Enemies

The team was facing some bleak prospects when Season Five started. They were stranded far from home, and Apophis was about to turn them into space debris. He was powering his weapons when another ship appeared and attacked. This allowed the team to take temporary refuge within a star’s corona sphere.

When the team reentered open space, they quickly discovered that Replicators had infested Apophis’s ship. The team was able to recover a set of hyperdrive crystals from the abandoned vessel. They got into a shootout with the mechanical bugs and fled just moments before the ship self-destructed.

I really liked the “We’re not going to make it” dialogue in this episode. The relationship between Sam and Jacob has grown fantastically over time. They have such a natural fit. Plus, it’s a hoot whenever Jack interacts with the Tok’ra.

We learned that Teal’c had been revived by Apophis and was brainwashed. He tricked the team and led an invasion that allowed Apophis to take control of their ship. Of course, Apophis always travels with too much luggage. (He’s such a diva.) A Replicator stowaway quickly began eating its way through the ship.

The Replicators created a huge bug that zipped everyone back to the Milky Way. Fearing the Replicators would take over the galaxy, the team devised a plan. They crashed the ship after it left hyperspace and escaped with Teal’c in a cargo ship. Teal’c was still convinced that Apophis was his god.

The Replicators and Apophis were destroyed. Or were they? Okay, this actually was the end of old snake boy. As much as I loved his outlandish arrogance and incredible resilience, it was time to turn the page. He was a great villain. Hey, there are always alternate realities.

My Rating: 9/10

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You might have noticed that I have been a huge slacker lately. There are two reasons for this. 1) I have been sick and didn’t have the energy to write. 2) I was starting to lose my motivation. I even considered quitting the project. Then I watched Continuum. Oh My God! I couldn’t believe how great that was. It completely reignited my love for the show. So, I’m going to jump back on the proverbial horse. I have about a month of free time before grad school starts up, so expect the updates to come fast and furious. 

Prodigy

Carter found a mini-me while giving a lecture at the Air Force Academy. Like most mini-mes, Cadet Hailey had a violent streak. She was on the verge of being kicked out of the academy, but Sam thought she could be motivated by a trip to the SGC.

Meanwhile, Jack and Teal’c were babysitting a group of scientists. The mission was pretty boring until the group ran into a pack of killer fireflies. Luckily, Dr. Bill Lee survived his run in with the energy aliens. This was his first appearance on the show. Ladies, contain yourselves.

I thought the scene where Sam and Cadet Hailey debated why the space bugs attacked felt a little forced and awkward. I got it. The kid still had a lot to learn. It was pretty funny to see Teal’c shoot Jack, though. I bet he enjoyed that.

Overall, a forgettable episode.

My Rating: 4/10

Legacy

The thing that always bothered me about this episode was how quick the doctors were to throw Daniel into a padded room. He was perfectly normal one day. Then he went crazy a couple of days later. I’d imagine that level of schizophrenia doesn’t happen overnight. Why wouldn’t they think it was the result of some alien doohickey? 

Daniel was a pretty convincing crazy person. It was kind of creepy to see him like that. Sam’s reaction when the team visited Daniel almost brought a tear to my eye. Someone better give that woman a hug. 

Here’s another silly question: Why did Ma’chello make those little bug things if he knew they would make normal people crazy? That’s a pretty serious side effect he probably would have considered.

Bonus point for Dr. Fraiser’s freak out. 

My Rating: 5/10

Show and Tell

A kid with a veiny head came through the stargate to warn the team about invisible space bugs. Naturally, everyone was a little skeptical until Mother blew up a computer monitor. After a quick call to the Tok’ra, Jacob showed up with cool guns that could illuminate the Re’tu and turn them into goop.

The kid was kind of cute and bonded with Jack. He even started calling himself Charlie after Jack’s son. As a result of the genetic manipulation Charlie underwent to become a messenger for the good Re’tu, he had numerous congenital diseases and his body was shutting down.

A group of rebel Re’tu got in the base, because the team was dumb enough to go to their staging area. The terrorist faction planned to destroy the population of Earth in an effort to eliminate all possible Goa’uld hosts. This led to a little shoot out in the SGC.

Did anyone else laugh that unintentionally funny moment? Oh yeah, that looked real.

With the terrorist space bugs neutralized, attention turned to Charlie. He passed out while hugging Jack, and Dr. Fraiser thought there was nothing she could do to help. Then Jacob offered to put a Tok’ra in his head to save his life. The veiny kid would have a chance to grow up.

My Rating: 8/10

Bane

Space bugs. Ugh, this could have been awful. Maybourne saved this episode from being a complete disaster, but it was still pretty bad.

SG-1 arrived on a recently deserted planet. The former inhabitants appeared to possess a similar level of technology as Earth, but their absence was unexplainable. Cue the giant space bug. It stung Teal’c and started a process that could create a space bug epidemic. 

When the team returned to Earth, Maybourne was granted custody of Teal’c. Teal’c escaped after his transport van was off the base, and he wandered around the city. He managed to make friends with a young girl who liked to play in abandoned buildings. I’m sure most parents would be pleased by the idea of their child hanging out in a secluded, dark room with a strange man who had an obvious disease. What could possibly happen?

Like I said earlier, Maybourne made this episode. He just brings out the best in people. I love the contemptuous dynamic between Jack and him, but Maybourne is capable of getting under anybody’s skin. It’s like he’s a natural born punching bag. 

“General Hammond, request permission to beat the crap out of this man.” 

My Rating: 4/10