2.17: “Amazing Grace”

This episode takes us back to our roots, in the tried and highly controversial “Grace” style. Long story short, character gets locked up all by himself > is going to die > his mind makes him see people that aren’t there, and they help him confront his inner demons and such as he prepares to die, or survive and die trying. Whereas both actual Stargates’ episodes caused varying viewpoints from ‘dur it sucks lol’ to ‘amazing!’, this episode doesn’t get that, and it receives the flat-out praise it deserves.

The plot may seem a little generic – alien city tests an apocalyptic weapon that backfires – but it doesn’t feel that way, and the pacing makes it feel very new, as does the fantastic style of writing, and this is contributed to by the very way in which it is revealed, through David’s memories.

The episode does an excellent job fleshing out the David and Tom characters, as well as their friendship. Although it’s difficult to see just how that works if Tom wasn’t really there, we get to see Tom through the eyes of David and see just how they work together, and we sort of get to know Tom through David. Julia was a very nice touch, and I liked how her presence induced romance, but it managed to avoid the cliché of spending pages of David and Julia just kissing, which gave more room for dialogue and character development. We get to see how the team functions in their actions to find him, and we can see that they really are a “no man left behind” type of team.

The ending was very nice, as it linked itself to the beginning more than it looped, which gave it a very complete and thorough feeling.

Highest praise to “Amazing Grace,” a unique and powerful episode that will surely remain a fan favorite for years to come. Mike Coakley did a fantastic job, and I look forward to his next episode!

Overall: ****