"Window of Opportunity" ( 4 x 06 )

All I know about this episode is:

1.       Lulz.

2.       It’s supposed to be very Groundhog Day-like.

My wonderful father tried to explain the latter to me, but I was just kind of like, “…What?” So I suppose I’ll just have to watch and see.

We start off on a very red, very beautiful planet (oh! How pretty! I love pretty planets) with a positively blazing sun. Jackson is of course busy studying some language (of the Ancients, we learn), and he’s met some guy, who doesn’t seem to be part of the SGC. The guy is working with some kind of device, and he zaps Daniel with what looks like a 2150’s phaser before activating some stones in front of him.

SG-1 is all ready to go back through the Stargate, when all of the sudden electricity sparks and makes the ‘Gate go kind of wacko – on our side and Colorado’s. Teal’c and O’Neill rush forward to apprehend our acquaintance, and there’s a rush of electricity and a flash of light –

- And suddenly O’Neill is in the commissary, eating Froot Loops at breakfast with Jackson and Carter.

…Wait, what?

That’s pretty much his reaction, too. He asks if they were just on a planet, but neither person has any idea what he’s saying.

They leave for a briefing on where they’re going (where they went?), P4X-639. Teal’c and O’Neill both report that they’ve been through this before, but everyone else more or less thinks they’re crazy. The way I see it, it’s like Teal’c and O’Neill are going through major déjà vu. But it’s more than that – when SG-12 comes through, Teal’c correctly predicts that they would come back early because one of them would be injured.

Fraiser checks the two out in the infirmary, where they recount what they remember to Jackson. The guy who zapped Jackson was Malikai, who had originally met with SG-15.

Later, Jackson approaches O’Neill with his information, which is pretty much what he would have found out on the planet. He thinks their answers lie in the scans of text from the planet that SG-15 took…

…but of course Carter believes it’s all in the physics. She gives him her theory that they could have somehow been transported back in time due to the mad solar activity on P4X-639, a la “1969” (2x21), which is a fantastic episode and we should all watch it right now just for the lulz… and Teal’c’s afro.

Ahem. Anyways.

Hammond meets with our two resident time-travelers and lets them know they’re in perfect health. (Of course.) They are, however, interrupted by the Stargate wildly sparking just as it had earlier…

…And O’Neill finds himself eating Froot Loops one more time.

Oh god. I know where this is going.

We once again have the briefing and a very funny, “We’ve DONE THIS!!” from Jack, and again the concession from Teal’c.

(You two… always getting into this sticky situations… First Cimmeria, then that trial thing on Cartago, then the body-switching (courtesy of our friend Ma’chello), then the Replicators on the submarine, and now 639. And that’s just what I can remember. Not that I’m complaining. Those were some of my favourite episodes.)

After another frustrating medical exam (which will of course turn up inconclusive), Jackson once again approaching O’Neill (and then getting slammed into rather comically) and telling him that he and Teal’c will need to help him learn this Ancients language, he and Teal’c approach Hammond… again.

There’s a particularly funny bit where O’Neill is trying to convince Hammond that they really are looping, and we get this:

Hammond: “You realize this is a little difficult for me to accept.”

O’Neill: “Hey, if it was just me, I’d agree. But what about Teal’c? Come on, is this the face of a crazy man?”

(Teal’c slowly looks over at him.)

O’Neill: “Bad example.”

(Which is gradually becoming a repeated line for Jack.)

Nonetheless, he convinces him to let them return to 639. They apprehend Malikai, who is of course back again, and figure out that he’s looping, too – but he’s the one behind it. The blocks move, the electricity sparks –

- And O’Neill has Froot Loops in front of him. One. More. Time.

This time, he and Teal’c get right to the matter and… are still examined by that lovely Dr. Fraiser. Again.

O’Neill: “I ask you… What could possibly be in my eye that would explain this?”

And Teal’c has a very amusing eye roll in response to getting the thermometer stuck in his mouth for the millionth time.

The two quickly seek out Jackson (in his office, lest he get run over again), who thinks that the machine which is causing time to loop is actually malfunctioning. However, they’re going to try one more quick fix – dialing out to stop the malfunction…

…And Froot Loops.

We go straight to Daniel’s office, and O’Neill has tried to record yesterday’s (well, to him) events on a voice recorder (…what) but of course that didn’t work. Certainly Jack is irritated, and even Teal’c, the pillar and epitome of patience, kind of looks like he’s getting a little frustrated.

Teal’c: “Did I not say your plan would be unsuccessful?”

O’Neill: “CAREFUL! Be careful.”

Jackson realizes that the only way they can help him is if they learn the language for themselves and remember what they translate.

The loops start to come more quickly now, and our two travelers are having their patience tested over and over again. Teal’c recounts getting the door slammed against his face by an airman as they’re studying Latin, with Daniel at the chalkboard. It’s really pretty funny.

(Slam!)

Airman: “Sorry, sir. I didn’t realize you were there.”

Teal’c: “You have said that on many occasions. Perhaps next time I will not be so forgiving.”

The loops continue in Daniel’s office, and remember, it’s a whole day each time, having to relearn and reteach and just repeat everything. And Teal’c and Jack?

They’re getting bored.

