I'm ambivalent about this episode. The premise is cool - I liked the idea at its core - but the execution was flat. I wanted to be menaced by Daniel as Prior. I wanted to worry that maybe he really had been turned. Or worry that Merlin was in charge and perhaps he had overestimated his clever-ness. Alas, that was not to be.

Daniel as Prior was all about the cool makeup. Seriously? In close-ups, I should have been more fascinated by the menace than the white mascara he was wearing. I think partially it was the acting -- it felt as if most everyone but Claudia were phoning in the performances though thankfully RDA was better here than he was in the SGA episode -- and partially it was the structure of the episode. Flashbacks rarely work and they break the flow of a story. This felt like an episode that should build up to a "is he? isn't he?" moment. You need momentum to do that.

It would have been a lot scarier to watch Adria try to turn Daniel. Especially if we don't know that Merlin is protecting him. Or if there's some question of whether Merlin is really more cunning and sly than Adria. Then when SG-1 encounters him, we just don't know. A Prior who fails to mention the Ori death threat? Wasn't that a total give away that he wasn't really a Prior?

I was also annoyed by the team's missing several key opportunities to deal a blow to the Ori. Adria was out cold and not protected. Maybe it would be a good idea to kill her right then and there? Oh no, running off was a much better option. *sigh*

You've sent the weapon through and don't know if it worked? Maybe not closing the wormhole after sending the weapon through is a good idea? Or, if for some reason it can't be maintained, why not dial out to somewhere else? Anywhere else! Or, after the weapon has gone through, disengage and blow the gate in exactly the way that was first planned. Very sloppy plotting.

I didn't totally hate it, it just felt like it should have been...more. It was a great idea. Maybe if they'd made it a two parter they'd have had more time to develop it properly without feeling the need to collapse a bunch of the story into flashbacks? It felt like they crammed a lot into the episode at the expense of the story told.

I like Teal'c as Lie Detector. Good use of his experience in judging who's with him and who's mouthing the words -- although I feel kind of like he's becoming a prop. Need to scare someone and get him to talk? Send in Teal'c; fade to black. Need to determine if Daniel is Daniel? Send in Teal'c; fade to black. That said, I like that he gets to be something beyond the brawn. A substantive role would be even better but after 10 years, I think I can give that hope up as doomed.

I liked the S/J scenes. Those who want to ship them can read their isolation together for what they want. Those of us who prefer to see two adult colleagues/friends/teammates can see it the way we want. Some might want more but nobody comes out hating it. And thankfully, RDA seemed more interested in acting in this episode than he did in the SGA one.

Vala stood out because, as I've come to expect, Claudia Black shows up to work and boy can she act. Vala might not be my favorite character but CB is rapidly becoming my favorite actress. When they write Vala as dropping her boundaries, allowing her true emotions to come out, that's when I think I can make myself forget early Vala and just enjoy her. The Daniel/Vala show does both characters an injustice, I think, because it's a breezy cliché and the writers give in to the easy rather than write. If that makes sense. Daniel is a grouch and Vala is an irrepressible sex kitten. *yawn*

Anyhow, this was an episode that had the bones of greatness but it failed to fulfill its potential.