Prophecy

DVD, Stargate SG-1 S6 (Prophecy)

One I missed from the original run, which might explain why I was less engaged by it, despite features such as a Jonas who can see visions of the future, a view of an attack on the SGC, the questions of what the future is, and a planet of people to liberate. I think partly it was not having any prior connection, but also that in some cases it's talk rather than action - we don't see Mot's troops routed at the end, or the party laid on by the planet's people, or much of what happened when Mot and his Goa'uld came early thanks to a traitorous member of the planet's race. It had a good mix of things, but it could also be said to be too much to fit into one episode when something like Jonas' experiences could have been enough to work the story around. It was nice to see him spoken of so well and so unquestionably part of the team, and is a testament to the actor that he made a 'replacement' character so likeable. Knowing he's to leave at the end of the season I couldn't remember how it happened exactly, so I was thinking this could be it, so close to the end, and maybe that was why they were reminding us that he used to be the new guy and is now a fully fledged member of the team, but it may just be preparation for a sad goodbye soon.

His qualities were played up again, one being his selflessness in the cause against the enslavement of the Goa'uld, because even though whatever Nierte may have done to him (the suspicion being that it was when she trapped him in the device in 'Metamorphosis' she gave him this future-seeing ability, though there's no indication of why it took so long to manifest), is potentially going to kill him, he wants to keep having the visions in order to serve the greater good (echoes of Captain Sisko in 'DS9' episode 'Rapture'). Something that has had considerably less play in the season is what we're reminded about in this one: that he has extraordinary powers of perception and attention to detail. Jonas' 'superpowers' weren't ever really explored in depth, perhaps because he fitted in just fine as an earnest and fascinated human-like figure, so didn't need extras to make him work, but they could certainly have gone into more depth on the character's make up. I liked that he was the main point of this episode, although that's probably the reason we don't see so much of what was happening on the planet as we might usually do.

It was hard to accept that Jonas' future-gazing ability could be related to a tumour in his brain, but I suppose technically that's what the brain is all about - it's a mystery that encompasses biology and abstract concepts such as the mind and memory, so why should a 'supernatural' or advanced scientific experiment not fit into the biological? But for me it made it feel farfetched, whereas I could have accepted without question if there were no physical cause - strange, but that's what I expect, I suppose. What the episode did go into, if in little depth, was what the future actually means, the last conversation between Jonas and Sam giving us the taste of a good sci-fi/philosophical question to ponder and which I wished had been the basis for the story rather than the much-trodden path of a people threatened by Goa'uld aggressors: Jonas saw the future and they were able to alter what happened to prevent Teal'c, Hammond, and others from dying (if you can get away with killing characters for the short term why not take it?!), but at the same time there was the paradox that SG-1's saving of the planet was in that people's history as an ancient prophecy. Sam suggests a lucky guess, but it's clear that the writers want us to think about such things, so it's only a shame for it to be bundled in at the end with no more time to ponder.

Not to say that a Goa'uld politics update wasn't in order - it was good to know that Lord Yu is the last and only opponent of the System Lords to continue to defy Anubis, with, presumably, all the others keeping in line. The real stuff was about this minor, an emissary of Baal's, Lord Mot, who has unsurprisingly continued to harvest this planet without his master knowing (backstabbing among the Goa'uld? Unheard of!). The Goa'uld stuff has generally taken more of a backseat this season, in a move away from the origins of the series, but whether that was a good move or not, I couldn't say. One thing that did surprise was Mot's despatch, shot by the daughter of the old leader of the planet, Ellori (played by Thomas Kopache whom I know well as a man of many faces in small parts in Trek, most notably as Major Kira's Father on 'DS9') - I wanted to see the continuation of that scene when she must have turned to the traitor who had been talking to Mot, though it may be that the guy had already been finished off by the palm device his master was torturing him with!

The style of the flash-forwards was nothing that hadn't been done before, but it was all filmed beautifully, especially the long yellow grass O'Neill and the others move through as they head for the Stargate. There was a bit of a logic shift in the use of the visions, though, with Jonas at first always seeing things from his point of view, only later, conveniently, changing so he could see the Goa'uld attack on the SGC in more dramatic angles, or what happened to O'Neill and the team on the planet, but that's dramatic licence, and certainly the latter vision could be explained by his attempt at controlling the views of the future (though I wasn't sure how a table of candles was going to help that, nor sitting in an uncomfortably cross-legged position - I'd have recommended lying flat on his back with comfy pillows!). As I said, I'm not entirely sure why I didn't completely get drawn into the story or ideas, and I do hope the finale gives us some good Jonas time. I'm pretty sure he doesn't die, but whatever happens it will be a shame to lose a one-season wonder who gelled so well in such a strongly cast unit.

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