The surprisingly-personal and somber ending for StarGate SG1 lacked the high stakes and computer-created action one would expect from a science fiction adventure program. From before the beginning theme, Thor forces us to say goodbye, and acknowledge an ending that has been a long time coming. The Ori are not eradicated once and for all in a huge final battle; instead we are left to feel assured it will happen later, in yet another impossibly entertaining battle with the existence of the universe itself being decided. We see it only in our imaginations. Hey, we've been there, we've done that, loved it all.
Instead, we confront the most difficult REALITY of inevitable death, seeing an unalterable conclusion and being powerless to change it. Legacy, the Asgard living beyond death, in the minds of those who remember. Frustration, rage even, aimed at a situation you cannot bear but cannot control. It makes Cameron throw furniture across the room. Personal solace, reflection on friends we've known for what seems like forever, but have difficultly admitting even to ourselves that maybe we've grown a little weary of their company after so long. A secret taboo thought that maybe we should have let the end come years ago, instead of enduring silent meals together. But we hold out extinction because, like Daniel, there are genuine feelings unearthed in an altogether unexpected place.
But then there must be an acceptance. Not a giving up, but an uneasy yet compliant embracing of the inevitable. It's not really all that important, to save all this, is it? It's not actually a big deal, or at least it shouldn't be. It would be nice to go back and revive it all. Perhaps stave off oblivion. But we can't go back. The past is gone and we're at an end.
'Unending' is not simply a marker as the last episode; it is a symbolic statement about the series itself.
And for all its subtext, it still manages to fit in character, humor, and space combat with big-honkin' explosions. Vala's tears got to me, Teal'c made me laugh, and I silently cheered when they took out an Ori ship. This will not sit well with everyone; the true ending we're given is one that is reflective, emotional, and even a bit poetic. But I would take emotional closure over an attempt at intellectual closure that couldn't possibly deliver in capping a decade's worth of story.
This is far from the expected: This is an ending.
The final scene in the gate room, listing off clichés that O'Neill would hate so much, missed one, perhaps purposefully: "All good things must comes to an end". Unless you're Carter, then you get to go on forever, it seems. And on a side note, Carter and Vala's bodies were awesome at 80-90 years old. Asgard wonder-bra technology, I guess. And the underexposure of Teal'c, I must note, keeps it from a perfect score.
But it truly is an unending. We can go back. We have magical devices known as DVD players, portals in time called reruns, and two movies in the making that will further the adventures through the Ol' Orifice.
And we never had to pay a dime for any of it. Mitchell: ...the best things in life are free.
Instead, we confront the most difficult REALITY of inevitable death, seeing an unalterable conclusion and being powerless to change it. Legacy, the Asgard living beyond death, in the minds of those who remember. Frustration, rage even, aimed at a situation you cannot bear but cannot control. It makes Cameron throw furniture across the room. Personal solace, reflection on friends we've known for what seems like forever, but have difficultly admitting even to ourselves that maybe we've grown a little weary of their company after so long. A secret taboo thought that maybe we should have let the end come years ago, instead of enduring silent meals together. But we hold out extinction because, like Daniel, there are genuine feelings unearthed in an altogether unexpected place.
But then there must be an acceptance. Not a giving up, but an uneasy yet compliant embracing of the inevitable. It's not really all that important, to save all this, is it? It's not actually a big deal, or at least it shouldn't be. It would be nice to go back and revive it all. Perhaps stave off oblivion. But we can't go back. The past is gone and we're at an end.
'Unending' is not simply a marker as the last episode; it is a symbolic statement about the series itself.
And for all its subtext, it still manages to fit in character, humor, and space combat with big-honkin' explosions. Vala's tears got to me, Teal'c made me laugh, and I silently cheered when they took out an Ori ship. This will not sit well with everyone; the true ending we're given is one that is reflective, emotional, and even a bit poetic. But I would take emotional closure over an attempt at intellectual closure that couldn't possibly deliver in capping a decade's worth of story.
This is far from the expected: This is an ending.
The final scene in the gate room, listing off clichés that O'Neill would hate so much, missed one, perhaps purposefully: "All good things must comes to an end". Unless you're Carter, then you get to go on forever, it seems. And on a side note, Carter and Vala's bodies were awesome at 80-90 years old. Asgard wonder-bra technology, I guess. And the underexposure of Teal'c, I must note, keeps it from a perfect score.
But it truly is an unending. We can go back. We have magical devices known as DVD players, portals in time called reruns, and two movies in the making that will further the adventures through the Ol' Orifice.
And we never had to pay a dime for any of it. Mitchell: ...the best things in life are free.