“The Serpent’s Lair” ( 2 x 01 )

So! The Season One finale left me with pretty much the biggest cliffhangers ever. Let’s recap very quickly, shall we?

-          Jackson had an experience involving an alternate universe with no Teal’c, different positions, at war with the Goa’uld… but worst of all, no Teal’c!

-          Jackson came back to this reality with some coordinates involving said Goa’uld

-          The Stargate program is shut down, but before they can bury the ‘Gate, SG-1 goes off to pursue these coordinates

-          They find themselves on a freaking massive Goa’uld vessel , and in a grapple Skaara/Klorel is killed

-          The season ended with the crew standing in a room, looking out the ship’s window to Earth and its moon, and then another ship is revealed next to it

-          Earth = Screwed

Now that that’s over with, it’s time to see just how this epic arc will end… unless it’s a two-parter season premiere. (Cue head-desk.)

We zoom back into the crew (hey, that works) and O’Neill is back in command mode. He’s put aside his grieving of Skaara and is once more focused on the mission at hand. He orders Carter to be ready to blow this place (with the strageically-placed C-4, of course) at his command. Looks like that may not have that “24 hour” timeslot she and Jackson had planned.

Apophis’ ship, since he’s commanding the other vessel, comes into view. We get another factoid about Goa’uld technology: According to Teal’c, it has shields.

(SHIELDS UP! SHIELDS AT FIFTY PERCENT! SHIELDS FAILING! Oh, wait, wrong franchise.)

But before they can do anything, the Jaffa get into the room and throw some kind of sphere inside. It emits a blinding light and a high-pitched whine before knocking them all out.

Well, that’s not good.

Teal’c is the first one to sit up, and as O’Neill wakes up, too, it seems they are blinded. The Jaffa insists it will pass (that sphere was a “Goa’uld Shock Grenade”) but it’s a formidable weapon. A bit of dark humour arises as O’Neill is trying to bolster everyone’s spirits as they wake up:

“We’ve been in worse situations than this.”

(Teal’c) “Not to my knowledge.”

“…Thanks, Teal’c.”

Jackson feels like he’s more or less failed, but O’Neill, ever the optimist, thinks they still have a chance to get out of here.

Back on base (hey, we’re on Earth) Samuels is talking to a very-unhappy Hammond. Samuels tells him that there are two new weapons, prototypes, that they’re going to try and launch at the Goa’uld vessels. They don’t want to get the military involved quite yet.

My guess? These weapons are going to epically fail and SG-1 will still need to save the day.

On Apophis’ ship, a Serpent Guard tells him his son is in the revival sarcophagus, and Apophis orders SG-1 executed immediately (noes!). However, he is also going to wait until Klorel has risen again before launching an attack on Earth.

So, good news is, they have time.

Bad news is, they might die before they can do anything.

Quite the predicament.

We’re on Earth again, and Samuels is explaining these new missiles, infused with some of the Stargate element, to Hammond and a council. There are three hours until they strike. I still think Samuels is severely underestimating the Goa’uld. He’s gonna pay hell for this.

And we’re back in the cell that SG-1 is in. A Jaffa approaches, and…

IT’S BRA-TAC!!!

HAAHAHAHA YAAAAAAAY

I swear!! I swear I recognized his voice earlier when he was talking to that other Jaffa but I thought I was just hearing things!! Oh, man, this just got about THIRTY TIMES as awesome.

And the first thing he does?

He clocks O’Neill in the jaw and calls them all idiots.

Ah, I missed you, most-awesome-133-year-old-ever.

It turns out that Bra-tac had a plan of his own to save Earth, and is pretty upset that they interfered. He’d done a ton to get back into Apophis’ good graces, essentially as a spy/assassin/plotter in general. He was indeed the Jaffa ordered to execute them (I knew it, I knew it!) but he’s going to get them out.

On Earth, Hammond is getting ideas that maybe SG-1 is on one of the ships, and something they did has stalled the attack. (So brilliant! Gotta love that bald guy from Texas.)

Back on the ship, Bra-tac has taken the crew to the Stargate room where they’re once more loading up with guns. The old Jaffa’s plan had been to lead an army against Apophis in Klorel’s name (since that would not be unusual in the Goa’uld culture), but he doesn’t think that’s going to work now.

Earth again (these transitions are so sudden!), and Hammond is about to send roughly… Oh, I’d say fifty people through the Stargate to a place he’s called “Alpha Site”, where basically they will carry on the human race if the Goa’uld destroy Earth.

(Man, wouldn’t that be a bummer.)

Klorel rises from his Sarcophagus once again, and he is absolutely determined to destroy Earth to bits.  With the ships moving again, Earth launches the missiles, and I can see that this is not going to work. IT’S NOT.

Apophis and Klorel (though he struggles… Skaara?) activate their ships’ shields against the missiles and… nothing happens. Of course.

On Apophis’ ship, Klorel transports over and reports that his host is stronger now. I presume this is because Skaara had seen O’Neill and his hope was restored. He seems to be fighting against Klorel now, and while the son asks if he can continue to recuperate, Apophis flat-out refuses and tells him to get back on his ship. Tough dad.

SG-1, along with three of Bra-tac’s warriors, moves out to try and get on the other ship. Bra-tac once again emphasizes the fact that he is a FREAKING BEEEAST without even having to send a spark. He’s literally taken command (again) and it’s working out pretty well.

He goes into Klorel’s chambers (or command center, not quite sure where we’re at) and basically tells the kid he’s… well, a kid with a parasite inside him, and not a god.

(I don’t think he’s going to get “Jaffa Serpent Guard of the Year” this time around.)

As Klorel is preoccupied with sucking out Bra-tac’s energy/life force, SG-1 and Bra-tac’s cronies move in to take out more bad guys. Out in the hallway, Daniel is shot by a Jaffa and he tells O’Neill to just leave him. They, in fact, do, and go to Apophis’ ship, and Teal’c’s got his gun to Klorel’s temple. Before they escape, they let Klorel go, and then they go to sabotage Apophis’ ship.

O’Neill drops a couple of grenades onto the shield generators, and they’re done.

Just like that.

(Wow, some security on that ship, huh? No backup shields? This isn’t anything like Star Trek. They always manage to have backups of backups and then backups of those..! That, of course, is because we can never let the good guys die in that series.)

Bra-tac slips a Surge Grenade into the glider bay and they team up: Carter with Teal’c, and Bra-tac with O’Neill.

