Fragile Balance (703)

[Erik Pasternak]

You forgot to mention a new social security number.

[greytop]

But don't we all have something in our life we'd love to go back and redo?

Young Jack wanted go back to high school and re live his adolescent years. Jack was able to save him from death. Hmmm . . . high school or death? Let me think.

Young Jack said the air force "set him up." Does that mean he's living with a foster family? Living off the base? Won't he have to change his name? I'm sure there are a few Jack O'Neill's running around the USA, but really. Talk about your identity theft. Perhaps he'll go by John or Johnathan.

Right now I don't have anything I want to go back and redo.

Get back on subject. I like what young Jack said about school. He knew they were similiar but the difference was that he wants to go back and redo high school.

[Cpn. Chris(tine) Bowman]

So I just finished watching this episode and I agree that the kid did a fantastic job as Jack and that it was nice and entertaining and all, but what’s with the going back to high school bit. I understand that one would want to go back and learn the things one didn’t learn, but when little Jack was leaving the truck, he glanced over at the girls and I couldn’t help but think “you freking pedophile!” Jack’s supposed to be old, like 50, but he’s looking at those high school girls like they were produce. Just because he was in the body of a kid doesn’t justify him trolling for some young, high school action. I mean, what kind of message does that ending send to viewers? I think the writers and directors were trying to say that it would be great to go back and do things all over again, but what I got was, it’d be great to go back so we could prey on fresh young girls again. But then again, I can’t blame the writers for thinking that; I imagine that many of those who are of Jack’s age and those, including myself, who will eventually become Jack’s age, will have the same ideas pass through their minds at one time or another. But that’s not the point; the point is that the producers blatantly allowed such magnificently foul ideas seep onto theTV screen. It was kind of funny, but it was a little disturbing. I can’t help but to think that this episode gave viewers a little peek into the darker, nastier side of the minds of the writers. Albeit, very subtly.

You are SO overeacting! Come on! Does Jack really seem the type to go fooling around with a bunch of teenagers? Most probably he's gonna pick one and make her damn happy!
Come on! The guy is devoted! Most probably he's gonna crush for the teacher. Besides, he's a teenager now, so he has the memories of a 50 year old, Jack was always a bit childish (in a good way) and I know teenagers way more mature than him so, it's not really a question of mental age.

[Daniel's_twin]

This is their second best episode from this season. My family loves watching "mini me" trying to convince everyone that he is in fact Jack. Favorite line is probably

Jack: Daniel, tell them who I am.

Daniel: Ok. Love to. Who are you?

Lol! Pure gold!

[XToDaZ]

First of, great acting by Michael. It's hard to act in a credible way, but to clone RDA's style of acting here is another thing.

One thing I would do different as mini-Jack there. I'd get the USAF to move me to another country, like Belgium where I live, where 16 is a legal age to drink beer ... I also want an occasional beer, that's why I ain't moving to the US 'til I'm at least 21.
Ok, different language, but Jack without beer for 5 more years, that's a suicide waiting to happen.

[imskysmom]

So I just finished watching this episode and I agree that the kid did a fantastic job as Jack and that it was nice and entertaining and all, but what’s with the going back to high school bit. I understand that one would want to go back and learn the things one didn’t learn, but when little Jack was leaving the truck, he glanced over at the girls and I couldn’t help but think “you freking pedophile!” Jack’s supposed to be old, like 50, but he’s looking at those high school girls like they were produce. Just because he was in the body of a kid doesn’t justify him trolling for some young, high school action. I

So I guess my take on this was, yeah, it's Jack and yeah, he has all of Jack's experience, but he's still in a teenage body. Hello, hormones anyone? No matter how old he feels inside, he's still going to be treated like a fifteen year old. So what's he supposed to do, date middle-aged women? Just MHO...

[Major Tyler]

Here's how I would have ended "Fragile Balance."

Alternate Ending

"Fragile Balance" occurs just as it does until we reach the scene where Thor states that he is not sure he can cure Young Jack. Here is where the fic diverges from canon...Instead of being able to cure Young Jack directly, Thor needs to create another clone to monitor it's growth so he can determine exactly what he need to do to cure Young Jack.

Thor: In order to stablize the adolescent O'Neill's genetic structure, I will need to use Loki's equipment to create another clone so that I can monitor it's development and isolate what gene sequences need to be repaired, and how to repair them.

