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Posted by: Kuwdora Jan 27th 2004, 6:25 PM

Episode 16 - Death Knell
Air Date: (UK) January 27, 2004
Air Date: (US) Feburary 6, 2004

Earth's secret offworld base is discovered by the Goa'uld -- and Major Carter goes missing.

http://www.sg1archive.com/s7credits.shtml#716 | http://www.sg1archive.com/forums/index.php?act=ST&f;=2&t;=3086 | http://www.sg1archive.com/teasers/716.html

Posted by: Aesir Jan 27th 2004, 6:27 PM

I thought that this episode was pretty good, certainly better than 'Chimera' last week, but not as good as 'Fallout' the week before. The episode had quite a bit of action and some good suspense with the supersoldier story and the problems with the Jaffa and Tok'ra. I did really like how they tried to bring other unresolved stories back into this episode and answer some questions that we had.

I'm not quite sure of the motives that the writers had for splitting up the alliance, but I think that it's safe to say that you can be sure that we are going to see more from this storyline in later episodes.

I think it was quite intriguing how they didn't actually reveal how the Alpha Site was betrayed to Anubis and I think we will probably learn of this later on as another story unfolds as personally I don't think that it is something that they can leave hanging. It's nice to have some open-ended endings now and then and let the fans speculate (like who those aliens in 'Grace' were), but something like this would drive people crazy (well me at least).

This may seem kind of weird, but I thought it was good that we saw Sam finally get quite badly hurt and have to do things on her own. She once again demonstrated her ability to think on her feet and fight for her life when her team mates aren't around to help her.

I felt there was a scene that just didn't seem natural at the start. When Sam was explaining why they had to evacuate the old Alpha Site she seemed to do so in a way that was a really obvious attempt to inform the viewers but didn't fit in with how she should have spoken to Jacob... although it was just a small thing, I thought this was badly written.

After my nitpick in 'Evolution Part 1' about how the supersoldier seems to be immune to the laws of physics they actually put something in the episode saying how it's not... I found that funny Okay, so now it gets knocked over and buried by explosions but before it was still left standing and didn't even break stride? That didn't make sense to me. I can accept that the missile on that UAV might have been more powerful than the C4 charge, but the C4 should have still affected it in my opinion.

Weren't the guns that they were using basically identical in appearance to the TERs seen in previous episodes? I could have sworn they were trying to save money and use the same prop (maybe modified slightly). I guess it's possible that they just built the TERs and the new weapon using the same exterior design and shell, but this really stood out for me.

I'm sure the shippers will be all over that Sam/Jack hug at the end, but I must remind people that they are friends and he was just comforting her. I'd have done the same for any good friend if I was in his position

Oh... and it seems that the gate at the Alpha Site was hollow based on the sound that it made when Daniel stepped on it as he was climbing out of that pit

My overall for this episode is 7/10

Posted by: jaffagod Jan 27th 2004, 6:29 PM

The Plot for those who may not have seen it

At the start we see Sam and Jacob working on the new weapon and discussing its effectiveness, when the Alarm sounds and an Air Force officer enters and says that Goa'uld ships have been detected entering orbit and that a full evacuation is underway. We then skip to Earth where the news is just coming through, Sam, Jacob and 92 other people are still unaccounted for. SG-1 set off on a Search & Rescue Mission and are soon followed by many other teams. One of the other teams finds a small group of survivors and they are taken back to Earth. Shortly afterwards SG-1 find Jacob and he is carrying the prototype weapon and gives it to O'Neill but warns that it is only 50% effective and that Sam has the more powerful power module. He then returns to Earth with an injured leg.

After returning he is asked by Hammond what happened and we learn that there were strikes from Alkesh bombers and that some of Anubis' drones landed. We also discover that they can be destroyed by enough kinetic energy as several died when the base's self destruct went off. This prompts Hammond to launch a UAV with missile capabilities. The investigation begins as to how the Alpha site was discovered; Jaffa, Tok'ra and Air Force personnel are all being questioned. The old Tok'ra - Jaffa rivalry shows as each is convinced that the other is at fault. Major Carter is seen hiding from the one surviving drone. The UAV is launched and begins a search for Carter.

After O'Neill and Teal'c discover footprints heading east the UAV is deployed there. We then see Major Carter stopping for a drink at the river...when the drone attacks her from across the river. She goes and hides in the forest. On Earth it seems that the Investigation has tuned up something. The Tok'ra had a spy in the inner circle of a Goa'uld called Olokon who was under attack from Anubis and the Jaffa sent six Jaffa to assassinate him so that the Jaffa under his command would have the chance to join the rebellion. One of the six Jaffa has returned and has said that the armies were slaughtered and that many of the Olokon's commanders were taken prisoner, possibly including the Tok'ra spy. Hammond talks to Jacob to ask him if it is true that they had an operative and is told no. He then asks another Tok'ra who pretty much says that they did, but he will not say it openly. When this Tok'ra is confronted by Jacob he says that Jacob/Selmac is losing favour among the Tok'ra and that this is the reason he did not know of any operative: a meeting of the High Council was held without him because it was thought that he would inform the SGC of covert operations.

Back at the Alpha site Sam sees the UAV which was sent and tries to attract it by using her watch to reflect the sunlight. The UAV is then shot down by the drone which has now crossed the river and is only metres from Sam's covered position. Back at the SGC Jacob is explaining to Hammond why he did not know about the operative. He also asks to go to the Alpha site to look for Sam. Hammond refuses and says that he must stay here and try to fix the relations of the Jaffa and Tok'ra. Back at the Alpha Site Sam has found her way to the downed UAV and is trying to configure the missile to allow her to fire it manually when the drone walks right into the line of fire. The weapon is fired and hits the drone. Sam walks up to the place where the drone had been and sits down thinking it to be dead. Unsurprisingly the drone is not dead and gets up from under the ground and shakes itself down. It about to fire on Sam just as Teal'c fires s grenade launcher at it. It is attracted to him and does not see Colonel O'Neill sneak up next to Major Carter and get the power module from her. He puts it into the weapon and fires a shot at the drone but it does not die, another shot fixes that.

With everyone no back on Earth there is a meeting between Hammond, Daniel, the Tok'ra and the Jaffa in which all go their separate ways. The Tok'ra leave the alliance because they cannot accept the casualties that come with the open combat with the Goa'uld that results from alliance with Earth, and the Jaffa leave because they wish to build their own bases as they see themselves as slaves to Earth. Daniel objects but nothing can be done, the alliance is, for the moment anyway, dead.

My Comments

This was another good episode which gave good information about the Tok'ra, the Jaffa and the new weapon as well as about Anubis' drones. Although I have liked recent episodes the lack of action has annoyed me a little with the past episodes concentrating on tying up loose ends so this episode and the action in it come as a welcome change.

+ The action was good to see. I have been waiting for an episode to follow up on the drones since 712 and now I am happy
+ The character development was better than I would have expected in such an episode, particularly with Jacob.
+ We now know that there is a weapon capable of defeating the drones. We also know that the prototype was built in 1 month so hopefully more can be built and more quickly also.
+ We also see that Anubis is not scared to attempt an attack on a planet which he sees as a threat. This could be important for the Lost City perhaps.
+ Teal'c still standing over the drone even though he knows it is dead while Sam rests on Jack's shoulder. Very funny.
These are again more nitpicks than real problems with the episode.

- Why is it only SG-1 that have P-90's?
- Why when the casualties were coming back through were they able to move so carefully? With the gate being on its side they would have had to jump into the gate which would have resulted in them coming out feet first at the other end.
- It seems unusual and irregular to me that after missing an unaware and stationary target in Sam at the river, the drone is able to take out the UAV in mid-flight at what when it must have been flying at 200 high and also at a relatively high speed.

