Season 5, Episode 2: Threshold
on July 15th, 2011 at 3:25 amOriginal Air Date – 6 July 2001
SG-1 successfully escaped from Apophis, along with the body of Teal’c, but their friend still has devotion for his Goa’uld lord entrenched in his mind. “Threshold” begins with Dr. McKenzie bringing Hammond and O’Neil into Teal’c’s room, showing to them that his mind is once again clear and that he is ready to pledge allegiance to Earth. It is only after Teal’c comes face to face with Bra’tac that it becomes apparent that he is deceiving the SGC and is still loyal to Apophis. Bra’tac realizes that it will be a long and painful road to free him, but that there is a way through a Jaffa ritual named M’al Sharran. He removes Teal’c’s symbiote and brings him on the verge of death so that the events which forged Teal’c wash across his mind like a wave. Only then will he choose the right path to follow. The only drawback of this ritual is that no one ever survived it, but Bra’tac believes in his old apprentice.
“Threshold” is a self-explanatory title. This episode is quite heavy and tormenting, as Teal’c is literally being dragged through all sorts of suffering, both mental and physical. Despite Teal’c being unconscious or just mumbling most of the time, this is a true character development episode. We venture deep into his history and events that shaped his life and every bit of these flashbacks is done in an excellent manner. It is great to see how the flashbacks overlap the conversations going on around Teal’c in reality, the writers really managed to do a superb job. Both sides desperately try to succeed, Teal’c occasionally trying to deceive them that he is cured, while the inner memories tend to speak otherwise. On the other hand, there is a note of hope among his friends talking to him, but there is also uncertainty and desperateness sensed around them. The battle for Teal’c’s mind is epic, as is this whole episode.
One visual aspect that I really have to praise here is the design of Apophis in the flashbacks. Those metallic feathers look great in comparison to that golden armor thing which he wore majority of the times thus far, so I really wonder why the creators opted for such a lame version.
