rachel500 | Line in the Sand

Line in the Sand is the 12th episode in Season Ten of Stargate SG1.

Review

After a complete miss with Insiders and a solid effort with Company of Thieves, Alan McCullough finally manages a home run with Line in the Sand. With a couple of minor quibbles around the usual suspect of characterisation, this episode scores on every level; great story, good use of canon, teamy character moments, excellent guest performances and neatly executed special effects.

The special effects are used to enhance the story but never feel like they are intruding. The Ori ship destroying the village from space; the phasing of the village in and out; the Prior trying to see into the phased building to Mitchell and Sam are all so seamlessly incorporated it’s easy to forget that it is a special effect. If the dart-ships feel a little too like the Wraith and have the same accompanying sound effects, the comparison is enough to evoke a familiar sense of dread, and overall, the ground incursion of the Ori soldiers is particularly impressive from an effects perspective especially the deployment of the rings and the intricate detail of the Ori weapons fire during the battle with the villagers.

If the special effects enhance this episode so too do the guest performances. Aisha Hinds is very impressive as the noble leader of the village and pulls off a stunning scene where she convinces her fellow villager not to sacrifice Teal’c to the Ori. Equally good is the performance by Tim Guinee playing Vala’s estranged husband. He manages to convey Tomin as a devout follower yet in such a way that he still evokes sympathy despite the shock act of hitting Vala at one point. His tremendous acting is part of the reason why Tomin’s slide into questioning the Prior, if not actually the Ori and Origin, is believable and gives credence to the eventual act of saving of Vala in returning her to the planet. The scene where he confronts the Prior in the control room of the Ori ship is extremely powerful and wonderfully done especially as Greg Anderson playing the Prior also gives an equally impressive performance in displaying religious fanaticism at its worst.

The performances of the main cast also match the quality of the guests. Chris Judge has the least to do as Teal’c but makes the most of what he is given. He has great chemistry with Aisha Hinds and their scenes flow beautifully. He also has good chemistry with Claudia Black who turns in a wonderfully complex portrayal of Vala showing all the different facets to the character. She slides easily from earnestness into horror into manipulation into seriousness into…the list is endless.

Ben Browder seems to enjoy getting some meaningful dialogue in the scenes where he encourages Sam to stay alive. The best moment is when as Mitchell he haltingly admits that he fought so hard to get the team together again and having lost Daniel, he can’t lose Sam too. There was a real sense of emotion and loss for their team-mate as well as fear that he had failed another. He and Amanda Tapping gel nicely in their scenes. Tapping herself seems to positively revel in Sam finally getting a scene that isn’t just about technobabble and exposition. Her performance as she admits to her fear of dying, telling Mitchell of the letters for after she is gone, and simply acting the part of a badly wounded soldier is perfect from her initial shock at getting hit, to her horror at her bloody wound to her pain. She was so good that I winced when she did.

However, despite Tapping turning in an exemplary performance, for me McCullough still hasn’t quite managed to fully realise Sam’s character even here, although he’s a lot closer than ever before. Given the character’s established history as a never-give-up-soldier, her early fatalism where she tells Mitchell to accept she will die on the planet doesn’t quite ring true, although her later facing up to the possibility of death is very well done and provides a nice moment between the characters. It is a minor quibble and while I might still encourage McCullough to revisit some classic Sam episodes, he’s close enough here that it doesn’t detract from the quality of the rest of the story where the only other minor character quibble is with Teal’c who once again finds himself captured and tortured if by a Prior rather than by Ba’al or the Lucien Alliance this time.

McCullough does deserve credit for writing a beautifully woven story with great use of canon throughout from Merlin’s device which provides a solid foundation, Vala’s relationship with Tomin, Teal’c’s refusal to capitulate to False Gods, Sam’s oblique reference to fishing and Cassie, to Cam’s Grandmother reference. All are neatly threaded through the episode which also uses the overall Ori arc in a great way. I loved the story of the Line in the Sand within the Book of Origin which was well used in the scenes on the Ori ship. It might have been good to have mentioned Daniel more given the events of the previous episode, but his singular mention does at least ensure he isn’t forgotten and adds to the sense of team that the story evokes.

There are some great beats between the characters; Sam’s exasperation with Vala, Sam’s concern for Teal’c and Vala when they cannot be contacted, Cam’s concern for injured Sam, his mentioning losing Daniel, Vala jumping into Teal’c’s arms when the village appears around her, Cam baking Sam some macaroons and visiting her in the infirmary. It’s all good teaminess despite the lack of Daniel.

The quality of the story, the performances and the special effects all combine to produce a very enjoyable and above-average outing for SG1. Kudos go to Peter DeLuise for pulling it altogether as director and deserved applause for Alan McCullough for a well-earned success as its writer. Praise where praise is due for a great episode.