Stargate Rewatch: Cor-ai, Enigma, and Solitudes

[holdouttrout]

So, how about that downtime, eh?

Three more episodes! I'm having SO much fun with this guys, I can't even. Today as I was watching Solitudes I was amazed at how into it I was... I forgot how great the latter half of first season really is.

Here we go:

Cor-ai
 
Another episode I am not sure I loved but love now especially after the conversation Teal'c has with Tomin in Ark of Truth about guilt and forgiveness. Because yeah, Teal'c was let off the hook by Hanno (in a moment I've always liked), but he hasn't really let himself off the hook.
 
Other moments of awesome:
 
Sam examining Teal'c and asking about leaving his family behind.
 
The boy handing Teal'c the knife so he can free himself. I kinda love that he did that without anyone else telling him to.
 
Teal'c apologizing for killing Shak'l as he's killing him.

I really like it that Hammond says no, they can't break Teal'c out of jail using force. That would have been a really bad precedent to set, I think--much better to do the stealthy breaking-each-other out thing.
 
So when Jack and Sam come back and the Jaffa have already been through and steamed everything, I don't know if I ever noticed that Jack takes down one of the Jaffa and uses his knife to kill him. I probably have noticed and just forgotten, but I have two things to say to that: 1) Jack is BAD ASS. 2) It's wrong that I find that hot, right? (I'm pretty sure it actually is wrong. Huh.)
 
 
Enigma

Oh, yes. The Tollan. Those arrognat assholes of the galaxy, with their superior technology and science and patronizing dismissals of other cultures. Oddly, I found myself really appreciating Omoc as a character. I mean, he's still being an ass, but I also do understand that the cultural bias he has heavily influences his interactions with the people in the SGC. And even he unbends a little, especially to Daniel.

Of course, it helps that Daniel's helping them escape to a place that is more suitable to them.

And then there's Narim. I can't help but like Narim in this episode, even though I think his interest in Sam is a bit sudden and… final. Still, his enthusiasm for animals and less-than-patronizing approach to conversations about science (even when he is telling Sam she's wrong) go a long way.

Sam sure is willing to kiss alien men, isn't she?

Tuplo and the Land of Light folk must be the nicest people in the galaxy… or they feel really, really grateful to the SGC for curing their infected.

Maybourne… oh, dear. I just do not understand how he doesn't see the Tollans as people. *sighs* Also, he needs to learn when he's outmatched.


Solitudes

This ep is fabulous. I'm kinda in love with it right now. I seem to have a thing for episodes where the characters are trapped in a room while some kind of dire deadline/problem/injury.

So many good moments, too, like oh, every single line of dialog that Jack and Sam have. THIS is one of the key episodes that influences my ideas of how they work together. I mean, you have Sam's realistic appraisal of the situation (bad to worse to not going to make it) and Jack's determination to stay positive. (They are (or at least Sam is) going to make it out of there, broken rib/leg/internal bleeding be damned.)

You have the hilarious bone-setting incident, and the "melted ice is to die for" comment, and the conversation about Jack's unofficial mission, and quips about ice-cave decorating...

Re-watching this episode, it's hard to believe that Sam didn't think to try another gate. At the very least, she could have thought it was possible the Earth gate was the problem… but here are several good reasons why Sam might not have thought about it:

1. As far as she knew, the Earth gate was functional at the time.

2. The possibility of a second gate on Earth never occurred to anyone before.

3. She was tired, hungry, and extremely cold.

4. She had an injured CO on her hands.

5. She was sleep-deprived.

I bet you thought I wasn't going to mention Daniel and Teal'c, huh? Hah! Teal'c, of course, is awesome, especially when he's all "that is unacceptable" to Siler's timeframe, and also when he's helping the SG-teams search.

I do like that Daniel figures it out mainly by being observant. No one else, apparently, thought to check why the Stargate chevrons were illuminated. Bah! I also like this exchange:

DANIEL
(To Teal'c)
What happens when you dial your own phone number?
(He looks at Teal'c's blank face.)
Wrong person to ask.
(To Hammond)
What happens when you dial your own phone number?

