SG1: Unending
Jun. 23rd, 2007 03:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tenayaStargate SG1 is finally over. I feel like I should write a summation on how I feel about it all, but it's just not coming. It's feels too big at this time. I start writing but I can't distill ten years down into twenty five words or less. And perhaps part of that is that if I do manage to get it out and written down on paper, it will be over. Maybe I can't let it be over just yet? Maybe that is why I've done a fine job of procrastinating tonight. Skip=350 on the flist. Wow.
So, on to Unending. It could have been better, but it could have been worse, too.
I think part of the problem of this episode is that it was written and directed by RCC. Personally, I think he's not very gifted as a director. He likes the boy stuff: the action, the fights, the explosions. And I think that the finished product is improved if it has a different man directing it than wrote it. RCC may have gotten what he wanted on film, but this story really needed some other input. And pacing. It's so slow in the middle! I thought the song worked okay, though.
This was their last episode yet they didn't finish up the Ori story line. In fact, the most important thing they did was, surprise surprise, kill off the Asgard. Earth has no competition or allies any more. I can't say strongly enough how much I hate that TPTB of SG1 methodically remove the significant inhabitants of their mythology. There is no reason to kill off the Asgard. In fact, it only repeats the same mistake they make over and over: they weaken their villains to the point where they're no threat. Giving all the Asgard knowledge and technology to Earth gives our heroes too much of an advantage. I suppose this stuff will be important in Ark of Truth. And that's another mistake TPTB have been repeating: the co-opting of the season enders of SG1 for their own purposes, like setting up another series or a movie. These people have never had their eye on the ball when it comes to SG1; they've always been too busy planning something else. The greatest tragedy of this show is that the writers were never engaged with it. They never were excited to create an epic story, never had a vision of where they were going. And the series finale really illuminates that fact.
It's been eleven hours since it was over and what do I remember?
The Vala/Daniel stuff:
I do like that Vala was her usual self, bored and trying to get some color in her life. She had some great lines, like at the party saying the last time she was this bored she took hostages. Daniel's "I was there" is pretty funny. Her line about going crazy and "I'm taking you (Daniel) with me" also made me laugh. But it's at this point that I'm thinking that I haven't seen Daniel so short with her since they were wearing the bracelets. He is completely shut down to her like he really can't stand to be around her, yet he was fine around her in Dominion. Obviously, something happened in the meantime-- or was it just inconsistent writing?
Next we see Vala trying to tempt Daniel with a pair of fuzzy handcuffs. Boy, that was a bad choice. It really comes across as her being bored and not not caring what Daniel's state of mind is. He has had enough of having his free will taken away by her (being kidnapped, those bracelets) that I can't conceive of him finding handcuffs a big turn on, especially for their first time.
Now, about that scene where Daniel blows up at her. Unfortunately, it didn't ring emotionally true to me. Yet again, Vala missteps by proceeding with her seduction without any emotional foreplay so to speak. She starts to undress him over his refusals. For Daniel, no means no and he's angry she's ignoring his wishes. Besides, she can't have seriously thought he'd suddenly change his mind? That's her main problem, she really isn't considering him at all. He looks so tired at this point, so weary of being messed with. She says, "I don't see many other options around here." Again, she makes no attempt to connect with him emotionally; the way she puts it, he's simply better than a sex toy.
At this point, I think Daniel has every right to get angry, but his words are all wrong. He asks if she thinks he could have any serious feeling for her. The question should be does she even care if he has any serious feelings for her? Does she care that Daniel doesn't want a friends with benefits type of relationship? That she flirts with anything that moves and he doesn't want to be her cure for boredom for that day. He is tired with being tormented just for amusement's sake.
