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

Deadman Switch

This episode didn’t do much for me. The bounty hunter, Aris Boch, was too clichéd. Let’s go down the list: 1) The people he served were responsible for destroying his race. 2) He was immune to certain weapons. 3) He was addicted to a drug. 4) He had a custom built gun. 5) He was the best because he was alive. 6) His plans were overly complex. Am I missing anything? 

This episode had some redeeming qualities. I thought it was funny how Daniel seemed offended when Boch claimed his bounty was only worth half a day’s rations. It was also nice to see the team totally outwitted. And Teal’c was perfectly in character when he offered to be taken to Sokar. 

The biggest problem with this episode was that Boch turned around too quickly at the end. Eh, this was very forgettable. 

My Rating: 3/10

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