Redemption Part 2

DVD, Stargate SG-1 S6 (Redemption Part 2)

Better, more coherent, not pushing as hard as they were in part one, not shoving plot lines in at all angles, and with some good continuation, this is a well done story all round. It adds more details to the Stargate that I don't think we'd heard before, furthers Teal'c and Rya'c's family story, gives O'Neill some hero time (saving the world again!), and gets Jonas Quinn assigned to SG-1 in a realistic way - it's either that or Jack gets a Russian officer on the team, and we know how much he loves working with them! Jonas still needs to prove himself to O'Neill, but he's won Carter over which starts the ball rolling so that she adds her voice to Teal'c's from part one, and suggests giving him 'something,' wouldn't be a bad idea. What worked with Jonas this time is that he wasn't in your face, he didn't have a lot of scenes, he wasn't Mr. Eager, he was laid-back, thoughtful, sipping his hot drink and giving Carter the idea of how to save planet Earth. And when he's given an opportunity to show how desperate he is to live up to Daniel Jackson's sacrifice for his world, he takes it, with an impassioned "I want to make a difference" speech. That kind of thing doesn't impress Jack - it's actions more than words that talk to him, so it's a good thing the 'gate had to blow up, at least for Jonas' sake.

That's the gut-wrenching thing here - the original Stargate, that grey circlet of ancient technology (looking more majestic each time I see the new opening credits sequence), gateway to so many adventures, is gone, replaced by the Russian's. It simplifies and streamlines the series to know there's only one on our world, and allowing the Russian's to have their own team, and if you think back, they had done the second 'gate story lines to death, so there wasn't much to be gained by it. Stargates are a bit like warp cores in 'Star Trek' - they're the essential component to the series without which you ain't going anywhere, but they puff and pant away, almost taken for granted, until you realise that they have to be sacrificed. It's not something that can be done more than once, really - ejecting the warp core; destroying the 'gate. In both cases replacements are available, though you don't want it to be too easy to get your hands on them or they're cheapened.

I was expecting Teal'c and Bra'tac to return with the Stargate Anubis' weapon was attacking Earth through, since the area crumbled, and they had a cargo ship, but they didn't, and on first thought, junior's first mission was needless since they weren't able to shut down the 'gate until too late. Then I realised that Anubis' weapon had been undone, so he wasn't going to be able to attempt the same kind of attack again (unless he builds another such weapon). It was also important in building the damaged kinship between Teal'c and his boy, Rya'c able to show his piloting ability and good sense in knowing what to do and when, and prove himself worthy to his warrior Father. Equally, Teal'c got to prove his belief in his son was more than mere words, and I loved seeing the three go off on a mission together, showing their weapon skills and giving wise words to the young, aspiring warrior. The weapon's location (the usual forest environment), worked as another planet, but it was the CGI camera move from their position on a hilltop racing down to the weapon in the midst of a barren crater that impressed. The computer effects were of a good standard, with a Stargate (and the X-302), getting a lift on top of a jumbo jet and Rya'c's dogfight, which all fitted into the world seamlessly.

Even the interactions back at base were worth the price of admission, with Dr. McKay finding common ground with Carter, bonding in his own neurotic, semi-sarcastic way, and becoming a more likeable character because of it. I thought the two white-coated scientists were going to become more of a double-act in the episode, but they didn't come into it as much as expected after their initial opening amusement. It's good to have so many familiar faces in an episode which doesn't feel forced like part one did, getting much closer to the nub of the story, less of the extraneous waffle. It's always a feat to give us new information about the Stargate, too, so learning that it weighs 64,000 lbs (or 29,000 kg), and even better, how it got into the Cheyenne Mountain Complex in the first place, even seeing it go back out that way, added brilliantly to the mythology. I don't remember ever hearing about the 'gate's mechanism to get it in there in previous episodes, but even if it had been mentioned before this is the first time we get to see up the shaft to daylight!

Hammond's words about how he should have retired five years ago were ominous considering he was the next character to leave (if it happened this season), but all the main characters are well served. Jack doesn't get to be too ironic and insubordinate; Carter gets a problem to solve (one of the only complaints I had was that early on the episode was quite tech-heavy, but it soon improved); and Teal'c gets to teach Rya'c a little, and also be proud of his Luke Skywalker-esque Death Glider attack. It was a little bit uninventive to have Rya'c be the one to save Teal'c and Bra'tac (good shooting, though!), and it was a little bit obvious to have Jonas come up with a solution to the problem (as I predicted last episode), but the story fits together nicely and made for a more enjoyable experience than part one, leaving us with further threads to look forward to in the Russian's joining of the program and SG-1+Jonas' first mission together. They even referenced the joke about Jonas wearing the right colour from last episode, and seeing the four of them walk into the Stargate brings things right back to the start of the series again and sparked a tiny tear in the eye.

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