Fragile Balance (703)

[timdalton007]

Nice episode! The ending was a little predictable but besides that a good episode! FOr those of yu season 9 haters who say that an episode can't work without a RDA watch this episode! He doesn't even appear in the episode until the end of Act Four and he really doesn't add alot to the episode.

Michael Welch did very, very well as the young O'Neill and had the character down perfectly! It's a shame we haven't seen much of him. The whole cast did very well in this episode and the lack of RDA didn't hurt one bit. The storyline was original and finally tackeled the idea that alien abductions , in the SG-1 universe at least, aren't entirly fiction.

And to whoever it was you asked what the song was at the end of the episode it's a song called "Who am I?" by Lily Frost.

timdalton007

[scjon]

Nice episode! The ending was a little predictable but besides that a good episode! FOr those of yu season 9 haters who say that an episode can't work without a RDA watch this episode! He doesn't even appear in the episode until the end of Act Four and he really doesn't add alot to the episode.

Michael Welch did very, very well as the young O'Neill and had the character down perfectly! It's a shame we haven't seen much of him. The whole cast did very well in this episode and the lack of RDA didn't hurt one bit. The storyline was original and finally tackeled the idea that alien abductions , in the SG-1 universe at least, aren't entirly fiction.

And to whoever it was you asked what the song was at the end of the episode it's a song called "Who am I?" by Lily Frost.

timdalton007

I agree with you regarding Michael Welch. He was fantastic. This is one of the few episodes, which RDA was barely in, when I didn't miss him so much. It wasn't until I saw RDA on screen towards the end that I remembered that he hadn't actually been in the episode at all until that point!

[Maybourne]

can someone please tell me what the name of the song at the end of this episode is called. i think ot is a really cool song. thanks

[bunnicula2001]

can someone please tell me what the name of the song at the end of this episode is called. i think ot is a really cool song. thanks

I believe it is called "Who Am I?" by Lilly Frost.

[Pharaoh Atem]

lol jack has a mini me cool this was a good espiode the actor that played little jack did a good job

[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...

LOL, I remember when I wrote this little ending! I was such a softie.

[captain jake]

I liked the idea of the episode but could they have found a more annoying kid?And that last scene was awful, the glasses!!! holy crap that was annoying.

Spoiler:

[Commander Jumper]

ok something about how this episode ended has been sitting in my head for quite some time. We all know that Little Jacks see's Jack and thinks of himself. But What does Jack see when he see's the boy who is around the same age his son would've been at the time. Jack seemed uneasy like a father would about sending little Jack off to highschool. It seemed to me mini jack gave Jack something Jack had always wanted, at chance at that rite of passage. Did anyone else see it that way or am I alone here??? or am I a crazy loon???

[scifi_girl]

does anyone else wonder what happened to mini jack?

[OrangeShipper]

I still can't decide wether I liked this.. I just watched it a second time, and thought it was much better that I previously thought - especially Michael Welch's portrayal of Jack, it just struck me as much better this time (I couldn't really see it before, not sure why). It does have some classic funny moments as well.

There's just a couple of points though that really put me off... For instance, mini-Jacks reaction to certain things, just didn't fit right with the character to me - it was like not only was someone else playing him, but someone else was writing him too (which obviously isn't the case - but I actually had to keep reminding myself of that). Like, throughout the whole episode, mini-Jack seems very snappy, especially to Sam. Like when she teased him, and he snapped "that's SIR to you", I just couldn't see Jack doing that. And he didn't really seem to care that they were all trying to help him. And that he would try and run away from it, and that the first thing he does is to be desparate to get a beer. That... just doesn't sit right to me. Also, the fact that he didn't seem to be at all supportive of Carter for the F-302 briefing - when he was trying to persuade Hammond to let him take it still, it just struck me alsmost as if he was putting Carter down by not being confident in her. I just couldn't see him doing that.

