The Darker Side of Love

     Love can be portrayed in many ways, from the simple gesture of giving flowers to the one you love to the delivery of a full-blown kiss on the lips. True, the two mentioned are acts of love, but what happens when love is forbidden? The example that best describes the element forbidden love we find on television is a series entitled: “Stargate SG-1.” This show portrays the act of forbidden love, but there also is a hidden element that seems to make it altogether more appealing. The statement “Love doesn’t play well on television but infatuation and love do” is disproved by this series in many ways. This series was never based on the concept of love but as the show progresses onwards, the outlook is starting to appear as “Romantic Love...”

     This show bases its idea’s on the possibility of being able to travel to different worlds. One of the teams assigned to do these missions is called SG-1. Jack O’Neill is the leader of the team and can be described as sarcastic and a more or less average person, He’s always quick on his feet and at the first sigh of danger is first to react. His military companion is Captain Samantha Carter who is a brilliant woman who tends to find herself in more than one compromising positions. The next character is Daniel Jackson; another team member is usually portrayed as an intelligent figure that gets himself in more than his share of trouble. The fourth member is an alien that joined the cause to help save his people and is usually a strong willed character who refuses to show anything remotely close to human emotion. The final on going character is General Hammond who leads the entire expedition at the chair behind his desk. The characters that are focused on in the romantic beginnings are Jack O’Neill and Samantha Carter. Their relationship is obviously hinted but always seemingly impossible. Since they both work for the Air Force, it is against regulations to have a romantic relationship that may or may not lead to a marriage. Samantha Carter represents passion, a strong will, and the ability to solve almost any puzzle that is thrown at her. Jack is more of a sarcastic, open minded man who believes strongly in the expression “shoot first, ask questions later.” Together they are able to get a lot accomplished and they respect each other mutually and in ways, they are alike. Samantha has begun to rely on her Commanding Officer’s witty remarks to get them out of situations that a normal person would never be able to handle. On the other hand, Jack relies on Samantha to be there with words of comfort and for her to solve problems the rest of the team would not even fathom to be able to. Because of this respect and trust they committed to each other they became somewhat vulnerable and have been subject to many hints of a growing romantic relationship that will somehow become something bigger.

     As with most Romantic Love based relationships, there is always an element of uncertainty and danger. In this case, most of the scenes that involve such romantic episodes are when somebody will be killed or there is some sort of tension release. Usually there is a level of uncertainty when there is more than one person involved in the particular scene. For example, Whenever Daniel Jackson is around, a love ‘triangle’ is created. Daniel is always the character that prevents the love from being complete. Although Daniel is more of a brother to Sam and a son to Jack, Jack is unsure of how to act in the moment. Usually the scene is made to be awkward and uncomfortable. There have been many other scenes where Daniel has ‘spoiled the moment’ by walking in on Sam having a private moment with either Jack or another person Sam is having a romantic relationship with. Another compromising love triangle created is a lieutenant who has a crush on Sam. Once again, there was the element of ruining the moment but there is the restriction of a romantic relationship with a co-worker involved still. Unlike most series, the complication of having a military series creates the impossibility of having a love triangle between two women against each other and a man because of the creation of most military institutes. Most women aren’t accepted really in the military and therefore not used in certain fields such as the importance of the Stargate project. Instead, it is always a woman and two men, which makes the series all more appealing because of the unusual twist. In the past, the only other sign of a romantic relationship is usually hugging. In one episode, there was a case that dealt with the fact of a possible alternate reality. This was a possibility introduced into two episodes. In that scenario, Sam had no ties with the military, choosing to stay a civilian instead of becoming a captain in the military. The alternate reality Jack was killed and we find out in that moment that the two were engaged leaving an unexpected twist in the entire plot. The idea was introduced in the following episode as impossible and was viewed as the end of the topic. Obviously the idea didn’t stop and as the idea was introduced again, Jack was once again dead and Sam was transported into the real reality. The end result was a kiss at the end from Jack to the alternate reality Sam who had been married to Jack in her reality and had been killed during a war with aliens. The Sam from Jack’s (the one that wasn’t killed) reality was left feeling slightly awkward at the change of events because she realizes that their love is never meant to be and no matter what she does, unless it’s really drastic, will she able to become that involved with the Jack that she has become to know as her friend. In the element of a life or death situation, the result is basically the same. Not only does the pair get time alone, there is also a visible romantic tension between the two. The love though is never completed and will always be forbidden and unable to exist because of their involvement in the U.S. air force. Because this is a military based relationship, the only romantic love involved is controlled by rules and regulations. This clearly disproves the notion of ‘love doesn’t play well on television, but infatuation and love do’ because there will always be a consequence to whatever a romantic relationship might have on the couple.

     Therefore, Romantic love is widely advertised, even in a show like Stargate SG-1. Although the idea of love in a military style setting such as this can be admirable, the concept is strange and the possibility is always challenged, by either the introduction of the possibility of there being a relationship if Samantha is willing to give up her military career, or if she would be willing to settle for the close relationship and bond that the two of them hold. In perspective, this would be a good example of the myth of undying love. The love is between them like an electric charge but the idea continues to be detoured and unrefined letting on that there is an undecided future for the couple. There is also the evidence of undying love in many episodes that outline the death of either of the two and the emotional cascade that follows. This is a clear example of the darker side of love in the way that the love that does exist between the two involved parties is forbidden and the element of danger and unstable emotions makes the type of love appealing to many audiences. This also is another example of the statement “Love doesn’t play well on television, but infatuation and lust do...” because it shows that both love and infatuation are elemental in the relationship of two people. Instead unrequited love, the love is returned in a more subtle way, which is always apparent to us, as the audience, and not to the character(s) involved. In conclusion, there will never be a definite answer to this type of puzzle. What the relationship will grow or diminish into is unclear and the Darker Side of Love will always be present no matter what steps are presented to undermine it.
 
 

                                            ~ KaraMeL

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