This was a good episode which was interesting, informative and much more exciting that previous episodes but it just lacked that special something to make it a great episode and that is why it gets 7/10 from me.

Posted by: ALF Jan 27th 2004, 8:23 PM

OK first i have to say i loved this episode it was a bit different to what we have seen in the last couple of eps which is always good secondly loved the acting this week it was very good ( well done) I think it was great that they showed that carter is tough like the guys and servive something as awful as that (that was just nasty poor thing) and i loved that they showed that jack and her still have that bond and he still cares for her by cuddling her in her time of need (that was so cute was'nt it) and i was sort of wondering if jack still felt something for her cause they havint shown it in a while so all together top marks for this one

Posted by: SlavsyaRossiya Jan 28th 2004, 1:30 AM

The episode is fine. A bit shaky at the start, but it gets better....

Let's talk about the stupidity of the Tok'ra and the Jaffa right now.

The Tok'ra are IDIOTS! Sure, more Tokra agents have died since they met the Tauri in the past 7 years than in the past 700, but let's think for a second: In the past 700 years, they have made virtually NO progress in overthrowing the Goa'uld, and as such the Goa'uld had made virtually no progress in overthrowing them. Status quo.
But now things are speeding up. They are making progress on defeating the Goa'uld but at the same time the Goa'uld are making progress against them. But the Goa'uld aren't "winning". Osiris herself said it in Last Stand....

SPOILER ALERT



"Dissent and disbelief ***PREVIOUSLY UNSEEN IN THE RANKS OF THE JAFFA***, infiltration and subversion by the Tok'ra, and we cannot continue to ignore the threat of the Humans on Earth. How many must die? How many dominions must fall? And how can we continue to claim to be gods when we cannot act like them? ***THE TAURI CANNOT CONTINUE TO TRIUMPH AGAIN AND AGAIN***."


SPOILER ALERT


Had the Tok'ra not met the Tauri and had the Tauri not discovered thier gate, nothing would change at all. In fact...Perhaps the Tok'ra might be eliminated. Sokar would have gained control and then Anubis would have come back and ruled the Goa'uld. (Summary: The best baseball players can also be called the worst in terms of their records. Major losses like never before are being felt, yes, but major victories like never before are also being felt)
The second reason they mention is that they cannot tell the locations of their agents....The example they used is fish poor. The Tok'ra, while not being able to influence the retrofitting of Goauld ships, at least KNOW of the program. The Tauri do not, however, know of all their agents. The Tauri have saved the Tokra time and time again.
Without each other they are so much stronger, however they are not otherwise.
The reasons for the Tok'ra to cancel the alliance are stupid. They should give up their pride in order to destroy the system lords.

And the Jaffa! They need to give up their damn pride too.
"We want to rule our own bases." is such a bad reason. The Jaffa are more open to infiltration than either the Tokra or the Tauri because they are JAFFA. For them to command bases without any other assistence is foolhardy.

Bah! This episode was great in its content, but its so annoying!!!! It's like politics and any other episode where Kinsey shows his face.
Also...the use of Daniel kinda sucked. His frustration in the end, while natural, just didn't go far enough. He kind of said "No!", they replied "Shut up!" and he did.

Posted by: gatefreak Jan 28th 2004, 1:34 AM

I liked this episode because it seemed to answer a question that I have pondered many times. Did the Tok'ra only have the one queen? http://www.sg1archive.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=4486&st;=0

Jacob: When a human or jaffa die in battle more are born to take there place the same can't be said for the tok'ra

Tok'ra dude: Our queen Egeria from whom all tok'ra have spawned is dead, our numbers are dwindling.

So it seems as if there has in fact been only one tok'ra queen. Which means I was right and Seastallion was wrong! HA!

Posted by: kitsune Jan 28th 2004, 2:26 AM

I like the continuation of the kull warrior (why are they 'drones' now?) storyline, although I am disappointed in the amount of resources devoted by Anubis. He finds out that there is a weapon that can defeat his soldiers and he sends an Alkesh and a couple of drones. Come on! He can't have so much faith in them! He knows we have a weapon to kill them! It would not have been hard to send an additional 20 warriors. Oh, I noticed that I was right about the Warrior having 2 of the awesome weapons, one over each arm. This seems like overkill. He never needs more than one at a time...unless using the rapid fire requires a "charge time" and having 2 means he can always be firing. Did anyone notice that the drone was stopped by the river? if he could go through it, he would have been able to kill Sam. is there something about water that would hurt his equipment? It was also nice that he has good enough aim to take out the UAV in the first volley.

Posted by: Vesian Jan 28th 2004, 2:28 AM

Okay storyline, but I was kinda dissapointed that all of the hard work that had gone into the alliance has been thrown out the window in one episode.

I was also REALLY dissapointed (and yet intrigued) when the Tok'ra began shunning Jacob. I love this character and I thought he took it rather well. Really sucks that we won't be seeing him for a while, possibly until late next season after this chat with Sam :-(

This episode is probably the start of the "breaking apart" storylines. Up until now, we've seen all of the good guys (well, almost) unify and it actually looked like they could take on Anubis. After this episode (along with the events in Hero's), it seems despiration will play a major part in the events to unfold...

-Ves

Posted by: Mike Jan 28th 2004, 2:55 AM

It's been awhile since we have had a good fox and hound type episode. Carter being the fox and the drone solider being the hound. I like the dark turn that plot has taken with the shaky alliance between the Taur'i, Tok'ra and Jaffa. You need something like that to keep things interesting and open up the possibility for twists that may occur in the future.

Overall the episode was good. Didn't have that SG-1 humor that we all know and love but given the tone of the plot, it really would not be fitting.

Posted by: Jon The UK SG-1 Fan Jan 28th 2004, 3:00 AM

Best episode of the season for me i just liked everything about it.
+More Jack
+Super Soliders
+UCAV
+New Weapon to take down SS
+Alliance breaks up
+How the SS sound like the T-Rex on Jurassic Park when they walk
+New location of the Alpha/Beta site
+Teal'c's weapon
+Jacob telling Sam hes not gonna be around for a while
+Jack and Sam at the end

I liked the action and the suspense in this ep and what else can i say i'm giving this ep a 9/10.

Edit: By the way who made that weaner Jaffa head of the rebel Jaffa at the Alpha site, i thought it was Bra'tac???

Posted by: Raz Jan 28th 2004, 3:36 AM

I thoght it was definitely better than the previous weeks. Some good action that I believe we finally deserved and also I believe the storyline was good although it wasn't majorly about Carter or the Beta Site, it was about the Tok'ra, Jaffa, Taur'i alliance breaking down. Good weapon that we finally have over the SS and definitely are effective. Good Episode I give it 8/10!

Posted by: GuNdj Jan 28th 2004, 4:36 AM

Posted by: SG1nut Jan 28th 2004, 6:11 AM

I thought when Sam was explaining to Jacob about the reason why they had to leave the first site at the beginning was a bit "story telling for the viewers"- but then again we needed to know and they probably didn't have enough film time to bring it in "subtley"

I think the Tok'ra and Jaffa are making a big mistake goin their separate ways- I very much doubt they'll achieve much amongst themselves if they don't maintain the closer triple alliance they have with Earth- oh well- I hope we see Selmak/Jacob sooner rather than later in the future coz he's such a great character- stupid Tok'ra- how dare they go against Selmak?

Had I seen my 2IC in as bad a shape as Carter was yesterday- I probably would have 1. Treated that awful leg wound. 2. Then sat down and tried to comfort them as much as possible- in other words I didn't read much into the Sam/Jack hug. (But I'm sure the rest of the shippers will! )

Oooh! Before I go- I think the way the guys came through the stargate was very cleverly done. I love it when the Stargate is in a different position from its normal standing one.