O'Neill: Whoa! Hold on! You mean there's going to be two little me's running around!

Thor: If the procedure is successful, then yes, both of your clones will survive and live the average human life-span.

O'Neill: C'mon Thor, isn't there something else you could do, anything else...magnets?

Thor: Without a frame of reference it would be statistically impossible for me to know how to repair the flaw.

Young Jack: We're talking about my life here...

Sam: [interrupting] Thor, does the clone have to be of Colonel O'Neill?

Thor: What are you suggesting?

Sam: Clone me.

Both Jacks look up in surprise.

Sam: If you implant me with the same safeguard that you placed in Colonel O'Neill's genetic structure, and then cloned me, you should be able to use that information to save Colonel O'Neill's clone.

Thor: It is possible, though the individual is different, human genetic structure similar enough on a basic level that I should be able derive the necessary information from your clone, Major Carter.

Carter looks up at Jack with a soft, knowing smile, waiting for him to respond. Jack suppresses a similar but almost envious look on his face. Young Jack make little effort to hide the fact that he is pleased. Jack nods in approval.

Sam: Okay, let's get started.
________________________

Cut to van scene outside of the high school...this takes place much as it does in canon, but with Jack and Sam in the front seat, and Young Jack and Young Sam in the back.

Use your imagination for the farewell dialogue.

As Sam and Jack drive away, Young Sam and Young Jack look at each other and smile. To the same soft fade-out music they played at the end of "Lost City," we see Young Jack and Sam walk away.

Jack's hand slowly moves toward Sam's. Their fingertips find each other and then we fade to the credits.

Awwww...

[Daniel's_twin]

Here's how I would have ended "Fragile Balance."

Alternate Ending

"Fragile Balance" occurs just as it does until we reach the scene where Thor states that he is not sure he can cure Young Jack. Here is where the fic diverges from canon...Instead of being able to cure Young Jack directly, Thor needs to create another clone to monitor it's growth so he can determine exactly what he need to do to cure Young Jack.

Thor: In order to stablize the adolescent O'Neill's genetic structure, I will need to use Loki's equipment to create another clone so that I can monitor it's development and isolate what gene sequences need to be repaired, and how to repair them.

O'Neill: Whoa! Hold on! You mean there's going to be two little me's running around!

Thor: If the procedure is successful, then yes, both of your clones will survive and live the average human life-span.

O'Neill: C'mon Thor, isn't there something else you could do, anything else...magnets?

Thor: Without a frame of reference it would be statistically impossible for me to know how to repair the flaw.

Young Jack: We're talking about my life here...

Sam: [interrupting] Thor, does the clone have to be of Colonel O'Neill?

Thor: What are you suggesting?

Sam: Clone me.

Both Jacks look up in surprise.

Sam: If you implant me with the same safeguard that you placed in Colonel O'Neill's genetic structure, and then cloned me, you should be able to use that information to save Colonel O'Neill's clone.

Thor: It is possible, though the individual is different, human genetic structure similar enough on a basic level that I should be able derive the necessary information from your clone, Major Carter.

Carter looks up at Jack with a soft, knowing smile, waiting for him to respond. Jack suppresses a similar but almost envious look on his face. Young Jack make little effort to hide the fact that he is pleased. Jack nods in approval.

Sam: Okay, let's get started.
________________________

Cut to van scene outside of the high school...this takes place much as it does in canon, but with Jack and Sam in the front seat, and Young Jack and Young Sam in the back.

Use your imagination for the farewell dialogue.

As Sam and Jack drive away, Young Sam and Young Jack look at each other and smile. To the same soft fade-out music they played at the end of "Lost City," we see Young Jack and Sam walk away.

Jack's hand slowly moves toward Sam's. Their fingertips find each other and then we fade to the credits.

Awwww...

Master Power shall hate it, however, I LOVE it! But young Jack and Sam would still go through torture. They're not of legal age to marry! They shouldn't even be dating, there's only a week or two old!

[Cpn. Chris(tine) Bowman]

Cut to van scene outside of the high school...this takes place much as it does in canon, but with Jack and Sam in the front seat, and Young Jack and Young Sam in the back.

O'Neill: You sure you want to do this? I mean...High School?

