It's Good To Be King

DVD, Stargate SG-1 S8 (It's Good To Be King)

Mayborn had felt like a loose end that could be pulled on again at any time should they think of a story - he'd been in the series too long for us never to see him again after he'd been dropped off by the Tok'ra on a suitable planet (not that I remembered that's what happened to him, but they remind us in the episode), so I was pleased to see him part of it again, engineered in a believable way: the System Lords are failing against Baal and the Kull Warriors (the first time they actually called them by name on the series?), and the various surviving examples (such as Yu), are scouting out previously abandoned planets to use for sanctuary (though that plan didn't seem too thought through - what difference does it make which planet they go to if they're all going to be hunted down and destroyed?), and one of those planets on the hit list, according to the Tok'ra (whom we don't actually see - I want Jacob back!), is where Mayborn was holed up. Naturally, with a title like that, and with a planet of innocent natives for his wily ways to dominate, he's become king, which is how the SG-1 team discover him: Arkon The First. As ever, he's happy to see them, because, like Gul Dukat on 'DS9,' he's deluded enough to believe that he's actually good friends with them, and that they really feel the same way in return. Okay, he's not as deluded as all that, but he'd have made a good Cardassian, what with his sneaky ways and tendency to deal with anything that stands in the way of his survival and greed.

Except, for once he's found something to dedicate his life to, something that rewards him with many perks of kingship, but which has actually got through to him so that he genuinely cares for the folk he governs - I was still expecting a double-cross all the way through. For me, the best moment in the entire episode is when he's forced by O'Neill to admit to the people his true nature, and where the prophecies came from. He's all ready to stand down, give up on them and head off into the Stargate with SG-1, knowing he's not worthy to be their king. But then one of his loyal servants speaks up and she asks him if the plans for the new water mill came from the same place as the prophecies, or the legal system, or any number of other improvements he made to their society, and it's such a warm moment as you realise that even though he was a fraud in one way, he had brought a lot to these people and rather than being outraged at his audacity and guile, they still want to celebrate what he did for them. Not to mention that it was due to him that the prophecies were made known, since none of them could read Ancient. It's touching, especially when your mind is on the track that he can't go on being their king, he's unworthy, he's unsuitable, he's… Harry Mayborn! But it also showed that he'd finally found a place for himself, where all his sleazy, underhand, selfish dealings over the years had failed. And it's wonderful to see such a disreputable, yet likeable character find redemption.

So the prophecies do all come true, and Mayborn remains king, and, presumably, the SGC recovers a vital component in Ancient technology: the ship capable of time-travel which was the prophecies' origin in the first place: one of the Ancients travelled into the future using this ship, saw everything that happened, then carved it out two hundred years before the episode. Does that mean he/she/it was watching the events unfold during this episode from some vantage point we know nothing about? How did the ship remain in the current time, does that mean the Ancient died on the planet, or was it killed somehow after finishing all that chiselling (raw deal!), leaving the prophecies and its ship to while away the time until the present? And for what purpose did it carry out this study, for the benefit of the Tare, or the people on the planet, or were they merely a side beneficiary? Many questions go unanswered, and that's probably for the best in terms of a short term story like this, but I'd have liked to know more. I was surprised to find Mayborn possessed about as much knowledge of the Ancients' language as Daniel, since he was able to decipher it, and as is always the case with TV episodes it was farfetched to have us believe that events of hundreds of years were foretold mainly on one stone pillar which didn't have that much surface area, or that Mayborn wouldn't have made a note of every prophecy there which Daniel could have read. Maybe he did, but just didn't tell them about it, always keeping his cards close to his chest, and perhaps there were many more pillars like that?

One of the best things about the episode is that we get a proper SG-1 team-up like the old days when General O'Neill (apart from being necessary for the age-old oneupmanship between him and Mayborn, and their dysfunctional enmity couched in irritated banter), joins the gang on the planet as he's got Ancient DNA within him that will enable him to activate their technology. I didn't remember that revelation before, although obviously I did recall that he was able to operate the Ancient tech which gave them the way to Atlantis at the beginning of the season. I was instantly thinking of Daniel, since he'd previously ascended, but what does it matter, the fine details has never been the most interesting thing on the series, it's the characters, so it was a joy to take us back to that almost forgotten time when the SG-1 team roamed the galaxy in all its four-man/woman glory. Teal'c too, gets a nice moment when the First Prime of Ares ends up fighting him, paid the greatest tribute when this guy gets some kind of honour, or has some respect for him out of Teal'c killing him, saying as he dies, "You are a man of your word."

The Ancient ship was a great idea, one I hope will be used to full potential in future, in other words they'll use it for time travel, because that hasn't been something the series has delved into much, and when they did, it could be some of their better stories ('1969' is one of my all-time favourites). It looked a bit like a shuttle from 'Star Trek,' even down to the ramp at the back that folds up into a door, and a couple of warp nacelles (or their equivalent), on either side. It must be increasingly difficult to come up with an original design or even an original aesthetic when there have been so many sci-fi TV and films over the years, so it's inevitable that elements will be borrowed. The interior set was suitably advanced, especially those padded seats and the mind-activated controls. Mind you, the sets were high quality, with the castle, though clearly not a building on location, and a little cramped where Mayborn's throne sat, must have been a large undertaking. We're introduced to it with a beautifully sweeping crane shot (which would probably be done by drone these days), dropping down over the walls - you can see from the pale shadows that it's indoors, but the 'period' detail and crowd help to sell it, and we do get plenty of exterior shooting, too. I wished Daniel had more to do in an episode all about Ancients' technology since he should be the one to go gooey about it all, and it would have been nice to get more scenes featuring the four of them together, but otherwise it was a fine journey back in time to when simple planet stories were the order of the day, and a fitting conclusion to Mayborn's story, if it is to be so.

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