Overall Rating: 9.3
The first time I watched this episode, I remember having some rather serious shell shock. The whole thing is legitimately scary for a good 40 minutes before the big "ah ha!!" where we realize it was all part of a sting. That's the mark of a well-written, well-acted script. Bravo!
Plot Synopsis:
Daniel is very excited - he's spent two weeks preparing to give a moving speech on behalf of Earth in the hall of the Curia on Tollana. After SG-1's heroism in "Pretense," the Tollans have agreed to open up diplomatic relations and hear from SG-1 - their mission: convince the Tollans to consider trading their coveted defense technology for intelligence on the Goa'uld. When they get there, the Tollans quickly inform them that their mission will fail - they have not bent one iota on giving up their technology to a less-developed world. Jack doesn't take this too well...he storms out of the hall and, upon noticing a disarming device on the wall, he rips it free and heads back to the SGC a thief! Everyone in the audience says "Holy CRAP!!" while the credits play.
When Jack reports on their "acquisition," Hammond is aghast that Jack would do such a thing and angrily informs him that he's crossed the line and will be forced to resign for his transgression. Jack makes a very public scene about the Pentagon's refusal to fund an off-world command center (for which, he'd have been offered a promotion) and storms out after tending his resignation. Alarmed, all of his friends from SG-1 pay him a visit - culminating with Daniel, who begs Jack to explain himself because, as he puts it, the Jack he knew would never have acted like this. Jack painfully rebuffs him, saying he must not have known him as well as he imagined and Daniel leaves, visibly shaken.
Meanwhile, Jack attracts the interest of Colonel Maybourne (NID)...he tries to recruit Jack into a shadow gate travel program where the mandate is considerably different than that of the official SGC. According to Maybourne, their off-world operation believes in doing anything necessary to assure the safety of Earth, even if it means theft and collateral damage to the indigenous peoples of other worlds. Jack refuses Maybourne's offer at first, but after a week of sitting around bored, he changes his tune. He takes a little flight with some of Maybourne's people and they use a Goa'uld telecommunication ball to talk to Jack soon-to-be-colleagues on an off-world shadow base. Jack agrees to join their operation and lead a team through the gate. Their first mission is to rendezvous with an SG-team lead by a mole who will be delivering stolen goods. Low and behold, the mole turns out to be Colonel Makepiece (formerly SG-3, now in command of SG-1!). Jack takes the device with him back to the shadow base and contacts the Asgard, who show up to reclaim all of the stolen goods. He warns them that after the Asgard are done taking back stolen goods, they're going to start beaming up people. They have a choice...they can wait for this to happen, or they can go back to Earth and be taken into custody! (and the audience rejoices!)
Back on Earth, with the fugitives in custody, the entire sting operation is explained to a stunned SG-1. As it turns out, the Tollans, the Asgard and the Nox were all going to completely sever diplomatic ties, believing the SGC to be responsible for the thefts, but Hammond was able to convince them all to give us a chance to catch the guilty parties red handed. Jack needed to make a believable (scary) stink over technology and alienate his friends for the sting to work and get him on the inside. In one bold move, the SGC has utterly crippled the rogue NID and captured two dozen fugitives. Daniel, still hurting from his earlier encounter with Jack, asks the Colonel if it was all an act and Jack assures him that it was...and that their friendship still meant a lot to him.
The Skinny:
SABR Matt - The road to hell is paved with good intentions...and the travelers on that road are often the ones most possessed with the opinion that the ends sometimes justify the means because they become so passionate in their defense of a belief, a homeland or a loved one that they lose perspective and their moral compass along the way. The problem with the NID/Trust arc, as I see it, is that the villains involved in these government conspiracies are not believable, nor are they interesting. Maybourne acquires some layers later in the series once he escapes the clutches of the NID for the relative safety of a Federal prison. :) But, for the most part, the villains are cookie-cutter bad guys whose motivation for behaving badly is never fleshed out as well as Colonel O'Neill's false evil persona was. This NID episode works because, for once, we are not sitting through a story where we know who the good guys and bad guys are and are not required to think about why they're good or bad.