Hee!

And right after that, Sam saying it's an ice planet! Hah! That always makes me laugh.

Total dawwww moment when she wakes up and sees Hammond. *squeezes them*

Comments

[thothmes]

I think that the First Season gets a bad rap. Yeah, they were still working things out and forming the characters, and some of the stuff is not consistent as they figure out better ways to do it, or decide to take things in a new direction, but there are sooo many important little character moment nuggets, so many little scenes where the team are discovering who they are individually and collectively.

Solitudes is the episode that hooked me into the series, and it remains my all time favorite episode. It just hits all my kinks. The noble (wounded!) protector, Sam-the-competent and asking no quarter [I forgive her for not trying to dial elsewhere because it didn't occur to me until afterwards either, and I wasn't dealing with cold, sleep deprivation, a dying CO (with a sidearm!), and the possibility of never seeing home], Daniel and Teal'c struggling with all they have to get the team back together, a here's-what-we-have-how-do-we-get-what-we-need puzzle, and TeddyBear!Hammond in his parka. What's not to love?

It wasn't too long after I first saw this episode that I managed to have an irreducible fracture of my right index finger that had to be splinted for a few weeks before it could be operated on and plated (followed by a couple of months of P.T. to get flexibility and function back. I quoted the hell out of "You wouldn't think that jagged bone digging into raw nerve would hurt but it DOES!" For someone who has trouble "talking" Jack O'Neill certainly has a way with words!

[holdouttrout]

Well, there are a lot of clunkers in the first season, and some of it's just plain cheesy, but there are also really great episodes... like all of the back half, really.

I really can't think of any reason not to love Solitudes. So awesome!

[pepper]

Oh, Solitudes. None of the possible explanations for Sam's lapse really work for me. I can't help but think of it as a production problem that they should have fixed. Sam says at one point that she's been working on the DHD for 12 hours - and, seriously, it takes her that long to think of switching it off and on again? I hope they scan her for head injuries when they get to McMurdo.

I love the episode, nonetheless. :) Plot problems aside, the two-characters-trapped thing is awesome. I'm totally with you on seeing this as a key episode for explaining Sam and Jack.

[holdouttrout]

Obviously, Sam didn't work with Windows. *g*

I wouldn't be surprised if she did have a concussion or something, though.

[lothithil.livejournal.com]

'Solitudes' is my favourite episode, crowded closely by several other ones.

I'm enjoying re-watching SG1 with you! Keep 'em coming! :D

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

It's way too much fun to re-watch them, isn't it? :-)

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

I did not realize that these three eps were one after another! And they are among my favorites, too.

I love that whispered "I am sorry," yes. And that kid who cut Teal'c free? Hanno had just finished telling him that if he didn't make it back, the kid should tell the council that yes, Teal'c should still die. SMART kid, heh.

I, too, am very fond of Omoc,BECAUSE he's arrogant and impatient. Good guys aren't always nec'ly NICE. And my hatred for Maybourne starts right here, because not only does he fail to see the Tollan as human, but he ordered his soldiers to fire at Teal'c and Daniel, who were also unarmed. Grrr.

Does it surprise you that my adoration for Solitudes is more the Daniel-Teal'c side than the Sam-Jack side? :) But here's another point for you: they have NEVER seen an expected connection fail before, with the exception of ToT when they understood the Gate fell into the sea. She knows Earth is there; why SHOULD she think of anything else? Later on, of course, when they've experienced Gate failures multiple times, it would be expected of her to try alternate destinations.

Anyway, I'm enjoying your rewatch, so keep it up. :)

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

SUCH a smart kid.

I am totally on the same page as you about Omoc and Maybourne. I also love the comparison and contrast between them. :-)

It does not surprise me at all that you're more about the Daniel-Teal'c side, no. *g* I do love their connection to each other and the missing members of their team--and doggedness on working on the problem, though I think most of the character stuff falls on Sam and Jack in this one.

