“Ah, humans. Interesting.”
- Release Date: 6th February 2002
- Season 5
- Episode 22
- Director: Martin Wood
- Writers: Joseph Mallozzi & Paul Mullie
We open with a Gou’ald ship in orbit above a planet, with an Asgard ship arriving. It’s Thor, telling Osiris to back off, yet Osiris is very calm (I do think it’s amusing that the first character we see after the departure of Daniel Jackson is voiced by Michael Shanks). Thor opens fire, but the Gou’ald ship is ineffective. Anubis seems to have developed shields that can withstand Asgard weapons, this is not good. Osiris announces that their days of bowing to the Asgard are over.
Carter is looking at stuff in Daniel’s lab, clearly upset about whatever happened to Daniel. Hammond lets her know that Jack has requested that SG-1 will still go on missions, even before finding a replacement for Daniel. Carter doesn’t know how to move on – Daniel isn’t dead, but he’s still gone, but he might come back. It’s like a void where you can’t move on because you don’t understand. Hammond compares it to a friend that was shot down in Vietnam – he knows he survived, but never turned up. All you can do is learn to live with it. They’re interrupted by an alert for an incoming wormhole and head to the gate room.
It turns out to be Freyr of the Asgard. He apologises for their lack of communication and blames the Replicators. Hammond mentions they have something that could help – the android that created them in the first place. Freyr is very pleased about this, but is here on other business. Thor has been killed by the Gou’ald, who have new shields and weapons. There’s an Asgard scientist doing vital research under the surface of the planet and, as they have no spare ships and Earth has a Gou’ald cargo ship, Earth is capable of helping. Jack eagerly volunteers – his way of coping with the loss of Daniel – something Carter calls him out on, but he just dismisses it.
On the way, Carter talks to Teal’c about Daniel. He says that he will perform the appropriate rituals, and tries to comfort Carter by saying he’s achieved something many Jaffa would wish to do. Carter says that they were a team and, even if he has achieved something of cosmic significance, she’d rather have him back – Teal’c agrees with that. They arrive and cloak, heading to the spot on the planet. They start to worry about how to find the lab as the surface is inhospitable, but they get beamed there.
They meet Heimdall, a very friendly Asgard who is very happy to meet SG-1, but is disappointed that Daniel isn’t there. She says that the Gou’ald are aware that the lab is on the planet, but she doesn’t want to leave yet. She wants to rescue Thor, who is a captive of the Gou’ald. Heimdall can bring up a detailed map of the ship with life signs, but can’t beam anyone out through the shields. On top of just wanting to save Thor, they also want to prevent the Gou’ald from learning Asgard technology. Osiris speaks to Thor, saying Anubis is on his way to extract information from him.
Using the hologram communicator, Jack is able to speak to Thor to let him know that they’re working on a way to rescue him. Thor tells him to leave him behind and that more Gou’ald are on the way. Thor says he will do his best to resist, but the research in the lab is far too important, and the survival of the Asgard depends on it. The hologram has to be turned off due to a Gou’ald approaching the room. He asks Heimdall what is so important.
Heimdall explains that these are genetic examples of ancient Asgard. She explains that the Asgard have been cloning themselves for a thousand years now (moving their consciousness into new bodies), and are no longer capable of sexual reproduction. This means their genetic makeup has deteriorated over time. Unless they can fix this, the Asgard will die. On the Gou’ald ship, Osiris orders Death Gliders to fly close to the surface to try and detect the lab more effectively, with the First Prime pointing out how dangerous it would be and Osiris not caring at all. Osiris is also concerned with a nearby battle with Lord Yu that needs reinforcements.
The plan is simple: ring onto the Gou’ald ship when Anubis arrives (which will allow the signal from the rings to go though the shields), disable the shields and then Heimdall can beam everyone out. They send Jack and Teal’c to an empty ring room, with Carter staying behind to monitor the map so she can direct them away from any Jaffa. This works well for a while, but they eventually reach a point where they’re cornered. Carter uses the hologram to distract the Jaffa while Jack and Teal’c take them out.
We finally see Anubis as he approaches Thor, he has a fuzzy face and is mostly made of dark cloaks. He tells Thor that he has a device that can download his brain into the ship computer, where they can break down his brain to gather the information they need. On the bridge, Osiris is aware of where the intruders are and orders to release some coolant to knock everyone out (Jaffa included). The first prime is concerned that the Jaffa near the engines will die, but Osiris dismisses it. The gas knocks Jack and Teal’c up and they end up in a holding cell.
Carter can see that they’re alive, but can’t do much at the moment. Heimdall reveals the main thing that she’s here for: a stasis pod containing an Asgard from 30,000 years ago, from a ship that ended up lost. The Asgard inside is much more human looking, and a lot taller than the Asgard are now. They discovered it six months ago and kept it here to keep it from the Replicators, not expecting the Gou’ald to be a problem. She asks Carter to help adapt it to the Cargo Ship, but Carter asks to be sent back to try and help Jack.
Jack and Teal’c wake up, and discuss any possible way to escape when they hear Thor’s voice coming from the ship. He explains that his mind has been linked to the computer and that it’s only a matter of time before they access the information they need. He manages to open a door and Carter manages to contact them. Without the C4, they’ll need to find some control crystals and remove them, allowing a short period where they can beam everyone out. On the bridge, Osiris has to send the extra ships to the battle, but her troops have located the lab, but need to blast their way through to it.
Carter leads them around using the hologram communicator, leading them to the crystals. Before she can tell them which ones, the Jaffa get into the lab and stun her. She gets taken to Osiris, who asks for the whereabouts of Daniel, not believing that he’s dead. Jack decides to just shoot all the crystals, which lowers the shields, allowing for Heimdall to beam them on board. Anubis isn’t happy, and they can use the link with Thor to track them. He hits the cargo ship a few times and orders them to surrender. Heimdall suggests blowing themselves up.
Luckily, three O’Neill-class Asgard ships turn up, which are far more powerful than the ship Thor was originally in. Freya orders the Gou’ald to back off and they comply. At least Anubis isn’t stupid and knows when to pick his battles. In a debriefing, it’s explained that studying Reece has given the Asgard the upper hand and freed up some ships. Jack, Teal’c and Carter decide to go for a meal together when they feel a gust of wind. Teal’c suggests that something is wrong with the ventilation system, and Jack verbally agrees, but he’s quite convinced that it’s Daniel letting him know that he’s watching over them.
It’s a great episode as we get to see the Gou’ald and Asgard properly compete with each other, with the Gou’ald gaining a significant power boost – although still limited. We find out more about the tragic story of the Asgard, too.
