I thought this episode was quite boring. This one and the one with the inivisibility-dimension-beasts actually make me a bit relieved that the show has been cancelled: I've liked SG-1 enough in the past that, when it is on, I feel compelled to watch; however, I couldn't really put up with many episodes like this.
For me, what made it fail was that I just didn't buy into the character arc. I don't find Vala interesting enough as a character, nor am I sympathetic enough to her, to care about her situation. After all, the plot was quite predictable: from the previews and the first few minutes, we knew pretty much how the episode would unfold. Thus, I need something other than the story to hold my interest. I need to feel the emotion of the character in the situation (I didn't), the way the story is told needs to be interesting (it wasn't, until Mitchell finally caught up with Vala), or I need to appreciate the growth of the characters in the situation (none perceived, except that Vala is now an official member of SG-1, which didn't seem "earned" to me at all).
It's really too bad, because the character had potential -- former Goa'uld host, clever trickster, seen enough devastation by the Ori to want to help stop them -- but she's either written or played too frivolously for my taste.
Interestingly, when I imagine a "parallel" episode on Farscape, with Aeryn Sun loosing her memories and John Crichton tracking her down and reminding her that she had, in a sense, chosen not to run anymore, I find it much more palatable. I think it's because I really cared about those characters and their relationships, and I don't feel the same way about the SG-1 team's connections to Vala.