And I think you're right about Sam just not thinking of it--in fact, this problem would be a huge reason for trying other addresses down the road. It's really not fair to expect more from Sam at this point in time.

[macgyvergal.livejournal.com]

One of my favorite bits in Solitudes is when Jack says "Sara", at this time he is still in love with her.

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I think that's just a realy sad moment--I'd want to hug Jack, too. :-(

[banlu.livejournal.com]

I'm always struck by how Sam comforted him in what she was sure were his last minutes by responding as if she were Sara. Such a truly kind heart - but her 'last words' were definately from her.

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

I love "Solitudes" so much!

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

I so fell in love all over again with the show while watching it this time.

[kedd.livejournal.com]

I have two things to say to that: 1) Jack is BAD ASS. 2) It's wrong that I find that hot, right? (I'm pretty sure it actually is wrong. Huh.)

1. YES. And I wish, given his supposed black ops background, we had seen more of his badassery throughout the series.

2. Me too. :) I think it's just one of those primitive, look at the alpha-male-kicking-ass things... Although, I have to say, Jack in 'Red Sky' taking down the guy who blew up the rocket and in 'Paradise Lost', same idea, and just yum, so maybe there is something wrong...

I actually love Cor-Ai, and seeing how different people deal with there guilt - Teal'c, not letting himself off the hook at all, Jack, who spouts the party line about following orders but clearly has guilt anyways ('damned distasteful things' always felt like it had some internal anger to me), and how those two just GET each other, their warrior bond.

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

1. Well, Stargate really didn't turn out to be the kind of show where that made sense to have a lot of this kind of bad-assery. But yeah.

2. :-)

I love Teal'c and Jack's connection and understanding, too. They don't even need all the details, you know?

[archersangel.livejournal.com]

So when Jack and Sam come back and the Jaffa have already been through and steamed everything, I don't know if I ever noticed that Jack takes down one of the Jaffa and uses his knife to kill him. I probably have noticed and just forgotten, but I have two things to say to that: 1) Jack is BAD ASS. 2) It's wrong that I find that hot, right? (I'm pretty sure it actually is wrong. Huh.)

i'm sure it's wrong too, but i found that kind of hot too.

Tuplo and the Land of Light folk must be the nicest people in the galaxy… or they feel really, really grateful to the SGC for curing their infected.

something like that. that's their go-to planet for refuges a few times, i think.

i like solitudes just for the "it's my sidearm, i swear" line.

[rdamel.livejournal.com]

Even though it's amusing, the "sidearm" joke is still totally absurd to me--he's frozen, bleeding internally, no, I do not believe he's getting an erection in those circumstances, sorry!

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

It's very, very wrong. I know this. *hangs head*

[rdamel.livejournal.com]

I'm surely still enjoying your rewatch, but I have to say that though I certainly think Solitudes is a good episode, it is nowhere near a favorite of mine--too cold and painful to watch, for me.

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Well... without cold, there wouldn't be snuggling! :-)

[rdamel.livejournal.com]

I know, but I can't get past the cold--I hate to be cold and felt so bad for them in this show. Also, having read interviews, and knowing they really did refrigerate the whole stage, so they were actually quite cold while doing this. So unpleasant for me to even contemplate!

[katanasundancer.livejournal.com]

I always thought that perhaps, in addition to all the worry and the fear and the stress... Maybe Sam bumped her head on the way through.

I mean, Jack has broken bones, Daniel was knocked out cold upon arrival in the gateroom... Is it inconceivable that she hit her head and has a mild concussion? Hell, I've had concussion from a FOOTBALL, and couldn't think straight enough to know who was carting me up to first aid.

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

That makes perfect sense, actually--it's only weird she didn't think about it because she's so good at thinking outside the box normally. (Well, later on, which could actually be a result of this experience, perhaps.)