Ok I've just watched the children of the Gods final cut for the first time (I've always watched the original cut of it) and I have SO MANY thoughts
First off this is better. Absolutely without a doubt better, visually it's cleaner and a lot of scenes feel better to watch, but there are a couple things I kinda miss with it
Ok starting with stuff I really liked:
Sam's introduction and actual dialogue through the episode is a million million times better. Some of her really poorly-written lines in her introduction scene are completely removed, and during both missions she shows a lot more agency and actually feels like a character, especially in the Abydos cartouche scene where she's actively deciding what to do.
Speaking of the Abydos cartouche scene, her explanation for why the planets shift is very slightly different in a way that actually makes sense! Very cool detail to change.
Sha're just in general, so much better. Still kind of just a prop instead of a character but the way her scenes are cut makes her seem like she's not just there as a plot device (all her scenes are shot focusing on her face instead of her tits, basically) and they took all the nudity out which is great because it always felt so at odds with the rest of the show
Things I didn't like are much more minor but I still wanna talk about them:
They took out some of the fun references, like Sam saying they "macguyvered a DHD back on Earth" because RDA is obviously macguyver
Sam's intro scene feels REALLY jumpy now. It's definitely still an improvement but the amount that had to be taken out means it doesn't flow that well. Things like Jack saying "this has nothing to do with you being a woman" when she didn't actually bring that up at all just feels a little out of place.
On the same lines, a lot of little bits where jack's kind of a dick to Sam got completely removed. Things like "I thought you wanted to be called captain" after she introduces herself to Daniel as "doctor". I think it's kinda important to their relationship that they kind of have to earn each other's trust/respect, and Jack does keep doing things like that every so often in the early seasons so it kinda feels like it's missing. He just hates scientists and we should see that!
Sam still kinda isn't allowed to be a soldier, like at the end of the prison sequence she's still cowering behind a rock with Daniel instead of joining the fight. But there's limits to what you can do with a recut I guess.
But yes overall 10/10 recut I do think it's a big improvement. Genuinely if you've only ever seen one cut I think it would be fun to watch both just to see the differences, but if you're just getting into Stargate I absolutely recommend the final cut (2009 version), it's just SO much cleaner and nicer to watch.