MiniJack: Yeah. From now on, you and me...we're two completely different people.

*Looks at MiniSam and smiles, he seems to hesitate to take her hand and decides not to. Yet*

MiniSam: And don't worry, I was an A student from the day I set foot in kindergarden.

O'Neill: You know what? I don't doubt it.

*Carter looks back at her clone and grins. You see in their eyes a kind of understanding.*

Carter: Take care of Johnny, don't let him get in trouble. *winks at MiniJack who's pensively staring at MiniSam. Jack looks in the rear view mirror and looks a bit jealous.*

MiniJack: Did you forget who gives the orders, Carter? I might not be a Colonel anymore, but I'm still the Alpha male.

Both Sams: Oh please! *roll eyes*

*Both clones get off*

As Sam and Jack drive away, Young Sam and Young Jack look at each other and smile. To the same soft fade-out music they played at the end of "Lost City," we see Young Jack and Sam walk away.

*Sam and Jack look at each other, grinning as MiniJack puts his arm around MiniSam's shoulder. Then their looks turn melancholy as they think that there is only one Jack and Sam couple in this reality with a sure chance.*

Jack's hand slowly moves toward Sam's. Their fingertips find each other and then we fade to the credits.

Awwww...

[MajorSam]

HAHAHA, AWWWW, i Love BOTH versions! I've read fics involving a MiniSam who gets with MiniJack before. there's this one that was actually quite brilliant, and involved real Sam and Jack being matchmade by them... and Cassie...

Then there's the MILLIONS of mini Sg-1 fics from before FB. Aaaah, they should just make a bunch of little ones to run around! Try combining Sam and Jack's DNA to make the "advanced human" thing that Jack supossedly is. After all, each generation after him can only get better and better rite?

[greytop]

Me, too.

[Beatrice Otter]

I think little jacks skills at being good at O’Neill are over rated, I didn’t think they suited the role and were perfect, i know you carnt get it perfect-perfect but still. Though I think that, Spoilers





The episode were little jack and Mayborn meet up will be good and I am looking forward to seeing it.

That's not going to happen, at least not this season. They wanted to, but they couldn't get the shooting schedules to work out right with Michael Welch's availability.

[Cpn. Chris(tine) Bowman]

Try combining Sam and Jack's DNA to make the "advanced human" thing that Jack supossedly is. After all, each generation after him can only get better and better rite?

Wouldn't surprise me if they found out Sam also has the gene and was never really in a position to show it

Spoiler:

Like in It's Good to be King, she never sat on the pilot chair and tried to fly the thing. Maybe she has the gene?

And in any case her superior intellect would make the experiment worth it. The Shippers get the shipBaby they want, Sam gets the family she wants and humankind is a little higher up the evolution ladder than having only Jack's DNA involved in the process *shudders at the tought of Jack being the next step*

[gatewatcher]

Here's how I would have ended "Fragile Balance."

Alternate Ending

"Fragile Balance" occurs just as it does until we reach the scene where Thor states that he is not sure he can cure Young Jack. Here is where the fic diverges from canon...Instead of being able to cure Young Jack directly, Thor needs to create another clone to monitor it's growth so he can determine exactly what he need to do to cure Young Jack.

Thor: In order to stablize the adolescent O'Neill's genetic structure, I will need to use Loki's equipment to create another clone so that I can monitor it's development and isolate what gene sequences need to be repaired, and how to repair them.

O'Neill: Whoa! Hold on! You mean there's going to be two little me's running around!

Thor: If the procedure is successful, then yes, both of your clones will survive and live the average human life-span.

O'Neill: C'mon Thor, isn't there something else you could do, anything else...magnets?

Thor: Without a frame of reference it would be statistically impossible for me to know how to repair the flaw.

Young Jack: We're talking about my life here...

Sam: [interrupting] Thor, does the clone have to be of Colonel O'Neill?

Thor: What are you suggesting?

Sam: Clone me.

Both Jacks look up in surprise.

Sam: If you implant me with the same safeguard that you placed in Colonel O'Neill's genetic structure, and then cloned me, you should be able to use that information to save Colonel O'Neill's clone.

Thor: It is possible, though the individual is different, human genetic structure similar enough on a basic level that I should be able derive the necessary information from your clone, Major Carter.