Also important...the writers REALLY know their audience. By this time, almost everyone watching the show had made it clear that they were deeply invested in the friendships amongst the heroes of SG-1. When the writers want to give us a good scare, all they have to do is call those friendships into question and make us believe it. This episode would not have worked at all if it hadn't been for the fact that all of O'Neill's treacherous actions appeared to be roughly "in character." He's the first to complain when the Tok'ra screw us over in their own self-interest or when the Tollans won't help us defend Earth from the Goa'uld. He hates Maybourne and continued hating Maybourne even when he appeared to switch sides. He got back in the game (apparently) because he couldn't stay away and genuinely wanted to help defend Earth. We are simultaneously horrified at Jack's actions and seriously considering whether Jack, at the end of his tether, might actually do something this blatantly out of line and cast aside years old friendships in the process.
Brilliant characterization while doing something completely out of previously established character? (best Russian accent) Vot next (/accent)...a villain who is NOT an over-dressed, melo-dramatic, egotistical cookie cutter caricature? Nah...this is Stargate! It's driven by simplicity and easy enjoyment. :) But for one episode, Gate managed to capture the kind of creative brilliance that pervades canons like Deep Space Nine and House. There will be other creative triumphs along the way, but let's just say...Stargate, being first and foremost an enjoyable anthology series (rather than a serial) is not generally moved by a great desire to be innovative.
Stephanie S. - This episode has inspired a host of fan writers, and it's not hard to see why. As SABR Matt notes above, the show hits right where it hurts here by - apparently - going after the friendships that bind SG1 together. The thing that haunts me most about this episode is the look on Daniel's face when Jack tells him that their relationship has no real foundation. That Jack would be willing to go that far to ferret out a mole in the SGC -- well, suffice it to say that this adds a whole new - and darker - layer to Jack. In his comments, SABR Matt correctly observes that the members of Maybourne's rogue band have allowed the ends to justify the means; I believe that Jack, in a way, does something similar when he cuts down Daniel so completely. I believe that Jack does the right thing in this episode - Maybourne's operation needed to be stopped - but his methods are certainly -- unusually ambiguous (and harsh!). And that, to me, makes this episode very interesting -- and it makes this episode's title very appropriate.
The Ratings:
Writing: 10.0 / 9.0
Very crisply moving plot, deeply engrossing and scary drama, and memorable dialog (highlighted below) involving Jack and his stunned friends on SG-1 make for an appealing package. The writers make up for several really mediocre showings involving the NID with one episode that finally gives the entire organization a believable motivation by attaching a familiar face and a reasonable (yet wrong) argument to their actions. Standing O!
Stephanie S. Chimes In: I remember being impressed by this episode when I saw it for the first time, but it loses a little bit of its power to shock after repeated viewings. Just a little, though - as I suggested above, the scenes between Jack and Daniel in particular still prompt more than one "youch!" from me even though, as a viewer "in the know," I am fully aware that it's all part of the sting.
Acting: 10.0 / 9.0
The fact that Don S. Davis and RDA are able to convince us that everything we're seeing is real (and not a clever rouse) while their characters know full well that it's all an act is sensational. Jack is still Jack and he's doing really evil things! YIKES!! The reaction RDA draws from Michael Shanks in particular is also fabulous...both when Daniel fears his friendship has been based on lies AND when he realizes all of those hurtful things Jack said were part of a sting. Although relieved, you can tell Daniel is still wounded by the whole experience. I also rather enjoyed Maybourne's performance in this episode...a nearly flawless showing all around.
Stephanie S. Chimes In: I'm not sure the acting merits a perfect score, but I generally agree with my co-author that this is, overall, a compelling episode on the performance front.
