"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.