Carter looks up at Jack with a soft, knowing smile, waiting for him to respond. Jack suppresses a similar but almost envious look on his face. Young Jack make little effort to hide the fact that he is pleased. Jack nods in approval.

Sam: Okay, let's get started.
________________________

Cut to van scene outside of the high school...this takes place much as it does in canon, but with Jack and Sam in the front seat, and Young Jack and Young Sam in the back.

Use your imagination for the farewell dialogue.

As Sam and Jack drive away, Young Sam and Young Jack look at each other and smile. To the same soft fade-out music they played at the end of "Lost City," we see Young Jack and Sam walk away.

Jack's hand slowly moves toward Sam's. Their fingertips find each other and then we fade to the credits.


Awwww...

I like i t!!

[Kelso]

Yup, great ep. Welch was fab... no complaints here.

I hopethey bring Loki back for a later episode, it would be interesting to see if he and Heimdall (sp) could team up and make some progress with that frozen Asgard that was discovered. Perhaps by slicing in human DNA?

Anyways, I also loved that this ep. laid the groundwork for the F-302 squadron from "Lost City"... and the discovery of the ancient gene.

[Jeril]

Here's how I would have ended "Fragile Balance."

Alternate Ending...

Oh my god. My head is now being filled with possibilities. Damn you! It's hard enough to keep up with the fanfiction I'm writing without getting new ideas and itchy fingers to write them up!! *dies*

Anyway, about the actual episode now...
Major Tyler's ending would've be much better. The one they had was okay, but I kinda don't see why Jack would want to redo high school. I'm there right now and my gods! I would -never- want to do this over! Even if someone paid me to. So much stupid teenage drama and all the homework and unsympathetic teachers and jeeze. It's just not fun.
I loved how Michael Welch played Jack. It was so funny and cute! Especially when he had to hold up his pants 'cause they kept falling down, lol, and when he tried to drink the beer but someone (Sam? Daniel?) took it away from him. The pimply stuff on his face was kinda gross though. Bad acne like that is ucky...
And it was spiffy that they brought in Loki. I read mythology when I was younger and Loki was my favorite out of all the Norse gods. I hope TPTB include him in a future episode.

I understand that one would want to go back and learn the things one didn’t learn, but when little Jack was leaving the truck, he glanced over at the girls and I couldn’t help but think “you freking pedophile!” Jack’s supposed to be old, like 50, but he’s looking at those high school girls like they were produce. Just because he was in the body of a kid doesn’t justify him trolling for some young, high school action.

Errr....
Well, considering that he was now those girls' age... there wasn't anything wrong with him checking them out, really. It's not like he could go out and ask a 30-something year old woman on a date. That would land her in jail and him in a shrink's chair. And how would that sound? "Yeah, I'm an Air Force colonel who got cloned and now I'm stuck in this teenage body so it's really no big deal that I was dating a woman who is physically twenty years older than me."
A person's mental age/maturity has nothing to do with how you should date people. If it did, I know high school juniors and seniors who should be dating 6th grade girls.

[Willow]

Errr....
Well, considering that he was now those girls' age... there wasn't anything wrong with him checking them out, really.
************

Exactly.

[zats]

I adored this episode. My fundamental problem with "Brief Candle" (S1) was that in my opinion, they went the wrong way--don't age him, you numbskulls! Quick, reverse it! Bring zats (almost) eternal happiness! And in this ep, my (almost) greatest wish was fulfilled...and there was much rejoicing...

*Ahem* Anyway...good ep. Welch is an excellent actor, both in this ep and on 'Joan of Arcadia', and he played young Jack ( ) quite well.

And while I'm thinking about it...I really don't see what all the fuss was about with the Duplicate checking out the girls at the Hi!Skool. He may be an awful lot like Jack O'Neill...but he's not Jack. I prefer to think of him as boy who's just mature for his age. My point being that he's...what, fifteen? Sixteen? He's not Colonel O'Neill.

[walter_MacChevron]

I just read on this site that they were planning on bringing Mini-Jack back if there was another season.........i hate how TPTB make promises just to get another season and not fufill them!!!

[Madeleine]

It's not just about TPTB though. They can plan it all they want, and they probably have; but it goes without saying that the plans depend on Michael Welch being available and amenable. I believe he's a regular in a show that's filmed at the same time of year as Stargate is.