Posted by: Albion Jan 28th 2004, 6:47 AM

Well, the jury's out on this one for me. I don't know why really. It should have been a good episode - even a classic, great episode. But something about it just didn't click. First showing I thought the direction and story combined to fail to deliver much in the way of tension at all. There were few moments I felt caught up
in the episode or had my emotions engaged to the extent that I was on the edge of my seat worrying about Sam. In fact, all the way through I was thinking writer and director needed to go watch Westworld first - now there's an example of how to do the 'fighting hopelessly against an unstoppable android' story and do it right.

However, I do have to qualify that by saying that I enjoyed it much more second time around, when I watched it again this morning, and so I suspect that this is one that will slowly grow on me to become a favourite, rather than be an instant hit. With me, this is not unusual, so any comments I have now are on the understanding I might take them all back later. <g>

I agree that the exposition scene at the start was very clumsily done and that disappointed me. Which wasn't a good starting point really. And this is also where the lack of tension began for me. The scene just seemed flat, very static, at the point where the soldier came in to tell them they were under attack and I didn't get the impression they were in much danger from their reactions, which seemed a little lacklustre under the circumstances.

I did enjoy a lot of things about this one though. Lots more Jack, as someone said already, was more than welcome. And his scenes felt more integrated into the story than in previous episodes - rather than making me feel he popped in for a few minutes, said some lines, then left and they dropped a complete scene into the episode. So that was even nicer.

There was some very nicely understated concern shown for Sam from the rest of the team - very subtle, which I liked. Especially Jack's reaction to the soldier asking who could have survived in that mess and Daniel going still and listening up intently when the news came over the radio of the survivors.

I thought the Drone following the trail of blood to soldier who wasn't Sam was very well done and that sequence provided the only real moment of tension in the episode for me.

Really enjoyed Jack searching helplessly for some words of comfort for Sam at the end, of course, and then just giving up and offering a hug instead. It was a sweet moment and, yes, this shipper will definitely agree - very comradely. I like the friendship stuff too, just as much as anything more shippy. So that was a really nice little moment there.

What else? Oh, liked Daniel's outburst in the briefing room at the end when the Jaffa and Tok'ra said they were leaving. You go, Daniel. And I liked the 'Carter I need the...thanks!'

But...but....no more Jacob? They can't do this to me! For how long?!? I'm missing him already!

And I see the Drone has been learning at the Jaffa school of firearms training. He couldn't shoot for toffee either!

All in all - one I'll warm to over time, I think. I do think that it was more like the Stargate episodes of old than recent episodes though - which was nice to see. Much as I've enjoyed the recent batch, they haven't been for me.

Albion

Posted by: Cirus Jan 28th 2004, 7:03 AM

I don't really have much to say on this ep except that I did enjoy it very much and a whole lot more than the last 3. I did like the alliance breaking apart thought that there could be some great storylines for the future with that. Didn't like that the new weapon was nearly same as TER but never mind. Looking forward to Heroes.

Posted by: Nessy_Monster Jan 28th 2004, 7:42 AM

I don't think that it was a good thing that the Alliance fell apart and i do think that the tok'ra are stupid for allowing their traditional way of doing things to get in the way, BUT i do understand tha jaffa reason for wanting to set up and run their own bases and operations . they need to establish themselves as an indevidual race and find out the right and wrong way to do things for themselves.

Posted by: ramuund Jan 28th 2004, 7:54 AM

This is my Favourite episode out of the season.

I think you have to forgive the beginning as i don't think, with the time alloted, that they could of done anything much better...and i thought it was good anyhoo's.

There was two storylines in this one...Carter's chase and The Alliance.

Carter- I really liked that they didn't overload us with two much of it at first. And they were clever to leave actual footage of them until half way through- this added to the drama and tension as you really didn't know what was happening. As it has already been pointed out the emotions that were shown, by the rest of the team, were right bang on- not over the top and making it mushy but enough to give the feeling of thier 'loss' of a valued member of the team. As for the Jack/Sam hug- I am not going to say anything about that (other than what i'm writing now ) as i think it can be seen as what ever you want it to be- shippy or not- you decide.


Alliance- I think this made the episode. For thr first time, being truthful, i have been really caught up in the storyline and not wanting to miss a thing. The Tok'ra's change of attitude towards Jacob was really interesting to me but i thought he should of stayed with us and that would of allowed some interesting storylines where we could find out more about 'Selmak'- but it was not to be.......By the way- did anyone else notice that in the final scene between Jacob and Sam, in the infirmiry, that sam's facial injuries seemed to look a lot worse and bigger than when she was on the planet....?

I loved this episode and i will give it a 10/10...way to go guys- we are finally getting to the good old Stargate we know and love!

Posted by: Albion Jan 28th 2004, 7:59 AM

Posted by: Dafmeister Jan 28th 2004, 8:06 AM

Ok, now we are getting to the good eps. There seemed to be a hell of a lot more Jack in it last night too.

The only thing i didnt like was the new weapon - it looked like a TER. Thats the third weapon that looked like a TER now. 1st there was the original TER, then there was Aris Boch's weapon and now the new 'Drone Killer'. Is monmey actually getting that tight for the crew?

Anyway, definitely a shipper moment at the end, if you ask me.

Exactly how many off world bases does the SGC have now? In that ep they talked about the Alpha and Beta site. To the best of my knowledge we have never heard of a second off world base, or have we?

Posted by: ramuund Jan 28th 2004, 8:09 AM

I have stopped reading spoilers a while back and take each episode as they come. I knew, a little vague though, that Carter was missing and they had some sought of weapon or sheild- but that was it. And i think this episode was a good enough reason to carry on avoiding the spoilers....keep the surprise!

Posted by: Jon The UK SG-1 Fan Jan 28th 2004, 8:34 AM

Posted by: kitsune Jan 28th 2004, 8:41 AM

Posted by: ted_simple Jan 28th 2004, 8:44 AM

I think you understood something wrong! The Alliance hasn?t ended.

It would really be STUPID to quit formal relations with the Tokra and the Jaffa. By sharing intelligence about the Gould they can still all help each other a lot.

It?s only about the joint operation on the Beta Site. The Tokra don?t like to give away all their operatives because someone could *possibly* compromise the Beta Site. But if they?re not part of this operation, they don?t have to reveal this kind of information because it?s not "relevant to any joint operations" since there are no joint operations. When the tokra says "when this alliance is going to continue, you would insist that we reveal all our operatives", I believe he refers to the Beta Site operation, and not the whole Alliance... I think the writers chose to be pretty vague, because that?s the spirit of this episode: The Alliance is trembling, but hasn?t ended, but the joint Beta Site operation has ended.

The Jaffa want their own camp, which is understandable. They have to "ask" when they want to attack someone. It would be much more convincing to join for any new Jaffas, when they know they will be independent (from their view).

I would be very disappointed if the writers decided that all contact will be seized. Information of common interested, and coordination of some operations should still be communicated.

Imagine the situation from 6x09 Allegiance: Tokra and Jaffa had to flee and re-coordinate themselves in a short time, and they needed our help. After more than a year together, they are strong enough to be independent again. I think the storyline is convincing (perhaps a little annoying, yes, the Joint operation was so cool...).

Posted by: Jon The UK SG-1 Fan Jan 28th 2004, 8:47 AM

Posted by: Varun Jan 28th 2004, 9:08 AM

WOW

Damn good episode!

Like most people here, I think the reason for the Tokra leaving the alliance is quite dumb and an improper reason to leave. The Jaffa's reason was damn good and it was well thought over and I had to agree with them. But the Tokra arrogance really got to me in this episode and their act of "kicking" Selmak of the council finally made me agree with Jack's view of the Tokra.

On a lighter note, I was expecting Jack to say something like "Get up Carter, Pete's waiting back home" or something close to that. But the taking her close thing made me cringe again

Plot and story were brilliant. I was not a big fan of Grace or Fallout and I think this episode finally got things on track again after Chimera.