Meanwhile, Jackson got put into the healing sarcophagus.

Wait, what? By who?

(Oh, right, wait ten seconds for your answer, silly Marie.)

He’s still got his gun with him, and he climbs out to see one minute left on the C-4 timer.

Oh! I just realized! He must’ve been able to pull himself in after being shot.  Wow, that must’ve been quite a feat.

He manages to activate the Stargate and gets through before the whole ship blows to pieces! And it does! The C-4 work! Yay! And the other ship (at least I think) is destroyed from the massive explosions!

The two gliders are moving, but they’re in bad shape from the explosion. However, they still have time to enjoy the view: Earth’s surface.

Jackson jumps in through the Stargate (hurrah!!) and is greeted by Hammond.

The space shuttle Endeavor (sounds like a great name for a starship, too) comes to the Gliders and rescues the rest of SG-1, and Bra-tac too. They enter into the control for the ‘Gate and are greeted with applause. (No courts-martial now!) In fact, Hammond thanks Bra-tac for leading his people so valiantly. The old Jaffa has an emotional yet silent parting with the crew, especially with Teal’c, and he leaves. It’s really quite the moment. So many things were said with so few words. But he must return to Chulak, where hopefully he can bring more Jaffa to his noble cause.

They also reunite with Jackson, and O’Neill embraces him in a tight, manly hug, because manly men can only hug in a manly manner. In fact, I was hoping for a group hug, but eh, it’s a happy ending nonetheless.

Final thoughts… So! SG-1 has saved the day, everyone’s alive, FREAKING BRA-TAC AWW YEAAAH, epic space battle avoided by the use of C-4, and it’s all good!

This two, or maybe I could fall it a three or four-parter, was pretty good. It had a ton of action (I feel like I’ve just overdosed on AWESOME) and took the plot a few different places, and has even set it up for the future. We’ve got Bra-tac, who just saved a planet (along with SG-1) and will probably be remembered rather fondly for that, and the humans who helped him, too. He’s just undermined his gods by effectively defeating them in battle.

I’ve just looked it up and confirmed that, yes, both of the Goa’uld vessels exploded. One collided with the other, and the C-4 helped put an end to it all. So, what’s happened to Apophis and Klorel? Are they both dead? Did they manage to escape? Who’s the next Goa’uld, if Apophis is indeed dead? What about his queen (Sha’re)? So many questions!! I want answers now!

So what do I foresee, perhaps in this season or beyond? Well, I can see more ships showing up, more attention from any other species focusing on Earth now that they’ve effectively defeated two enormous enemy ships, possible revolution or something on Chulak, and MORE ADVENTURES!!! for SG-1. I also expect that Senator Kinsey and Samuels, among others, will quietly go into the shadows, seeing as they were wrong about just about everything during this ordeal. Pretty sure the Stargate’s not going anywhere now.

This is going to be another great season – maybe better than the last. I can’t wait!

REFLECTION/PREDICTION THINGY

The crew celebrates their victory.

(O’Neill cracks open a bottle of champagne and laughs as it bubbles over.)

O’Neill: We did it, everyone! We saved the world!

Jackson: Again!

(They each take a glass, even Teal’c, and toast to victory.)

Carter: So, what now?

O’Neill: …What do you mean, ‘What now?’ Can’t we have a five-minute break? Jesus, we all just nearly died up there, and you already want to have another mission?

Teal’c: Captain Carter, perhaps it is merely in the crew’s best interests to simply… take a leave.

Carter: Come on, Teal’c, don’t tell me you’re worn-out after that? Must’ve been a walk in the park for ya, big guy.

(The Jaffa quickly busies himself with his champagne.)

Jackson: I wonder what the effects of alcohol are on the Jaffa brain…

O’Neill: (Watching Teal’c, he grins) I guess we’re about to find out.

Season One Reflection

All I can really say about this series is… wow. Like anything else, it’s got hits and misses in terms of episodic quality, but Stargate SG-1 has so many hits it’s unreal. And this is only the first season! The writers and production team have accomplished more in terms of overall plot and character development than some shows take three seasons to do. It’s all very overwhelming but at the same time very exciting.

So what did I think were the best of the best? Well, since I presume you don’t all want to hear me going on about how I love and admire every inch of Teal’c’s body and every facet of his character, I’ll say… one episode per character, one for the whole team, and one for the larger plot. What really showcased them. I’m doing this because the first season of a series is always extremely important. It’s the only way to really hook an audience. Sure, people can jump in later, but it’s always good to start from the top. That’s what I’ve done, and I’m glad!

What I thought of… THE PILOT

“Children of the Gods” (1x01/02)

This was a very solid pilot episode. It did a nice job of recapping the events of the Stargate film and introducing us to each of the characters. At first I was doubtful of a couple characters (Carter was very annoying to me in the beginning, and I wasn’t quite sure what to make of Hammond) but they turned out much better developed by the end of this season. I thought the inclusion of Teal’c was a very good choice by the writers, since it allows there to be a true “outsider” character in the series. I was a little “meh” about a couple of the scenes and it certainly wasn’t the best episode of the season to me, but like I said, a solid first episode. A decent hook.

Best episode for… JACK O’NEILL

“Cold Lazarus” (1x08)

You probably saw this coming! I absolutely adored this episode. It was the first taste we get of a non-snarky, non-wisecracking side of O’Neill. Brilliant in that they revealed all this without the Colonel himself. I loved the notion of kindred spirits. This episode nearly had me in tears by the end. It was beautiful in so many ways, and it really made me see him in a different sort of light – that he wasn’t the “Captain Kirk of Stargate” or whatever. He was a guy with legitimate problems and legitimate struggles. It made him seem more real to me.

Best episode for… DANIEL JACKSON

“The Torment of Tantalus” (1x10)

Another pretty obvious one. I don’t hold this episode in the high regard that I see quite a few other fans doing, but I do think it’s an important episode, for Jackson in particular. He’s the nerdy cultural guy. No one’s ever going to argue that. (He also looks really good when he takes his glasses off but anyways…) This episode really showcased his obsession with the accumulation of knowledge, and also O’Neill’s role as Jackson’s sort of “anchor to reality”. Jackson nearly died in his quest for the secrets of the universe. He learned an important lesson here: Knowledge isn’t everything.

