Though there is not a lot of action, the dialogue more than makes up for it. The interactions between O'Neill and Daniel between the other sequences show the differences in the characters and the depth of friendship between them. Faced with an endless loop of torture at hands of Ba'al, because of the actions of the symbiote implanted in O'Neill in Frozen, O'Neill tries to resist. Jackson comes to comfort a friend, but O'Neill forces him to face up to the Ancients non intervention directive and how this directive, while well intentioned, winds up being detrimental at times. An idea that is revisited in future episodes. This episode also explores the interaction between a Tok'Ra and it's host and how the personality of the host can influence the actions of the symbiote.
All in all, I found this time be one of the best episodes of SG-1 in the entire series and is definitely worth watching.
7 Reviews
Great episode!
fig-7527513 August 2020
I really enjoyed this episode, I only wish it had been a two-parter. Just when you are really getting into it, it's over. Still, it was very good ride while it lasted.
I really like what I've seen so far of Baal too. The other "false Gods" have been really poor, IMO. They just haven't come across very well. Of the new ones, only Osiris and Baal feel malevolent and scary enough. Ok, Aphophis was quite nasty, but I also thought that he was quite boring and stayed around for far too long! Anubis was meant to be the really big, bad, and scary one, but already he has had to flee from his own mothership! Hopefully, there will be a lot more of Baal in future episodes, and, if we are lucky, we might get to see his lotar again too.
I really like what I've seen so far of Baal too. The other "false Gods" have been really poor, IMO. They just haven't come across very well. Of the new ones, only Osiris and Baal feel malevolent and scary enough. Ok, Aphophis was quite nasty, but I also thought that he was quite boring and stayed around for far too long! Anubis was meant to be the really big, bad, and scary one, but already he has had to flee from his own mothership! Hopefully, there will be a lot more of Baal in future episodes, and, if we are lucky, we might get to see his lotar again too.
This arc is starting to go Baalistic
owlaurence16 August 2010
Warning: Spoilers
This is a very odd episode, which focuses a lot on dialogue at the expense of action. It follows up on the decision to blend O'Neill with a Tok'ra (Kanan). Unfortunately, Kanan then left on a mysterious mission. Part of the plot line therefore follows SGC's attempts to understand what might have happened to let O'Neill (sans symbiote) be captured by a Goa'uld named Ba'al.
So everybody, meet Ba'al. In years to come he will become Earth's most persistent pest. He may even start to grow on you --like fungus. Anyway, for now he's is just another Goa'uld, one who's busy torturing O'Neill in order to wring the truth out of him. (Cruelty apart, that gravity-altering device is brilliant!) Which is all the more cruel since O'Neill really has no idea what he's doing there. Initially, at least.
This is where the problems start: the plot line has a lot of potential, but all the action is cut out so that we have to guess at what happened. This is meant to put us in the character's shoes, but the result is frustrating at best. Meeting Kanan would have helped us understand him and sympathise; instead, we only hear about him second-hand (apart from the brief intro); it doesn't help that nobody ever wonders what happened to him after he deserted O'Neill. Presumably, he died for lack of a host, but nobody ever checks. I guess the Tok'ra do leave their own behind.
Anyway, the episode spends time on O'Neill's surprise visitor in jail. At first, I was afraid that "Daniel" might be another trick of Baal's -until he and Jack started bickering about Life, the Universe and the Rest. Only Daniel can be that touching and that annoying at the same time: he feels for Jack, but spends the whole episode sitting here while his best friend is being repeatedly tortured to death. Now, I am certain that Teal'c's brilliant idea, coming right when Daniel mysteriously disappears, is no coincidence; still, it is time to start wondering whether Ascension can really solve anything. (Btw, should "Abyss" be understood as the opposite of Ascension? Because there doesn't seem to be a connection with the movie.)
To sum up: Abyss marks another deterioration of the relations between Earth and the Tok'ra. It has some very touching moments, but on the whole I tend to think it could have been improved by balancing dialogue and action more equally. And frankly, delightful though it was, I am not sure that bringing Daniel back so early, even as a guest, was a good idea, as it really stole Jonas's thunder.
