Chain Reaction

[Texane]

was just aired here in the US. We got to see Sam build another bomb (that destroyed another world at the orders of a new general), and got to see a little more of the "sarcastic" Sam, too (the lines reminded me a little of the epys when Daniel says he's been hanging around Jack too long).

It was also nice to see Sam, Daniel and Teal'c paired up, and, of all things, Jack and Maybourne paired up. It was a great epy!

The interesting thing about Sam's character was you could see her quandary during the entire episode: resign and not participate in what was clearly becoming a program to design weapons of destruction, or stay and try and keep some sort of safety involved; it's not as if the government couldn't find someone to replace her to build (and test) the weapons they intended to build.

I always wondered when they would get to this particular issue . . . showed your guts there, Brad Wright. Nice job.

 

[Arcane]

I'm totally with you on this one, Texane.

AT did a great job showcasing Sam's dilemma -- a choice between two equally bad situations.

Sam is career military. You don't just resign because you don't like your new assignment, CO, a particular order, etc. That made it all the more difficult to watch her create something that she seems to find morally objectionable.

I liked how she chose to speak up. Most officers would think twice before accusing a two-star general of misconduct in front of an audience. I felt like she had quietly tried to raise her objections beforehand, but now had no choice but to call him on the carpet when she found out about the naquadah in the soil.

Sarcastic Sam was a nice little passive-aggressive way of dealing with an awful situation. Very appropriate considering the company she keeps.

Renee. . .

 

[skydiver]

oh yeah, the ultimate dilemma.
let's see i can do the morally right thing and quit...or i can hang around do something i despise and try to keep it under control. yuck.

any one else get the idea, once the brown stuff hit the fan she was pretty much running the place? bauer sure was useless. heck he wasn't even going to call the prez until he knew there was no way it could be swept under the rug.
if it had been hammond he would have called the big guy the moment they knew there was a problem.
i did sorta wonder why we didn't see her danny or teal'c at the end. just hammond and jack. HMMMMMMM
or here's another question, what if them not having enough naquadah was a ploy of hers to delay making the bomb until hammond's situation could be resolved, and it backfired and got maj. wait killed.
i did like how danny and teal'c stood by her even when they could have left.
course, maybe i'm projecting here but there is a faint possibility danny finding the goa'uld ruins was a ploy to get them to delay the tests but bauer kept finding ways around their excuses.
anyone notice some looks between her and siler? he didn't like what he was doing at all either.

all in all, i see a ton of fic sprouting from this cause it's so ripe for some angst plucking.

and for her and earth's sake, i really hope that planet she blew up didn't have any powerful neighbors that are going to be ticked off cause they ruined the neighborhood

 

[Texane]

Can you hear (or see the looks between) the next discussion between her and (former military) Jacob?

 

[skydiver]

hows about the looks between her and jack.
you know 'yeah sir i'm glad you ran off and fixed things but...well i know you told us to stay out of trouble so i just blew up a planet that's all no bit deal."
all i know for sure is this woman's not one i want mad at me cause she can come up with some nasty things.

but...let's say chain reaction happened in first or second season...would she have stood up to bauer like she did? i mean she practically accused him of planet-cide not only to his face but in front of witnesses. and she did everything but tell him to ****** off...though that last look after he apologized was chilling. to say she was ticked off would be an understatement.
do you think a sam who hadn't been exposed to jack and had the security of basically being the only person on the base who had the foggiest idea what was going on would have stood up to bauer?
that doesn't make much sense. let's rephrase, would a season 1 sam have reacted like she did in season 4?

 

[Texane]

Nope. She would have still been a theoretical astrophysicist, working in an office, knee deep in paperwork and models like Daniel. Bucking the system and speaking up was not part of her personality then. And I think it wasn't only because of Jack either. General Hammond definitely gave her room to breathe and become more of a "person" than a military scientist.

Which is just another reason why they all wanted him back so desperately.

 

[skydiver]

yeah. season 1 sam sure wouldn't have given hammond a hug. i think someone in a fic, and i really can't pull the title or author out right now said it in a good way.
while sam may not have rank, she has pull. there may be moreofficers at the sgc that outrank her but she's got hammond in her back pocket.
and i think having that pull gave her the hutzpah to stand up to bauer and pretty much call him a wuss to his face.