Message: 9.0 / 9.0
FINALLY...the NID is given some motives that are both believable and identifiably flawed. And the episode does a great job summarizing the flaw in their thinking in one pleasing line: "We don't need their stuff, Maybourne...we do need friends like them." We can all sympathize with the passionate desire to lay ones hands on the weapon or defensive shield or FTL-capable ship that you think you need to stop the barbarians at the gates from sacking the capital...but getting "things" isn't going to solve your problems nearly as well as having reliable allies to back you up when things get hairy. A proper balance must be applied to a program whose mandate is to seek out new cultures and acquire technology that might help make Earth a better and safer place...one cannot just grab for the stuff...one needs to push for that stuff without alienating potential allies who are more powerful than you. :)
Highlights:
DANIEL: (to O'Neill) What are you doing?
O'NEILL: (angrily) We never should have saved their technologically superior butts. (He stops before a lighted panel.)It's that thing they disable our weapons with, isn't it?
TEAL'C: As well as the Goa'uld technology.
DANIEL: Don't even think about it. [O'Neill ignores him and pulls the panel off the wall.]
CARTER: Sir, isn't this against regulations? [O'Neill pulls a device out of the wall and takes it.]
O'NEILL: I suppose it is, Carter. Let's go. [He starts heading down the corridor, followed by his team.]
DANIEL: Kind of crossing the line…
O'NEILL: Shut up Daniel. (yikes!)
O'NEILL: I took it, sir.
HAMMOND: Took it?
O'NEILL: Yes.
HAMMOND: You stole it?
O'NEILL: I like to think of it as borrowed, sir. Major Carter can figure out how to reproduce it and we'll give it back.
HAMMOND: I can't believe what I'm hearing. You and your team stole an alien device from an extremely advanced alien culture.
O'NEILL: They won't retaliate, if that's what you're worried about. Not their way, right Daniel?
HAMMOND: This command has already been accused of stealing from several other alien cultures, Colonel. Until now, we've denied it. Perhaps that was a bit premature. Dare I ask how many other items you've stolen?
O'NEILL: None. This is the first.
HAMMOND: Colonel, you don't seem to understand how serious this matter is. You and your team have committed a court-martiable offence.
O'NEILL: To be fair, General, I did it. Carter and Daniel protested. And Teal'c…well he really didn't say anything but I could tell he was opposed to my actions by the way he cocked his head and sort of raised his eyebrow…
HAMMOND: Enough, Colonel. Dr Jackson, Major Carter and Teal'c. You will return this device immediately to the Tollan and hopefully smooth over what must be some very ruffled feathers.
CARTER: Yes, sir.
O'NEILL: Why? Our core mission is to go through that Gate and find technologies we can use to defend against Goa'uld incursion. Am I right?
HAMMOND: You are bordering on insubordination. We do not steal from friendlies.
O'NEILL: Well, with no due respect, General, that's just plain stupid.
HAMMOND: Colonel…
O'NEILL: And since the Pentagon won't approve our backup program, we have no choice!
HAMMOND: Colonel, do not go there…
O'NEILL: We have no choice but to take whatever steps we need to get what we need!
HAMMOND: As long as I am in command of the SGC, we will hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards.
O'NEILL: And when the Goa'uld wipe us out because we have nothing with which to defend ourselves, I'm sure we'll all feel great about ourselves and our high, moral standards!
HAMMOND: Colonel O'Neill. You are out of line. Now stand down! (this whole scene is freakin' scary...mostly because I could totally see Jack saying every single thing he says here and being this angry when his back is against the wall. He's not that far out of character here)
CARTER: sir?
O'NEILL: What?
CARTER: Is there anything I can do?
O'NEILL: About?
CARTER: Well, sir, with respect you aren't exactly acting like yourself.
O'NEILL: No Carter. I haven't been acting like myself since I met you. Now I'm acting like myself. (eeeeek!)
O'NEILL: Well, look who's here. Come to retrieve your vastly superior stuff. You know, it would be a lot more superior if it wasn't so easy to steal. (OOOOOOHH...)
DANIEL: So…how are you feeling about all of this?