The middle part of his tirade doesn't make sense. They work together? Not at the moment; not for the foreseeable future. His laughter at having picturing a relationship with her was quite cruel. Calling her an emotional unstable wreck was, well, I think out of character for him. I did like his deep pain when he mentioned Sha're; the man thought of nothing else but trying to rescue her for 2+ years and it defined who he was. It makes sense that he would acknowledge that wound. But then he says he never in a million million years would consider Vala for a relationship. Again? Quite cruel. I don't think Daniel usually exaggerates like that so the main reason to say the "millions of millions" was to be intentionally cruel. I know Daniel can be cruel that this really surprised me.
The last part of the tirade does make sense for the most part. Stating that he interprets her actions as having a laugh at his expense works. His final statement is "I'm so sorry that you're bored but don't you pretend it's anything else." Hello? She hasn't put forward that it is anything else. His anger makes sense if he is tired of being tormented and being harassed for a roll in the hay when what he wants is a real, intimate relationship. That last line gave me whiplash!
And then she cries and he realizes that he hurt her and that she does have genuine feelings for him. They kiss and have great make up sex. Oh please! She's crying because he was cruel to her. I think Vala has a lot of self confidence but she also has deep problems with trusting people, of being vulnerable around them. She has had to be tough to survive. So, while I think Daniel's outburst would have woken her up to understanding where he is coming from, his cruelty would have made her angry and her defenses would have popped right up. I can't see Vala being a doormat, either. There is no way they'd have progressed to having sex right then. Time should have passed and they should have approached each other with sincere feelings of caring and affection. THEN, they could have had sex.
Having said that, I'm happy that the D/V shippers got their pairing canon, even if the writer did hit the reset. And it was our characters and not any AU characters. After all the empty promises the J/S shippers have been fed for years, I'm surprised the writers actually threw any shippers a bone. And I don't think this nullifies any J/D or any other relationship that Daniel would be a part of.
The Asgard:
Didn't I hear somewhere that Shanks didn't do the voice of Thor in this ep? I don't think it quite sounds like him.
The Asgard wanted their friends to bear witness to their passing. It should have been a solemn and poignant moment but it gets totally lost in a space battle. Their witnesses have turned tail and are fleeing instead of holding their dying friend's hand, emotionally speaking.
And you know what? I'm thinking they should have taken Thor over to Harlan's place and had him whip them up some android bodies. Then the Asgard could have been bet-ter. Oh wait, Robert IwanttomakeStargateintoStarWars Cooper would have probably had them flipping about like Yoda on PCP.
And, the Asgard, the most advance species in the know galaxy, practice euthanasia. Huh.
The makeup:
Hello? These actors are very handsome. There is no need to make them look meth addicts as they get older. Also, these people would have continued to have good grooming, and rather than coarse, shaggy long hair, I'm betting they would have kept their hair short or kept it tidy. It was a very poor choice to have them look like that (but that's a director's decision, isn't it?) And they could have synthesized clothing with color.
Oh, still hatin' Daniel's glasses. They make his eyes look small and his face pinched. Yuck.
The lack of teamy goodness:
SG1 has been up against worse problems than this and they usually managed to overcome them by utilizing all the team members. Daniel should have been able to find a twist on the problem in his studying of the Asgard history. Vala should have contributed somehow, too. Mitchell did, as did Teal'c but it shouldn't have taken fifty years! McKay wouldn't have taken fifty years to figure it out.
As other fans have mentioned, it was just wrong that for most of the montage of fifty years passing, we see our heroes isolated from each other, or if they are in pairs, they are working at putting up with each other. We are left with very dissatisfying images of isolation and frustration.
The plot:
It's sad to say but somewhere around the beginning of Season 9, I just quit trying to understand the techno based plots. Yeah, yeah, whatever.
What they did right:
The last episode should have been a celebration of the show. The main thing they did right was they had the team leaving through the gate on yet another mission. Just that fact alone gives them a passing grade as there were too many personal agendas the writers could have indulged in. I think the need to preserve the status quo for the movies protected the characters and the viewers from unknown horrors.
