In
the Season 3 two-parter “Jolinar’s Memories” / “The Devil You Know”, General
Jacob Carter, father of Major Samantha Carter and host to Tok’ra councilor
Selmak, is captured by Sokar, the System Lord who has taken the role of Satan. Jacob has been taken to Netu—a moon that
looks like Hell—and SG-1 teams up with the Tok’ra agent Martouf to rescue
him. Oh, and by the way, Sokar is
raising a gigantic army to conquer all the other System Lords and then the
galaxy. Good luck!
This
two-parter was written by Robert C. Cooper, who would replace Jonathan Glassner
as the other co-head writer with series creator Brad Wright in Season 4. In this episode, he is already showing his
true colors as one of the Stargate
franchise’s most prolific and influential writers. Cooper does a thorough job at establishing
the brutal nature of the moon Netu without going overboard with it. Netu, the moon of Sokar’s base planet of Delmak,
is a prison with a brutal dog-eat-dog culture where SG-1 gets knocked down a
peg quite a lot (arguably the most since “Children of the Gods”)—O’Neill’s
snarky banter won’t work this time. Both
“Jolinar’s Memories” and “The Devil You Know” are noted for taking several
unexpected turns and twists in its plot.
In one scene, Martouf is interrogated; it brilliantly subverts a
situation where a worst-case scenario is presented, and it easily could have
gone in a completely different direction had Martouf not acted smartly.
But
the true standout of these episodes is Sam.
In a way, this is really Sam’s story.
For one, her father is the guy they have to rescue, so it’s already a
personal affair for her. Sam’s
relationship with her father is further explored in these episodes, and one
monologue that Sam delivers in the second part fully underlines how important
her father was in her life. Furthermore,
one of the main subplots involves having to tap into the memories of Jolinar,
the Tok’ra who had briefly taken her as a host in the past; after all, she was
the only one known to have successfully escaped Netu. Having to remember what Jolinar felt and
thought on Netu, in conjunction with her own past memories with her father,
displays a more vulnerable side of SG-1’s brainy technician. Amanda Tapping sells all of this in her
performance.
There
is one minor flaw in the episode’s story, though. The main plot twist—the cliffhanger at the end
of the first part—is arguably most personally connected to Teal’c. However, since he was mostly removed from the
conflict for most of the episode, there is not enough time to delve into his
reaction and explore how he feels about this.
Thankfully, it is also connected to Daniel to an extent, and his
rebuttal in that twist’s scene does enough to make up for that.
From
a technical standpoint, the production design of Netu was an early sign of the
technical advancements for the visual effects team behind SG-1. The matte painting of
Netu looks absolutely gorgeous (especially for 1999), while the caverns and
halls of Netu are perfectly lit, making great use of blacks and red lighting to
evoke a dark and dreadful atmosphere.
Just the visuals alone tell the history of Netu itself: how Sokar’s
orbital bombardment the moon glassed its crust to ashes, and allowing its
mantle to surface. Overall, the set
designs and visual effects succeed at evoking the imagery and atmosphere of a
literal Hell.
In
terms of continuity, this is THE
turning point of SG-1’s first story arc, from its first four seasons. With all the twists and turns this two-parter
takes, the storyline veers in a completely new direction after this. Now the stage is set for the final act of the
show’s original story arc, which would last until the Season 4 finale “Exodus”
& the Season 5 premiere “Enemies”.
In memory of Carmen Argenziano
(October 27, 1943 – February
10, 2019)
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