Jack spins idly in a chair, the two pick up juggling, (“Guys, you getting this? ‘Cause this is important.”) O’Neill recognizes that he’s losing it, but the translations… are going faster.

Jack has lost track of the loops, and is getting pretty despondent.

And then Jackson comes up with an idea.

Since everything is always going to go back to the way it was, they could literally do whatever they want.

And here we get to the best part of the WHOLE EPISODE.

Jack takes up pottery, bicycles through the base, the two golf through the Stargate,

(“How far is Alaris, anyways?”

“Several billion miles, O’Neill.”

“That’s got to be a record.”)

Teal’c slams the door in the airman’s face (yeah!), and Jack resigns from Stargate and gets some lip action with the girl he loves – and I must say, from my vantage point, Carter responded to that kiss pretty well! (Hehe!)

But the fun’s almost over. Jackson (with O’Neill and Teal’c’s help) has translated the 400 pages of alien text, and as he suspected, 639 was once an Ancient colony. They had tried to build a time machine and ultimately failed – thus giving us the time loop when it was activated. However, it can be broken, if the blocks on the device are pushed in the correct sequence.

(Those Ancients really have a thing for pushing things in the right sequence. Kind of simple, easy-to-use technology, huh?)

Now, keep in mind, the Ancients are the guys who built the freakin’ Stargate. We’re talking stable wormholes, a safe, effective, and really fast way to travel through space, and super-advanced technology in general. If they can’t master time, which I presume is what our good friend Malikai is trying to do, how could he possibly?

They go back to 639, and Teal’c runs into a force field that reminds me of the one from “Deadman Switch”. Malikai doesn’t want SG-1 to break the time loop because he thinks he can still master the time device.

And then we find out what happened.

Malikai’s wife died several years back, and he wants to be with her again. O’Neill tries to get him to see that, just as he had lost his son and couldn’t bear to see that happen again, Malikai shouldn’t try to relive what he had with his wife. We get a truly great piece of dialogue between the two:

O’Neill: “Listen to me, I know what it’s like! I lost my son! I know… and as much as I… I could never live that over again. Could you?”

Malikai: “No.”

O’Neill: “Let her go.”

He stops the device, and the looping ends.

Turns out that they’d been stuck in a loop for three months at the least. And when Jackson asks him if he ever did something crazy, Jack just smiles and looks at Carter… and stuffs his face full of oatmeal.

Something tells me he won’t be eating Froot Loops for a while.

Final thoughts… If I ever find myself giving elementary school kids a writing prompt, this is going to be it. “If you could do anything you wanted without having to worry about the consequences, what would you do?”

Ah! What a fantastic episode! I’m not quite sure if this will take the spot as my favourite episode but it was really amazing. Certainly it was Richard Dean Anderson at his most entertaining. But the thing is, there’s really not a whole lot I can say about this episode in terms of analysis. The biggest thing I can sense coming out of this in the long run is the connection and friendship between Teal’c and O’Neill. I mean, you spend three months with each other, and you’re the only two who know what’s going on. How can you not get closer? In fact, I felt that the writers could have gone further into this aspect, but of course I recognize the need to keep it light in order to maintain the overall “feeling” of the episode.

(The juggling and the golfing through the Stargate were pretty fantastic!)

As for the other characters, I’m sure it’s going to be weird for Jack and Teal’c because, as far as they’re concerned, they’ve spent at least three months with these people. However, all those interactions have been for naught (save for the last loop). So while they may feel they’ve grown closer to Character A or Airman B or whatever, that didn’t really happen. Of course the kiss between Jack and Carter springs to mind… but hey! As long as he’s happy and I’m sure she wouldn’t have minded, whatever.

As usual, though, the ever-vigilant production team couldn’t help but toss in a sentimental note at the end. I had suspected something about Malikai’s wife when O’Neill first picked up the device with her image (reminded me strongly of the moving newspapers in Harry Potter) and of course there was the connection with him losing his son. Very powerful dialogue at the end. (Bravo, writers! And excellent work, RDA.)

Just gotta say one more thing:

Daniel, who’s always dying, and Teal’c, who’s always getting injured for the sake of his team, both suffered injuries in this episode – the former at the start and the latter at the end.

No one gets a break!

PREDICTION/REFLECTION THINGY

(Jackson and Carter ask their teammates about the loops.)

Jackson: So, Jack?

O’Neill: Hm?

Jackson: Well?

O’Neill: Well, what?

Jackson: What did you do during the loops? Come on, I know you, and I know you probably had the time of your life during those loops.

Carter: I admit, I’m a little curious myself. Sir.

(Teal’c  joins them.)

Teal’c: We went golfing to Alaris.

Jackson: You mean on Alaris, right?

(He glances at O’Neill, who finally smirks.)

O’Neill: We might have dialed out and shot a few through the ‘Gate…

Carter: (Is shocked, but she laughs) Colonel!

Teal’c: It was most entertaining until we were apprehended by General Hammond.

O’Neill: And we had a good three hours left in that loop. It was pretty bad.

Jackson: You too, Teal’c? I’m a little surprised, to be honest.

Teal’c: When it became apparent the loops would not simply cease on their own, the need for certain… inhibitions vanished.

(Carter lifts her eyebrows at O’Neill, as if questioning.

He merely smiles and eyes a bottle of ketchup.

Perhaps another face…)