Having Teal'c be the hero. I have to admit it was awesome to have the ship being destroyed around Teal'c and he is standing there, strong and calm, waiting for his moment to save his friends, the ship, the Asgard legacy and quite possibly the Earth and the rest of the galaxy from destruction from the Priors. He was incredibly heroic and he did it with ease and grace. That was really nice.
So, on to Unending. It could have been better, but it could have been worse, too.
I think part of the problem of this episode is that it was written and directed by RCC. Personally, I think he's not very gifted as a director. He likes the boy stuff: the action, the fights, the explosions. And I think that the finished product is improved if it has a different man directing it than wrote it. RCC may have gotten what he wanted on film, but this story really needed some other input. And pacing. It's so slow in the middle! I thought the song worked okay, though.
This was their last episode yet they didn't finish up the Ori story line. In fact, the most important thing they did was, surprise surprise, kill off the Asgard. Earth has no competition or allies any more. I can't say strongly enough how much I hate that TPTB of SG1 methodically remove the significant inhabitants of their mythology. There is no reason to kill off the Asgard. In fact, it only repeats the same mistake they make over and over: they weaken their villains to the point where they're no threat. Giving all the Asgard knowledge and technology to Earth gives our heroes too much of an advantage. I suppose this stuff will be important in Ark of Truth. And that's another mistake TPTB have been repeating: the co-opting of the season enders of SG1 for their own purposes, like setting up another series or a movie. These people have never had their eye on the ball when it comes to SG1; they've always been too busy planning something else. The greatest tragedy of this show is that the writers were never engaged with it. They never were excited to create an epic story, never had a vision of where they were going. And the series finale really illuminates that fact.
It's been eleven hours since it was over and what do I remember?
The Vala/Daniel stuff:
I do like that Vala was her usual self, bored and trying to get some color in her life. She had some great lines, like at the party saying the last time she was this bored she took hostages. Daniel's "I was there" is pretty funny. Her line about going crazy and "I'm taking you (Daniel) with me" also made me laugh. But it's at this point that I'm thinking that I haven't seen Daniel so short with her since they were wearing the bracelets. He is completely shut down to her like he really can't stand to be around her, yet he was fine around her in Dominion. Obviously, something happened in the meantime-- or was it just inconsistent writing?
Next we see Vala trying to tempt Daniel with a pair of fuzzy handcuffs. Boy, that was a bad choice. It really comes across as her being bored and not not caring what Daniel's state of mind is. He has had enough of having his free will taken away by her (being kidnapped, those bracelets) that I can't conceive of him finding handcuffs a big turn on, especially for their first time.
Now, about that scene where Daniel blows up at her. Unfortunately, it didn't ring emotionally true to me. Yet again, Vala missteps by proceeding with her seduction without any emotional foreplay so to speak. She starts to undress him over his refusals. For Daniel, no means no and he's angry she's ignoring his wishes. Besides, she can't have seriously thought he'd suddenly change his mind? That's her main problem, she really isn't considering him at all. He looks so tired at this point, so weary of being messed with. She says, "I don't see many other options around here." Again, she makes no attempt to connect with him emotionally; the way she puts it, he's simply better than a sex toy.
At this point, I think Daniel has every right to get angry, but his words are all wrong. He asks if she thinks he could have any serious feeling for her. The question should be does she even care if he has any serious feelings for her? Does she care that Daniel doesn't want a friends with benefits type of relationship? That she flirts with anything that moves and he doesn't want to be her cure for boredom for that day. He is tired with being tormented just for amusement's sake.
The middle part of his tirade doesn't make sense. They work together? Not at the moment; not for the foreseeable future. His laughter at having picturing a relationship with her was quite cruel. Calling her an emotional unstable wreck was, well, I think out of character for him. I did like his deep pain when he mentioned Sha're; the man thought of nothing else but trying to rescue her for 2+ years and it defined who he was. It makes sense that he would acknowledge that wound. But then he says he never in a million million years would consider Vala for a relationship. Again? Quite cruel. I don't think Daniel usually exaggerates like that so the main reason to say the "millions of millions" was to be intentionally cruel. I know Daniel can be cruel that this really surprised me.
