Having seen Blade Runner (1982) about a month prior to watching this episode, I extra appreciated the tortoise joke. Laughed so hard. :laughing:
This episode is great for some character detail.
The faith Daniel shows in Vala by going to bat for her shows that, despite all reason not to, he trusts her. He understands what she's gone through, the suffering and loneliness of her life, and can weigh that against the potential contribution she can bring.
And as the only ever long-term example of a character freed from a symbiote, she brings a fascinating new perspective to the show despite that very group being the big bad since the very beginning. Everyone is so willing to see the worst in her. Everyone except Daniel. And this episode is the beginning of her seeming to realize that and drive to be the potential. Love that look of pride on Daniel's face during the final scene.
I do understand the flak Vala gets from a lot of the fandom. But to me, she is the deepest character developed in the latter half of the series. It is also a nice showing from Mr Woolsey.
What the hell does "This place is deader than a Texas salad bar" even mean? :joy: Please try to make sense, Mr. Shaft.
Almost a season ago (https://trakt.tv/comments/388513) I was pretty annoyed that Vala had stuck around. At the time, her character felt shallow—and static. Since then, I'm quite pleasantly surprised that the writers turned her around into someone capable of growing and changing, someone with a conscience and a sense of the greater good. So what if her jokes still aren't funny? :grin:
Meanwhile, I still haven't figured out exactly why the creative team puts her in twintails most of the time. Best I can think of is that it's to emphasize Vala's playful, often childish attitude—which works, but doesn't mesh quite as well as the flippancy they were probably trying to replace since O'Neill/RDA left the cast.
Overall, a fairly good episode. I loved the atmosphere of the story. It was different than the average SG1 story and that was refreshing.
Vala was less annoying, but I still don't see why we are continually forced to endure a very mediocre character. She is 10 times better than she was initially and she still isn't worth having on screen.
Shout by mer krisBlockedParent2020-10-17T18:49:40Z
I want to sleep after this episode