“The success or failure of your deeds does not add up to the sum of your life. Your spirit cannot be weighed.”
- Release Date: 30th January 2002
- Season 5
- Episode 21
- Director: William Waring
- Writers: Robert C. Cooper
SG-1 is rushing through the stargate back to Stargate Command, he’s holding his hands out and seems to be injured but isn’t being held by anyone. He tells people to back off and Carter says he’s been exposed to a large amount of radiation. Fraiser rushes to him and asks about what happened – he was exposed to radiation from an unstable version of naquadah, although the rest of the team were not there when it happened. The dose is extremely lethal.
In the briefing room, Hammond lets Carter, Jack and Teal’c know that Dr Fraiser can not do anything for Daniel, but he wants to know what happened. They were visiting a planet called Langara, which is similar in technology to 1940s America. There are three main countries, with Kelowna being the one with the Stargate, discovered 15 years previously. There’s a lot of mounting tensions between the countries. Alongside the Stargate, Kelowna discovered some Gou’ald artifacts. They’re also eager for any kind of trade with Earth.
We cut back to them meeting one of the Langarans, one who goes by the name of Jonas Quinn. He’s the special advisor to the High Minister, dealing with the ethics regarding scientific endeavors. He’s very excited about SG-1 visiting their planet and gives them a tour. Daniel tells Jonas that he can help work out a date for how old the Gou’ald technology is. He knows this will come to a price, so hope that they have something to offer Earth.
He shows them one of the labs and says that it’s a device that uses naquadria – Daniel tried to correct him to “naqahdah” but Jonas explains that they also translated that, and naquadria is something different. Carter first presumes that the device they’re working on is an energy device, but it’s instead an extremely and immensely powerful bomb. SG-1 definitely had a problem with this, with Daniel being the biggest voice. The three of them toured the city while Daniel stayed behind to try and convince them overwise. While they were away, the accident happened and the Kelownan are claiming that Daniel tried to sabotage the bomb – something SG-1 do not believe in the slightest. It’s time to ask Daniel about it.
Daniel explains the grim fate that awaits him due to the radiation poisoning and that there’s no cure – Jack suggests finding someone who can help, but Daniel doesn’t want them to go begging their allies for a single life. Daniel also first refuses to say what happened, but Jack says he knows he didn’t sabotage it. An accident happened and they blamed Daniel to cover it up. Daniel also mentioned that the Gou’ald that was working on it ten thousand years ago nearly blew up the entire planet.
They still ask for help anyway. The Asgard are still unresponsive while Jacob is currently on a mission to round up any remaining Tok’ra, to bring them out from being undercover so they can go into hiding and regroup. Jack says they know where a sarcophagus is, but Hammond reminds him of the ill effects last time (Jack is willing to risk it) and that the mission to recover it would likely result in multiple casualties.
Carter is studying the data and works out how much energy was required to give Daniel so much radiation. The power potential is astronomical, and Carter thinks that this is the missing link to Earth creating hyperspace travel, allowing for starships to be created. They could really do with getting some naquadria, although the allegations against Daniel do not bode well for relations and trade. Hammond drafts a letter requesting continued negotiations without actually saying Daniel did anything, just that we didn’t order anything.
Jack delivers the letter, telling Jonas that they know his people are lying. He tells Jonas that his government wants to continue because the naquadria is valuable. Personally, he doesn’t care, though – he just wants the truth and to clear Daniel’s name, letting Jonas know that he is dying. Jonas saying that he can’t do anything because his people do this weapon. Jack supports Daniel’s position, though. The only way weapons of mass destruction work as a deterrent is that it needs to be used at least once. He also points out that he thinks Earth can make defence shields with it. With no answer, he heads back to Earth.
Back in the infirmary, Carter attempts to use the Gou’ald healing device to fix Daniel. She hadn’t done so earlier as she was afraid of making things worse. Daniel agrees and she tries to use it, but he starts seizing. Carter is distraught by causing this to happen. We cut to a vision of Daniel in a dark gate room and we see the ascended being Oma Desala greeting Daniel – the one that started teaching him about ascension on Kebb.
