The Devil You Know

DVD, Stargate SG-1 S3 (The Devil You Know)

So Apophis escapes again. You have to pity the guy, for even when he's rock bottom he's still deluded (or ambitious) enough to believe he'll rise above everyone and rule! The question is, did Sokar die in the explosion (and can he die?), because if Apophis can escape then surely Sokar can, and when he was built up to be this super enemy it seems too easy for him to get blown up. The second part inevitably didn't live up to the first. Instead of some elaborate explanation of how Apophis is alive and why he 'rescued' SG-1, it really is as simple as 'he was rejuvenated with a sarcophagus and left to suffer on Natu, and wants the SG-1 team to use as bargaining chips with Sokar'.

Sokar isn't as unsuspecting as Apophis thought and his concealed blade only succeeds in aiding his escape, not the glorious killing of his master as he envisioned. The flashbacks or false memories or whatever you want to call them added a little extra to a predictable story of rescue at the last minute, but they didn't have the impact of those seen in the part one. At least no one dies and it's all a happy ending, at least for the moment. There is a sense that the budget was blown on creating the sets for this two-parter which were reused in part two, but not much progresses other than Apophis' plans being revealed and the team escaping. Still, a big two-part episode is always good viewing.

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