On a super soldier note, I cant believe not even one member of SG1 can get hit by the weapon. I felt that the writers were making SG1 members a bunch of super soldiers in their own right.

Saying that, I sure hope the alliance does not end here. Bratac's speech in Allegiance moved me and I thought that everything was going well between the alliance. Just goes to show u that SG1 is unlike other shows where u can guess everything

Posted by: Raxor Jan 28th 2004, 9:30 AM

Not Big one from me today, and the fact that most of what im gonna say has already been said

this it what it should be, old skool stargate.
love the ending now that our allies are leaving for now. that leaves thor (and he could kick all their asses)

but anyways my rating for this episode was an excellent
***1/2

and i cant stand this bloody jack sam stuff people go on about. its a scifi show if you want crap like that watch a soap.

EDIT: love the super-Zat

Posted by: OdinisThor'sDad Jan 28th 2004, 11:40 AM

I also have to say this is a good ep.

Why....

No freaking Starwars sh_t
No Freaking spaceships
No shippy sh_t.

Just good old-school stargate.

Posted by: jaffagod Jan 28th 2004, 2:53 PM

I thought I would just add give my opinion on a few things. Firstly, about the Alpha, Beta, Gamma....... sites. It seems to me that we must have 3 off-world bases:
1. The original Alpha Site (compromised after Anubis captured Jonas)
2. The Alpha Site shown in this episode
3. The Beta Site mentioned in this episode.

It is also probable that two more bases will be needed. They cannot use the Beta Site mentioned in this episode because the Tok'ra and the Jaffa know about it and if any of their operatives were captured they could reveal the location of the base. Another site will be needed in case of an attack on the new Beta site (which will become the Alpha Site now). Am I making any sense? I think I am.

On another note, we have to decide what to call the weapon. TER, super-zat, or anything else? Suggestions?

Posted by: Jon The UK SG-1 Fan Jan 28th 2004, 4:09 PM

Posted by: blue jello Jan 28th 2004, 5:19 PM

Posted by: Majikthize Jan 28th 2004, 5:20 PM

Death Knell

The death of the Tok'ra, Jaffa Tauri alliance? It seems so.
It was quite a nice little surprise that the alliance actually appeared to come to an end by the time the episode was over. Normally you watch these types of episodes, wait for Daniel's impassioned speech and expect everything to work out ok in the end. This bucked the clich? (to mix my metaphors) by splitting the alliance up for, what appears to be, some pretty legitimate reasons. After all the only ones with everything to gain and not much to lose by it were the Tauri.
I don't think we've heard the last of this plot thread though. My money is on this very schism being the reason why Anubis decides on an all out attack on Earth and the end result being that all parties realise they have a lot more to gain than to lose by reforming the alliance. Heh, I'm in denial.

Overall I thought this was a really good solid episode. We had all the nice big guns and explosions so plenty to keep those who love action occupied, plus we had the whole Carter and the supersoilder doing the whole Linda Hamilton/Terminator thing out there. The seemingly indestructable SS had Sam, the only one with the knowledge to build the weapon to stop them, in it's sights and it absolutely was not going to stop until she was dead.
My only complaint about this was that I felt that Carter's flight didn't come across quite as desperate as it should have. I got no sense of frustration from her that she was stuck, hurt and fighting for her life. One minute she was barely able to walk on that gammy looking leg and the next she's running along...amazing what a bit of adrenalin can do! I can't quite put my finger on why it felt off because AT's acting was superb (yet again), I think it was just the lack of vocalisation from her. She hardly uttered a whole sentence the entire episode.
Also, while everyone was clearly concerned about her I don't think this itself was quite enough to work up enough of the necessary tension. The only real "OMG! Carter's gonna die!" moment was when the SS was approaching the tree and we are supposed to think it's Carter but it's just another dead SG member.

Jacob/Selmak's conflicts played a central theme here. His realisation that he doesn't fit quite right with the Tok'ra, his concern for the alliance and his fears for Sam and the final emotional conflict he faces and the ramifications of his decision to stick with the Tok'ra despite their dwindling faith in him. Simply great stuff.

A couple of random thoughts:

Daniel seemed to fade into the woodwork for a while there. Apart from the one scene with Jacob (which seemed more to provide the dramatic flashback and to gear up the whole concern for Carter thing that's going on) he seemed mostly superflous in all his other scenes. Actually none of the regular SG1 actually had massive parts here. Sam probably had the biggest but actually said the least. It was more of a Jacob episode really, which is fine by me. Looks like there isn't going to be too many of them left this year.

Great to see Siler again and that missile equipped UAV. I wish they'd do a Siler centric episode. He deserves it.

How many super soldiers were sent to the site? I'm guessing it was more than one. The implication is that most of them were destroyed in the self destruct of the base but that one lone one that could not be stopped (and couldn't aim for toffee) chased our poor Sam through the wild silver birch trees of somewhere that looked a lot like Canada.

Almost no humour in this one at all. One tiny moment near the end when Jack asks Teal'c to check the soldier is really dead and that's it. Interesting the see that Jack (who drives a lot of the humourous scenes) didn't lighten up at all until Carter was safe and sound. Something for the more rabid shippers to project over no doubt!

Ok so how many times in one year can Carter get whumped? Who is writing these things this year? Do they have issues with women? Did Aesir write this episode?

Related to the previous comment, one thing I have noticed this season is that there is a distinct lack of Dr Fraiser where there normally should be. How many times has one of them ended up in the infirmary this year? It's been just about every episode. I realise that these eps are probably being shown in a different order to which they were initially filmed, but I get the feeling that they are being shown in a different order to which they were first intended to be shown too. Can't say why but the seasonal continuity seems a little off to me. For instance you'd think Sam might have mentioned to her dad that she's got a bloke in her life? Or is that it for Pete? One episode and she's back to knowing glances and furtive touches with Jack (hey, I'm not complaining!) Plus they seem to have lumped a lot of individual character centric episodes together which feels a little off.

Loved the gate being on it's side. It looked pretty damn cool like that and who cares what shape in the ground the kawoosh created. But where did that ladder come from? Hey at least this one featured an actual gate. All those who moaned about it being missing last week, please take note.

I thought the last scene on the planet with Jack giving a weary, hurt and shell shocked Carter a little hug was nicely done. I liked the pan out at the end of this scene where we see that Teal'c is turned away (deliberately maybe or just to guard the SS?) allowing Jack and Sam a little private hurt/comfort moment. I liked the fact that Jack is so clued in to Sam that he knew she needed a little bit of a hug too, even though Sam seems to be the sort of girl that doesn't really like to let her weaknessess show. Even if you're not a 'shipper it's a nice friendship moment and perfectly fitting. Of course if you're a shipper it's probably tantamount to a bloody proposal. Personally I'll take a happy medium. I couldn't see him giving Teal'c a hug like that but nothing much would surprise me these days.

Favourite quote: We'll jump off that bridge when we come to it.

Posted by: Lornyloo Jan 28th 2004, 5:58 PM

I liked this ep. tho do think episodes have been a bit Carter focused lately, i understand RDA is busy but what bout Teal'c n Daniel?? Got a txt from my friend after the bit when Jack asks the guy is Carters there saying 'how many more time can they do the whole 'oh no one of them's lost now the other one will get upset' thing' but i thought it went quite well and those supser soldiers really scare me so was on the edge of my seat for half this one. I'm mad at the Tokra for pushing Jacob out, i think they should have an ep. more dedicated to Selmak n developing that character more, but looks like not gona see them for a while. While i'm annoyed about the alliance splitting i can see the points of the others so in all a good ep.

Posted by: JohnY Jan 28th 2004, 8:52 PM

This was another great episode which furthers the story of Stargate. Instead of a non-sense episode that doesnt' do much in the storyline, this episode moves on.