O'NEILL: Yes to the beer. No to the feelings.
DANIEL: That's, ah, that's too bad because I don't really like beer.
O'NEILL: Stop your worrying. I'm fine.
DANIEL: Really. That's, ah, that's funny because I didn't figure you for the early retirement type anymore. There's another reason you're angry, isn't there?
O'NEILL: Oh here we go. Pop psyche 101, right?
DANIEL: No. When we were in the briefing, you said something about the Pentagon not giving us the backup we requested. What, er, what were you talking about?
O'NEILL: Hammond and I were planning a secondary SGC base offworld. It was going to serve as a backup in case ours was attacked. I was going to command.
DANIEL: And the Pentagon pulled the plug. So you're acting out because you're hurt, because you didn't get a command.
O'NEILL: Gimme a break Daniel. Their denial of the program was just another indication that they're not serious about attaining our goals.
DANIEL: Which you think is attaining new weapons and technology.
O'NEILL: Protecting ourselves.
DANIEL: But isn't our mission also about establishing and maintaining diplomatic relations with other cultures?
O'NEILL: What's the point if we don't gain anything to help our other interests?
DANIEL: Well there's a lot we could learn from people like the Tollan that has nothing to do with technology and weapons.
O'NEILL: Stuff that interests people like you, Daniel. Not people like me. I want to see tangible gains from our efforts, and if people like the Tollan don't want to share, we should just take. (eeep)
DANIEL: You really believe that?
O'NEILL: Being sweet and nice isn't going to stop three or four Goa'uld motherships if they decide to come back again. I'd rather be a thief and alive than honest and dead. It's a cliché, but there it is.
DANIEL: If you really believe that, I guess, ah, I guess I never really knew you at all.
O'NEILL: Come on. You're a bright guy. You had to sense some of this. [Daniel doesn't answer.] Then no. I guess you couldn't relate to me any more than I could to you.
DANIEL: So this whole, ah, this whole friendship thing we've been working on in the last few years is…
O'NEILL: Apparently not much of a foundation there, huh? (YOWZA!!)
NEWMAN: Sir? Sir, we do not open the Gate without direct orders from Colonel Mayborne. Colonel, what are you doing.
O'NEILL: Opening up some options! (O'Neill punches him out...awesome action hero line!)
TOBIAS: There's an Asgard ship descending over the base! [She looks up to see O'Neill standing before the event horizon. Lights start flashing around the base, making the stolen devices disappear.]
TOBIAS: What are they doing?
O'NEILL: Taking back what's rightfully theirs, I guess. Listen up all of you. You've got two choices here. As soon as they stop taking stuff, they're going to start taking people. Now you can go with the Asgard…or you can follow me. Your choice. I'll be holding the door open so you can't go anywhere else.
MAKEPEACE: You really blew it O'Neill.
O'NEILL: Oh, I think it came off quite nicely, don't you General?
HAMMOND: Yes I do. (heh)
MAKEPEACE: You have no idea how high up this goes.
O'NEILL: Like the Tollan, Tok'ra, Asgard, Nox…those folks?
MAKEPEACE: They refuse to give us the things we need to defend ourselves against the Goa'uld.
O'NEILL: We don't need their stuff Makepeace. We do need them. (indeed)
O'NEILL: Um, Daniel? That stuff I was talking about at my house…
DANIEL: Uh…
O'NEILL: The place was bugged, I had to keep up the act.
DANIEL: I, it's, I understand.
O'NEILL: And obviously the whole friendship thing, the foundation, it's all solid.
DANIEL: Obviously, it's, you don't have to…
O'NEILL: Nothing to worry about.
DANIEL: You don't have to…
O'NEILL: No, no, I feel I kinda…I do appreciate that you were the one that came to see if I was ok. That…that means something.
DANIEL: Ah, actually, no it doesn't.
O'NEILL: Huh?
DANIEL: Um, we, uh, we drew straws. I lost. (LOL)
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