Stargate SG-1 (TV Series) Ascension (2001) User Reviews

I was touched

[Kaleko · 9/10 · 5 March 2009]

You rarely get to see Carter actually affected by a man in this series. Even with Jack, she is so repressed that it is difficult to believe she has feelings for him.

There was such a strange chemistry between Carter and Orlin, more than she has had with any other characters (that I've seen so far) on SG1. There was an adorable scene where he proclaimed she liked him and she was grinning with embarrassment. The guy has a funny sense of humor, and him and Carter have a unique dynamic that works well somehow.

After watching this episode a second time, I was so touched that in the end when they separated, I broke out in tears because I felt so bad for Carter. I know she doesn't get to experience something like that often. You can tell that she holds everything inside and acts a good soldier, but after seeing her lonely life at home, you've got to know it hurts bad to lose him.

By the way, some of the things this guy says about Carter in the beginning- Wow. What incredibly romantic and wonderful things to say about someone. I never thought SG1 would have such a touching romance story.

Alien Love

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 11 October 2016]

While exploring a destructed planet, the SG-1 finds a strange device that might be a weapon. Out of the blue, Sam faints and the team returns to the SGC. General Hammond gives a leave to Sam to recover. However Sam finds that an alien entity has followed her back home and communicates only with her. When she reports to the SGC, her house is bugged but nobody finds any evidence of the alien form and her colleagues believe she is crazy. Meanwhile the being takes a human form of a man called Orlin to better contact with her and he falls in love with her. He also discloses how dangerous the device is, but the Pentagon does not believe in her.

"Ascension" is a romantic episode of "Stargate SG-1" with Sam and an alien falling in love with each other. The romance recalls "Starman" and is well-resolved in the end, since Samantha Carter can not leave the series. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Ascension"

A Lost Opportunity

[Easygoer10 · 9/10 · 2 November 2018]

It's a shame Martin Wood blew his chance to make this an exceptional episode. For example, in essence, no one believes Major Carter regarding the alien. That's ridiculous. Instead, the Colonel says "Carter, here's the bottom line: no one has seen what you have. Until they do, they're going to think you're nuts." Really? After all these people have been through? In other words, they are calling her a liar. That's juat dumb. It could have been great. Instead Wood chose to cop out with a flat ending. It could have been expanded more, and it would have been one of their top episodes. Carter and Orlin could have been shown expressing their true feelings. This is the difference between TV and big screen directors. Martin Wood blew it because he doesn't have the skill set to pull it off, and he is the top director on the show. Bummer, Mr. Wood. You blew it.

No this was not creepy...

[Cheeseburger1 · 9/10 · 23 August 2020]

Those who say this was creepy, are thinking from a very human perspective. This ascended being, in an instant, learned everything there is to know about Carter, everything. And in that instant fell in love with her in a way no human can comprehend. That is how these beings communicate; they are that advanced. Human culture would be so alien to them. They would have no concept of our need to spend years to get to know and trust someone.

Carter WAS creeped out by him at first because on its face, it is creepy. But once she came to realize this is a purely good being that simply had no concept of our culture, she liked him for he was. He was a genius, honest, genuine, funny, good person that knew more about her than anyone else and loved her completely for it.

This was a sweet story and it was nice to see that Carter can have other kinds of fun too.

Welcome home baby

[Calicodreamin · 7/10 · 24 February 2022]

Well that is one good looking alien, I wouldn't mind coming home from work to that stud. Why did it feel super weird to see Carter at home? Wtf was with Teal'c in the cowboy hat and fringed jacket? I feel like that didn't get enough attention.

Sam should get an alien restraining order

[eusebius123 · 3/10 · 20 December 2016]

I don't know what to make of the previous reviews of this episode. Touching romance? Were they watching the same episode as me? Were they being sarcastic?

Lessee:

Step 1: Alien guy knocks Samantha unconscious with no explanation or warning.

Step 2: When Sam gets home, she starts noticing a presence in her house.

Step 3: Alien guy, who it turns out followed Samantha back, starts hanging out in front of her house randomly trying to chat her up as she comes out her front door.

Step 4: Alien guy SHOWS UP IN HER HOUSE. Upon being asked how he got in, he explains that he followed her into the house and then camped out there overnight. He's been watching her television to figure out how to speak her language. Also, he's been watching her sleep. Oh my God.

Step 5: Alien guy explains that when she got knocked unconscious, it was because he tried to do some kind of mind-meld thing with her without her consent.

Step 6: When asked why he's doing all of *this*, the alien guy says it's BECAUSE HE HAS FEELINGS FOR HER.

Step 7: The alien guy then continues to not leave Sam's house, even when she explicitly tells him to. Alien guy forces Sam to let him to do the mind- meld thing again, consensually this time, in exchange for promising to leave.

Step 8: The alien guy shows up in Sam's house *again*, this time having made himself human. So they can be together, you know. After having known her for like 2 days. During which time she's been sending clear signals that she wants to be left alone.

This is not a touching romance. This is a stalker situation. It doesn't help that the acting of the guy playing the alien couldn't possibly be any creepier if he tried. Yeah, I know at some point Sam suddenly and abruptly falls for him for no discernible reason, but still. Yeesh.

I could go into the other idiotic aspects of this episode, like the rest of the team assuming Sam's nuts even though it's only like the 4,257th time SG-1 has run into this sort of situation, or the lack of any kind of epilogue explaining why Sam's not going to get court-martialed for aiding a creepy alien in stun-gunning some US military personnel and blowing up a strategic asset (yes, she was right and it was dangerous, but none of the brass seemed to believe her on that, so I don't know how that will exonerate her), but you know what, that's all I want to talk about this episode. Ugh.

Worst Episode So Far

[dmshrmed · 5/10 · 28 April 2022]

What a weird, pointless, and boring episode. "Ascended" alien stalks Carter and fails to comprehend how wrong that is in human culture. I have no clue why an "ascended" being would be so careless. Considering the alien's desire to look human and act human, you'd think it would try to find the least creepy approach to interacting with Carter, and yet it does the exact opposite. Then Carter starts to like the alien because the writers said so I guess.

Also, I'm getting kinda tired of these episodes that offer humanity a way to defend itself and then immediately take that technology away. I understand that the show's going down the "with great power comes great responsibility" route, but it's getting repetitive. And when there's nothing else to make the episode interesting other than stalker alien love story, it really is just a pointless retread of a concept we've already seen in the show countless times.