SG-1: The Shroud

[moonshayde]

Here we go...



Okay, so...not a bad episode. It held my interest. One of the better eps of the season. This was a highly anticipated episode for me, so it will never meet my expectations, but it wasn't bad.

The GOOD
*Jack
*Jack and Daniel scenes
*Jack and everybody scenes
*Team feel
*Abyss confirmation between Jack and Daniel
And probably most importantly...
*The element of suspense ran throughout the episode. I never really knew if Daniel was Daniel or not.

The BAD
*Not enough Sam and Daniel friendship scenes. Boo.
*Not so great acting. Okay, the acting in this episode didn't impress me. AT was just sort of there. BB was okay. CB was a bit annoying with the overly done facial expressions. RDA was better than I've seen in a while (like SGA), but not as dramatic as I would have hoped for. And MS...not even sure what was off about it. I understand Daniel was messed up, but dunno. I didn't really like anyone's acting but CJ and Robert Picardo in this.

The WEIRD
*Adria and Daniel. I had a feeling that was coming though


Personally, I would have liked for more gray area. Maybe Daniel not being totally in control of himself. I think that would make it richer. But with the time limits, I can understand why.

I think I need to watch again to get the full impact as I don't catch a lot during first viewings. But I was really satisifed that TPTB kept us guessing as to Daniel's intentions throughout. That was very important to make the episode work and they pulled it off well. I just have standards that can't be met sometimes ;) But it was a good episode. I might not have been impressed with the acting, but it felt good. The episode felt right.

I really miss Jack and the team :(

4 out of 4!!!! Yay! I...don't think we'll make 5 out of 5 though. The preview for next week. Oh...eek.

Comments

[selmak.livejournal.com]

I have to say that I was SOOO surprised by these two episodes. Both SG1 and SGA were.... dare we say it? GOOD! Enjoyable!

Probably the best two episodes this season for both of them. :)

Yeah, there was some problems, but all in all, I was surprised. And I wondered where the hell the writers have been there all this time. :)

[aizjanika.livejournal.com]

*The element of suspense ran throughout the episode. I never really knew if Daniel was Daniel or not.

Hee! I was positive that Daniel was Daniel throughout.

I loved this episode for the Jack & Daniel and only for that, really. I thought they still had amazing chemistry. I would totally watch the Jack & Daniel show if all they did is sit in a room and talk and eat waffles. *g*

[6beforelunch.livejournal.com]

I thought you might like it. :) I agree that it could have been better. It felt like they held back a few times, like they could have made Daniel a little more menacing, but they weren't willing to go there. I also didn't like Woolsey wanting to kill Daniel, not because I thought it was OOC, but because I thought it would have worked better if he'd been advocating for stasis all along. Everyone knows SG1 isn't going to let them kill Daniel, but stasis...they'd have to at least consider that, you know? But, overall I really liked it. I've watched that first scene between Jack and Daniel so many times I can practically recite it with the characters. *g* (I wanted to say it earlier, but I try not to bias people.)

The Adria and Daniel kiss was very weird. I have no idea why they decided to put that in there. *shrug*

[crazymadjo.livejournal.com]

*Not enough Sam and Daniel friendship scenes. Boo.

There was a perfect place for it, too. The second time Jack went in there - to ask Daniel to give them the intel Sam needed for the team to complete the mission in Daniel's place. I mean, come on. Are we really supposed to believe Daniel told it all to Jack?! And then ...

-----------------------
SCENE: Jack walks into Sam's lab, where the rest of SG-1 is waiting.

Sam: So ... did he tell you, sir?

Jack: Oh, yeah. He said you had to hook up your thing to that thing with the lights, and then ... do stuff. Something like that.
-----------------------

Riiight. It would have made a lot more sense for Sam to at least have come with Jack. Not that I didn't *love* the scene the way it played out (I'm never going to complain about a Jack and Daniel scene really), but still ....

[martyfan.livejournal.com]

I would so totally watch that too.

[martyfan.livejournal.com]

Now that the episode is out over here and most people have seen it, I'm planning on writing some missing scene fillers to address some of the weaker points and make the thing longer. It may end up AU, because I REALLY like PriorDaniel and I think the whole "Merlin programmed me to revert to human form" thing was kind of doubtful, but meh. Very good episode.

[betacandy.livejournal.com]

*perks*

Abyss confirmation? What does that mean?

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

*cracks knuckles*

I really didn't like this episode very much. I thought Jack was very flat (though not as bad as he was in Atlantis) and I felt that the episode was badly written. I mean, I understand that sometimes things have to happen a certain way or the episode would be over in 10 minutes, but it is inexcusable to think that a) they would leave Adria on the ship and b) that they wouldn't at least take her shielf off while she was unconcious. To me, that's just lazy writing.

And I know I say this a lot, but one of the reasons season nine and ten bug me so much is that they never win anymore. And now Merlin's Weapon is gone and the Gate is back open and...they come home without a success AGAIN.

[moonshayde.livejournal.com]

Daniel was mad that Jack wouldn't listen to him so he threw the events of Abyss in his face. Jack didn't appreciate that much. What it confirms for me is that Daniel remembers since it's never been indicated that he did or didn't before. We only knew that about Changling because Teal'c told him.

[moonshayde.livejournal.com]

I have to put certain blinders on for this one, but I thought it was good. It was a highly anticpated episode for me so it will never live up to my expectations and what I imagined I would like to happen. So no matter what I'm going to be harder on this ep than I should.