Best episode for… SAMANTHA CARTER

“Singularity” (1x16)

This was a tough one to decide, especially since I didn’t like Carter at first. I suppose I chose this one because it, as well as “Solitudes”, was the turning point in my opinion of her. At first I hated her feminism bravado because I felt it was way overdone. Later in the season, she revealed a nurturing spirit which mingled with her unending pursuit of perfection and success in a “man’s world”, as the military and science divisions are. She’s really not that irritating, once she gets comfortable with where she is. In fact, I kind of… like her. That scene in the bottom floor of the nuclear facility as she cradled Cassandra was amazing. Possibly her finest moment in the season.

Best episode for… TEAL’C

“Cor-Ai” (1x15)

Well, I could just say that every time Teal’c shows his face on the screen kittens are saved and rainbows go up and a hungry child is saved, but that doesn’t really have anything to do with SG-1, now, does it? I felt like saying it anyways, though, because he is just that amazing.

It’s become what I think is “common knowledge” through this blog that I love Teal’c. I think he is just the greatest thing since Leonard Nimoy and sliced bread, as well as Nutella, because that stuff just rocks. But this episode showed Teal’c at both his finest and his most vulnerable. Sure, we’d touched on this already in “Thor’s Hammer” and even “Bloodlines”, but this episode tugs and pulls at my heartstrings every time. I say it over and over, but I can’t get enough of that scene with O’Neill and Teal’c in the dark, empty courtroom, Teal’c pretty much spilling out the truth and his heart’s confessions, tucked away and never to be found for so long. It’s also another great strain in the relationship between these two fantastic characters. O’Neill wants desperately to trust Teal’c, as the Jaffa has demonstrated his undying loyalty again and again, and yet these demons from his past come up so often it’s unreal.

Another very fine moment from this episode was after all the Jaffa had been defeated and Teal’c has saved pretty much everyone, he still wants the final decision to be up to Hanno. He hands over his staff and is prepared to die by his own weapon. It’s an oddly touching sort of moment between the victim and the perpetrator. Honor, bravery, loyalty, and fairness: Teal’c at his best. That’s this episode.

Best episode for… THE CREW (and also the PLOT)

“There but for the Grace of God” (1x20)

It’s an interesting pick, I admit, but it works out so unbelievably well. It’s not until you see their alternates that you really start to pick up on who these characters are and how their interactions changed each other. Most heartbreaking was, of course, Teal’c having never joined SG-1 and the bombing of Chulak. It was certainly one of those “this is how it could be” episodes that are just amazing. Sometimes these sort of AU plots flop and die. This was different because it could happen, and now SG-1 is fighting the future so they can write it themselves…

Season two, AVAST!!

S1 FINALE: "Within the Serpent's Grasp" (1x22)

Once again, I watched this episode prior to blogging about it, and for that I kind of hate myself. Why? Because there was a huge cliffhanger at the end. So I’ll hop to it – this was intense!

We’re once again at the SGC base and we see General Hammond shredding all evidence of the Stargate project. O’Neill is, once again, trying to convince him that, “Hey, the Goa’uld are a huge threat and maybe we should not shut down Earth’s only defense against them!”

SG-1 is once again at the control room for the Stargate, and Teal’c is still planning on leaving

(NO, NO, YOU CAN’T LEAVE, TEAL’C, I WON’T LET YOU)

but Jackson is, once again, convinced of his alternate timeline experience and that the Goa’uld are still out there, at the other end of the coordinates. He thinks that they can stop them from that place, and Teal’c agrees that they would have the element of surprise on their side. O’Neill at last says that he will go to the coordinates, and the rest of the team agrees, against all regulations and despite the fact that they’re likely to be court-martialed the second they return.

They activate the Stargate and get through, since SGC was unable to stop them.

They go in with night vision goggles (man, the last time they used those it was “The Broca Divide” and we all know what happened then…) and find some crates with cool weapons! which Teal’c says are  zat’n’ktel guns. O’Neill of course takes the easy route and has deemed them “zat guns”. One shot injures a person, a second shot kills them. Since Teal’c’s going through this I have a feeling we’re going to see more zat guns in the future.

There’s some kind of shift in the ground and Jackson tries to dial home, but since when has that ever worked? Indeed, it doesn’t.

The doors open up and about eight Jaffa Serpent Guards enter in and release some kind of sphere (SPHERE BUILDERS—Oh wait, this isn’t Enterprise) which hovers over the ‘Gate. They exit, and never spot SG-1. A very funny O’Neill line follows:
“I always get a happy, tingly feeling whenever I see those guys.”

Ah, Jack. Always the joker.

Teal’c says that the sphere is sort of like a television, and O’Neill cracks another joke:

“Think it gets Showtime?”

(For those of you unfamiliar, Stargate SG-1 was originally aired on Showtime.)

They sneak out, and discover that there are even more guards in this facility. They sneak around (seems like they’ve got this spy thing down, no costumes required! (see “Bloodlines”)) and discover that…

…they’re not on a planet…

…they’re on a Goa’uld transport vessel!

Okay, this is awesome. This is so awesome. This is what I’ve been waiting for! We finally get to see the nuts and bolts and guts of a starship – ‘Gate Style! Their warp/hyper launch looks pretty sweet too. Not quite sure how that works, but it looks epic. So many colours!

Teal’c admits that he didn’t know they were even on a ship, but their collective musing is interrupted by one of the Goa’uld’s henchmen. We get to see the first shots from a zat gun (it’s like a blue-white electricity; very cool) and… oh, by the way, a third shot disintegrates a body. That’s fun.

Ever more Serpent Guards are assembling. At this point in time, Jackson realizes that they’re on the attack ship headed straight to Earth. Teal’c says that the ships aren’t supposed to travel more than ten times the speed of light. Judging by this, Carter says that they’ve got at least a year before they reach Earth.

So plenty of time!

…Why do I have a sickening feeling they don’t have a lot of time?

The team sneaks off to follow everyone, and they’re once more at the Stargate, where the TV-sphere hovers. It’s Apophis again. (Bleeehh! I hate your voice!! And you’re creepy!) He tells his troops that Klorel, his son, is to be their commander.

But who is Klorel?!

IT’S SKAARA!

Per usual, I hate where this is going.

O’Neill’s very upset over Apophis calling Klorel/Skaara his “son”. Teal’c and O’Neill go off to try and see if they can get the “old Skaara” back from inside, as he is the host. Carter and Jackson go to set C-4 around the ship (Fiona from Burn Notice would be quite proud of them) in case all fails and they need to get rid of the threat by any means necessary.

