Maternal Instinct

DVD, Stargate SG-1 S3 (Maternal Instinct)

Whenever Master Bretak arrives he brings gravity with him, but he also brings lots of Jafar words and a long line of plot developments, which, in this episode, get reeled off at the start, not in a confusing way, but in a way which you have to pay attention to keep up with. This time Apophis has attacked Chulak to destroy everyone - followers and rebels alike, now that he's got access to Sokar's army. Somehow this develops into a chance for Daniel to fufil his promise to Sharray, and see that her son, the Harseses is safe. It just sort of happens in an offhand way - so anyway, there's this place where Jafar don't go and which they don't talk about. Okay, so let's go there then, the child's sure to be there. Then it all goes a bit Buddhist, with 'Mother Nature' a real alien entity called Desala, probably because 'The Matrix' had inspired a bit of that kind of stuff at the time.

Daniel thinks he can now do Yoda stuff, but eventually realises it was Desala's way of communicating and the child is safe with her, so ends the quest. I did wonder how they were going to have a baby in the series, and one that would unlock the secrets of the Goa'uld. Jack's disbelief and wry observations, or lack of finesse, cause the usual chuckles, and it's nice to see Daniel getting all excited about an ancient culture again - we haven't seen that side of him for a while. The episode reminded me of the one with Ernest and his walls of wisdom, along with 'The Nox'. I don't know why, after such experiences with super-aliens like the Nox, they don't all expect the Goa'uld to be wiped out easily, but instead prepare for pitched battle. It was good to see Bretak, as ever the visuals were sumptuous, there were a few laughs, but in the end I felt it was all a bit hollow. The only development is that they now know the Harseses is safe, and it ends with Daniel going back for his shoes. A practical underlining - you can have your head in the clouds of wonder, but don't forget the needs of reality.

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