Previous: 1.16 Cor-ai

And so begins Sam's thread of doomed romances.

Narim isn't my favorite of Sam's suitors, but he's not a bad match for her. Sure, he comes on a little strong with his line that he thought she was a space angel, but he's direct with her, telling her—and showing her—how he feels. From there, he lets her decide. I appreciate that he gives her space to figure out her feelings, and that those feelings are unresolved at the end of this episode. What would have happened if Narim had been allowed to stay on Earth without threat from the NID? Would Sam have eventually reciprocated his feelings? It's a nice little what if, and I appreciate that the future appearances with Narim don't forget their initial attraction (even though by then the show was deep into the Relationship Endgame).

But let's talk about the Tollan in general for a moment because this culture is fascinating. This is a culture that values emotions enough that they have a device to record feelings and deem that technology essential enough to carry into a potential suicide mission. They care deeply about how people feel. It is their remorse at interfering with and unintentionally destroying Sureeta that motivates Omoc to appear cold while dealing with the SGC, but obviously he is like the other Tollan and deeply values emotions. I wonder what mental health care looks like on Tollan since they can literally share their feelings. (Anyone know of any fics dealing with that? I'd be interested in reading one!)


A few last notes of significance:

• The Tollan are the first advanced humans the SGC has come across.


• If there haven't been animals on Tollan for generations, I would assume they are all vegetarian.


• This marks the introduction of Colonel Maybourne and the NID.


• Are there fics about Sam's emotion device? I assume Narim left it with her. (She doesn't give it back on screen, but I didn't count his armbands in later scenes.) Assuming he left it with her, just consider Sam on a lonely night reassuring herself that someone among the stars loves her.


• Thank you for continuing to use Daniel's civilian status to undermine the megalomaniacal parts of the government.


• The guest appearance by Lya is fantastic and illustrates the connected nature of SG-1. There's character growth in how SG-1 reacts to advanced technology being withheld and acknowledgement of their growth from Lya. All of this is a build up to "The Fifth Race," and fits so perfectly together that I can't help but think it was planned.

Quote of the Week:

Hammond: I can't let you do that. We'd all be court martialed.
Jack: General, I'm about a hair away from not caring. However, Daniel…
Daniel: I can't be court martialed, sir.

Episode Stats
Planetary Tally: Tollan, aka P3X-7763, the original Tollan homeworld
also mentioned but not visited: Sureeta, the planet whose destruction caused the cataclysm on Tollan
Series Total: 16

In Fashion: the team wears green BDUs on mission; on base, Jack and Daniel wear green BDUs, and Sam and Teal'c switch into green flight suits; during the meeting with Tuplo, Jack and Sam wear dress blues


Next up: 1.18 Solitudes