Damn, I love this episode. It's up there with Window of Opportunity for best in the entire series.
Jack is already drawing the power boost device in the first meeting once they get back. His brain is already prepping for his needs from the word go, something you don't see on first watches. This show is so dense with detail that is so easily missed.
Shout by LeftHandedGuitaristBlockedParent2020-10-09T22:30:05Z
What I always enjoyed about this episode was the sense of the show beginning to open up more and more. We're starting to get into slightly more epic territory here (despite it being something of a bottle episode). On a more character based level, the fact that it's O'Neill who gets his brain jumbled here allows for a lot more fun than had it been Sam or Daniel (although Teal'c would have been interesting). This also really highlights the team's camaraderie and is a lovely display of them working together in ways that best suit their skills.
This is essentially a sequel/follow up to season 1's 'The Torment of Tantalus', but there have been some stepping stones to get here. The ending scene with the Asgard is certainly one of the series' most defining moments. "Your species has great potential."