"Crossroads" review
SFX magazine
October 2000
A signal to the Stargate crew means an imcoming visitor. Though
they are expecting Bra'tac, the incoming traveler is Shan'auc of
the Red Hills, a Jaffa priestess who clearly has feelings for Teal'c.
Requesting that the SGC help her contact the Tok'ra, Shan'auc tells
the team that she has found a way to fight the Goa'uld. By performing
the Kelnoreem, she has communicated with her Goa'uld symbiote.
She claims to have taught the symbiote the folly of the Goa'uld's
ways, and convinced it to provide up-to-date secrets of the Goa'uld
to the Tok'ra. Unfortunately, she has carried the symbiote to term,
and it must be placed inside a new host or they both will die. And
if Shan'auc is not given a new Prim'ta, she will die as well.
Anise beseeches the Tok'ra council, and they agree to help Shan'auc.
The SG-1 team travels with her to the Tok'ra world, where her symbiote
enters into Hegron [sic], taking on the new name of "Tanith."
Shan'auc is also saved, when a new symbiote is put within her, but
Jack gets annoyed when Anise and the others won't share Tanith's
secrets with the Stargate team unless they deem it necessary. Unfortunately,
the sharing is not forthcoming, as Tanith kills Shan'auc. The symbiote
is still evil, but the Tok'ra now plan to use it to feed incorrect
information to the Goa'uld system lord.
This episode, while entertaining to long-term fans, is an example
of a show so steeped in its own mythology as to be completely incomprehensible
to a new viewer. This wasn't a bad episode, just incredibly dense,
and completely inaccessible for newcomers. But it was nice to have
Teal'c get a little more character shading... and a little Jaffa
nookie if the "morning after" scenes were interpreted
correctly. Cheesecake fans will enjoy Musetta Vander vamping rings
around former Weird Science-girl Vanessa Angel.
3 stars
|
