Redemption, Part I

[catspaw]

I've newly watched this ep again, and it's reminded me how odd it seems. Specifically Jack's comment, 'Over my rotting corpse'. That seems so out of character, so out of left field, to me it makes me pull up short every time I watch the ep.

So, SG peeps. What's your take on this? I can come up with a couple of reasons why this line might exist at a stretch, but no matter how hard I try to justify it, I always come down to one thing: lazy writing to set up the conflict later in the ep.

Open to any and all interpretations :-)

Comments

[paian]

What IG said ... and emotions would definitely have run higher in the military than in the civilian population, right through the 1970s, which would have been a formative time for Jack professionally. 'Gamekeeper,' 'Matter of Time,' and 'Evolution' suggest that he operated in theatres where the U.S. and the Soviets were at odds, and a guy in black ops could have racked up a lot of grudges.

I was thinking in terms of what was clearly stated in canon, though, and I definitely get what you're saying -- I'm not sure that line is fully supported. It might even be undermined by 'The Tomb' and 'Watergate.'

[ivorygates]

I think the scriptwriter (Cooper) was going for humor by exaggeration ("rotting corpse"="dead body"), but the line really falls flat. It isn't Jack, regardless of the vehemence of his feelings.

HAMMOND
Colonel Checkov feels that as a symbol of our joint efforts, a Russian officer should be assigned to join SG-1.

O'NEILL
Over my rotting corpse, Sir.

HAMMOND
Colonel…

O'NEILL
I'm sorry, did I say that out loud?

Now. Replace "rotting corpse" with "dead body", and the exchange doesn't clank nearly as much...

[catspaw]

And yes, you're right. Really didn't work, did it? :/

[ivorygates]

Cooper's writing generally has the light touch of a falling anvil, yes...