The last part of the tirade does make sense for the most part. Stating that he interprets her actions as having a laugh at his expense works. His final statement is "I'm so sorry that you're bored but don't you pretend it's anything else." Hello? She hasn't put forward that it is anything else. His anger makes sense if he is tired of being tormented and being harassed for a roll in the hay when what he wants is a real, intimate relationship. That last line gave me whiplash!
And then she cries and he realizes that he hurt her and that she does have genuine feelings for him. They kiss and have great make up sex. Oh please! She's crying because he was cruel to her. I think Vala has a lot of self confidence but she also has deep problems with trusting people, of being vulnerable around them. She has had to be tough to survive. So, while I think Daniel's outburst would have woken her up to understanding where he is coming from, his cruelty would have made her angry and her defenses would have popped right up. I can't see Vala being a doormat, either. There is no way they'd have progressed to having sex right then. Time should have passed and they should have approached each other with sincere feelings of caring and affection. THEN, they could have had sex.
Having said that, I'm happy that the D/V shippers got their pairing canon, even if the writer did hit the reset. And it was our characters and not any AU characters. After all the empty promises the J/S shippers have been fed for years, I'm surprised the writers actually threw any shippers a bone. And I don't think this nullifies any J/D or any other relationship that Daniel would be a part of.
The Asgard:
Didn't I hear somewhere that Shanks didn't do the voice of Thor in this ep? I don't think it quite sounds like him.
The Asgard wanted their friends to bear witness to their passing. It should have been a solemn and poignant moment but it gets totally lost in a space battle. Their witnesses have turned tail and are fleeing instead of holding their dying friend's hand, emotionally speaking.
And you know what? I'm thinking they should have taken Thor over to Harlan's place and had him whip them up some android bodies. Then the Asgard could have been bet-ter. Oh wait, Robert IwanttomakeStargateintoStarWars Cooper would have probably had them flipping about like Yoda on PCP.
And, the Asgard, the most advance species in the know galaxy, practice euthanasia. Huh.
The makeup:
Hello? These actors are very handsome. There is no need to make them look meth addicts as they get older. Also, these people would have continued to have good grooming, and rather than coarse, shaggy long hair, I'm betting they would have kept their hair short or kept it tidy. It was a very poor choice to have them look like that (but that's a director's decision, isn't it?) And they could have synthesized clothing with color.
Oh, still hatin' Daniel's glasses. They make his eyes look small and his face pinched. Yuck.
The lack of teamy goodness:
SG1 has been up against worse problems than this and they usually managed to overcome them by utilizing all the team members. Daniel should have been able to find a twist on the problem in his studying of the Asgard history. Vala should have contributed somehow, too. Mitchell did, as did Teal'c but it shouldn't have taken fifty years! McKay wouldn't have taken fifty years to figure it out.
As other fans have mentioned, it was just wrong that for most of the montage of fifty years passing, we see our heroes isolated from each other, or if they are in pairs, they are working at putting up with each other. We are left with very dissatisfying images of isolation and frustration.
The plot:
It's sad to say but somewhere around the beginning of Season 9, I just quit trying to understand the techno based plots. Yeah, yeah, whatever.
What they did right:
The last episode should have been a celebration of the show. The main thing they did right was they had the team leaving through the gate on yet another mission. Just that fact alone gives them a passing grade as there were too many personal agendas the writers could have indulged in. I think the need to preserve the status quo for the movies protected the characters and the viewers from unknown horrors.
Having Teal'c be the hero. I have to admit it was awesome to have the ship being destroyed around Teal'c and he is standing there, strong and calm, waiting for his moment to save his friends, the ship, the Asgard legacy and quite possibly the Earth and the rest of the galaxy from destruction from the Priors. He was incredibly heroic and he did it with ease and grace. That was really nice.