Teal’c and O’Neill manage to get into Klorel’s quarters and take out the guards with their zat guns. (Those are awfully handy little phaser-things!) O’Neill tries to get through to Skaara, but Klorel (the Goa’uld within) says that the host was weak and succumbed easily. Jack, of course, hates to hear this, and continues to try to get Klorel to let him talk to Skaara. He’s forced to shoot Klorel, and the pain is enough to get Skaara out. It’s so adorable, poor Skaara being so scared and O’Neill trying desperately to make him feel better, but it’s extremely short-lived. Just as Skaara is asking Jack to forgive him “for what we are about to do”, Klorel re-emerges and the Jaffa get in.

Teal’c still has a handle on Klorel, and says that if they kill O’Neill, he will kill Klorel. However, he thinks of Skaara, and lets the boy go. Klorel has them dragged back to the ‘Gate room to be presented to Apophis, where Jackson and Carter are still setting up C-4. They hide. They are presented, and O’Neill’s response is, “Hey Pops.”

Ah, goodness, I can never get enough of his snarky dialogue.

Apophis orders them both killed: Teal’c will have his symbiote removed (no..!) and Klorel get to choose how O’Neill dies.

However, perhaps something of the host does indeed survive… Just as a priest takes out a really, really nasty-looking, sharp object, Klorel orders them taken elsewhere. They’re once more in his chambers, and Klorel shows them a viewscreen, and they see…

…Saturn. Yup, our Saturn.

Skaara is going to make O’Neill suffer a far worse tragedy than death: He’s going to have to watch as his home planet is destroyed by the Goa’uld.

Back on Earth, a Sergeant speaks with Hammond, and states that they just caught “two large blips passing Saturn”. It’s only at this point that Hammond really realizes that Jackson was right. The battalion is coming. In fact, it’s here.

Jackson and Carter follow some Jaffa into an airwing, where they see them boarding the Death Glider planes. The troops are mobilizing and ready. They rush into the same room as Teal’c and O’Neill, and manage to gun down all of the guards. Klorel starts to basically drain the life out of Jackson, and while O’Neill is continuously screaming, “Skaara! Don’t!” it is to no avail. Not enough of the host survives to prevail despite his friend’s cries. He is forced to put two bullets in Klorel… and ultimately, in his friend Skaara.

Now, I don’t get why it had to end this way. Surely someone else on SG-1 could’ve pulled out their zat gun and just taken a single shot at Klorel? I presume that only O’Neill and Teal’c had their weapons taken away, if they did at all. (In fact I do think that Teal’c had his staff and zat gun taken away…)

Skaara emerges one last time to say O’Neill’s name, and takes his final breath. Teal’c paces to the window, and sees what they were all dreading:

Earth and its moon coming fast into view.

The camera zooms out to show not one, but two huge ships with weird pyramids on top and probably an arsenal of guns and the like.

This is serious business, guys. Earth’s in it deep this time, and for real.

Final thoughts…. Holy cow, what can I say? Skaara’s dead, and so is Apophis’ son… and thus the commander of the one ship. However, the troops are already prepped and ready to go down and start obliterating Planet Earth. SG-1 is stuck up top, and I seriously have no idea what they’re going to do now. The C-4 won’t do anything. The Death Gliders will be gone by then.

I truly have no predictions. I can’t think of any. Literally anything could happen in the Season Two opener.

Other than that… yay, warp-like technology and STARSHIPS!! I still find it crazy that the Goa’uld vessels could go faster than ten times the speed of light (isn’t that like, Warp 10, which is the speed they use on Star Trek to slingshot around the sun and time travel? Or is that referring to light speed to the tenth power..?) so maybe they were going, like I just said, light speed to the tenth power. Which would be crazy-fast. I thought the ships were weird (where’s the propulsion? Engineering? Et cetera?) but we really haven’t seen enough to discern.

I have my reflection to write on this season… and then it’s on to another adventure! Whooo!

REFLECTION/PREDICTION THINGY

The crew is screwed.

Jackson: Well, we’re screwed.

Carter: Totally screwed.

O’Neill: More screwed than a screw.

Teal’c: I must concur that these are unfortunate circumstances, indeed.

O’Neill: So you agree that we’re screwed.

Teal’c: ..Yup.

“Politics” ( 1 x 21 )

Well, after that stellar episode last night, I doubt this will be nearly as exciting, but I’m still eager to see. The title screen shows O’Neill in full, formal uniform (quite handsome really) and so I’m guessing this will be the political side of SG-1. They touch on it occasionally, but I have a feeling we’ll be diving into the meat of that situation a little more here…

Indeed, we start at the Base, and Daniel’s getting patched up. (Hey, this sounds just like my prediction at the end of the last blog!) The crew seems to doubt his insistence that he traveled to another timeline and saw all this destruction occur. O’Neill seems a little preoccupied with the notion that he and Carter were engaged but she, of course, is more concerned with the idea of an alternate universe in itself.

Hammond walks in with Lt. Col. Samuels. There is to be a hearing about Stargate that day. Apparently a Senator Kinsey took interest in the program, but he’s not so thrilled about the results so far. If the hearing doesn’t go well, the SG program could be shut down. (Hm, remind anyone of NASA’s space shuttle program shutdown due to budget..?)

My prediction… they’re going to have to convince them that they’ve made progress that will and has benefitted humanity. Er, the Tau’ri, anyways.

Here, back in Hammond’s office, we get some answers. The Stargate costs 7.4 billion dollars a year to operate, and this senator was concerned because he didn’t even know what all this money is going to. They showed him it eventually, but as Hammond says, “The plan backfired,” and Kinsey now wants to cut off all Treasury funding.

No more Gate-hopping! Aww!

Down at the Hangout are O’Neill in his uniform, as well as Jackson, Carter, and Teal’c (hi! hi Teal’c! nice to see you haven’t lost your mind this week/reality!). The Senator comes down and says, “So, this is the infamous SG-1.”

Infamous, my butt! They’ve only saved hundreds of lives and took down a freaking Goa’uld that was probably going to target Earth next!

He overall has a very pessimistic view of the whole thing and doesn’t seem to understand the bigger picture behind the ‘Gate, though he does recognize the worth of service to one’s country. His problem seems to be the secrecy of the Stargate, and finds it dangerous, especially considering they rarely bring anything back. However, on the President’s orders, he’ll hear them out.

