Stargate SG-1 (Season 2)

Season 1 of Stargate SG-1 was fine, definitely having its high points, but a bit of a shaky start for the series. Season 2 is absolutely an improvement, but I don't quite know if it's enough of one yet.

Season 2 puts a lot of focus on fleshing out the show's elements, both in terms of world-building and giving the characters more defined arcs. I'd argue the main storyline of the season involves the Tok'ra, a symbiotic race similar to the Goa'uld. Early on, Carter is forced to become a host of a Tok'ra named Jolinar, who dies but gives her some special powers. The rest of the season has SG-1 try to seek out the Tok'ra and start an alliance with them. They're a neat race and do flesh out the world of Stargate quite a bit, and I like how the shows explores the culture shock between them and the humans. There's a few other solid running threads, like Apophis reeling from his humiliating defeat in the Season 2 premiere, Sam Carter's father issues, and best of all, Jack O'Neill's relationship with the enigmatic Asgard. As a former MCU fanatic, it's definitely strange to see Thor and the other Morse Gods as aliens, but I can't say it isn't super fascinating to learn more about their species. While Season 1 felt like SG-1 was still testing the waters with the Stargate, there were plenty of moments in Season 2 where it felt like the writers were really expanding the scope of the series, which is great.

However, this season is still pretty episodic and it's with the standalone episodes where Stargate SG-1 continues to feel inconsistent. To be frank, Season 2 has way more strong one-offs than its predecessor, particularly the time-related ones like Matter Of Time and 1969. I also liked the more thought-provoking issues that Secrets and The Tok'ra delve into. However, I noticed that SG-1 has a crutch that it tends to fall into with its standalone episodes, as a surprising bulk of the show's one-offs revolve around a cast member getting possessed, infected, or otherwise incapacitated. Even some of the more plot-heavy episodes like In The Line Of Duty and The Fifth Race pull this, and it gets really repetitive. Don't get me wrong, Star Trek had its own clichés (the Holodeck, time travel), but it never resorted to repeatedly knee-capping its main cast to remain interesting. I also can't talk about Season 2 without bringing up its infamous clip show finale. While I thought it was a fine ending to the season with a solid cliffhanger (nowhere near as bad as Shades Of Gray), the lack of build-up like in Season 1 does leave it feeling a lot weaker than the previous finale.

Highlights:

The Serpent's Lair: The Serpent's Lair continues from where the Season 1 finale left off, chronically a pretty massive battle between Earth and the Goa'uld. There's a lot of action, super high stakes, and SG-1's most definitive victory to date. It's definitely a worthy payoff to all that buildup.

The Tok'ra: The Tok'ra was a big episode that really could have worked as a finale, not only having SG-1 form an alliance but also resolving the storyline of Sam's father on a satisfying note. I also like the surprisingly complex moral dilemma at play here, how SG-1's attempt at an alliance are held back by their implicit biases towards any sort of possession, even symbiotic possession like that of the Tok'ra. It's very Trek.

The Fifth Race: This was easily the most successful Stargate episode to date, blending comedy, creativity, and great world-building. O'Neill not being able to speak English starts off very funny, but then the episode turns into a more science-driven adventure about decoding what he's trying to say. The ending where he uses an eighth chekron, talks to the Asgard, learns about the Four Races, and learns that humans are in the running for Fifth Race does a lot to expand the scope of SG-1.

Overall, Season 2 of Stargate SG-1 was generally a pretty solid improvement over the first, with better world-building and writing, and way more genuinely strong episodes. However, the general quality is still pretty inconsistent and the one-offs can feel a bit repetitive.

3/5 Stars