Ever since the Season 2 premiere, Stargate SG-1 has had a villain problem. It took me a while to piece it together but with Apophis missing and eventually dead, and the writers scrambling to find a new villain to replace him, SG-1 started to lose its direction. Thankfully, Season 3 shows the writers making some big changes to give the series a fresh start, and I think it paid off pretty well.
Season 3's first half feels a lot like Season 2, jumping between villains and focal storylines without really settling on anything. The premiere continues where the finale left off by having SG-1 fight Hathor, but she ends up getting killed off when that ends. There's Sokar, but he rarely actually gets any depth or screentime, so it never feels like he's a greater threat than Apophis was. While Season 2 already felt a bit aimless, it at least had the Tok'ra storyline to give it some cohesion. Season 3's first half had zero direction whatsoever, and it felt like the show was losing me. However, halfway through the season, the writers systematically reset the status quo and refocused itself on something new. The storylines about Skarra and Sha're are finally resolved, Apophis turns out to have been alive and is more furious than ever, SG-1 gets a new goal of finding the Harcesis child of Apophis, and the finale introduces a Borg-esque antagonistic species called the Replicators. Where the first half of the season felt confused and aimless, Season 3's second half exuded confidence, as if the writers finally figured out what they wanted from the series. It took a while, but by the end of Season 3, it finally felt like SG-1 was able to put the movie behind it and find its own unique voice.
The standalone episodes, while as uneven as ever, have also improved quite a bit. There's a much stronger focus on ethics here, with episodes like Pretense and Learning Curve pitting SG-1 against alien cultures with traditions that would be unethical or inhumane by human standards. The show's exploration of consent in possession in regards to the Goa'uld and Tok'ra has also been expanded upon, which is great because this is one of the few pieces of media to actually tackle such a tricky subject. Season 3 is also the point where SG-1 started to repeatedly revisit old planets and plot elements for entirely new storylines, like how Past And Present brings back Linea, Point Of View brings back the Mirror Universe, and Pretense and Shades Of Gray bring back the Tollans. I also like this season has less frequently knee-capped the main characters, with the exception of the noticeably weak Legacy. The other weak points of Season 3 mostly involve really irritating side characters, like the constantly screaming soldiers in Rules Of Engagement and the titular jokester in Urgo. However, by no means does any of these episodes near the low points of the first two seasons. As a whole, Season 3's one-offs are a massive improvement.
Highlights:
Forever In A Day: If you know me, it should come as no surprise that I ended up loving this one. Sha're gets killed off surprisingly early on here, so Forever In A Day focuses on Michael dealing with his grief over his wife's death and finding a new reason to stay at Stargate. It's a solid character study with a pretty neat twist at the end.
Jolinar's Memories/The Devil You Know: This two-parter brings back Apophis, and he definitely has one hell of a return. Maybe it's just me but this episode gave me serious Temple Of Doom vibes, between the hellish subterranean environment and the way Apophis really puts the SG-1 team through the ringer. My only disappointment is that this was the first episode Sokar started to become interesting, only for him to be killed off by Apophis. What a shame, just as he was starting to show some potential...
Pretense: Pretense does the best job at exploring the differing ideals between humans and the Goa'uld, as the Tollans hold a trial for who ends up taking custody of Skarra. This isn't the first courtroom episode but it's easily the best one so far, between the fun banter between Daniel and O'Neill, to the returning species such as the TGollans and Nox, to the very scummy-looking Goa'uld Zipacna, and the thought-provoking dialogue. It also resolves the Skarra storyline on pretty a satisfying note.
Nemesis: Nemesis is yet another slam-bang cliffhanger finale that leaves a lot of loose ends hanging. While not quite as climactic as Within The Serpent's Grasp, it definitely feels like more of a finale than Season 2's ending, between the reveal of the enemy that even the Asgard is struggling against, the payoff of NID's rogue operation being shut down in Shades Of Gray, and a truly insane final act that leaves a lot in the air. With most of SG-1 stuck on another planet, Daniel stuck on Earth, Thor almost dying, and a Replicator on Earth, it feels like no one is truly safe.
Overall, Season 3 is definitely the strongest season of Stargate SG-1 so far, with a better batting average for its standalone episodes and a second half that gives the series a fresh sense of direction. However, the first half continued the aimless feel of Season 2 and the show still never ended up really wowing me.
3/5 Stars
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