The Alliance breaking up kinda sets us up for upcoming episodes I think. For a more dramatic ending IMO.

After watching this episode I can't wait to see the rest of season 7. I have a feeling that it's gonna be a cliff hanger at the end of season 7 tho =\

10/10

Posted by: Proton911 Jan 28th 2004, 9:42 PM

Interesting discussion
I think it was average episode (not bad , but not so good )
Really it's Sux now we have only Asgard?s as alliance and what about Anubis?
He got more power , more soldiers and prepare to attack the Earth :-(
I don?t think that Tokra and Jafa in position to declare independence in this difficult time.
The Tokra had not enough peoples to defend yourself , so they just want to be hidden!
And what?s about the Jafa, do they have a main leader or space ships or planetary defense?
Hm, just think about it. Only in alliance Earth was able to defeat the Anubis , now what they do?
But the most confusing thing was the Tokra opinion about humans technological knowledge. They don't trust us the using of more advanced technology.:-(
Isn?t it a bit too late, for such of thoughts, coz we have "some" experience?
Well, I have more questions, than answers, &=)
Hope in the next episodes , we get more interesting story line's as before.
------------------------------------------------
Hey can we get some Aschen?s ?
----------------------------------------------

Posted by: prometheus Jan 28th 2004, 9:54 PM

Love this episode
the action and adventure was a good return to the old stargate and the relief of those rather....uninteresting (not saying there bad, just a little bland) last couple of episodes
By the way

Posted by: Apis Jan 28th 2004, 10:21 PM

Overall, this episode is pretty good (excellent when compared to the rest of the seventh season so far).

I really, really liked the fact that the alliance has broken up. I mean, everything always seem to go just too well for the SGC; and they have been picking up so many wonderful alliances along the way. All along I really felt that a good storyline would be to have the Tok'ra break apart from their alliance with earth; and the fact that it has finally happened makes me feel really good about this episode. I, however, do not feel that the producers should have had the Jaffa break away in the same episode; rather, they should have made the storyline a little more "spontaneous" by having the Jaffa break away a few episodes later (this would allow the Tok'ra's loss to sink in first; and just when we feel that it can't get any worse: the Jaffa leave).

The only thing that I am concerned about with this episode is whether or not the Tok'ra will "stay gone". I mean, I was really moved when Daniel left the show; and I felt that it was a great story arc, but they went and brought him back. If, however, the producers actually had the Tok'ra disappear and not make a comeback until next season (or perhaps never) I would consider this episode that much more effective.

Also, I liked how we finally got to see some blood on Stargate. I remember back in the first season the producers weren't afraid to show a little blood here and there on the series. After about season three, however, almost all of the blood disappeared from the series (now the staff blasts were limited to little black marks); I felt that this was really dissapointing as I enjoy a little bit of realism in the series. Even in "Chimera"; when Pete got hurt by the exploding truck; there was hardly any blood at all. So it's really nice to finally see some in this episode.

So, with all of this said, I was quite impressed with how it turned out; I just hope that this new weapon against the SS doesn't make Anubis' unbeatable drones as easily killed as the Jaffa could be.

Posted by: PAL Jan 28th 2004, 10:56 PM

I like!

I don't think the hug was shippy, just something a good friend would do. I like how Teal'c stood guard over the corpse of the SS. I liked the scene where the SS was approaching the dead guy who looked like Sam from behind.

Did anyone almost think that the Tok'ra were evil? I almost thought they were gonna make the Tok'ra evil! With that scene between Delek and Selmak. The way they were talking, I almost thought they were gonna reveal that they are just a very insidious branch of Goa'uld. I dunno, maybe its just me, but I got that feeling, the "OMG they are gonna do an amazing twist that I didn't see coming!" but then it turned out that I was just wrong

Still, the breakup of the alliance and the fact that the source of the leak is still unknown will make for some interesting follow-ups.

Posted by: SlavsyaRossiya Jan 29th 2004, 12:04 AM

Posted by: Apis Jan 29th 2004, 12:13 AM

Posted by: louspiel Jan 29th 2004, 12:20 AM

Posted by: mithwriter Jan 29th 2004, 12:24 AM

Definitely the best ep I've seen since Grace...and now some...things.

The Jaffa had a legitimate concern about the status of their own people. They are just now beginning to understand the possibility of being a freed...and someday unified...race. When something like that happens, 'outsider' issues..ie the Tok'ra and the Tau'ri...are going to take a backseat. What the Jaffa do not understand, or maybe not appreciate, is that they would never have had the chance to be free before SG1 come through the gate on Chulak and got Teal'c to defect. The best they've been able to do up 'till then was have First Primes like Bra'tac try to prevent massacres in battle.

The Tok'ra have been fighting for so long that they've gotten conservative in their methods. I'm sure when they first started out they were probably like the Tau'ri, all gung-ho...but time has a way of dulling that edge, and now that there seems to be an end to more Tok'ra and Anubis going after them, you can bet their first instinct is going to be to take a defensive position and lie low. Again, they do not seem to care that the Tau'ri are the ones who have helped weaken the System Lords by being agressive in their tactics.

The "B" storyline was Carter's run from the drone while in posession of the new weapon. Being a "B" story, it was a combination of both the drone chase and O'Neill & Teal'c looking for her, so she wasn't going to be on screen as much.

BTW, that blood trail thing is a *cough* homage to the movie The Silence of the Lambs when Clarice and Buffalo Bill were at one house and the Feds were at another, but the editing made it seem like the Feds were about to break into Buffalo Bill's house.

About the Drones...I think they've gotten more menacing. Their appearance, capabilities, movement and just overall composition is getting much better. I could see why Anubis would only send a couple of these guys to do the job.

And now something for our members with good ears for music. Next time you watch the last Jack/Sam scene, listen carefully for a certain piece of music that's just horns and violins. Its the exact same cue that was used during the Jack/Sam talk in Grace when Jack said "I will always be there for you." Not a coincidence, folks.

Posted by: Sam's Sister Jan 29th 2004, 12:59 AM

Posted by: kitsune Jan 29th 2004, 1:03 AM

Posted by: eliminator Jan 29th 2004, 3:15 AM

Hmm a name of the weapon aye? Well remember the weapons they used to reveal and shoot the Re'tu (sp?) well the new super weapon look almost like those, so what is the name of those weapons?

Posted by: OdinisThor'sDad Jan 29th 2004, 3:30 AM

Well they are called TER...so the easiest thing to call them would be SSER or SER.

Super soldier eradication rods.

SSERs.....what do ya think people?

Posted by: Darkyoda Jan 29th 2004, 3:45 AM

I do like the name. It kind of has a good ring to it.

Favorite part of the episode had to be the loving hug at the end between Jack and Sam. For all of the leghumping fans out there this is not one of your moments. That hug showed the great amount of love that Jack has for Sam. I saw the hug as more of a big brother little sister thing. Jack noticed that Sam was just plain worn out and needed rest, she was also mentally drained from the chase that she gave the SS. She basically needed a shoulder and he was there for her. That is a good friend.

I also enjoyed Teal'c over the SS in the same scene, eventhough I wanted him to take a few pot-shots at the damn thing. That would have been funny as hell.

We may be better off without the Tok'ra and the Jaffa. I say this because it seems that we spend almost as much time putting fires out between the two races as we spend vanquishing the enemy from the galaxy beside the two races. Besides about the only Jaffa that does anything worth a damn is Bratak (where was he this Ep.? filming Dragon Storm for SciFi?), and the only Tok'ra that seems to help us kill the bad guys is Selmak. True we could use the Tok'ra tech., but they don't want to give it to us. So I say let them go, they will both come back to us with their tails between their legs begging for us to take them back.

