I love the character exploration that can be done when characters are faced with doubles of themselves, and even though this is only the first instance of this trope in SG-1, this episode knocks it out of the park.
One thing that strikes me is that the Crystal Unity mimics Jack physically and picks up some surface thoughts, but is otherwise on his own trying to figure out Jack's pain. He is experiencing a truly alien environment, working though complicated issues like human death and grief, and trying to figure out how to be Jack. (That little bit where he practices saying hello to Sara is my favorite example of that.) With his vulnerability and honesty, he is actually able to bridge the gap between Jack and Sara, and offers an unfiltered version of a conversation they should have had long ago. It's not an easy conversation, and it's a shame Jack doesn't get to have it, but Sara certainly comes away with a deeper understanding of what happened, and maybe some closure. Maybe Jack gets some too after listening to his double psychoanalyze him in front of his team and then turn into his dead son. …Or maybe Jack has gained several more years to that therapy he really should be getting. Who knows?
The doubles from here on out tend to be mostly alternate versions of characters or literal duplicates. The premise of an imposter gating home doesn't work as well in later seasons because they know each other too well. Their unfamiliarity is a plot point here, with Sam not knowing anything about Charlie and Sara. In a couple years this premise isn't believable because of their closeness and because the SGC is ready to toss anyone acting weird in an iso-room. (As they should.)
This episode is in my top ten, maybe even top five, for season one. Aside from a few continuity gaffs, it is emotionally resonant and a great stepping stone for transitioning from Kurt Russell's "O'Neil" to RDA's Jack.
A few last notes of significance:
- The music in the first season sets the tone for the whole series, but the music especially in "Cold Lazarus" is just so perfect. The musical play between happy memories and deep sorrow is often the exact shift needed to help the viewer follow the quiet emotional beats of the complex scenes with Jack and Sara.
- I love Sam and Daniel working together to analyze the crystals—their science backgrounds are very different, but they understand that information from either side can mix to answer their questions.
- Sam and Daniel seem to have selective amnesia in this episode, forgetting that Teal'c was with Apophis when they came to Earth in "Children of the Gods." Daniel says that Teal'c's weapon is "the same as the ones Apophis used." Yeah, Daniel, there's a reason for that.
- This is pretty much the first and last time that Jack trusts his alien double. Considering that the double cuts into and reveals his deepest emotional wounds, I get it.
- I assume that for several missions after this, every time someone uses the bathroom off-world they have to pass an "is it really you?" test.
Quote of the Week:
- Teal'c: Your world is a strange place.
Daniel: So's yours.
Episode Stats
Planetary Tally: P3X-562, the planet with bright yellow sand and bright blue crystals
Series Total: 8
In Fashion: on mission to P3X-562, the team wears green with nary a flak helmet in sight; on base Sam, Daniel, and Teal'c wear green flight suits; and when SG-1 heads into Colorado Springs they wear jungle camo
Double Your Pleasure: Jack is duplicated by the Crystal Unity, thus beginning a long tradition of SG-1 coming face to face with themselves.
Jack: Series Total: 1
Next up: 1.08 The Nox
Page Summary
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chasethestars
chasethestars
Comments
I love its picture of Sara. The weird thing is that the writers apparently felt they had given the viewers and Jack CLOSURE about Sara in this episode, when they did, you know, JUST THE OPPOSITE.
I loved the character and wish they had had a way to bring her back more often.
Edited 2019-07-22 07:03 pm (UTC)
I watched SG-1 the first time with my slashgoggles sitting next to me, but pretty much by season four I was reaching for my slashgoggles and they've been firmly affixed ever since, so this was the first time—in a very long time—that I realized just how much Jack is obviously still in love with Sara and how there is zero closure for him in this episode. I understand why the writers didn't bring her back (their priorities have always been about about boom-pow missions), but I agree with you. I would have liked another Earth-based episode in which Jack's old life and new life slammed against each other again. I don't know what shape that would have taken—alien virus and they think Jack's dying so they call Sara? *shrug*
I don't remember the exact phrase, but at one point Sara said something like she was never angry at Jack or never blamed him. I may be missremembering the line, but she said something that made me think, "Oh, the hell you didn't." Because it's a normal human emotion to get angry and/or blame someone even over something trivial even if, intellectually, you don't believe it was their fault emotionally you're going to feel that at some point. Often there's enough anger and blame to go around so she could have even been angry at Charlie for playing with something he'd surely been told not to play with. (And then angry at herself for being angry when she thinks she doesn't have the right to be angry.) So everything I can think of to write is this churning mess of emotions that I feel like Sara surely must have felt but denied for some reason. And I can't think of a way to write through all of that and have any kind of good closure. Maybe a rage drabble? Or a music vid (if I knew how to edit one) because Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" would be perfect.