Still, I enjoyed it. Again, the driving factor for me was the fact I wasn't sure if Daniel was evil or not. I thought TPTB did a good job handling that. The acting from everyone, as far as I'm concerned, was flat. I think it's most noticeale in RDA because many people have been complaining about it for a while, but I extend the flatness and lack of depth to everyone. CB is usually a good actress and I wasn't impressed by her in this ep either. Really, the only two I felt held some weight were the Teal'c and Woolsey characters.

The Jack and Daniel scenes were obviously forced but I appreciated them together. And Jack had scenes with the others too which I also appreciated. I'm good at handwaving a lot of things, and I can come up with valid excuses why the banter was a bit off. It doesn't excuse the actors for not stepping up to the plate -- really, is it so hard to even try to act like they did in Abyss? Even just a little? Or how they used to act period? But again, I can handwave it and I did like the concept of this episode. It was really nice to have Jack back and I think this was a way better performance than SGA. RDA so didn't want to be there in SGA.

The Adria part? I don't honestly think they had much choice. Before they even had a chance to consider it, they were beamed out. So I can give them a pass on that one. Vala had just asked about her and bam, gone.

I wish they would win, too. Actually, small victories is what I'm interested in. Back in the classic days, SG-1 never outright won. They'd have small vistories along the way but the Goa'uld would be in control. I think they need more of those. Though their lack of winning doesn't bother me as much as it bothers you. And in fact, they've had some semi-wins recently, like Line in the Sand and The Road Not Taken, even if the first was problematic and the last was an AU.

I do hope that all the lack of success will mean when they do win, it will mean something since after a while the victories against the Goa'uld stopped really having any impact.

[moonshayde.livejournal.com]

Eventually, I'd like to write some missing scenes or something for this too. it's exactly the type of topic I enjoy. But I'm so busy right now, I'll leave that in your capabale hands ;)

[moonshayde.livejournal.com]

No, I will never complain about Jack and Daniel scenes. The more, the better. I cringe a bit at forced banter, but I can handwave it for this episode. All I can say is that there is no excuse to complain that TPTB don't ever think of Jack and Daniel fans, whether you slash them or just see them as friends.

But the lack of Sam and Daniel was glaringly obvious and it puzzled me, especially after The Road Not Taken where she asked about Daniel like three times. The Quest had a couple of Daniel and Sam moments. I would have expected just a little bit more. I can always come up with rationalizations for it in meta and in fic. I'm just tired of having to do it.

And I really missed her at the end when he woke up. But then I realized, well someone does have to fly the ship or stay on the lookout, so sometimes there is a good reason.

[moonshayde.livejournal.com]

I think I'm to the point with Stargate that I can be critical but not let it get in the way of enjoying an episode. EVen in some of my fave eps, I can find something that annoys me - in this case the caliber of acting - but I don't let it ruffle my feathers. I'm just watching this show for fun. I have other things that I need to really concentrate on.

So it was enjoyable. I'll see what I think after a second viewing. Didn't watch SGA, though.

[moonshayde.livejournal.com]

I still think they did a job job at keeping the audience guessing. I see everything from a writer perspective, so some of the comments and actions by Daniel were obvious attempts to throw the audience. I really liked that.

I miss Jack and Daniel and the classic team so much!

[moonshayde.livejournal.com]

I first thought that Woolsey would be advocating to use Daniel, like they wanted to do with Kalek. But as soon as Jack made a face and Hank came out, I knew that wasn;t going to happen. Though, honestly, I can appreciate Woolsey feeling it necessary to kill Daniel in light of the Kalek issue. So that didn't see OOC for me. And when he went to talk to Daniel personally, that sealed it for me. But I really like Woolsey so maybe I'm biased.

My biggest issue with the episode is the acting. I'm trying to get past that. I found the Jack and Daniel banter forced. i can always handwave that sort of thing and put a spin on it. I always do that. Keeps me sane ;) I wasn't expecting anything close to the caliber of acting from Abyss, but I was expecting just a little bit more. Though, I can honestly say that in between the forced banter -- which I feel was partly forced to begin with, something to hide behind since Jack and Daniel suck at emotions -- there were bits of drama where they let their guard down. I would stop and think, oh wait. Now they're yelling! But that would sneak back under the surface again and be replaced with sarcasm. So that was a nice touch.

I figure Daniel and Adria would happen eventually. That doesn't bother me too much because you know Daniel and crazy women. They've been hinting for awhile that Adria has been eyeing Daniel. Though, I think many of her reasons are psychological and linked to her mother.

[dunv-i.livejournal.com]

This episode was going to be a threesome at first, I think. It's sorta interesting to think about what they might've done if they'd had that much time.

[moonshayde.livejournal.com]

I'd heard that. I think it would made for a great storyarc. But it ended up being rushed. I still enjoyed it nonetheless, though.

[aizjanika.livejournal.com]

Hee! I don't even know why I put that part in there about them eating waffles, but I meant any random thing. *g*

[aizjanika.livejournal.com]

I know. I'm loyal to Daniel to a fault, so I never once thought he wasn't on their side--even when he broke his restraints, I thought he was doing it for the reasons he later stated--especially when he beamed Jack up to the ship with him. :-)

[crayonbreakygal.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I just had a chance to watch it last night. It was flat. I did love the Daniel/Jack banter. I've missed that.

It just seemed that everything was so rushed. It was like they had this script that was a two hour show and they had to cut it to one hour. Or there were some missing scenes on the cutting room floor that would have made the episode more lively. I really didn't have as much of a problem with CB as you did. Teal'c was wonderful interrogating Daniel. I wanted Sam up there also, talking to Daniel too.