Stargate 8x10 -- Endgame
Sep. 18th, 2004 05:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
butterflyBack from looking at cars. Finally getting a chance to watch last night's Stargate.
First off, wow. That was fun.
This is Jack's Scorched Earth reversal. There, Daniel chose to be on an enemy ship, risking his life, and ultimately, Jack was able to push the button (and, of course, it's interesting to look at the differences in Daniel's situation as well -- in SE, he was on a diplomatic mission to the ship, here, it was entirely military and search-and-rescue). This time, Jack couldn't push the button. "Give him a little more time." And the ship left. He waited past the moment of decision.
Yes, the Stargate and SG-1 were saved, but Jack was fully willing to risk it in order to get them back. Not making a choice is a choice. Nonaction is still a path.
Is Jack compromised when it comes to his team? Hell, the mere fact that he still thinks of SG-1 as his team (Zero Hour) is probably a bad sign. He's always been willing to place himself in harm's way to save a teammate. Now, he's shown himself capable of condemning millions of Jaffa to a painful death. "Acceptable losses," the Trust goon called them. What are the limits of Jack's 'acceptable losses' when it comes to SG-1?
Is the rest of the team compromised? So many times, it's SG-1 alone against all odds. As a result, they are extremely close and extremely loyal to each other. And it's very possible that that individual loyalty may outweigh their loyalty to their people(s).
Well, Teal'c's first loyalty has always been to the Jaffa, to freeing his people. That was always his first loyalty. He's also loyal to SG-1, but to Earth itself? How far does his sympathy extend? If he feels that Jack has betrayed the Jaffa, what would his reaction be?
Sam's first loyalty... honestly, I would say that it's to Jack. As her direct superior officer, yes, but she's also shown that she will chose to follow Jack's orders over that of his superior officer (Again, Scorched Earth). So, Jack, the rest of SG-1, the Stargate program, and Earth.
Daniel... Daniel's tricky. He's been very independent and take-charge this season. He originally joined the Stargate program in order to find and save his wife. In the process, he built strong bonds, first with Jack, then also with Sam and Teal'c. In Small Victories, he was willing to give an order to kill Jack quickly, in order to save him from a more painful death. In Abyss, he actively makes the choice against that -- "I won't do that." It's possible that he wouldn't have been allowed, but he makes it clear that he's choosing not to as well. He'll choose anything that is not permanent death. He shows the same attitude in Fragile Balance, saying that he'll force (who they thought was) Jack to go where he needs to to save his life. In Affinity, he compromises himself in order to save Teal'c. In Endgame, he makes a deal with a greedy scientist to find a way up to Sam. He's willing to get dirty for his team. And, apart from Teal'c, he probably has the least amount of personal loyalty to Earth itself.
On a side note, Daniel and Jack are getting some damn slashy material this season. I mean... wow.
First off, wow. That was fun.
This is Jack's Scorched Earth reversal. There, Daniel chose to be on an enemy ship, risking his life, and ultimately, Jack was able to push the button (and, of course, it's interesting to look at the differences in Daniel's situation as well -- in SE, he was on a diplomatic mission to the ship, here, it was entirely military and search-and-rescue). This time, Jack couldn't push the button. "Give him a little more time." And the ship left. He waited past the moment of decision.
Yes, the Stargate and SG-1 were saved, but Jack was fully willing to risk it in order to get them back. Not making a choice is a choice. Nonaction is still a path.
Is Jack compromised when it comes to his team? Hell, the mere fact that he still thinks of SG-1 as his team (Zero Hour) is probably a bad sign. He's always been willing to place himself in harm's way to save a teammate. Now, he's shown himself capable of condemning millions of Jaffa to a painful death. "Acceptable losses," the Trust goon called them. What are the limits of Jack's 'acceptable losses' when it comes to SG-1?
Is the rest of the team compromised? So many times, it's SG-1 alone against all odds. As a result, they are extremely close and extremely loyal to each other. And it's very possible that that individual loyalty may outweigh their loyalty to their people(s).
Well, Teal'c's first loyalty has always been to the Jaffa, to freeing his people. That was always his first loyalty. He's also loyal to SG-1, but to Earth itself? How far does his sympathy extend? If he feels that Jack has betrayed the Jaffa, what would his reaction be?
