Daniel Jackson has come aboard the Prometheus for her trip to Atlantis, under the command of a returning General George Hammond. En route, however, the ship gets intercepted and is soon held under siege by one Kull Warrior (…or so, the crew thinks). With Daniel held prisoner on the bridge and Hammond and the rest of the crew trapped onboard the Kull Warrior’s Al’kesh, the Prometheus’s route is thrown off-course.
(Spoiler alert: They never make it to Atlantis.)
The episode starts off pretty slow, but picks up speed once the Prometheus is taken under siege. Vala Mal Doran’s reveal is really well paced and built-up. At first, she is teased as a Kull Warrior and seems to act accordingly. But it is soon apparent that she acts out-of-the-ordinary for one, mainly by dumping most of the Prometheus personnel on the Al’kesh rather than just straight up killing them, before she reveals herself to Daniel.
Generally speaking, the plot is written and directed in a way that’s actually pretty funny. This is especially the case with the A-plot, wherein Vala holds Daniel captive onboard the Prometheus. Michael Shanks & Claudia Black’s chemistry drives the A-plot, perfectly. Of course, they have excellent banter written by Damian Kindler to go off of—and oh man, do they go all in. Onboard the Prometheus, Daniel takes on the role of the “straight man” while Vala is the more colorful comedic character, and the two really play off of each other. It’s no wonder why Vala was brought back as a character in Seasons 9 & 10. (After all, Claudia Black needed a job after Farscape was cancelled.)
At the same time, as always, the humor is balanced out with the straightforward tense action of the episode, getting serious when it has to. An example of this balance is when General Hammond gets the crystals from the Al’kesh engine room, which is a tense moment that ends with a funny little gag that feels like a sigh of relief. Another example is Daniel trying (and failing) to broker Vala’s backdoor deal with the Lucian Alliance smugglers. It’s an awkward moment that works off of the snarky remarks that he makes to them. These tense moments are often intense and exciting—all around, a fun ride.
“Prometheus Unbound” is a solidly entertaining episode of Stargate SG-1’s eighth season. It’s charming, exciting, and quite funny at times, and it’s especially a good introduction to one of SG-1’s most memorable characters from its last seasons. On a side note, it feels just great to have General Hammond back on the show again. After seeming to have waved goodbye with “Lost City”, having him command the Prometheus (and later Vala’s Al’kesh) is handled so seamlessly it feels like he never left.
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