The Shroud - Review
23/10/2008 06:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rachel500The Shroud is the 14th episode in Season Ten of Stargate SG1.
Review
Review
Sometimes expectations about an episode can be a bad thing. With the news that The Shroud would feature the return of Daniel Jackson as a Prior and a guest appearance by Richard Dean Anderson, memories of Abyss – one of the best SG1 episodes in its history – ensured that the episode had a lot to live up to. Further, with two SG1 team dynamics to cater for, there was always the potential the episode would go horribly wrong and fail to satisfy a significant proportion of its fan base. In the end, The Shroud is no Abyss yet it does manage to deliver an intriguing story and just about balance all the characters.
The main dynamic that The Shroud was expected to showcase was Daniel and Jack, and so it does. In all their scenes together, their interaction zings with the snarky banter and filial undertones that characterises the relationship. Whether it is Jack noting that Daniel’s look is ‘new’, the ‘Daniel’/’Jack’ exchange when Jack is beamed up to the Odyssey, or the ‘wake up sleepyhead’ complete with ruffling of hair in the infirmary, there is a lot to enjoy even if the scenes lack something of the emotional angst of those in Abyss. Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks both seamlessly pick up where they left off in their interplay so much so that it is difficult to believe that their last real scene together prior to The Shroud, (ignoring the jesting sketches of 200), was the end of Origin in S9.
Anderson’s revival of Jack is very successful in that regard; he very quickly makes it seem like he hasn’t been missing from the SG1 universe and the story promotes this idea strongly; his entrance is understated as he turns up at a briefing and continues to interact with all the characters both old and new as though he is a regular visitor to their world – just one the audience never usually sees or hears about it beyond the odd snippet. While this approach does fail to provide some back-story in terms of what exactly Jack has been doing since he stopped being SGC leader, it evokes the sense that Jack has never really been away.
Both the story and Anderson deliver a recognisable Jack; more matured but he is still the same Jack underneath; irreverent, uncomfortable with not being in the thick of the action, wonderfully fierce and commanding with Woolsey when he notes that the other man will kill Daniel over his dead body, and still believing not just in Daniel but the rest of his team.
It is one of the strengths of the story that the relationship between the original SG1 team members, the depth of their friendship and faith in each other, is recognised throughout with Sam querying whether Daniel is OK, Jack believing Teal’c will ascertain whether Daniel is lying or not, Teal’c’s interrogation of Daniel, Teal’c backing up Sam on the Ori ship, Jack believing in Daniel to disconnect the wormhole or Jack and Sam discussing the situation in Sam’s lab together. All lovely moments that pepper the episode and add a believability to the team believing in Daniel despite his outward appearance as a Prior.
Yet the new SG1 dynamic is not forgotten either; there is a great moment between Daniel and Vala where she questions him because she knows how powerful Adria is and his plan risks so much. Mitchell and Vala’s banter signal their deepening friendship. All the SG1 mission scenes portray a team working cohesively together which has been one of the successes of all S10 episodes to date.
Undoubtedly the balancing act isn’t perfect. Which character is preferred, which relationship dynamic is enjoyed, which team dynamic is favoured, will alter whether the viewer comes away disappointed or pleased. As someone who enjoys both the old and the new, I am surprised at how well the balancing act is done yet greedily I want more.
In many ways, the ambitious story needed more time to be told as it effectively ends the quest for the Sangraal and provides the team finally with a weapon against the Ori. It feels like it should have been a two-part story. The question over whether to kill Daniel could have provided real additional drama and angst but it is dealt with so quickly that it loses some of the initial shock and horror at the original announcement. Equally, the flashbacks of Daniel’s time with Adria provide nothing more than tantalising glimpses and leave Adria nothing more than a caricature in her potential seduction of Daniel to the dark side. That remains nothing more than a tease even with Daniel’s superb escape and takeover of the Odyssey and is why the end denouement of Daniel’s showdown with Adria lacks some tension.
Additionally, the whole episode suffers from an anti-climax as there is no way the team have of knowing if they were successful or not. The question of whether the Ori were destroyed, whether the plan ultimately failed, leaves the episode in somewhat of a muddle. The culmination of this particular thread deserved some real closure even if the uncertainty fits with the story and keeps the rest of the arc alive and kicking.
In many ways the story perhaps tried to do too much and show too many things given its limited time. It has raised my hopes for the proposed movies where they will have greater scope in timing to tell a story and show character relationships, and it certainly proves, should they manage to secure Anderson to appear, that they can mix the old and the new successfully.