Posted by: Majikthize Jan 29th 2004, 4:55 PM

Posted by: Albion Jan 29th 2004, 5:23 PM

Posted by: kitsune Jan 29th 2004, 6:04 PM

Posted by: Kromando33 Jan 29th 2004, 8:52 PM

yer i really liked this one shame about the tok'ra & jaffa leaving i hope we get to see jacob again, but i surpose it could have been worst teal,c could have left with the jaffa, i expected bra'tac to be in this one. carter was quite resourceful with the U.A.V missile, i really wanted to see who the spy was that imformed anubis of the site, hey BTW how powerful would the drones be if tey ha a personal shield.

Posted by: kitsune Jan 29th 2004, 10:41 PM

Posted by: mithwriter Jan 30th 2004, 12:43 AM

Posted by: Kromando33 Jan 30th 2004, 4:34 AM

Posted by: Darkyoda Jan 30th 2004, 4:45 AM

Posted by: Bonzai Jan 30th 2004, 6:44 AM

My overall for this episode is 3/10
... ok the action was bad . how can she jumb all the shots . he should work on his aiming

Posted by: Aesir Jan 30th 2004, 8:21 AM

Posted by: mithwriter Jan 30th 2004, 5:52 PM

Just thought of something else I'd like to bring up.

I really, really,really enjoyed not only how much Jacob was in this episode, but also seeing his predicament at being caught in the middle of two loyalties. Its curious that even though Selmac obviously has seniority over his host age-wise, he is happy to just hang around and let Jacob do the talking when they're at the SGC, and only surfaces when he is needed specifically for his knowledge or to make a point.

I can't help but wonder if he does the same thing when he's around the other Tok'ra, which might be one of the reasons the rest of the Ruling Council has been on the border of ostracizing him from knowing everything when they deal with the Tau'ri. The other Tok'ra that was with Jacob at the SGC had a great line when Jacob asked him "Who do you think you're talking to?"

Other Tok'ra: "That's a good question."

The other thing that struck me was when Jacob mentioned to Sam that he was 'not ready to give up yet' , which made me wonder if Jacob could actually walk into a council meeting and say "Hey, I'm going back to Earth. Find Selmac a host and he's all yours. I'm outta here." The Tok'ra have always said one of the distinctions between them and the Goa'uld was they don't take hosts against their will, so does that mean they would get Selmac out and let Jacob walk away if so desired?

Posted by: Aesir Jan 30th 2004, 5:58 PM

Posted by: Eskimoe Joe Feb 1st 2004, 7:31 AM

Was it just me, or did the music and sound effects when the SS was firing on Carter at the river, seem the same as from the start of 711 when the SS is firing on Teal'c and Bra'tac at the start of the episode?

Posted by: Aesir Feb 1st 2004, 12:13 PM

Posted by: ted_simple Feb 1st 2004, 5:17 PM

Posted by: Kromando33 Feb 2nd 2004, 5:01 AM

is it me or was that tok'ra in allegiance called malek & the tok'ra in death knell called delek are they related or are they running out of names 4 tok'ra.

Posted by: gate_lemming Feb 3rd 2004, 3:42 PM

DO THE DRONES REMIND ANYONE ELSE OF DARTH VADER ? i would have thought they could have come up with a more original costume for them

Posted by: mithwriter Feb 3rd 2004, 3:51 PM

Posted by: Heru'ur Feb 6th 2004, 10:29 PM

Another excellent episode for Stargate's greatest hits collection. At last, a weapon that we can use to kill supersoldiers. Then it was too bad that the 3 race alliance has fell apart. At least we still have Selmak and Teal'c on our side.

The Tok'ra loss isn't that bad, since they were never really that good of allies and did numerous things that were kinda dumb and not the best option.

The jaffa's departure was kinda expected, since they don't really like being ordered around. The Tauri can still do join operations with both races, covertly of course. But when we get all the ancient goodies, it won't really matter, haha.

Posted by: stargatefreak Feb 6th 2004, 10:52 PM

Why are we arguing about if the alliance is over???? I think it was pretty obvious that the Tokr'a don't want to share information with us anymore and that the Jaffa feel the need to establish their own colonies. The only reason that Jacob said the aliiance is in trouble was to not complicate things for Sam who had just woken up.

Anyway, I really liked the episode. I definitly think the SS have improved. The Jack/Sam hug at the end was more than comforting a friend. What about Pete?? Not that I like him, but he wasn't even mentioned. I'm going to miss Jacob/Selmak.

Posted by: Space_Monkey Feb 7th 2004, 12:33 AM

I'll try to keep it short most of what I think has already been said.

The Good:

- Things blew up, we were off world, danger, excitement, ect.
- old school StarGate is good
- Lots of Jacob - I really like the actor and the character, also I totally agree with this:

Posted by: Souske Sagara Feb 7th 2004, 3:02 AM

No offense to any of you guys, but why is anyone mad about the alliance breaking up. The To'kra never saw us as equals, the amount of trouble one had to go through to get their mission reports were insane, and they would call on us when they are in trouble. Truthfully, the only true alliance we've seen so far is that of the Asgard; and even that is limited to some point.

Is the alliance going to get back, obviously; both the To'kra and the Jaffa are too narrowminded to see the bigger picture. It is quite simple from To'kra "We've lost more operatives in the past 7 years then the previos 100" and the Jaffa "We need to know what really is independence." That is blatant stupidity, however they argue it, whether it is losing soldiers or wanting freedom, neither is going to be relevant if EVERYONE is killed.

The point of the episode i guess is a setup for the rest of the season and that is humanity will be facing everything alone. Humanity has to defeat Anubis, not the To'kra and no the Jaffa. Can the values of humanity defeat evil alone or do we truly need outside intervention. I guess we will find out

My only question is this, would Bra'tac of been more understanding as the Jaffa leader then the tall, muscular, moronic one we saw in this episode. It seemed that both Bra'tac and Selmak share a common understanding that goes beyond "We have to save our own or we must have freedom". Just a thought.

Posted by: WMCoolmon Feb 7th 2004, 3:37 AM

My thoughts...one poster mentioned that the same music at the end was the same music used in Grace. I'm a bit disappointed I missed that, since as I saw it I was flashing back to 'Jack's' "I'm a safe bet" line in 'Grace'.

Another thing...I liked Daniel's outburst at the end, and that he was working on the negotiations with the Tok'Ra. It was some good character development there, I cannot see the old Daniel acting like he did. (If it isn't that obvious, it was at lest slightly geeky...there was a difference, but it's hard to explain.)

Also good was the SS's appearance. But what was very bad was its aim...it hit the UAV, but not a stationary Carter? Come on. That would have been a great moment to add in some suspense, with the SS creeping up on Carter. Would she hear it in time?

Another bad thing was the final battle with the SS in the end. If it *knew* that Carter possessed the design to the SSER, it should've continued attacking her. It had to know it was pretty much invulnerable except to that weapon. Again, you have a great moment that suspense could be added in; would Jack get there in time to save her? And where the hell was he? It makes no tactical sense for Teal'c to pop out, fire at the SS, then Jack pops out 15 seconds later and twice as far away.

One interesting thing was the conversation with Delek. The way he was talking, I half expected him to turn out to be a Goa'uld. ("You know what sucks? The Tau'ri aren't slaves and have stronger wills." -Paraphrasing the conversation)

More bad things, no Sarah or Pete. It would've been nice to at least have some passing reference or maybe an appearance by either. Sarah would've definitely been someone to ask about the security leak. What I would like to know is why in 'Chimera', Sam was working on a device to neutralize Goa'uld ring transporters and the like...but then in 'Death Knell' she had been working on the SSER for a month. Neutralizing typical Goa'uld tech is all fine and good, but I haven't heard of a ring transporter going rogue, slaughtering Jaffa and offing system lords.

Final opinion: The episode idea was pretty good, but it could've been tweaked to be much better;7/10.