I know some people have said that he's just a clone so he's slightly different, but to me he shouldn't be. He shouldn't have ANY "teenage" ideas. In his head, to him, he was Jack O'Neill, a 50 yr old man. That should still have been the case even after he realised he was a clone. His mind was the same as Jacks before, why shouldn't it still be after, just because he knows he's a clone? That knowledge shouldn't change anything. Like, just because he's in a 15 yr olds body, that doesn't mean that he should like going back to High school ANY more than Jack, who clearly thinks it's a bad idea - shouldn't he too?

Anyway, sorry to be so pokey, that was just how I took those parts. When I thought about it a little more, I guess I could see Jack saying some of those things (in some scenes he's VERY snappy), because of course he'd be incredibly "irked" - but maybe RDA wouldn't say it in quite as harsh a tone. I don't know. That's just how I took it...

[Triskele925]

does anyone else wonder what happened to mini jack?

I definitely do, all the time! I wish they'd bring him back for an episode. I know originally they couldn't, because Michael Welch was busy filming Joan of Arcadia, but Joan's been cancelled (sadly) for a while now...

Anyway, sorry to be so pokey, that was just how I took those parts. When I thought about it a little more, I guess I could see Jack saying some of those things (in some scenes he's VERY snappy), because of course he'd be incredibly "irked" - but maybe RDA wouldn't say it in quite as harsh a tone. I don't know. That's just how I took it...

I noticed his snappy-ness as well. I think a lot of it might have come from the fact that Jack was embarrased, and everyone on the base was taking every opportunity to poke fun at him, and that's how he reacted. He also might have been sick of trying to 'prove' himself - even though in his head he's still regular old Jack O'Neill, everyone is treating him differently, and I can see how that might grate on one's nerves after a while. Anyways, I would think it's just a reaction to him being pretty humiliated - *especially* in front of Carter, if you know what I mean.
Anyways that's just my thought! You bring up a valid point, though.

[Ilana]

Yes, I too, having just watched this ep for the second time, wonder what has happened to mini-Jack. It's just one of those loose ends, isn't it?

[camulus13]

If anyone was wondering iTunes doesn't have it.



Was she? I thought she addressed one of the guys as Major.

wal mart music downloads has it if anyones curious

[Two_L's]

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...

That's awesome!

I noticed his snappy-ness as well. I think a lot of it might have come from the fact that Jack was embarrased, and everyone on the base was taking every opportunity to poke fun at him, and that's how he reacted. He also might have been sick of trying to 'prove' himself - even though in his head he's still regular old Jack O'Neill, everyone is treating him differently, and I can see how that might grate on one's nerves after a while. Anyways, I would think it's just a reaction to him being pretty humiliated - *especially* in front of Carter, if you know what I mean.
Anyways that's just my thought! You bring up a valid point, though.

Yeh, mini-jack seemed kinda cranky at times, but as normal Jack said, he should be "irked", right? I mean, no-one believed it was him, and when they did, he got teased. Carter, Teal'c and Daniel wouldn't normally be brave enough to make fun of him had he been his regular self.

I really enjoyed this episode, it was really funny and Michael Welch did a fantastic job at acting out all the O'Neillism. I felt a bit sorry for Sam when the pilots were rudely interrupting her, but then they listened to mini-jack. Although I thought that maybe they just wanted to remind us that Jack is actually pretty smart, hence why we saw him explaining things to the pilots. Loki was pretty cool, and its a shame if we don't see him again.

I quite liked the ending and I didn't think it was that strange that the younger Jack would be looking at the high school girls. He might have the mannerisms and memories of normal Jack, but he has the body of a teenager and as we saw at the end, he was already starting to change and make himself a new identity and path in life. So I just saw it as a young boy, who had Jack's mind kinda 'downloaded' into his (like in Fifth Race), and was now starting afresh.

Oh, and I liked the song at the end! I don't recall a time when we've heard a normal, everyday song playing in Stargate. It was different, but good.

[Major Tyler]

That's awesome!

Haha, I'm glad you like it! That was ages ago.