Stargate SG-1 9.2: "Avalon: Part II"
Written by Robert C. Cooper
Directed by Andy Mikita
In which the team uncovers an Ancient communication artifact under Glastonbury Tor, and Daniel and Vala end up stuck in another galaxy where the Ancients went in a very different direction…
Picking up where the previous episode left off, this installment has all the hallmarks of being the second part of a trilogy. It resolves the immediate cliffhanger from the premiere and sets up the third and final part of the story. The scope of the season premiere as a whole is now a lot easier to appreciate. I like the fact that three episodes are being used to introduce the basis for the new status quo instead of just one; it gives the writers more time to establish a clear and present danger.
The resolution to the Ancients’ puzzles is fairly simple. I’m not sure I buy the idea of an Ancient, even Merlin, using Arabic numerals, but conceptually, it works well enough. The swordplay is a bit silly at times, but that’s probably intentional. Again, like the previous episode, Mitchell avoids being a clone of John Crichton, but there’s enough similarly between the two to let Ben Browder shine.
So the point is this, it seems: a device for long-range communication with other humans related to the Ancients is discovered, and Daniel uncovers the possibility that the Ancients originated from someplace other than Earth. (For some reason, I don’t remember that last bit being much of a question, but I could be mixing up my SF-TV mythologies.) I like the connection to “Citizen Joe” (an underrated commentary on fandom, I thought).
So the Ancients have a name now…Altera? And it seems that the Ancients that were hanging around the Milky Way/Pegasus galaxy region were more useful when they decided to ascend, because at least they weren’t demanding that their descendents worship them like gods! The suggestion seems to be that the Ori are Ascended who are all too happy to interfere. In other words, I expect them to be like a whole mess of beings like Anubis, but with absolutely no ties to the Goa’uld. Not a good thing!
I loved the immolation scene, because I never thought it would actually play out. Kudos to the writing team for going the extra mile! Sure, the whole religious extremism angle was covered plenty of times in the past, and there were some very familiar elements, but it was necessary to provide the framework for how the Ori had manipulated the situation. Vala’s resurrection was also important to establishing the Ori as manipulative. (This kind of new direction for the mythology, based in the old but exploring new ground, is exactly what “X-Files” failed to do.)
Speaking of Vala, she was a lot less annoying this time around. I think it was because the writers didn’t feel the need to smack us over the head with her personality. It’s out there, it’s established…time to move on and just let it happen. Dr. Lam should prove to be an interesting “replacement” for Janet after all this time, and I like the fact that there’s a relationship (father and daughter, I reckon) with Landry. It adds to the potential drama.
The only thing that doesn’t quite work so far is the ongoing process of isolating Teal’c from the Jaffa High Council. So much is happening off-screen that it’s hard to get a good feel for it. I hope that the next episode culminates in something a bit more definitive than Teal’c deciding, off-screen, to rejoin SG-1. The best way to revitalize the series is to continue focus on the characters and several ongoing, inter-connected plot threads.
I’m still trying to figure out how the whole Merlin/Avalon thing led into the Altera/Ori thing, but it feels like the kind of unexpected direction that the plot would have taken in earlier seasons. Then again, if the writers were looking to smooth over the obvious goal of introducing the Ori, this is about as organic a way of doing as I can think of. The writers had to sell a lot to the fans, and while I’m sure it didn’t work for everyone, it’s a strong case for a renewed sense of purpose.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4
Final Rating: 8/10
Directed by Andy Mikita
In which the team uncovers an Ancient communication artifact under Glastonbury Tor, and Daniel and Vala end up stuck in another galaxy where the Ancients went in a very different direction…
Picking up where the previous episode left off, this installment has all the hallmarks of being the second part of a trilogy. It resolves the immediate cliffhanger from the premiere and sets up the third and final part of the story. The scope of the season premiere as a whole is now a lot easier to appreciate. I like the fact that three episodes are being used to introduce the basis for the new status quo instead of just one; it gives the writers more time to establish a clear and present danger.
The resolution to the Ancients’ puzzles is fairly simple. I’m not sure I buy the idea of an Ancient, even Merlin, using Arabic numerals, but conceptually, it works well enough. The swordplay is a bit silly at times, but that’s probably intentional. Again, like the previous episode, Mitchell avoids being a clone of John Crichton, but there’s enough similarly between the two to let Ben Browder shine.
So the point is this, it seems: a device for long-range communication with other humans related to the Ancients is discovered, and Daniel uncovers the possibility that the Ancients originated from someplace other than Earth. (For some reason, I don’t remember that last bit being much of a question, but I could be mixing up my SF-TV mythologies.) I like the connection to “Citizen Joe” (an underrated commentary on fandom, I thought).
So the Ancients have a name now…Altera? And it seems that the Ancients that were hanging around the Milky Way/Pegasus galaxy region were more useful when they decided to ascend, because at least they weren’t demanding that their descendents worship them like gods! The suggestion seems to be that the Ori are Ascended who are all too happy to interfere. In other words, I expect them to be like a whole mess of beings like Anubis, but with absolutely no ties to the Goa’uld. Not a good thing!
I loved the immolation scene, because I never thought it would actually play out. Kudos to the writing team for going the extra mile! Sure, the whole religious extremism angle was covered plenty of times in the past, and there were some very familiar elements, but it was necessary to provide the framework for how the Ori had manipulated the situation. Vala’s resurrection was also important to establishing the Ori as manipulative. (This kind of new direction for the mythology, based in the old but exploring new ground, is exactly what “X-Files” failed to do.)
Speaking of Vala, she was a lot less annoying this time around. I think it was because the writers didn’t feel the need to smack us over the head with her personality. It’s out there, it’s established…time to move on and just let it happen. Dr. Lam should prove to be an interesting “replacement” for Janet after all this time, and I like the fact that there’s a relationship (father and daughter, I reckon) with Landry. It adds to the potential drama.
The only thing that doesn’t quite work so far is the ongoing process of isolating Teal’c from the Jaffa High Council. So much is happening off-screen that it’s hard to get a good feel for it. I hope that the next episode culminates in something a bit more definitive than Teal’c deciding, off-screen, to rejoin SG-1. The best way to revitalize the series is to continue focus on the characters and several ongoing, inter-connected plot threads.
I’m still trying to figure out how the whole Merlin/Avalon thing led into the Altera/Ori thing, but it feels like the kind of unexpected direction that the plot would have taken in earlier seasons. Then again, if the writers were looking to smooth over the obvious goal of introducing the Ori, this is about as organic a way of doing as I can think of. The writers had to sell a lot to the fans, and while I’m sure it didn’t work for everyone, it’s a strong case for a renewed sense of purpose.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4
Final Rating: 8/10
posted by John Keegan | 17:40
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home