Stargate SG-1 9.4: "The Ties That Bind"
Written by Paul Mullie and Joseph Mallozzi
Directed by William Waring
In which Daniel and Vala engage in a seemingly endless quest to find a “cure” for their connection, while Landry is forced to present a justification for funding the SGC...
It’s good to see that the serialized side of the new season continues to be very important to the storytelling, especially since this is the episode where the writers have to begin acting like the season has actually started. Turning to the more comedic side of the series was probably the best move possible. After all, “Origin” was quite intense in its own way, and why not give us all a break for an episode or so?
At the end of the previous episode, it felt like Teal’c was going to be shuffled back onto the team, thanks to the power grab from Garek. Sure enough, it’s not that simple. It looks like the first third of the season, up until Carter’s inevitable return, will be used as an ongoing process of bringing the characters back into place. I’m not sure what I think of that.
While I love the idea of making a good chunk of the season a story about change (and how some things never do), there’s the inevitable worry that the characters will never gel completely. Highlighting the strain of trying to force everyone back together could easily backfire. Especially to those still holding on to the original cast, it could seem aimless. Clearly, it’s not, but it could come across that way.
The main story is all about Vala, who has become a character that most either love or love to hate. Claudia continues to be sexy at nearly every turn (though never more so than during the Congressional hearing, with those stockings!), and she plays up her rogue-ish side to perfection. This is, however, also the kind of episode where Jack would be tossing out his typical one-liners left and right. So how does it work without him?
Daniel and Mitchell are left to pick up where Jack left off. Daniel’s history with Vala helps in that regard, since he gets to play off of Claudia’s wackiness more naturally. Browder is still trying to find the fine line between the old John Crichton character and the way Mitchell is written, but part of that sits on the shoulders of the writing staff. They’re the ones that need to give the character a unique voice, and it hasn’t quite happened yet.
Some of the smaller moments were actually more telling. It’s great to see the producers and writers recognizing that the new series (“SG: Atlantis”) has, in many ways, taken the reins in terms of exploring new ground. The discussions on the utility of the SGC and their operations could be taken as a thinly-veiled commentary on the fans’ reaction to this series, now that the old mythology has come to an effective end.
In this case, creating a parallel between the fans and those funding the SGC provides an interesting platform for exploring how the international knowledge of the Stargate program is evolving into something that could be a major problem. There are two sides to this. On the one hand, it continues to decentralize the attention on the new team, which could be an issue if it goes on much longer. On the other hand, it adds yet another character that could become more important later down the road. I prefer to think of this as another possibility for future storytelling greatness.
From my perspective, the purpose of the episode was to continue to mine Vala as a character until Carter’s return is actually in the cards. It covers a lot of the transitional elements that should be in place by the time that Carter is back in the fold. The rest is a rather pleasant diversion that continues the ongoing saga of Daniel and Vala. Sooner or later, that has to give way to a renewed focus on Mitchell and the team, but for now, it’s still working for me.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4
Final Rating: 7/10
Directed by William Waring
In which Daniel and Vala engage in a seemingly endless quest to find a “cure” for their connection, while Landry is forced to present a justification for funding the SGC...
It’s good to see that the serialized side of the new season continues to be very important to the storytelling, especially since this is the episode where the writers have to begin acting like the season has actually started. Turning to the more comedic side of the series was probably the best move possible. After all, “Origin” was quite intense in its own way, and why not give us all a break for an episode or so?
At the end of the previous episode, it felt like Teal’c was going to be shuffled back onto the team, thanks to the power grab from Garek. Sure enough, it’s not that simple. It looks like the first third of the season, up until Carter’s inevitable return, will be used as an ongoing process of bringing the characters back into place. I’m not sure what I think of that.
While I love the idea of making a good chunk of the season a story about change (and how some things never do), there’s the inevitable worry that the characters will never gel completely. Highlighting the strain of trying to force everyone back together could easily backfire. Especially to those still holding on to the original cast, it could seem aimless. Clearly, it’s not, but it could come across that way.
The main story is all about Vala, who has become a character that most either love or love to hate. Claudia continues to be sexy at nearly every turn (though never more so than during the Congressional hearing, with those stockings!), and she plays up her rogue-ish side to perfection. This is, however, also the kind of episode where Jack would be tossing out his typical one-liners left and right. So how does it work without him?
Daniel and Mitchell are left to pick up where Jack left off. Daniel’s history with Vala helps in that regard, since he gets to play off of Claudia’s wackiness more naturally. Browder is still trying to find the fine line between the old John Crichton character and the way Mitchell is written, but part of that sits on the shoulders of the writing staff. They’re the ones that need to give the character a unique voice, and it hasn’t quite happened yet.
Some of the smaller moments were actually more telling. It’s great to see the producers and writers recognizing that the new series (“SG: Atlantis”) has, in many ways, taken the reins in terms of exploring new ground. The discussions on the utility of the SGC and their operations could be taken as a thinly-veiled commentary on the fans’ reaction to this series, now that the old mythology has come to an effective end.
In this case, creating a parallel between the fans and those funding the SGC provides an interesting platform for exploring how the international knowledge of the Stargate program is evolving into something that could be a major problem. There are two sides to this. On the one hand, it continues to decentralize the attention on the new team, which could be an issue if it goes on much longer. On the other hand, it adds yet another character that could become more important later down the road. I prefer to think of this as another possibility for future storytelling greatness.
From my perspective, the purpose of the episode was to continue to mine Vala as a character until Carter’s return is actually in the cards. It covers a lot of the transitional elements that should be in place by the time that Carter is back in the fold. The rest is a rather pleasant diversion that continues the ongoing saga of Daniel and Vala. Sooner or later, that has to give way to a renewed focus on Mitchell and the team, but for now, it’s still working for me.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4
Final Rating: 7/10
posted by John Keegan | 11:30
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