Stargate SG-1 Season 6, Episode 19

"The Changeling"

images used above are courtesy of Gateworld and MGM

Overall Rating:  Excellent

Commentary by:

Christopher Judge – “Teal'c”
Martin Wood – Director

The commentary is very informative and interesting.  Lots of behind the scene information.  The commentary stays on point with what is on screen.

 

Review: 

The episode opens in an Earth hospital, moving through the hallway towards an operating room.  There are two patients there, lying down for surgery, and one of them is a not yet anesthetized Teal'c.  As an anesthesia mask is placed on his face, the surgeon comes into Teal'c's view and is none other than Apophis.  Complete with the Goa'uld's glowing eyes and deep, reverberating voice.  Before I have time to pick my jaw up off the ground, the scene shifts to Teal'c waking up in a dimly lit bunk room.  Oh, it was just a bad dream, then.  Teal'c heads to the bathroom and splashes water on his face.  A concerned Jonas follows him there from the bunkroom, to check if Teal'c is alright.  Teal'c responds and … wait a minute.  The gold emblem from being Apophis' First Prime is gone from Teal'c's forehead!  There's no Goa'uld emblem at all on Teal'c's forehead, nor any sort of scarring where one might have been.  Meanwhile, the two briefly chat about something Teal'c is going to do for his stepfather.  And, to top it all off, Jonas calls Teal'c “T.”

Stepfather?  No forehead emblem?  Teal'c tolerating a nickname?  What's going on here?

What's going on is a skillfully crafted journey, with incredible surprises and amazing moments.  This outstanding episode is a prime example of how to keep the audience off balance, without the episode being off-putting.  Stargate SG-1 has demonstrated this before in the episode “Forever in a Day.”  “The Changeling” takes things to another level with the adeptly smooth transitions from one of Teal'c's “realities” to another, interlaced into an intriguing whole.  There are three scenarios rotating throughout the episode.  Teal'c the human fire fighter.  Teal'c the Jaffa, as we are used to seeing him as a part of SG-1 at SGC.  And, Teal'c in one more scenario which isn't revealed until about the last third of the episode.  All three have common threads about Teal'c processing vital, yet potentially deadly, situations.  

Throughout the revolving settings, all of the Teal'c variants interact with those he is closest to in Stargate SG-1.  O'Neill, Carter, Brat'ac, and Jonas.  Not just those currently alive have parts to play.  Apophis (“Enemies”) shows up, at times as a human and other times as a Goa'uld.  Shan'auc (“Crossroads”) appears alive, and human not Jaffa.  And, Daniel Jackson (“Meridian”) is also a guest star in this episode.  Even though there is a lot to take in, the story moves smoothly and logically.  Everything builds upon itself, with a very surprising ending.

Christopher Judge is remarkable as T. the human, and Teal'c the Jaffa.  All of the regular cast provide outstanding performances, especially when O'Neill, Carter, Bra'tac/Brae, and Jonas are interacting with T. the human, and yet interacting on a different note with Teal'c the Jaffa.  Teryl Rothery is in fine form as Dr. Janet Fraiser.  Carmen Argenziano as Jacob/Selmak also makes an appearance, which is always a pleasure.

Failures:

None.