Carter argues for the scientific wonders of the ‘Gate, and Jackson for the cultural, but Kinsey also seems to believe it to be a “Pandora’s Box” of sorts.

(But Teal’c came from it! How bad can it be, really? Also more awesome people like Quark… er, I mean, the Nox guy, and Bra-tac and stuff.)

O’Neill really takes the argument, though, stating that the “box is already open”, and that there’s really no closing it now. The Goa’uld are a threat, right here, right now. Or at least, they will be very soon. He seems to be inadvertently channeling what Daniel told them all in the infirmary. He and the Senator get into a shouting match, Kinsey once again stating that they should simply close the gate, and then Jackson speaks up that he has “reason to believe” the Goa’uld may already be en route to Earth.

Oo, bad idea, Danny-boy.

The senator doubts what he says, despite Teal’c and Carter and O’Neill all standing up for him.

They then pull out the records for the last year (side note: the first mission was in February) and there’s a flashback to the pilot episode.

Hey, this is actually a pretty good idea, production-wise. If anyone jumped into the series late, they could just watch this and get a little recap of what went down that first episode.

Going on…

The flashback primarily details the scene where O’Neill shouts, “I can save these people!” and Teal’c turn on his own fellow guards and they take them all down, followed by their escape. (I love this scene.) They also recap the final firefight before escaping through the ‘Gate with their refugees.

The point the Senator was trying to make is that he doesn’t think the Goa’uld are that powerful, considering they were able to take down a small plane and a small battalion. Just then, the Stargate whirls to life, and SG-2 is back.

The next flashback is to the beginning of “The Nox” when they were actually all killed by Apophis and his Jaffa. They also flash back to the huge Goa’uld ship that was seen in Daniel’s vision and also the one from “Singularity” which sent a smaller vessel after Teal’c and O’Neill.

Another is to the Crystal civilization, also destroyed by the Goa’uld. Carter’s trying to show Kinsey how the Goa’uld can and have obliterated whole races before.

And then we get a great couple lines from Teal’c. (yay!)

The senator asks him why he “switched sides in the first place, if they’re so strong?” The Jaffa’s response is,
“Because what is right cannot be measured by strength. Your world values freedom. I wish that very same freedom for my people.”

The senator then says, “…that’s your problem…”

(Oh no he didn’t just talk back to my man!)

“…not ours.”

Teal’c gets up (oh, this is serious business now) and tells him what the rest of SG-1 has been saying since the start of this hearing: That it soon will be Earth’s problem. He recognizes the danger of a slave race that does not think for itself. If anything, he knows this through what Daniel saw in the other timeline. He gets right up in the senator’s face and tells him the cold, hard truth. It’s pretty epic. Teal’c’s got “business” written all over his handsome face. Again, an insight into his character. He recognizes what happened on Chulak could happen here, and that’s the last thing he wants: to see another world go down. That’s why he’s here. That’s why he fights alongside SG-1.

The next flashback is to “The Enemy Within”, with Kawalsky trying to get through the Stargate and then Teal’c stopping him. Their concern is, once again, what kind of dangerous disease could come back through – as happened in “The Broca Divide” (the following flashback). O’Neill fairly states that if they hadn’t been through that epidemic, they wouldn’t have found a cure, and they wouldn’t have saved an entire race. So, in sacrifice, they ultimately prevailed for the good of everyone else.

Kinsey still, still is not convinced what they are doing is worthwhile, and goes so far to say that Hammond’s “best isn’t good enough”. (Say what?!) He intends, still, to shut the Stargate down.

Daneil gets up and, against O’Neill’s suggestion, tells the senator about his alternate timeline experience. He pulls out the warning coordinates, and Carter also gets up to defend him. Nonetheless, he vehemently believes that, despite all the warning signs, the Goa’uld will never come. He’s basically called them all crazy idiots and he leaves.

At this time, Teal’c requests to leave

(WHAT, NO, DON’T GO TEAL’C I LOVE YOU I NEED YOU HERE—

I mean, um, the team really needs you! You are a vital asset to SG-1 and they would all be sad if you left!)

and return to Chulak, since it seems Earth no longer has any interest in fighting the Goa’uld. Well, not the Earthlings who matter in the big scheme of things, anyways. O’Neill wants to go with him, but Hammond says he can’t. He’s only allowed to leave the Gate open until the other SG teams return. He dismisses them, and the four look out onto the Stargate…

TO BE CONTINUED.

Final thoughts… All right, so this is obviously a two-parter season finale.This first part really served its purpose pretty well as (A) a re-telling of the past twenty episodes so that the audience doesn't feel lost and (B) as the introduction to what I'm sure will be a killer season finale with a huge cliffhanger. This left us with a pretty big cliffhanger as is. I know that there are nine more seasons, so, DUH, the Stargate’s not going to get shut down. It’s all going to turn out pretty spiffy, but at this point, I have no ideas. I have no predictions. I literally have no clue how they’re going to get around not only the Senator’s, but the President’s orders. Hammond seems to play pretty strictly by the rules, and while O’Neill likes to bend them, he’s good about that as well.

I can see them either finding some sort of loophole, or a catastrophe putting them in a situation where they must use the Stargate. Maybe Teal’c and Jackson do something together. Maybe the Goa’uld do come, and there’s the proof. But if they came, then the rest of the public would know. So many ways this could go! It’s absolutely thrilling! Can’t wait for the next episode!

REFLECTION/PREDICTION THINGY

Hey, what else am I supposed to call it? Anyways, an 18-year-old girl from Nebraska manages to break into Area 52 and talks to the crew about stuff. She’s a total self-insert Mary Sue, by the way.

(Out of breath and chased by several guards, the teenager bursts into the room with the Hangout table.)

Marie: Hey you guys! Hey!

(The four SG-1 members turn away from the window to look in surprise at her as Hammond and several guards also enter.)

Hammond: Don’t move or they’ll shoot!

Marie: (She puts her hands up.) Whoa, dudes! Chillax! I’m just here for moral support. Or something like that. (She glances out of the corner of her eye at Teal’c and grins.) Did anyone ever tell you that you have nice biceps? And deltoids? Among other things, like eyes? I really like them. They’re kind of—

Jackson: Hey, I’m cool too!

(Teal’c merely raises an eyebrow at her.)

Marie: You should say something like, ‘Fascinating,’ every time you lift your eyebrow like that.

Teal’c: …Indeed.

O’Neill: (Clears his throat loudly) Excuse me, Miss, but how the hell did you get in here?!