Sam's first loyalty... honestly, I would say that it's to Jack. As her direct superior officer, yes, but she's also shown that she will chose to follow Jack's orders over that of his superior officer (Again, Scorched Earth). So, Jack, the rest of SG-1, the Stargate program, and Earth.
Daniel... Daniel's tricky. He's been very independent and take-charge this season. He originally joined the Stargate program in order to find and save his wife. In the process, he built strong bonds, first with Jack, then also with Sam and Teal'c. In Small Victories, he was willing to give an order to kill Jack quickly, in order to save him from a more painful death. In Abyss, he actively makes the choice against that -- "I won't do that." It's possible that he wouldn't have been allowed, but he makes it clear that he's choosing not to as well. He'll choose anything that is not permanent death. He shows the same attitude in Fragile Balance, saying that he'll force (who they thought was) Jack to go where he needs to to save his life. In Affinity, he compromises himself in order to save Teal'c. In Endgame, he makes a deal with a greedy scientist to find a way up to Sam. He's willing to get dirty for his team. And, apart from Teal'c, he probably has the least amount of personal loyalty to Earth itself.
On a side note, Daniel and Jack are getting some damn slashy material this season. I mean... wow.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2004-09-19 12:42 am (UTC)Well, they don't extend to other people for whom he feels personally responsible--he wouldn't send anyone else from the SGC in after them in Zero Hour.
Ah-ha! Yes!
Date: 2004-09-19 01:28 am (UTC)It's still a grey area, but that's a very good point.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-09-19 03:07 am (UTC)And the "Scorched Earth" reversal sounds like the makings of a great ep. I hate to think Jack would've done anything that would lead to millions of Jaffa dying, but I can see how it'd be in character. He's all about personal loyalty, and his team is always first in his mind. Great review! Totally agree that Daniel has the least personal loyalty to Earth after Teal'c. It has to be true considering how often he's willing to leave his homeworld behind.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-09-19 07:47 am (UTC)Totally agree that Daniel has the least personal loyalty to Earth after Teal'c. It has to be true considering how often he's willing to leave his homeworld behind.
Right. It probably has a lot to do with his parents dying when he was a kid. And the family (or families) that fostered him never adopted him. This is not someone who grew up with a stable sense of 'home'. Then he lost everything just before he met Sha're.
But he doesn't seem to place any particular importance on a physical home -- which perhaps makes sense, considering his occupation. After all, one day, it'll all just be history, another ruin to dig up and discover. One planet is as good as any other, if it's interesting enough. Which is why he needs a Jack to tell him 'no' when he wants to go off to another place forever. In the long run, he seems happier with roots. It's the roots that enable the tree to grow tall and strong, after all.
It's the people that keep Daniel attached to a place, not the other way around. As Sha're was once his tether to Abydos, so Jack is his tether to Earth (the pull-push of the Sha're-Jack storyline in regards to Daniel is an interesting thought -- Sha're is the one who showed him the path to Kheb, but the person he met there was an Ancient, the people whose knowledge went into Jack's head. And it was in the ascension storyline that his relationship to Jack was shown to be as shattering and important to Jack as it was to Daniel.).
(no subject)
Date: 2004-09-19 08:36 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-09-19 08:41 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-09-19 06:28 am (UTC)Huh. After reading a number of reviews, am I the only one who fully expected Daniel to renege on that agreement as soon as he got the information he needed?
Because I never bought it; Daniel would tell that guy anything he needed to in order to get him to talk. Additionally, no way does Daniel have the authority to make that kind of deal. Frankly, he shouldn't have been the primary interrogator, there should have been someone from military intelligence or the Pentagon there. But, ::handwave::
But I bet Dr. English Guy never got his $2m.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-09-19 07:59 am (UTC)Which is also a grey choice to make, morally-speaking. Plus, he didn't actually agree to anything. He implied but didn't outright state "we could choose to ignore" isn't quite "we will" and Daniel's a linguist. He knows the difference.
"So, if I help you, I can keep the money?"
"We could come to an arrangement."
Yeah, I don't think that he kept the money. He certainly didn't keep his job.
The interrogation itself didn't bother me, because Daniel's seems to have been acting as base 2IC pretty much all season, starting with Weir and not at all stopping when Jack was promoted to General and command of the base. He's been on the Stargate project for quite a long time, though he did have two non-consecutive years off.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-09-19 08:39 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-09-19 11:36 am (UTC)Basically, he seems to be handling anything Jack wouldn't want to bother with or have time for, so the interrogation fit.