Once he’s stable again, Jack visits Daniel to try and comfort him, admitting that he’s not very good at this kind of thing. He’s adamant about clearing Daniel’s name because, despite their agreements, he admires him, and he’s not having his last act on record to be going against orders and sabotaging something. Daniel passes out and sees Oma again. She says a lot of cryptic things, and all Daniel can figure out is that she’s attempting to help him ascend, but it can’t just be a means of cheating death.
Jonas turns up, being allowed through the Iris by Hammond. He’s stolen as much naquadria as he could. After seeing his colleagues die, he was horrified about how gleeful his leaders were when realising how powerful the bomb would be. He told them the truth, then scarpered.
We see a flashback of Daniel visiting Jonas, who has read and understood a complex book about the Gou’ald language overnight, although Jonas says he’s more interested in what else is through the Stargate. Daniel says that there are dangers out there and that they’ve seen other cultures destroy themselves with technology they don’t understand. He wishes there was another way that doesn’t involve making this bomb. In the nearby lab, something goes wrong and radiation spikes (so much that they have to hide away from the observation window).
With everyone in the room collapsing, the device builds more and more power – it’s going to explode. Daniel tries to enter through the door but when he can’t claim access, he shoots through the window, jumps through and removes the material from the device, preventing disaster, all while Jonas cowers. Back in the briefing room, Jonas explains that Daniel saved millions of lives, and it’s disgusting that his government won’t acknowledge it.
Daniel is continuing his conversation with Oma, doubting that he’s ever done anything useful with his life. He overhears Carter talking to him, saying that Jonas has had a change of heart and come forward with the truth, and that Daniel has this effect to change people for the better. She says that he’s impacted her, and regrets that she’s never let him know. Oma says that he can’t reach enlightenment if you don’t believe you’re worthy, so Daniel says they have a problem.
Teal’c visits him next, saying that if he dies, the galaxy would have lost one of its greatest warriors, and that he would have lost one of his greatest friends. When Daniel still doubts himself, saying that he could have had a peaceful life on Abydos if he left the Stargate alone (although I’m sure a Gou’ald would have turned up in a ship eventually), she tries to point out how much he’s done and that his friends are trying to tell him this. Daniel thinks he hasn’t done enough, so Oma says that we can’t control how much we do because of how vast the universe is, we can only decide if we’re good or evil.
Jonas is telling Hammond that he would be branded as a traitor, so he can’t return. He does ask that if Earth develops defence technology, that they’d share them with his people to provide them with an alternative that isn’t blowing each other up. There’s an incoming wormhole with a Tok’ra signal. A lot of guards are set up due to the recent issues with the Tok’ra, but it’s Jacob, they tell him that Daniel is in trouble.
Jacob and Selmak start healing Daniel, but they point out that while they could allow him to live, he will not be in a healthy state, the Gou’ald healing technology doesn’t go that far. He’s given the go-ahead. In Daniel’s vision, Oma says that she is leaving as the rest is up to him. He realises that someone is healing him, and that he doesn’t actually want that to happen – his journey can continue in another way.
He manages to bring Jack into the dream, asking him to stop. When Jack asks if he’s giving up, Daniel points out Oma (who leaves through the dream Stargate) and that he believes he can do more for everyone if he follows her. Jack wakes up and asks Jacob to stop, saying this is what Daniel wanted. Daniel speaks to Jack again, thanking him, but also says he doesn’t know if they’ll ever see each other or what actually happens.
We cut back to the infirmary, where Daniel turns into a being of energy and moves through the ceiling. And that’s it – Daniel is gone, no longer a main character of the show. I think it’s a great idea doing it in the episode before the finale. It’s sad to see him go, but Daniel was having disputes about where his character was going and wanted to try a few other things. That said, Ascension seems like the perfect thing for Daniel.