Carter: That’s a good question, considering this is supposed to be the best-guarded facility in the nation.

Marie: Oh, well, it was quite easy. You see, I just—

Hammond: Now don’t be giving out national secrets! What if someone’s transcribing this!?

Marie: (She sighs in exasperation) Don’t worry, General… sir… whatever. I won’t. (Turns to SG-1) Look, guys, you can’t do this. Teal’c—

Carter: How does she know his name?

Jackson: Beats me.

Marie: - you can’t go off back to Chulak and just leave these guys here! They’d be lost without you. And you, O’Neill, what the heck is your problem?! Stand up! Take a stand! Don’t let some bureaucrat from D.C. boss you around! Jackson, you’re smart! Do something! Same thing with you, Carter! You’re a BAMF! Now, I’m tired of hitting the exclamation button so much, so just DO THESE THINGS and you’ll all be good!

(An awkward silence, complete with crickets which probably shouldn’t be alive this time of year in Colorado, ensues. The girl snaps her fingers and suddenly has on a Star Trek uniform, and she taps her combadge.)

Marie: Ensign Mary Sue – er, Marie, whatever, ready to beam up!

(She disappears in a shimmer of light.)

Teal’c: …What is a ‘BAMF’?

“There But For The Grace Of God” ( 1 x 20 )

I am quite sad!! As I opened up the DVD case for this episode, I realized that, including this one, there are only three episodes left in the first season! However, not all hope is lost. A break will give me an opportunity to muse over the first season as a whole, write a little bloggy-blog about it, do some fanart (yay!), write some fanfic (double-yay!); all of which I will be sharing with you all here at B-SG1.

Anyways. Onto happier things! Like this episode!

SG-1 steps out onto a dark planet, or perhaps some sort of lab. However, it’s abandoned, and Teal’c believes it was destroyed by Goa’uld quite a while ago. O’Neill shows him a symbol in the lab, and the Jaffa says that they must leave immediately. (By all means, Jack, keep standing around…) It is the symbol of Koroshi-Ni, which basically means, “Turn back”. He insists that the place must be radioactive, and none of them are safe. Jackson’s crushed that they have to leave, though, so he takes a little souvenir with him.

…No, no, don’t do that! That’s a stupid idea!

He touches a mirror or something, and a light envelops him. He steps out… and can’t find anyone.

What did I say?! I said, “Don’t do that!!”

Nonetheless, he dials in the code and goes back to Earth… and is greeted by gunmen.

It seems he’s traveled into an alternate timeline. Or maybe an illusion of one. The General’s a Colonel, and who knows what else has changed.

…Maybe it has something to do with Jackson being in or out of the timeline?

They take him into a room and lay him down and give him an injection. They seem to think he might be a Goa’uld, and also, Colonel O’Neill is now… a general.
Wow, these titles are really going to mess me up now.

There’s a flash, and he wakes up in a different room. He’s in some kind of holding cell. Catherine Langford (ah, yes, I remember her!) enters and is in some sort of uniform. She doesn’t recognize Jackson. What’s more, she says he’s never set foot in the facility before.

And... Carter’s not a captain. She’s an astrophysicist.

He finally gets a meeting with O’Neill, and tries to reason with him, even asking about Teal’c. Except, Teal’c isn’t there. O’Neill has never heard the name.

Now, wait, HOLD ON, we can’t have Stargate without Teal’c! Teal’c is like, the heart! I love him! He is loveable! This better not be reality because Teal’c is the center of the universe, and without him, nothing can hold.

…Okay, that’s a slight exaggeration, but it’s like having lungs, a brain, and a liver but no heart. You can’t just leave one out and still have a functioning body.

Anyhow, they’ve also never heard of nor been to Chulak, which explains why there’s no Teal’c.

Carter enters the scene, and says, “We’ve lost Washington D.C. and Philadelphia.”

I really hate where this is going.

Catherine shows him a map with red splotches all over it, and “each red dot is a destroyed city”. Yikes. It is, indeed, the Goa’uld, and they’ve been attacking the planet for the past four days.

At the non-Hangout, he shows Catherine one of the objects he picked up, the one which activated the mirror, but is distracted by  the ‘Gate room. Turns out they plan to send a nuclear device to Chulak… and detonate it.

No!! Teal’c!! Bra-tac!! Rya’c!! Drey-auc!!

(The blogger falls apart into tears)

Nonetheless, O’Neill feels justified since there are so many humans dying. The bomb is sent.

He gets into a debate with Catherine and Carter about what’s really happening, and the latter perks up when she learns that the mirror he touched may have come from P3R-233.

Bad goes worse when a Goa’uld vessel manages to take down Air Force One… and flies directly over Area 52. But instead of firing… it lands.

Who’s on the ship!? Is it Teal’c?! I hope so! Hi Teal’c! If you’re there!

Oh, wait, important people at the Hangout. They decide to destroy the complex (or something like that?) and head down to the ‘Gate.

Jackson translates a message Catherine and Carter picked up from P3R-233 as, “Beware the destroyers. They come from…” and nothing more. Perhaps that is what was meant by “turn back” back at the alien lab.

A firefight ensues in the hallways as General O’Neill and the others try to stop the Jaffa from getting through to the ‘Gate. And the main Jaffa… is Teal’c.

And he doesn’t look like he has a heart of gold.

…DAMNIT!

Here’s what I think. I think that maybe Sha’re was never captured, and so SG-1 never went to Chulak, so they never showed Teal’c a rightful “path” of sorts in the steps of the Tau’ri, so he never became enlightened or had that moment of epiphany.

But I should just watch, huh?

You guys don’t know how distressing this is to me.

Jackson shows them some video he had taken at the planet with the mirror, proving to them that he is from an alternate reality… and that Teal’c was part of that reality, as a member of SG-1. He thinks that if he can get back to his reality with the address to the Goa’uld world he got off of the 233 transmission, they can stop this reality from ever happening over there. They agree to let Jackson try and go over.

First, though, he wants to see if he can convince Teal’c to sway to their side. However, he thinks O’Neill will have to do it, since he was the one to do it in the regular timeline. Perhaps by showing Teal’c the videotape from the regular reality, they can at least buy a few minutes. O’Neill and Carter share a hug and—

WHOA, THEY’RE ENGAGED?!

What is this

I don’t even

Now that’s just crazy. This universe is way weird.

