Divide and Conquer

Wow, there was a lot in this episode. Of course, my favorite part was when Sam and Jack admitted their feelings. Perhaps more importantly, Martouf was killed, and Sam was the one who pulled the trigger.

After a member of SG-14 attempted to assassinate the leader of the Tok’ra and committed suicide, all the SG teams were tested to determine if their minds had been manipulated. In the first round of testing, it was determined that Lieutenant Astor was a za’tarc. She had been programmed to carry out a mission for the Goa’uld and would likely attempt to disrupt a treaty-signing ceremony that involved the President and the Tok’ra High Councilor.

Anise tried a procedure to save the young lieutenant, but it didn’t work. A failsafe mechanism was triggered. After a brief struggle, Lieutenant Astor shot herself in the head. That always stuck me as one of the sadder moments from Stargate. Poor kid.

As the testing continued, Sam and Jack were identified as za’tarcs. We later discovered the results were false positives, because they didn’t admit their feelings for each other in the first test. “I didn’t leave, because I’d have rather died myself than lose Carter… Because I care about her a lot more than I’m supposed to.”

They were not threats, but Martouf was. When the President’s arrival was announced, he lost control and started firing a small weapon. He was shot several times with handguns and once with a zatgun. He failed his programmed mission and was about to kill himself. Martouf pleaded to Sam, so she fired the fatal shot.

This was the last time we saw Anise. It’s a shame the producers tried to make her such a sex kitten, because she could have been an interesting character. If they toned her down just a little (maybe dress her in something other than formfitting rubber), I think she would have been a good addition to the show.

There was also a great scene between Daniel and Jack. Anise’s host, Freya, had just thrown herself at Jack. He was a little confused by her forwardness and told Daniel about the incident. “Apparently the snake likes you.” And I loved the double “What?” at the end. Classic.

My Rating: 9/10

The Devil You Know

Apophis is amazing. The guy was promoted from assistant hell boy to leader of the most powerful fleet in the galaxy in the course of a few days. I bet his first official action was to change into a gold outfit.

It’s a shame Sokar couldn’t stick around longer. He had a lot of screen presence and was super creepy. Even his Jaffa were cool. I wonder if he was related to the veiny-headed kid from “Show and Tell.”

I thought the torture scenes were well done. The casting department did an unbelievable job picking out the young Sam, and it was neat to learn more about her background. However, Charlie looked much older than the last time we saw him. It was great to see Daniel throw a punch, and Martouf had me convinced when he told Apophis the location of the Tok’ra.

This was also a good episode for silly Jack comments. My favorite line was, “…they gave me something that reminded me of the ‘70’s.”

If I was in charge of the script, I would have been tempted to have Jack say, “Let's get the Hell out of… umm, Hell.” But I’m a sucker for bad puns.

My Rating: 10/10

Jolinar’s Memories

Martouf always shows up with bad news. He arrived at the SGC to inform Sam that Sokar had captured her father. Jacob was sent to hell, and only Jolinar’s memories could save him.

We saw Jolinar’s previous host and Sokar for the first time in this episode. Sokar looked a cross between the guy from Hellraiser and Billy Corgan. Apparently, the devil does not own nail clippers. Jolinar was cute and one tough cookie.

The dreaded “To Be Continued” popped on the screen moments after Apophis killed Bynarr and revealed himself. In the comments from “Serpent’s Song,” Aabye compared Apophis to a bad houseguest. And just like a bad houseguest, he keeps showing up when you think he’s gone. This time, he was wearing a Phantom of the Opera mask.

Was anyone else grossed out by the yellow, gooey stuff leaking from Bynarr’s eye? Yuck.

My Rating: 10/10

Serpent’s Song

“That’s between you and your god. Oh, wait a minute, you are your god.” 

Apophis was quite a sad sight in this episode. With his empire falling apart, he sought protection from rival Goa’ulds by asking for sanctuary on Earth. He took advantage of human compassions in an attempt to save his life and lure the team into a trap. 

The Tok’ra arrived to warn the SGC about Sokar, an ancient Goa’uld who pretended to be the devil. Sokar’s troops saw SG-1 as they fled through the gate with Apophis, and they would attack if the team did not return the prisoner. This situation was orchestrated by Apophis to ensure his demise would also bring about the destruction of Earth. 

Before the Tok’ra could leave, Sokar’s attack began. He used a weapon that could melt the stargate’s iris and also draw happy faces. Eventually, Sam was able to establish an out-going wormhole that thwarted the attack and allowed the team to return Apophis’s body to Sokar. 

I thought the best part about this episode was the interaction between the team and Apophis. Jack’s sarcasm and contempt for Apophis was hilarious. Teal’c spent the whole episode walking around with a smug look on his face. The best, however, was Daniel’s little talk with Apophis. Daniel let his dark side out and every word he said seemed to sizzle as he taunted and threatened Apophis. Go get him, Daniel! 

I felt bad for Apophis’s host. After spending several thousand years parading around in ridiculous outfits, he regained control of his body just before a torturous death. Poor guy didn’t know what was going on. 

My Rating: 8/10

The Tok’ra, Part I

During a dream, Sam had a vision of Jolinar that included a gate address, so the team set off to meet the Tok’ra. Just before they left, Sam called her dad. Jacob was facing his last days in a battle with cancer. Sam went on the mission knowing Jacob would not want to be seen in a hospital bed. 

Once again, Sam proved that she is terrible with men. A Tok’ra named Martouf used a couple of cheesy lines, and she turned into a big pile of mush. Lord only knows what would have happened if Daniel didn’t interrupt their handholding session. 

I’m probably the only person who thinks like this, but does anyone else see the resemblance between Martouf and Sam the Eagle from The Muppet Show? In my opinion, that’s a more believable Sam and Martouf relationship than the one involving Captain Carter. 

Jack was considerably less friendly with the Tok’ra than Sam. He seemed extra grumpy and argumentative in this episode. In the end, the Tok’ra fulfilled Jack's fears. They decided not to form an alliance with Earth and held the team as “guests” after Hammond sent SG-3 to inform Sam her father was about to die. 

Never trust anything with a snake in its head. To be continued. 

My Rating: 8/10