Vegas is actually my favourite SGA episode, for many reasons.
First off, AU is a lovely trope that just isn't explored often enough even in sci-fi where it can almost be considered a canon trope. And using it so late in the show's run, when we already know the characters pretty well, makes it all the more powerful.
Second, the production is beautiful. You can tell that every shot has been considered carefully, and it shows because the cinematography - the editing, the colours, everything you never notice when it's there is wonderfully done. Every shot builds on the atmosphere - which is apparently supposed to be CSI Las Vegas meets The X-Files - and the stark contrast to the usual look of SGA delivers an even greater impact. This isn't just a nice, weird niche episode, this is the whole team that works on the show and loves the show going, "see what we can do".
Third, the score is just excellent, not just because after five seasons we finally got a Johnny Cash song and it fit.
Fourth, it works because it's the penultimate episode and as we get to see tiny details to the characters we haven't seen, we're forced to face that fact that this is it. You can let a show run out in the rush of an action-packed three-part finale, or you can take the opportunity to showcase the characters you've crafted one last time, from an unusual angle and without the adrenaline rush and dramatic plot twists.
(Fifth, this is truly John Sheppard's episode, and after five years he kind of deserves it.)
And finally, it's kind of crazy that a story that could very well be used as an introduction to the series is used in the penultimate episode, but it also makes a lot of sense to draw the viewer's attention to the fact that the main story, the story they've been watching for five years, is just one of many. The concept of alternate universes has been thoroughly explored before in the show, so it's a very smart, very meta idea to say "yes, this show is ending, and look, we're even giving you the normal kind of show finale that you expect, but consider what could have been, what could yet be."
First off, AU is a lovely trope that just isn't explored often enough even in sci-fi where it can almost be considered a canon trope. And using it so late in the show's run, when we already know the characters pretty well, makes it all the more powerful.
Second, the production is beautiful. You can tell that every shot has been considered carefully, and it shows because the cinematography - the editing, the colours, everything you never notice when it's there is wonderfully done. Every shot builds on the atmosphere - which is apparently supposed to be CSI Las Vegas meets The X-Files - and the stark contrast to the usual look of SGA delivers an even greater impact. This isn't just a nice, weird niche episode, this is the whole team that works on the show and loves the show going, "see what we can do".
Third, the score is just excellent, not just because after five seasons we finally got a Johnny Cash song and it fit.
Fourth, it works because it's the penultimate episode and as we get to see tiny details to the characters we haven't seen, we're forced to face that fact that this is it. You can let a show run out in the rush of an action-packed three-part finale, or you can take the opportunity to showcase the characters you've crafted one last time, from an unusual angle and without the adrenaline rush and dramatic plot twists.
(Fifth, this is truly John Sheppard's episode, and after five years he kind of deserves it.)
And finally, it's kind of crazy that a story that could very well be used as an introduction to the series is used in the penultimate episode, but it also makes a lot of sense to draw the viewer's attention to the fact that the main story, the story they've been watching for five years, is just one of many. The concept of alternate universes has been thoroughly explored before in the show, so it's a very smart, very meta idea to say "yes, this show is ending, and look, we're even giving you the normal kind of show finale that you expect, but consider what could have been, what could yet be."