DigificWriter

After several days of real life getting in the way, I've finally had a chance to get back to my own SG-1 watch-through, and have a lot of thoughts on Episode 1x04, "Emancipation", that are more than likely going to put me in a very distinct minority, but here we go:
* I actually like that the episode puts our team into a situation where they're faced with an Earth-based culture that, to them, is completely foreign and "outdated", especially coming as early in the series' run as it does, not only because it helps establish a sort of pattern, but also because it helps them mesh as a team

* I don't have a problem with the male-first cultures presented in the episode or with the ways that said cultures force Carter out of her comfort zone and into a role she's not accustomed to or comfortable with; where I think the episode fails is that it makes her so combative and resistant to said cultures in a way that doesn't serve any real purpose and actually puts her and her teammates in active danger

* Abu is a foolish idiot for behaving the way that he does in kidnapping Carter and trading her to Turghan, but the expedient thing for Carter to have done in the situation in which she finds herself was to go along with the cultural norms of the planet in order to keep herself alive and afford herself an opportunity to actually get out of the situation without getting herself or anyone else hurt, and the fact that she can't bring herself to do that just makes her seem obstinate and, to be honest, ignorant and naive in a way that has nothing to do with her gender but doesn't mesh with her character as established either in the first 3 episodes of the series or in later episodes and later seasons and does far more harm than good

* I need to give props to Jack and Daniel in this episode for their behavior and the ways they're able to think on their feet (especially Daniel) in a situation that clearly isn't ideal for any of them but that presents an opportunity that they're not going to get again if they don't take it. Daniel is especially proficient at coming up with things to say to Turghan about Carter during the scene where they and Moughal are trying to negotiate her freedom

* Speaking of Jack, I think this episode represents another early example of his attraction to Sam that manifests itself in the way he reacts to seeing her in a dress and the way he's unwilling to let her get hurt. which adds some fun layers to his character when viewed through that lens

* Daniel having to 'translate' Moughal's talk about 'madness' was probably meant to be funny, but it again makes Carter seem a bit naive and ignorant, which is problematic for reasons not at all related to her gender

* I think it was too early to drop a reference to adventures that we as an audience never got to see, although Carter cutting off Jack before he could finish his sentence was an admittedly funny moment

* Amanda Tapping is a genuine badass and the fight she gets into with Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa is well-executed, but I find it problematic because, narratively, it puts people in unnecessary danger without any true guarantee of success. I get that the character of Carter is personally repulsed by what Turghan does to the women of his tribe and wants to keep Nya from being killed, but it's really not her place - as an outsider - to challenge that (it's not actually any of our team's place to challenge that, regardless of their gender)

* Even though Carter sticks herself into a situation she has no business interfering in, I do like that her actions end up giving others who are part of the Simkaran culture - like Moughal - the incentive and precedent to make a decision to change the status quo of things, even if said status quo change is limited

Overall, I don't think this episode in any way deserves to be considered the worst of the series, even though it does have some problems in terms of how it crafts its narrative... most of which have to do with the SG-1 team being "strangers in a strange land" and behaving in ways that are reckless and/or dangerous to themselves and others rather than anything explicitly related to the gender of Carter's character or the oppressive cultures of Simkara's inhabitants.