So everybody, meet Ba'al. In years to come he will become Earth's most persistent pest. He may even start to grow on you --like fungus. Anyway, for now he's is just another Goa'uld, one who's busy torturing O'Neill in order to wring the truth out of him. (Cruelty apart, that gravity-altering device is brilliant!) Which is all the more cruel since O'Neill really has no idea what he's doing there. Initially, at least.
This is where the problems start: the plot line has a lot of potential, but all the action is cut out so that we have to guess at what happened. This is meant to put us in the character's shoes, but the result is frustrating at best. Meeting Kanan would have helped us understand him and sympathise; instead, we only hear about him second-hand (apart from the brief intro); it doesn't help that nobody ever wonders what happened to him after he deserted O'Neill. Presumably, he died for lack of a host, but nobody ever checks. I guess the Tok'ra do leave their own behind.
Anyway, the episode spends time on O'Neill's surprise visitor in jail. At first, I was afraid that "Daniel" might be another trick of Baal's -until he and Jack started bickering about Life, the Universe and the Rest. Only Daniel can be that touching and that annoying at the same time: he feels for Jack, but spends the whole episode sitting here while his best friend is being repeatedly tortured to death. Now, I am certain that Teal'c's brilliant idea, coming right when Daniel mysteriously disappears, is no coincidence; still, it is time to start wondering whether Ascension can really solve anything. (Btw, should "Abyss" be understood as the opposite of Ascension? Because there doesn't seem to be a connection with the movie.)
To sum up: Abyss marks another deterioration of the relations between Earth and the Tok'ra. It has some very touching moments, but on the whole I tend to think it could have been improved by balancing dialogue and action more equally. And frankly, delightful though it was, I am not sure that bringing Daniel back so early, even as a guest, was a good idea, as it really stole Jonas's thunder.
This episode was fantastic!
mattsmith-0352024 August 2021
To those complaining about a lack of action in this episode ... Stargate is more than that. Sure, it has action and great special effects... but it's more than that.
At it's core, what makes this show so successful is the relationships between the primary, and sometimes, secondary characters. Compassion, friendship, love, sacrifice, perfect banter between friends! Action alone does not make a great show, especially one that last 10 seasons! Remember Gunsmoke or M. A. S. H.? Plenty of action, but the personal relationships were what made the shows great. Consider the current MCU...lots of action, but the humor and banter and relationships make these movies what there are.
If pure action alone is your desire, I feel sorry for you. Don't be so shallow and critical. IMO.
At it's core, what makes this show so successful is the relationships between the primary, and sometimes, secondary characters. Compassion, friendship, love, sacrifice, perfect banter between friends! Action alone does not make a great show, especially one that last 10 seasons! Remember Gunsmoke or M. A. S. H.? Plenty of action, but the personal relationships were what made the shows great. Consider the current MCU...lots of action, but the humor and banter and relationships make these movies what there are.
If pure action alone is your desire, I feel sorry for you. Don't be so shallow and critical. IMO.
Great episode!
cbibins-3598312 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Emotions from Jack in his exchange with Daniel were intense showing the heart of the character. The Tokra's illogic was not addressed well as he ignored the only answer that determines Jack's actions. Then the intensity of General Hammond in addressing the Tokra later in this episode, decisive and blunt with that Texas machismo was worth a fist pump.
Never leave a man behind
Calicodreamin11 March 2022
Boring Episode
claudio_carvalho1 May 2017
A Tok'ra and a woman are hunted down by a group of Goa'uld, and they split running to different directions. When the man is captured, he is O'Neill and sent to a prison. Meanwhile Thoran arrives at the SGC and advises General Hammond and the SG-1 that Colonel O'Neill is missing. Jack is tortured by lord Ba'al but he does not have any information to give since his symbiote has fled. Out of the blue, Daniel appears to comfort him, but cannot help Jack to escape from the prison. Is O'Neill going mad?
"Abyss" is a boring episode of "Stargate SG-1", with the pointless participation of Dr. Samuel Jackson. The rushed conclusion does not give enough information how Jack O'Neill escaped from the Goa'uld prison. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Abyss"
"Abyss" is a boring episode of "Stargate SG-1", with the pointless participation of Dr. Samuel Jackson. The rushed conclusion does not give enough information how Jack O'Neill escaped from the Goa'uld prison. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Abyss"
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