cast: Ben Browder, Amanda Tapping, Michael Shanks, Christopher Judge, Don S. Davis, Claudia Black, Beau Bridges

Our rating: 4 out of 5

Rated: TV14

reviewed by Charity Bishop
 

Coming to the conclusion of a television series is a bit like bidding farewell to an old friend, and after over 200 episodes of space and time travel with SG-1, it is safe to say my eyes got a little misty at the end.

An advanced alien race known as the Ori is attempting to take control of all free worlds through intimidation and fear. Their powers increased by the amount of worshippers they have amassed, they maintain an open Stargate in spite of the efforts of SG-1 to prevent them from success. On board one of the Ori ships, Vala (Black) has given birth to a daughter and is astounded when her child grows at an unnatural rate. She is the daughter of the Ori and their intended leader. Adria is part human and has some affection for her mother, but it is not enough to prevent her from being incredibly powerful and infinitely dangerous. Daniel (Shanks) assists Vala in escaping back to the alliance ships, but it becomes obvious there is not much they can do to stand against her and temporarily Earth withdraws from combat.

Centuries before, an ancient known as Merlin devised a means of destroying the Ori and concealed the plans on distant planets. Desperate to discover this weapon and use it against an increasing threat, Cameron (Browder), Sam (Tapping), Teal'c (Judge), Daniel and Vala embark on a dangerous mission for its recovery. Throughout the galaxy, free worlds are in turmoil, from the ongoing rivalries in the newly freed Jaffa nation to planets who have never before encountered the well-meaning SG-1. Overhead looms impending doom and inevitable conflict with Adria, but she is not their only adversary. One of the system lords remains alive, and there is nothing Ba'al would like more than to twist their discoveries to his own evil ends.

From beginning to end, this season was perhaps my favorite in the history of the series... which is saying something considering it lacks my favorite character. It does not bring closure to all of the storylines (leaving room for later movies) but does approach it with regards to certain races and rivalries. The introduction of Claudia Black as a regular cast member had me excited because of her fantastic chemistry both with Michael Shanks and Ben Browder, and I was not disappointed. Vala is one of the most interesting and fun characters, and plays off her fellow cast members well. There were guest appearances from Jack O'Neill and General Hammond, as well as a fun episode that takes place on Atlantis. In fact, in the entire season there was only one episode, near the end, that I did not like. Introducing Adria was a brilliant decision, since she makes a very intimidating adversary, as was a plot twist in the second half involving Daniel.

The controversial themes are somewhat downplayed this year, and the similarities between what the Ori professes is the true faith is not as Biblical as in the former season. Their prophets make fewer appearances and while references to the Book of Origin remain, it is not as invasive or disheartening. It was nice to have Ba'al as a regular character, because he is both amusing and irritating, and his episodes were always fun. I feared last season that a son of the Ori would be introduced, but having her be female prevented parallels with Christ from bleeding through in negative ways. What I loved most though is the exploration of mythology in the presence of Merlin, Morgan la Fay, and other characters from the Arthurian legends. That was very clever and highly entertaining. There were some content issues but nothing too significant. The level of warfare and deaths continues with non-graphic shoot-outs, explosions, and fist fights. I was surprised, however, at how gory "Talian" got -- in which Teal'c shows an unnerving dark side in torturing someone for information, blowing them up, and then impaling a rival. Blood spatters the floor and drips from the mortal wound.