Posted by: smrbball Feb 7th 2004, 11:29 AM

To'kra and the Jaffa should go their own ways. Except for Jacob in the To'kra who else is there to trust. The Jaffa are structurally unsound, and if anybody who might be in command would be thought to be as bad as a Goa'uld.

Posted by: mithwriter Feb 7th 2004, 12:39 PM

Posted by: Virus0486 Feb 7th 2004, 2:32 PM

I really liked the episode. Daniel is right, without the Jaffa and Tok'ra, the whole thing is gonna fail. They have a weapon to kill the drones, so get up, join together and do something about it! They should get their own bases. I was cool, when Carter set up that UCVA to stop that drone. "A lot of Kinetic energy can kill a drone." Physics!!! Kinetic Energy = (1/2) x mass x velocity ^2!!!!

Posted by: Hathor Feb 7th 2004, 5:17 PM

overall, i thoroughly enjoyed this episode

GOOD:
-sam on her own fending for herself
-the tension and breaking upage of the alliance
-more of jacob and all the where his loyalties lie and such
-and hell, why not mention the sweetly shippy moment of sam leaning on jack. it was shippy, (they can't let the shippers get too worried by sams boyfriend ) but not taking it overboard.

BAD:
-nothing mentioned about pete or sara. the absence of pete of course makes sense. i didn't think that was odd, but daniel finally gets sara back and then we see nothing of her? i know this ep didn't focus on daniel, but still, you'd think she'd be on base and attatched to him a lot.

NITPICKY:
-the hole under the gate. perhaps i am confusing myself and need to watch it again, or did they say that it was from the gate splash, taking that matter away? if that was from the splash, how come that didn't happen in 100 days, and how come stone blocks it? (all apologies if im just being a total idiot)

Posted by: Arcady Feb 7th 2004, 5:56 PM

The gate did hollow out the stone in 100 days, but it was facing upward, not downward. That's why Teal'c had to attach himself to the roof of the cavern.

In this episode, I assume they lost the MALP when they dialed in the second time. I doubt it could have driven itself out of that hole.

Posted by: Ares Feb 7th 2004, 9:50 PM

Good ep, nice to get some action back into the mix. I was glad to see the alliance break up; I never really cared too much for the Tok'ra and the jaffa were kinda along for the ride. Having just Selmac, Bra'tac and the occasional other guys will be alright from now on.

I liked the little chase between Carter and the SS, a nice game of cat and mouse. These scenes are a bit tense at times and are fun and enjoyable. Plus, no shippyness in the ep is always a huge thumbs up.

I give it ***

Posted by: Apis Feb 7th 2004, 11:38 PM

Posted by: NomadWFS Feb 8th 2004, 1:15 AM

About the Kull Warrior and Sam:

To me anyway, it was obviously toying with Sam. Maybe I'm the only one who got the feeling, but from the very beginning, the things seem to toy with their prey. I mean, in Evolution I the guy freakin waits in the bushes for Teal'c and Bra'tak to inspect the site, stand around and guess what happened, check for any survivors, interrogate survivors, and THEN attack. It could've just shot them as they came out of the Stargate if it really wanted to. PLUS, the thing makes its presence known by flashing his eyes, after he shoots the guy as if to say, "Check me out, losers!" and then lets Teal'c and Bra'tac fire shots at it. Very arrogant move. Only then it attacks. From there, he totally ignores Bra'tak, even when Bra'tak hits the freakin' thing with his staff, then tosses it down, instead of just shooting Bra'tak outright.

Then there's the capturing scene. Once it sees the shield, instead of continuing on as if nothing has happened like a good drone would do, it stops, looks around, then sticks a hand through the forcefield. It also just stands around and shoots only a few of the guys there, as if to say, "I can touch you, but you can't touch me" etc.

To me, it still has that goa'uld arrogance that it's superior to everything and its hunting Carter at its leisure.

Posted by: Lit Gal Feb 8th 2004, 11:14 AM

Wow--reading all those posts took longer than watching the ep

Most of my thoughts have been said, but I do have a few comments.

On the Tok'ra

I'm glad the alliance fell apart. The Tok'ra are aliens with alien motivations, and I'm glad to see their "alien-ness" assert itself. From the very first episode we've known that they are exceptionally arrogant, but in more recent episodes they act more like a branch of the SGC. The second council member's comment that the Tauri may be bad hosts because they haven't been worn down by centuries of slavery really sounded a little ominous--and I love it I also think it's interesting that Jacob does the talking even when talking to another Tok'ra alone in a room. And I only saw the episode once, but didn't Jacob/Selmac say that he had been on the ruling council since before the other guy had taken his first host, and didn't he say that in JACOB's voice? I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but why would the host talk about the symbiote in first person? Is it possible Selmac is having trouble taking over even when he wants? Could he be getting old (since he is the "oldest and wisest" of the Tok'ra) ?

On the Jaffa

They have legitimate reasons for wanting their own bases, and I don't blame them for breaking away. If they want to go after a system lord and free more Jaffa, then they should have a right to do so. But if they are sharing our bases, their decision endangers our men, so they should break away. I do hope that we still have a fairly close relationship with the Jaffa, though.

On Sam

You go girl!! After making her look like a bimbo in the last episode, I loved seeing the military in her come out. A couple of comments to previous posts. 1. Her wounds look worse in the hospital. Of course they do. Bruises and cuts often look worse on the second or third or fourth days. 2. I know the SS had a chance to kill her, but he may have been ordered to retrieve information. If this is the case, he wouldn't have directly hit Carter because he might have destroyed the crystal. He would have just run her into the ground and then captured her, taken the crystal and any other information, and then either killed her or dragged her back to Anubis. If Anubis knew they were developing a weapon, he wouldn't have *just* wanted to destroy the proto-type, he would have wanted the technical specs so he could make adjustments to the SS armour.

Posted by: mithwriter Feb 8th 2004, 12:54 PM

Posted by: Lit Gal Feb 8th 2004, 1:00 PM

Posted by: dorien Feb 8th 2004, 7:50 PM

A weapon has been created to kill the Bionicle Heads. Thank goodness! Perhaps now the show can wrap up this bit of nonsense. Anubis having ninja-like jaffa had interesting potential. But this "super soldier"...this has got to be the most unintimidating, unimpressive, uninspired enemy ever. Every time he wandered through a scene he seemed to project the thought "if I only had a brain." I just had to throw my hands in the air when he walked right into the crosshairs of Sam's missile launcher. I figured he would but had hoped he would negate my low opinion of him and all his kind by sneaking up behind Sam instead. But no...slow, stupid and a bad shot. Their end can't come soon enough.

Despite my rant against the enemy joke (and I'm sure to carry on again sometime ), I did like this episode. It hasn't been mentioned but the conversation between Sam and Jacob about coffee was nicely done. It highlighted a closeness and yet a distance in their relationship. And it showed Jacob's willingness to change for Selmac. Just as the blending has changed Selmac. They really are one. The foxhole gate arrival was cool too. As was Sam evading the "joke" and the concern of her teammates as they tried to find her. Lots to like here. And my question about basic navigation was partially addressed. I may have a nitpick on that topic but I need to watch the ep again to check it out.

But where, I ask you, is good ol' Doc Frasier in all this? Recent eps have ended in the infirmary but the Doc is not to be found. She is more than just the base doctor. Her concern over Sam being missing both here and in Grace would have been appropriate. As would her having a chat with Sam about Pete. Missed opportunities to bring her more into the fold.

Posted by: seymour Feb 8th 2004, 8:41 PM

Now, this is Stargate SG-1!

