To quote Col Mitchell, "Now
that's what I'm talking about!"
This episode had all the
elements that make a great
Stargate SG_1 episode. Teamy
goodness, personal moments,
heroes in peril, a blend of
angst and humor.
Even the appearance of an icky
bug did not detract from the
overall tone. "Morpheus" was a
wonderful team episode. All four
members of SG_1 gelled together,
and there were nice several
individual moments between and
amongst the teammates, way too
many to list. Often audiences
are lucky to get one or two of
these moments, this episode had
loads of them.
The other SG team had
personalities that belied their
red shirt status, despite their
unfortunate moniker of "Red
Team". Side note: Did the SGC
run out of numbers after 22 that
they couldn't give them team
patches? They had to paint the
bullseye by calling them "Red
Team"? At least they gave a
plausible reason of a double
mission as to why they succumbed
first, and I think Grimsby
apparently survived.
"Morpheus" was a nice break from
several arc related episodes to
have a more stand_alone show.
The quest for Merlin's weapon
was still the background and
there were more clues along
those lines, but the immediate
danger took precedence. However,
I kept waiting for more
hypotheses into why was the
creature there? Was it natural,
or actually a curse left by
Morgan Le Fay? Perhaps this will
be explained in a later episode,
when the team isn't worried
about, you know, dying.
It was also a realistic touch
that the team did not get
themselves out of trouble, but
were rescued. Was this a quick
tidy up? Yes. But it was a bit
more plausible than the "insta_beam"
out of danger that's been
happening so often it should be
a drinking game item. A weakness
was the fact that the wrap up
happened a bit too quickly.
Carter's two sentence exposition
was a bit unclear, and blink if
you missed it if the lizard was
a factor in the cure (presuming
Joe Bob was "Teal'c's sample").
However, considering how often
character development is
sacrificed for plot exposition,
more of the team conversation in
Carter's lab was a welcome
change of pace. Keeping Lam
alive offscreen was a nice
touch.
The Vala subplot
Surprisingly, the humor felt a
bit more forced in a few of the
test scenes, but it's unclear if
this was something to do with
the Hutchison character, the
scenario as a whole, or the
nature of the sequence. Vala's
scenes with the team and with
Landry flowed more naturally.
Woolsey's role was a predictable
twist, but Vala's reaction upon
the reveal was not
expected...though not
surprising. Vala's range in
emotions kept her character from
reverting into caricature. When
she spoke with unusual personal
candor, it had an added impact.
As for the "redemption" of Vala
herself. Joe Mallozzi floated
the Vala as Teal'c analogy
months ago, and as a Vala
skeptic, I find it no more
convincing now than I did then.
Some of Daniel's arguments were
weak, others stronger. How and
why Daniel felt so strongly
about having her involved is
also more offscreen leap.
Landry's own skepticism and
reaction helped sell the idea
within the canon of the show;
within the audience is a
different but related story. The
nature of the various
characters' conversations
throughout the episode were
extremely meta.
Vala has been a polarizing
figure amongst fans since her
debut. The merits and demerits
of Vala are an essay in and of
itself. Ultimately it is not
being told why fans should
accept Vala, but her own actions
that will prove whether her
integration to the team will be
effective. This Vala non_fan has
not been completely won
over...yet, but I'm still open.
Most importantly, the final
sequence proves that even after
this "redemptive reintroduction"
to her character, Vala is still
irreverent and opportunistic
Vala. She therefore will still
provide a fresh and different
perspective, hopefully adding to
the entertainment value of the
show and not overwhelming it.
The shortcuts in plot and the
hard sell of Vala prevent me
from giving the episode an
Excellent rating, but team
interaction, a simple adventure,
and an overall nice pacing of
angst and lightness spur an
extremely strong very good
rating and a high recommendation
for "Morpheus". |