“Daniel, I’m chained up in a mad man’s barn with a bunch of unas.”
- Release Date: 10th August 2001
- Season 5
- Episode 7
- Director: Martin Wood
- Writers: Peter DeLuise
Daniel is watching some footage from a camera – he’s checking in on Chaka, the unas he bonded with on the Gou’ald homeworld (although that never gets brought up in this episode). Chaka takes an energy bar Daniel put in view of the camera, but four men straight out of a Firefly set (the main one would later appear on Firefly). Chaka is friendly, offering the men the energy bar, but they zat him and kidnap him.
He brings this up in a briefing, pointing out how they have Gou’ald weapons but are not Jaffa. He wants to rescue Chaka, especially as he essentially left the bait for the trap. He also offers up the possibility that they may also have access to other Gou’ald technology, without any Gou’ald or Jaffa in the way. The mission is approved and they head over.
There are multiple towns near the Stargate, but SG-1 focuses on the closest first. They’re a western-like farming society, except they’re using unas as slaves. Daniel and Jack decide to go in to talk first, with Daniel suggesting honesty. They reach an Unas auction where a feisty unas is being sold, and being accused of being inbred. The unas is shoved, so he fights back and flees, only to get killed by the village leader, Burrock, who happens to be the one that kidnapped Chaka.
Daniel says that they’re travellers who came through the stargate, which they call the Chappa’ai (the Gou’ald word for it). Burrock says that strangers haven’t gone through it as long as anyone can remember. Daniel says they came to trade (prompting an eye raise from Jack, because Daniel mentioned honesty) and introduces the two. Burrok is happy with new traders, so offers them both a drink.
The bar is staffed by unas – they seem to do all the work here – and Burrok is surprised when Daniel thanks them, who covers himself by saying that the people on his planet find positive reinforcement to be a good method of training. They ask about the Chappa’ai and find out that Burrock has only dialed one planet so far. The address he got was kept secret by some powerful families and dates back to an event he calls the Beast Wars – the people overthrew the unas, who were being commanded by one with glowing eyes. The slavers then enslaved the people that controlled them (not knowing that the unas were already slaves themselves to the Gou’ald)
Burrock shows them around the unas facilities and explains the difficulties they are having with the unas lately, with them not training as well due to generations of inbreeding – but he does have a way to sort it as he’s been able to find some new blood. He takes them into a barn, which has cages with multiple unas, one of them being Chaka. Chaka sees Daniel and calls him by name, which surprises Burrok as he had no idea the unas could speak. Daniel says that Chaka is his unas and he was conducting an experiment on the planet they found him – and he wants him back. Burrock is having none of that, he needs Chaka for breeding.
Jack urges them to head outside and asks Burrok for a price – he wants two equally good unas in return. Jack says they’ll think about it and they head off. Jack wants to just go back and call it all off, but Daniel isn’t happy. He wants to save Chaka. Jack points out that a few of them can’t stop an entire planet enslaving others (Jack still sees them as monsters anyway). They meet up with Carter and Teal’c and let them know what’s going on. Jack plans to take Chaka in the night – but no human lives can be risked in doing so.
They free Chaka from the cage when Chaka starts pointing and saying stuff about the other unas, which Daniel realises he’s saying that they’re all marked for death. They try to leave, but Chaka won’t leave the other unas behind. The unas all start rattling the cages, which wakes up the villages. Carter and Teal’c lay down cover fire (but don’t shoot anyone, as per their orders) and Daniel and Jack end up getting captured.
They wake up in cages when Carter tries to contact them via radio – Chaka has the walkie-talkie. He tells Jack that Chaka must have snatched it from the vest because he knew it was important from their last encounter. With the understanding between each other, they work out the word for “give” and Daniel explains what was going on – until Jack demands it. The unas in between Daniel and Chaka seems to have understood what was going on and helps out, too. Carter says that she and Teal’c will try to get to the gate for reinforcements.
The unas in the barn seem to start talking, and Daniel mentions to Jack that Chaka must have taught them some stuff. It seems they’re explaining that Chaka wouldn’t leave because they all wanted freedom like he does. Jack thinks that’s beyond their capabilities without bringing an army in, but Daniel wants to find a way. A young boy, escorted by an unas, yells at Jack for hurting his dad. As he leaves, Jack points out that these people won’t let any unas go free without plenty of deaths. Carter calls back saying the gate is heavily guarded, so Jack says to lie low.
Burrok enters and says that the usual punishment for Beast Stealing is death, but he can overlook it for more gate addresses. Daniel says that the unas are intelligent beings, but Burrok doesn’t care – their once enslaved humans, so they deserve it. Jack points out that there are dangers in the galaxy and that there are more creatures with glowing eyes (although not that they enslaved the unas). As Jack won’t talk, Burrok tortures him wth a Gou’ald pain stick.
Ckaha shouts out with Jack being attacked and all the unas rattle their cages. Burrok uses a P90 to kill one of them, then goes to shoot another, but is out of ammo. He asks Jack how to sort it (who asks for it so he can show) and says he’ll figure it out. He threatens to kill an unas every day they don’t talk.
Teal’c and Carter are back at the village to figure out a plan. Teal’c has a plan for a distraction to mount a rescue, but they can’t guarantee zero casualties. Jack says that there’s no way out of this without bloodshed, and even Daniel agrees. And they’re all going to escape, so Jack lets them know that three unas will be joining them.
Teal’c sneaks to a cart carrying hay and sets it on fire, while Carter plants C4 near water barrels. As the villages move towards the barrels (but not too close), she blows them up. In the planet, they slip into the barn and release Daniel, Jack and all the unas. A villager tries to stop them but realises it’s not nothing (they know what earth guns do now) and they head off. They reach the stargate, but there’s nobody there. Clearly an ambush.
The unas start heading toward the stargate and Daniel warns them of danger – but Chaka indicates that they already know and they plan to spring the trap. SG-1 get in position and shoot when the villagers attack. In the mess, Burrok manages to corner Chaka, but Daniel’s shot in their direction causes Burrok to shoot back at Daniel (also missing). One of the other unas jumps at Burok, but Burok throws him off. However, he’s dropped his staff weapon and Chaka has picked it up. Chaka shoots Burrok – first wounding him and then killing him (despite Daniel’s plea not to).
With the threat over, it’s time to head back to earth. But Chaka refuses to go. After a conversation in the unas language, Daniel realises thar Chaka already decided to try and free all the other unas and that they only came to the stargate to help SG-1 escape. Jack isn’t very happy as they didn’t come to arm others (even though they’ve done similar stuff before), but Daniel thinks they deserve a chance. He gives Chaka his zat, telling him a few words. He tells Jack that he’s told Chaka that he doesn’t have to kill, and that they deserve a chance at freedom.
I really liked this episode, although Jack was quite annoying in it. Even in the end, it felt like he was just doing things to shut Daniel up rather than helping an enslaved race. Due to his past experience with Gou’ald-infected unas, it would have been nice for Jack to properly recognise things a bit more.
