A showcase by all the team here. This episode and Heroes are by far the most emotionally affecting episodes of the entire series.
A spectacular distillation of Daniel's core character as well. Willing to put himself on the line to save people from themselves, and yet still believe he's failed at life. So very human.
I'm gonna miss Daniel's big dumbass energy. Also, add one to the Daniel death count :sob:
Balled my eyes out with this episode when it first aired. It never felt the same without him until he returned.
This has to be one of the best SG-1 episodes I've seen so far. I'd known Michael Shanks left the show for a bit, but I didn't see the details coming or expect it to hit me so hard. Sad that he only had a chance to say goodbye to O'Neill, though :(
By far the best episode thus far. A good, solid story. Well told. Good acting. Good dialogue. Good directing. I have zero complaints and am absolutely amazed at how well this episode was done. Truly, a powerful episode.
Ridiculous that Oma Desala was credited by character name three minutes into the episode. Bit spoiler-y, innit?
Review by LeftHandedGuitaristBlockedParentSpoilers2021-03-16T14:23:40Z
A strong and effective send off for Daniel that does hit the right emotional spots. It's handled with care. Of course, even back in 2002 it was widely reported that Michael Shanks was going to be leaving the show, so there wasn't a surprise factor here. But that didn't diminish how sad it was to watch.
While the episode does remove his character, it has the foresight to not "kill" him off as such, leaving the possibility open for appearances in the future. But even so, this manages to feel final. The farewell between him and Jack is played very nicely, and it was the right choice that Daniel selects him to say goodbye to. Their friendship has been rough along the way (even as recently as a couple of episodes ago with the ending of 'Meridian'), but it's really grown into one of the most solid relationships here. The tears in Michael Shanks eyes feel genuine which is a testament to his acting abilities.
Whether you agree with Daniel's reasons for leaving is another matter. He seems to almost be giving up, despite his protestations that he's not. He claims to feel useless and that he's done all he can; I'm not sure I quite feel the same. The episode attempts to justify his state of mind, but the fact that it's not been built up kind of makes it not ring entirely true for me. He and SG-1 have accomplished a LOT over the past few years.
Other than that, this introduces us to the naquadria element and also Jonas Quinn. I like Jonas and I think this episode helps to establish his morals quite well.
I remember a lot of online discussion back in the day about Carter's goodbye scene with Daniel where she's talking about "why do we always wait to tell people how we really feel?". This was misinterpreted by a lot of people, myself included, as her declaring some romantic feelings towards him. I think it's an easy mistake to make given the words she chooses, but it's definitely not meant that way.