Still, The Shroud is highly enjoyable with the tease of Daniel’s motivations, and the great team and character interactions providing more than enough to keep the interest. Every aspect from special effects, to music, to performances is accomplished and ultimately, this is a quality episode of SG1. Did it meet expectations? Well, no; but maybe that’s a good thing.
The main dynamic that The Shroud was expected to showcase was Daniel and Jack, and so it does. In all their scenes together, their interaction zings with the snarky banter and filial undertones that characterises the relationship. Whether it is Jack noting that Daniel’s look is ‘new’, the ‘Daniel’/’Jack’ exchange when Jack is beamed up to the Odyssey, or the ‘wake up sleepyhead’ complete with ruffling of hair in the infirmary, there is a lot to enjoy even if the scenes lack something of the emotional angst of those in Abyss. Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks both seamlessly pick up where they left off in their interplay so much so that it is difficult to believe that their last real scene together prior to The Shroud, (ignoring the jesting sketches of 200), was the end of Origin in S9.
Anderson’s revival of Jack is very successful in that regard; he very quickly makes it seem like he hasn’t been missing from the SG1 universe and the story promotes this idea strongly; his entrance is understated as he turns up at a briefing and continues to interact with all the characters both old and new as though he is a regular visitor to their world – just one the audience never usually sees or hears about it beyond the odd snippet. While this approach does fail to provide some back-story in terms of what exactly Jack has been doing since he stopped being SGC leader, it evokes the sense that Jack has never really been away.
Both the story and Anderson deliver a recognisable Jack; more matured but he is still the same Jack underneath; irreverent, uncomfortable with not being in the thick of the action, wonderfully fierce and commanding with Woolsey when he notes that the other man will kill Daniel over his dead body, and still believing not just in Daniel but the rest of his team.
It is one of the strengths of the story that the relationship between the original SG1 team members, the depth of their friendship and faith in each other, is recognised throughout with Sam querying whether Daniel is OK, Jack believing Teal’c will ascertain whether Daniel is lying or not, Teal’c’s interrogation of Daniel, Teal’c backing up Sam on the Ori ship, Jack believing in Daniel to disconnect the wormhole or Jack and Sam discussing the situation in Sam’s lab together. All lovely moments that pepper the episode and add a believability to the team believing in Daniel despite his outward appearance as a Prior.
Yet the new SG1 dynamic is not forgotten either; there is a great moment between Daniel and Vala where she questions him because she knows how powerful Adria is and his plan risks so much. Mitchell and Vala’s banter signal their deepening friendship. All the SG1 mission scenes portray a team working cohesively together which has been one of the successes of all S10 episodes to date.
Undoubtedly the balancing act isn’t perfect. Which character is preferred, which relationship dynamic is enjoyed, which team dynamic is favoured, will alter whether the viewer comes away disappointed or pleased. As someone who enjoys both the old and the new, I am surprised at how well the balancing act is done yet greedily I want more.
In many ways, the ambitious story needed more time to be told as it effectively ends the quest for the Sangraal and provides the team finally with a weapon against the Ori. It feels like it should have been a two-part story. The question over whether to kill Daniel could have provided real additional drama and angst but it is dealt with so quickly that it loses some of the initial shock and horror at the original announcement. Equally, the flashbacks of Daniel’s time with Adria provide nothing more than tantalising glimpses and leave Adria nothing more than a caricature in her potential seduction of Daniel to the dark side. That remains nothing more than a tease even with Daniel’s superb escape and takeover of the Odyssey and is why the end denouement of Daniel’s showdown with Adria lacks some tension.
Additionally, the whole episode suffers from an anti-climax as there is no way the team have of knowing if they were successful or not. The question of whether the Ori were destroyed, whether the plan ultimately failed, leaves the episode in somewhat of a muddle. The culmination of this particular thread deserved some real closure even if the uncertainty fits with the story and keeps the rest of the arc alive and kicking.
In many ways the story perhaps tried to do too much and show too many things given its limited time. It has raised my hopes for the proposed movies where they will have greater scope in timing to tell a story and show character relationships, and it certainly proves, should they manage to secure Anderson to appear, that they can mix the old and the new successfully.
Still, The Shroud is highly enjoyable with the tease of Daniel’s motivations, and the great team and character interactions providing more than enough to keep the interest. Every aspect from special effects, to music, to performances is accomplished and ultimately, this is a quality episode of SG1. Did it meet expectations? Well, no; but maybe that’s a good thing.