O’Neill steps out in front of the Jaffa, completely unarmed (by the way, Teal’c has something wacky going on with his hair and I don’t dig it at all) and shows him the videotape. He explains to Teal’c that, “The guy in this video… hates being a slave to the Goa’ulds.” Some moment of hesitation, some flash of surprise, goes over his face, but Teal’c still says, “Lies.” But as he’s walking away, I swear, he’s seriously thinking about what Jack’s telling him. The truth is all over his face.

Then, though, O’Neill makes a fatal flaw… he brings up Teal’c’s family. All of whom are now dead. Presumably.

Probably not a smart idea, Jack.

Teal’c arms a large staff weapon… and fires.

As much as I hate to see my favourite character being absolutely horrible like this (it’s not him! it can’t be him!) this scene was again an amazing insight into his mind. Family above all else. It’s been a recurring theme with his character, from “The Broca Divide” to “Bloodlines” to “Cor-Ai” and now this. It is what has given him hope and reason for living. And now that it’s gone, it seems he’s just an empty shell with nothing to fight for but revenge on those who just destroyed his life.

The Jaffa continue to advance despite the lull, and Colonel Hammond goes down. They capture Carter… and then she pulls a trigger and the room self-destructs.

The Stargate at last activates, with one minute until the whole facility goes up in flames. As it’s still spinning and locking in, Teal’c enters and points his staff straight at Jackson.

(Me: Oh God oh God oh God oh God…)

He shoots, but Jackson gets through.

He runs straight to the mirror and touches it, and is once again in the regular reality. (Good Teal’c with kind eyes and no weird hair is back!! Yay!) He has, however, maintained the injury from Alter-Teal’c’s staff weapon, but he also has the address to the Goa’uld world still with him. O’Neill insists they get Jackson back to Earth, but Jackson cries,

“No, Jack! We’re all in very big trouble. They’re coming. They’re coming.”

Final thoughts… Holy cow. This episode was just super-awesome. Blatant use of the “reset” button, but it’s like Star Trek alternate realities! No, it’s like The Dead Zone, where the future can still be changed! It’s just… it’s just awesome! And, I must say, a huge improvement over the last two-three I’ve seen. Some of those were kind of silly and it was good to have my expectations of this series restored.

I don’t even know quite what to say. We got all these really neat views into each character, even Catherine, and the good old “what if” scenario. What’s more, though, is that it was not only a different timeline but also slightly in the future. So, theoretically, the Goa’uld could be coming to this reality’s Earth, and still wage massive attack. But there are a few differences, one of those major ones being Teal’c.

That’s not even my inner fangirl speaking. That’s just my inner writer. Teal’c was originally Apophis’ First Prime. Despite the fact that he doesn’t know how a lot of the Goa’uld technology works, he’s still a huge source of information for SG-1. He knows tactics, probably most weaponry, and things like that. He’s certainly a guy you want on “your side”. Also, since he has tasted freedom (though more like relished in it) he has another group to live for in addition to his family: SG-1. (Yeah, don’t even try to tell me he and O’Neill aren’t bros. The only reason they aren’t fist-bumping is because we’re still in the ‘90’s.) Besides, I highly doubt they would be driven to such extremes as blowing up Chulak with a nuke.

But now that they know what can happen, surely it won’t. That was the whole point of this; to have Jackson come back and tell all this to them. That was the whole reason behind the mirror.

Furthermore, I hope we get to find out who the creators of this mirror are, or were. Presumably they are extinct now, due to an attack from the Goa’uld… though maybe not yet? So many questions, so few answers! Can’t wait for the next episode.

Oh, but before closing, I must say this: Major kudos to RDA and Chris Judge in this episode.. actually, I thought everyone did a fantastic job acting here, but especially those two, since they played such vastly different characters than usual. Absolutely brilliant work by everyone in the production and acting team. My now-favourite episode..? I don't know. "Cor-Ai" was pretty powerful. 

REFLECTION ON LAST EPISODE

(Jackson has just finished telling SG-1 about what he saw as he’s being treated in the infirmary.)

O’Neill: I was a General? That’s actually pretty cool…

Carter: Sir, he just told us that the Goa’uld are going to attack Earth and all you can think about is rank!?

Jackson: Sam, it’s okay, it’s not like-

Carter: And I wasn’t even in the Air Force?! What kind of person was I!?

Teal’c: It would seem we were all quite different then.

O’Neill: I hope so. (He chuckles nervously.) Just remind me not to get between you, your staff, and your family, right? We’re not so sure what happened between you and me, but Jackson seems to think you probably didn’t much care for my revelation over there.

(Teal’c lifts an eyebrow at O’Neill but says nothing.)

Jackson: Ahem… Well, anyways, you could’ve shot me much sooner over there, if it’s any consolation. In fact, I’m a little surprised I made it back. You seemed pretty upset.

Teal’c: (Looking at the wound) I do apologize for that.

Jackson: Eh, don’t. Did I mention your hair? Kind of freaky. Promise me you’ll never grow it like that.

Carter: Uh, guys? Back to the topic of, ‘How the hell are we going to save our planet?’

O’Neill: Sam, the guy just went to hell and back. Give him a break.

Carter: I don’t know. Sounds to me like the Goa’uld are going to raise hell on us the moment we let our guard down…

"Solitudes" ( 1 x 19 )

Like a couple other episodes, I watched this prior to reviewing, but this time it was because I was too lazy to write because it was like… one in the morning when I wrote it. But I digress. Onto the episode!

The first scene opens up with the Stargate spinning as the chevrons are encoded (big surprise) but then it starts to go haywire (BIG SURPRISE, NO SARCASM!). It violently spits out Teal’c and Jackson, but then overloads and shuts down. Teal’c looks back in horror when he realizes that O’Neill and Carter have not followed, insisting, “They were no more than two meters behind me!”

…And then we find out where they are.

The scene changes to an ice planet, and someone… presumably Carter… stands up and looks around.

Back on base, Teal’c is in the infirmary with his arm in a sling (wow, first time I’ve seen the guy with an actual physical injury) and reports to Hammond that they were attacked the moment they got through. (Darn Goa’ulds!) However, he still believes that Carter and O’Neill made it through the ‘Gate in time.

The biggest problem at this time, though, is the Stargate. It’s broken, and it’ll be at least a day before it’s able to even put a probe through.

On the ice planet (or wherever O’Neill and Carter are… they’ve found each other now), we find out that the Stargate’s not the only thing that’s broken. Jack’s got a broken leg and a cracked rib or two.

