Wow. When the episode started I was laughing and right now I am in tears. Really. The plot picks up exactly where we left, in a rather light-hearted way, with poor Bregman trying to salvage what he can from a series of useless interviews, while O'Neill and the others deal with the latest Jaffa assault.
Then things take a sudden turn for the worse as O'Neill is left for dead. Of course, we are stuck watching the aftermath of the battle from Bregman's limited point of view, and everything seems to confirm that he is the unseen casualty everybody mentions. Now this is probably silly but I really bought it, as I knew he was to leave the show at some point (and hadn't really contributed much recently).
As the shocked survivors try to cope, however, the NID suddenly barges in, questioning the SGC's motto that "we leave no man behind", essentially on financial grounds. To Hammond, the reporter now looks like the lesser evil, as *he* at least honestly wants to show the SGC in a good light, and makes several good points concerning secrecy and heroism. So Bregman gets the "live action" tape he wanted so much.
This is where the episode becomes simply brilliant. We expect to watch the dramatic dying message of a young father-to-be --the typical heroic cliché of every action movie ever made. But right when the reporter starts wincing, comes the real shocker: almost off-screen, so fast that it barely registers, a perfect parallel to Bregman's story of the war photograph. Obviously, O'Neill and the wounded soldier ARE heroes. Even Hammond, who has to put his grief aside to deal with petty bureaucrats when he'd obviously much rather fight alongside his men, is a hero in his own way. But who had really paid attention to Janet Frasier's presence on the field? Who had actually noticed her absence? Congratulations for punching me in the guts with *that* twist.
So the episode ends on a very sober, moving note, as Janet Frasier gets the send-off that she deserved. The episode thankfully avoids getting too tearful; granted, naming the newborn baby after her is a bit circle-of-lifey, but it is still touching. The best part, however, is the eulogy Teal'c (of all people!) writes for her, saying that Janet's particular brand of heroism, right to the end, consisted not in risking her life but in saving that of others. And I think Bregman's film says the same thing about the whole SGC.
So in a nutshell: Don't expect spaceships, alien technology and galactic stakes. This episode has nothing spectacular. It is simply beautiful.
Then things take a sudden turn for the worse as O'Neill is left for dead. Of course, we are stuck watching the aftermath of the battle from Bregman's limited point of view, and everything seems to confirm that he is the unseen casualty everybody mentions. Now this is probably silly but I really bought it, as I knew he was to leave the show at some point (and hadn't really contributed much recently).
As the shocked survivors try to cope, however, the NID suddenly barges in, questioning the SGC's motto that "we leave no man behind", essentially on financial grounds. To Hammond, the reporter now looks like the lesser evil, as *he* at least honestly wants to show the SGC in a good light, and makes several good points concerning secrecy and heroism. So Bregman gets the "live action" tape he wanted so much.
This is where the episode becomes simply brilliant. We expect to watch the dramatic dying message of a young father-to-be --the typical heroic cliché of every action movie ever made. But right when the reporter starts wincing, comes the real shocker: almost off-screen, so fast that it barely registers, a perfect parallel to Bregman's story of the war photograph. Obviously, O'Neill and the wounded soldier ARE heroes. Even Hammond, who has to put his grief aside to deal with petty bureaucrats when he'd obviously much rather fight alongside his men, is a hero in his own way. But who had really paid attention to Janet Frasier's presence on the field? Who had actually noticed her absence? Congratulations for punching me in the guts with *that* twist.
So the episode ends on a very sober, moving note, as Janet Frasier gets the send-off that she deserved. The episode thankfully avoids getting too tearful; granted, naming the newborn baby after her is a bit circle-of-lifey, but it is still touching. The best part, however, is the eulogy Teal'c (of all people!) writes for her, saying that Janet's particular brand of heroism, right to the end, consisted not in risking her life but in saving that of others. And I think Bregman's film says the same thing about the whole SGC.
So in a nutshell: Don't expect spaceships, alien technology and galactic stakes. This episode has nothing spectacular. It is simply beautiful.
