Jack is back. That's a good thing. Daniel is a Prior. Nobody knows for certain if that's a good or bad thing. He has a plan to destroy the Ori. That's certainly a good thing.
There are a lot of good elements in this episode. But the main problem is the audience isn't sure about Daniel. That works once (in the first viewing), but it's a cheap trick to create drama. If the audience knows, but the characters don't know, then there's drama. "Hey, he's telling the truth!!!!!!!!!" On second viewing that mystery is gone, so it becomes easier to focus on the characters' reactions. Will they have faith? This episode is about faith. SG-1 shows faith, acting on belief, when they carry out Daniel's plan. Jack shows faith when he closes the connection, allowing Daniel access to the super gate and the Ori galaxy.
Some questions remain. Why couldn't Merlin/Daniel control the ship without being a Prior? Or, if Daniel knew how to fly the Ori ship without a Prior, why was he so worried about taking the ship before reverting back to human form? Sam controlled the ship by following Daniel's instructions. Maybe only a Prior could open the super gate to the Ori galaxy.
Why couldn't the Priors/Orisi build new ships in the Milky Way? They built ships in the Ori galaxy.
The final question is a big one. It has been said the ascended transcend time and space. If that's so, why does the weapon depend on being in the galaxy where the Ori "live"? They transcend time and space. They don't live anywhere.
There's some classic Daniel/Jack interaction. It's typified by an exchange near the end. Jack asks Daniel to prove Merlin is gone. Daniel makes a gesture.
Jack: "What the hell was that?" Daniel: "If I was Merlin you would know." In the end nobody is sure the Ori are dead. But more Ori ships come through the super gate. Even if the Ori are dead, their followers are carrying out the crusade. The invasion just got worse.
There are a lot of good elements in this episode. But the main problem is the audience isn't sure about Daniel. That works once (in the first viewing), but it's a cheap trick to create drama. If the audience knows, but the characters don't know, then there's drama. "Hey, he's telling the truth!!!!!!!!!" On second viewing that mystery is gone, so it becomes easier to focus on the characters' reactions. Will they have faith? This episode is about faith. SG-1 shows faith, acting on belief, when they carry out Daniel's plan. Jack shows faith when he closes the connection, allowing Daniel access to the super gate and the Ori galaxy.
Some questions remain. Why couldn't Merlin/Daniel control the ship without being a Prior? Or, if Daniel knew how to fly the Ori ship without a Prior, why was he so worried about taking the ship before reverting back to human form? Sam controlled the ship by following Daniel's instructions. Maybe only a Prior could open the super gate to the Ori galaxy.
Why couldn't the Priors/Orisi build new ships in the Milky Way? They built ships in the Ori galaxy.
The final question is a big one. It has been said the ascended transcend time and space. If that's so, why does the weapon depend on being in the galaxy where the Ori "live"? They transcend time and space. They don't live anywhere.
There's some classic Daniel/Jack interaction. It's typified by an exchange near the end. Jack asks Daniel to prove Merlin is gone. Daniel makes a gesture.
Jack: "What the hell was that?" Daniel: "If I was Merlin you would know." In the end nobody is sure the Ori are dead. But more Ori ships come through the super gate. Even if the Ori are dead, their followers are carrying out the crusade. The invasion just got worse.