Okay, now, why is this reminding me eerily of Enterprise’s “Two Days and Two Nights”? The only difference is that instead of being on a blazing sun and having to travel forever, they have to not freeze to death and really have nowhere to go.

As she tries to set and splint his leg, we learn a little bit about O’Neill’s military past, and it turns out this hasn’t been the first sticky situation he’s been caught in. What got him through was his then-wife, Sara. My prediction? He’ll pull through okay. In fact, he’s certain they’ll get out of here.

Carter finds the D.H.D. (Dial Home Device, I don’t think I’ve mentioned it yet) under ice, but they think they can free it enough to get it working. She starts to hypothesize what happened, and one of these is what they believe is the correct one (that they are on Earth, and she and O’Neill are on a different world). Her theory is that something happened between the energies of the weapons they were being shot at with and the energy of the Stargate, and perhaps it redirected the flows of her and O’Neill’s respective energies, thus sending them here. She only hopes that SGC reaches the same conclusion.

Jackson finally regains consciousness and Teal’c tells him the bad news. They both agree that their comrades must have also entered the ‘Gate, and resolve to solve this.

They send a probe through, and… it’s not pretty. It gets blasted immediately.

Probably not there.

Jackson does, in fact, think of Carter’s theory, and narrows it down even further.  Perhaps they were sent somewhere along the same wormhole stream between Earth and the first planet. Hammond agrees to search the possible worlds with Stargates.

Meanwhile, Carter tries the Stargate, and… to no avail. Meanwhile, O’Neill’s condition is worsening. That, and it’s gotten so cold, they have to cuddle up under a blanket so they don’t freeze (but it’s really a pretty adorable scene, if not a little awkward, haha). “When in Rome…” …when Rome is freezing.

“While otherwise I might have found this… very nice… it’s just… very hard to sleep… with broken ribs… when someone’s lying on you.”

Oh, O’Neill. Always making a joke out of everything. That’s why you’re colonel.

And by the next morning, the Stargate’s still not working. O’Neill still seems confident, but Carter’s losing hope. Nonetheless, he tells her that if she can’t get it working, she needs to leave him and try to save herself.

Military to the bone. She doesn’t like the proposition, but it’s out there now.

She thinks to reset the Stargate, and while it doesn’t work, it does give a very powerful shake… a shake that could end up working out for them for the better.

A few days have passed, and the searches haven’t been successful. However, that night, at the same time as the ice ‘Gate shook, so did the one in Colorado.

Freaky!

However, it’s given him an idea. He tells Teal’c,

“We ruled out a world we shouldn’t have.”

O’Neill finally recognizes that he has no life left, and orders Carter to strike out on her own. His last words to her are,

“It was an honour serving with you.”

Reluctantly, he follows his orders, but it’s (again) to no avail. Even as she climbs out of the glacier, it’s nothing but ice and snow for miles.

Looks like they’re both screwed.

Jackson hypothesizes that they’ve been looking in the wrong place this whole time. He thinks that there’s a second Stargate here on Earth. He thinks that the shaking of the other ‘Gate may have created enough turbulence to warrant seismic activity.

I’m sorry, but that just sounds a little too out there. That would have to be some massive quaking to register on the Richter, wouldn’t it?

Anyways, he believes that the effect of trying to dial in would be like on a home phone – you’d get a “busy signal” (the slight quaking in Colorado). And indeed, they find evidence of seismic activity in Antarctica right around the same time.

Bingo!

Rescue team, out!

Carter returns to O’Neill, all her hope lost, and trips down to where he is, until finally being knocked at his side. Curling up to him, she too, says, “It was an honour… serving with you.”

SG-1 finally makes it to where they are, and they are carried off to safety.

They’re going to be okay.

Final thoughts… Kind of like “Tin Man”, this story had a great ending, what with the whole revelation of we’re still on Earth! and the like. Kind of that story of looking for answers when the correct one’s right there in front of you. Jackson, per usual, solved the case, so… um… good for him, I suppose.

But almost more importantly than this idea of multiple Stargates on one world, is this establishment of trust and loyalty between Carter and O’Neill. I’m not quite seeing all the insane shipping possibilities (one of the few spoilers I haven’t been able to avoid entirely), considering they were still referring to each other by their titles the whole episode (Captain, sir, Colonel, etc.). At one point when O’Neill was dying, he did call Carter by her first name (“Sam”) but I think that was just a difference of how they handle crisis. O’Neill goes a little more lax, but Carter goes completely formal. I think it was the only thing keeping her sane. Could something happen between them in the future, due to this undoubtedly bonding experience? Sure. They were literally both facing their respective deaths. Besides, it’s the first time they’ve really been in this kind of thing together. Before, it was usually Teal’c and O’Neill facing certain doom, given their relationship as a warrior who feels loyalty to his command above all else (the former) and the commander who feels enormous responsibility to anyone he gives orders to.

This, I believe, is something far different. I’ve mentioned Carter’s kind of hidden, nurturing spirit. Their relationship and bonding in this episode seemed to go further than just duty or profession. I think it’s still largely platonic for them but it’s definitely a step. Certainly a far cry from her feminist comments of the pilot!

REFLECTION ON THIS EPISODE

(Dr. Fraiser and Jackson, among others, are making bets on how long it’s going to be before O’Neill and Carter get together.)

Jackson: Four months.

Fraiser: No way. At least six.

Jackson: Five, tops. I know O’Neill.

Fraiser: Yeah, and I know Carter. She’s not one to jump into a relationship that quickly.

(Teal’c walks in.)

Teal’c: Assuming you are discussing the likelihood of the Captain and O’Neill engaging in some kind of romantic relationship… (He smirks, just a little.) You seem to forget the overriding predicament.

Jackson: Yeah? What’s that?

Teal’c: SG-1. They not only work in the same branch, but on the same team.

Fraiser: All the more reason for them to get together!

Jackson: I don’t know. Teal’c’s got a point. They both know military protocol…

Fraiser: Ah, come on. (She grins at the Jaffa.) Who made you the relationship expert?

Teal’c: I am a… “married man”, as the saying among you Tau’ri goes. Unlike you and Daniel Jackson.

Jackson: The guy’s got a point…

Fraiser: Whatever. I’m certain those two will be together eventually. They just went through nearly a week of a frozen hell, with only each other to rely on. If that’s not bonding, then I don’t know what is.