Posted by: mithwriter Feb 8th 2004, 9:22 PM

Posted by: Rab23us Feb 9th 2004, 11:12 AM

Hello all;

This being my first post and everything. One of the things that I picked and seems to be overlooked a little bit is what exactly are the Tok'ra looking for ? During the conversation with Jacob/Selmac. The other Tok'ra mentions something about the Tauri having to much spirit and not having gone through thousands of years of oppression ? He then follows that up with something about them not being good hosts.

Is there an ulterior motive to the alliance the Tok'ra were looking for and now feel that they can't control. I took the Jaffa leaving as one that made sense, needing to find ones identity. The Tok'ra on the other hand, need us just as much as we need them. Their numbers are dwindling and they seem to come to the Tauri when they need rescuing. Seems like there is a little bit of political strife occurring in their ranks right now while Anubis is beating the heck out of everyone.

It was a shame the alliance seemed to crumble but it was one of the better episodes of the season. 8/10

Posted by: dorien Feb 9th 2004, 12:09 PM

Thanks for posting the picture mith.

Definitely a case where a picture says it better than all my ranting. Bionicle Heads or BH for short is what they are. Lego should sue.

Wait a minute...BH could be taken another way. Ah heck, it'd still be an accurate description.

Posted by: J'Oneill2u Feb 9th 2004, 3:11 PM

Dorien, I agree with you when you said "A weapon has been created to kill the Bionicle Heads. Thank goodness! Perhaps now the show can wrap up this bit of nonsense." [I couldn't insert a quote the regular way because I haven't figured out how yet.] I totally dislike Anubis' warriors and would prefer that we have an "enemy that we love to hate." Brainless auomatons are not the kind of enemy I want to watch.

I for one would love for the SG-1 to come up against foes that they have to out-think and out-manuever (sort of a war of the wits), rather than having to "out-weapon" them. Special effects for weapons are fun to see, but cleverness is way more suspenseful.

Posted by: SG-15 Feb 9th 2004, 4:18 PM

It was ok, but so far I'm dissapointed in the episodes in the second half of this season. Not enough suspence. Course this episode was a little better, but I'm still giving it a 3/10. Hopefully Heroes will make up for it.

Posted by: mithwriter Feb 9th 2004, 4:30 PM

Posted by: WMCoolmon Feb 9th 2004, 6:24 PM

Posted by: stargatesweetie Feb 10th 2004, 11:54 AM

Posted by: Space_Monkey Feb 10th 2004, 10:49 PM

Posted by: dorien Feb 11th 2004, 4:27 PM

As I mentioned before, one of the things I liked about this episode was that it offhand addressed the issue about how the SG teams can navigate on different planets. Neatly done in my opinion. But I do have a question. After the UAV was taken down with a lucky shot (can't resist the potshot here ), the following conversation occurs:

Voice on radio: O'Neill?
O'Neill: Go ahead.
Voice on radio: The UAV has been shot down in your area. It's 4 klicks away on a heading of 3-2-0 degrees from your present location.

How did the voice know Jack's exact location?

Watching the ep again also highlighted the shortsightedness of the the tok'ra and jaffa in leaving the alliance...as many have already mentioned. With a finite number, the tok'ra are already a dying race. They can't wipe out the goa'uld system lords if they're trying to live forever. And the jaffa can never be free until the goa'uld are taken down and a generation of jaffa who don't need a symbiote or tretonin is born. Both parties have perfect health but it seems they're in serious need of glasses to see what's right in front of them.

Posted by: Space_Monkey Feb 11th 2004, 9:42 PM

I was thinking (and maybe I'm totally off on this), do you think that the Tok'ra will find a new queen? Maybe among their own ranks, I mean it would be pretty arogant for the original queen to assume she would live forever (arrogant even for a Tok'ra) - especially with the scarcity of new hosts. Would she not have spawned a second Tok'ra with the ability to be a queen just in case?

Posted by: Lit Gal Feb 11th 2004, 10:28 PM

Posted by: danielsg1 Feb 12th 2004, 10:12 AM

Great episode. Carter showed her courage and that nifty weapon!! What is that? I don't recall that they ever used it again as a new weapon for the future or to fight off the G'oald.

Posted by: IceQueen Feb 21st 2004, 12:32 PM

Haha. Carter as damsel in distress. Original, if anything.

Loved this episode especially the Carter chase. It was really nice how they shot to a dead soldier sitting next to the tree resting in the same position as Samantha, as the drone approaches.

Posted by: Mac.Fan Apr 27th 2004, 2:48 PM

Jack And the other teams when looking for servivers. one team found some and radio jack to let him know. The fist thing he as was is Carter with them, the answer was no. So they look around and they found what was left of one of Anbis SS. So then they got a fair idear who is behind it. then they find Jacob. Jack once again ask about Sam. Jacob told him what happen. On earth there was problems with the alliance between the tok'ra and the rebel jaffa. In the end Jack and Teal'c found Sam and was able to distroy the SS. Jack stay with Sam and he put his arm around her . In the end Jacob was there when Sam woke up and had to give her some bad news that he will be away for a while. Sam is going to miss her Dad. But we all know that Jack will look after her.

Posted by: ORAINE Apr 28th 2004, 10:20 AM

Excellent episode. I loved seeing Sam on her won, being chased without anyone to save her, it was nice to see her stand up for herself. Loved the presence of Jacob, he is one of my favourite minor characters, laong with Bra'tak. Really liked the concern shown by all of her team members about her, especially Daniel and Jack. I think that the hug at the end was slightly shippy but very little, as someone else said, more of a friendship thing than anything else really but it was nice to see that, although Jack was upset when she told him about Pete, he is still there for her as her commanding officer and as her friend. Great episode I thought. 9/10

Posted by: kadiya Apr 29th 2004, 10:52 AM

I really liked the episode. However i didnt really like the fact that they have ended the alliance with the Tok'ra and the Jaffa. I hop they mention this again in season 8 as they do sometimes give these really good storylines then they forget about it. I really hope they don't do that. I'm really looking forward to seeing what they are going to do with this story line.

Posted by: Sam's Sister Jul 17th 2004, 6:52 PM

Posted by: SG1Papa Nov 21st 2004, 1:04 PM

Posted by: Sam&Jack4eva Jan 13th 2005, 5:05 PM

this was a fialry OK episode, but the Tok'ra seem to get worse as time goes on. They're fairly cool dudes, and i did like them but now it seems they've lost all of their redeeming aspects and just become...well, plain bastards.

I don't like Delek. When was the last time that we had a tok'ra last for more than five minutes AND who was likable?

Posted by: frostychocolatemilkshakes Jan 25th 2005, 10:49 PM

I really enjoyed this episode! It would be so creepy to be stalked by a supersoldier on an alien planet!!!

I do hope the alliance between the Tauri-Tok'ra-Jaffa doesn't fall apart totally.

I love Jacob Carter!!

Posted by: cosmos Jan 31st 2005, 3:49 PM

Well not one of my favourite season 7 episodes but it had some good elements there.

What bothers me sometimes in such episodes is for example the ability of the Supersoldier to shoot down a fast-moving flying target half a Kilometre high in a couple of shots and misses entirely a half hidden target that is not moving (or moving slowly) a few metres away.

Oh never mind...!

It was cool enough.

Posted by: Heru-ER Jun 9th 2005, 1:35 PM

YEah that fast shot of Kull warriors is the best, best of episode was how the hunt Carter and when she shoot a Missile to him

Posted by: Lord Joe Sep 21st 2005, 5:15 AM

Death Knell is a really cool episode and one of my all time favourites. It was cool for the Alpha Site to have its butt kicked because sometimes its easy to forget that we arent always going to come out of a particular episode smelling of roses and we had that in Death Knell.

Posted by: Saseydon Aug 20th 2009, 1:27 AM

it was vanity and nothing more. When she discovers shes immortal, or something just like it, shell wish a death certificate was the only evidence was the only the left on her old life. Nobody knows if she is going to become the next Vandal Savage or not
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