blow up that wraith hive ship, its a bad idea. etc. I know im not the only person here who thinks this, but its gone, and it was nessicary for development of the show, and the fact is, they will get the oddesy in 2 episodes, so we ouldn't be seeing the prometheus anyway because the oddessy will take over the role of main ship.

You don't like it tough sh*t, cry all you want, whine all you want, because its gone and thats it. There is nothing you can do. Infact go and make a thread called Ethon, screw ups etc.. Its gone and thats that. There is nothing you can do.

Whining about whiners will not improve a situation.

Also, I respect your input. It is not fair for you to discount others and belittle them for their opinion on this episode.

[Dani347]

- Sitting in Landry's chair. I saw Sam and Cam declining the General's chair, not as a bow to their co-command, but as a mark of respect to Landry. Even when he is away they won't sit in his chair. I was quite surprised when others read something deeper into it.

It was kind of a humorous moment. It put me in the mind of kids in a class who have the opportunity to sit in the teacher's chair while he's away, but just know that somehow he'll find out.

Sam walks up to the guys, who had feared she might be dead. Cam hugs her in a nice PLATONIC way and Teal'c takes her by the shoulders and gives her the most sincere look of relief and regard. His is (and, I think, is intended to be) the more intimate. It's really well acted by CJ. Teal'c has hugged Sam in the past, but it is not his preferred way of expressing his emotions. THIS is very Teal'c

.

In fact, most of the really meaningful moments between Teal'c and another member of SG1 have involved minimal touching.

[GhostPoet]

Cam..as always..is proving himself to be my all time favorite character

[Jumper One]

In fact, most of the really meaningful moments between Teal'c and another member of SG1 have involved minimal touching.

..."minimal touching"... thats Teal'c for you...

[Margaret]

Too true. If nothing else, the whole mess that followed their return to Earth would throw that experience back into sharp relief.

Having said that, though, with that knowledge of what superior firepower did to his principles and where that led, what on earth was Danny playing at in insisting the Rand Protectorate be allowed to retain possession of the satellite? Surely he must have considered there to be at least a possibility that they would fire the thing if things didn't go their way? Did he really believe that the ordinary Caledonian in the street would happily comply with forcible exile? Yes it would end the civil war at a stroke, but it would also leave matters in a 'victor' and 'vanquished' situation, which would in itself be a major sparking point. Faced with the enforced displacement of their entire population, not to mention the whole shadow of 'defeat' it was almost inevitable that the Caledonians would jam their heels in after the Earth-folk left. Besides, chances are the Rand government would start using the Satellite on any area of their own country were the populace were perceived to be less 'faithful' followers of Origin once they no longer had any Caledonians to point it at.

I appreciate that Danny was under enormous pressure to come up with some sort of solution that wouldn't bring about an immediate bloodbath and this was probably the best he could come up with in the time he had. But the idea of leaving the Caledonians so hugely outgunned and facing permanent exile (not to mention patronising Rand sentiments about 'nobility in defeat' - I don't believe for a moment that they wouldn't have some of that thrown at them) seems so bizarre a solution that I wonder what made him propose it.

Either way, not destroying that satellite while they had the opportunity was a bit of a major cock-up, I reckon. But then, they do say that hindsight is 20/20, don't they?

Suppose the satellite had been destroyed? What would have happened?

Jared told Daniel that the Caledonians were on the verge of launching a land-based attack to wipe out Rand for once and for all, before the Prior showed up.

Daniel said that since the Rand have the plans for the satellite, if the current one were destroyed, they would simply build another one.

Given that, wouldn't the Caledonians feel obligated to launch an attack on Rand to make sure that next satellite never got built? They couldn't take the chance of being put in that position ever again.

I really think that if the satellite had been destoyed, the next thing that would have happened would be that Caledonia would destroy Rand. Then the Prior would return, and it would be Caledonia dealing with the Prior. Don't you see? The Caledonians will wind up in exactly the same position that Rand was with respect to the Priors. They can't win because they can't fight the Prior.

Remember at the beginning of the show, in shots from previous episodes, there was a Jaffa who said, "If a Prior comes to your planet, leave!"? That is really the Caledonians only option, if they want to live free. If they stay, they will certainly fall under Ori domination, whether they defeat Rand or not. Daniel offered them their only way out. It wasn't just to stop a civil war, it was to save them from the Priors.

I'm not sure if the talks broke down on the Rand side, or on the Caledonian side, but its possible that the Caledonians did not take the threat from the Prior as seriously as they should have. They should have been evacuating, not negotiating.

Well, maybe some of them did evacuate and are on another planet somewhere, now cut off from their homeworld. Perhaps we'll meet them, sometime.

I wonder if any will recognize Daniel, or if he will be someone they only heard about, a long time ago ...

[Margaret]

Even if they did get the enough of the blueprints to reverse engineer the weapon the international committee might not approve; and I think Daniel might have some thing to say about it (Daniel having gone through that whole weapons thing in absolute power). Although it would be cool if they could adapt those blueprints to upgrade the weapons on their Daedalus class ships it would be a big help to them.

On one hand, it would give them their first look at bona fide Ori-designed technology. And won't the Priors be aghast when their own creation is turned against them!

On the other hand, if the United States produced one of these things, the Russians would object strenuously, and probably other nations would, too. It would put any end to Mutual Assured Destruction. It would be incredibly destabilizing. It would, in fact, be the Star Wars weapon that President Reagan was trying to build.

Imagine if a weapon like that fell into the hands of the Bush administration!

[JedI Master of the Gate]

I recently heard about Prometheus death, and have since been in a depresed mood! But seeings as how channel 7 won't show season 9 eps until next year, I must know did Prometheus blow up completely? Or did it just brake in half, and full to the planet?

[Ascended Times.2]

"First 'da one 'den 'da othe'" -Wacky Old Moon man in the second episode of Futurama, The Series has landed.

Anyway, it was broke in half at the third shot, and shortly after that, it exploded, and went "KABOOM!"
It was a sad, sad sight, and as it cut in half, it showed you a picture of Pendergast as the bright light was about to envelop him...*Sniff*

We'll miss ya buddy. *Sticks a thumb up*

[someonerandom]

i wish the "new ship" was cloaked in the background and pendergast and a select portion of the crew was beamed there.. but that makes it too easy, eh.. perhaps in an AU, that would have been the case.