“We go to other planets through a big ring of shimmering blue water. I’m not even human.”
- Release Date: 5th January 2003
- Season 6
- Episode 19
- Director: Martin Wood
- Writers: Christopher Judge
We start in a hospital, Teal’c is lying on a hospital bed, seemingly prepared for surgery. A mask is placed over his face for anesthetic, but Teal’c looks horrified. We cut to see his doctor – it’s Apophis . Teal’c wakes up, but in some kind of shared bunk. He goes to a bathroom and washes his face (he has no Jaffa markings) and Jonas also wakes and asks how he’s doing, calling him “T”, and saying that if he was doing what T was for his stepfather, he’d also have nightmares. T calls Jonas “Probie”, claims that he’s fine and goes back to bed. T is a lot more expensive than Teal’c as well.
We see Teal’c waking up from kel’no’reem, he seems to have no pouch. He visits Carter in the cafeteria and she comments on how he’s only just left. Teal’c says he was unable to meditate, which is very rare and usually due to injury. Carter comments on if he’s preoccupied with an upcoming mission, as it could be the rebel Jaffa’s last chance. Suddenly, we’re in a fire station, with Captain Carter and Chief O’Niell speaking to T about his upcoming kidney operation – he’s donating one of his to his stepfather, Bray. As Probie serves breakfast, the alarm goes and they all rush to get ready.
They arrive at the site of the accident, a collision between two cars, and they get to work. One of the cars has a leak, so it could go up in flames. There’s a kid in the car, but the adult is dead, so Carter and Probie get him out while T helps out an injured man on the ground, but sees Apophis when he turns him over. They get the kid out but the petrol sets on fire. T looks and sees his stepfather, Bray (Bra’tac) in the driver’s seat. T rushes over to try and save him as Bray begs him to save himself when he’s knocked back by an explosion.
Back at SGC, Teal’c faints and is rushed to the infirmary. He tries to deny it as Jaffa don’t faint, but he definitely fainted. Carter asks if it’s linked to being unable to kel’no’reem, but missing one session shouldn’t cause it. Teal’c wants to leave, but Dr Fraiser orders him to stay overnight, this is very unusual for a Jaffa and she wants to make sure nothing is wrong.
He then wakes up in a hospital bed, T blurts out that Bray was in his car, with Chief O’Niell reminding him that he’s on a ward in the hospital as he needs a kidney. T was sure he saw him. O’Niell mentions they may postpone the surgery, much to the dismay of T, but he does admit that his head hurts a lot. He thanks the Chief for checking up on him. O’Niell leaves and visits Bray to let him know that T is doing well, and Shauna is there (Shan’auc, curious that it’s her and not his wife). Shauna asks if T mentioned seeing Bray in the car and is wondering if the transplant is messing with his head. O’Niell says he knows a great psychologist at the hospital and will ask him to speak to T.
Shauna and Bray visit T and Shauna is glad he’s fine, while Bray is yelling at him for being so stupid. Shauna says to drop it as T is fine now, but Bray thinks something is seriously wrong: if T was thrown by such an explosion, why does he have no burn marks or no injuries other than a headache. He wakes up and Dr Fraiser tells him that he has been asleep, something that Jaffa don’t usually do. He describes seeing vivid images, with Jack entering and explaining that it’s called a dream. Teal’c says the dream felt so real. However, as he seems to be in perfect health, Fraiser agrees to let him return to work, as long as the dreams don’t start affecting him or he faints again.
In a nice transition, Fraisr closes the curtain and it’s pulled back and we’re in the hospital again, and it’s Daniel Jackson, who introduces himself as the resident psychologist. T thinks they’ve met before, but Daniel says this is the first time – perhaps in another life. He tells T that his friends have expressed concerns and he wants to deal with them before the surgery. They go for a walk and Daniel suggests that he’s afraid of the surgery, perhaps even just subconsciously, which T denies. He’s giving away a part of himself to help another. T gets defensive about how he won’t give up on Bray and Daniel reassures him that he wants to work towards that goal as well – but not at the expense of T. Daniel says he has another appointment and heads off.
As he walks, he appears as Teal’c in the gate room, seeming preoccupied. He enters the stargate, but appears in a room with Apophis, gloating about how Teal’c is afraid to die because his god is waiting for him in the afterlife. Teal’c yells out “no” but is suddenly on a hospital ward, with a nurse asking if he’s lost. He runs away from her, seeing Apophis again, and enters a door into a repeat of the previous scene at Stargate Command. He tells the rest of SG-1 that something is wrong, then cries out because his symbiote is gone before collapsing.
We cut to a planet filled with dead Jaffa, Teal’c and Bra’tac are next to each other and seem to be the only ones alive, Teal’c tells him to hold on while moving a Gou’ald from Bra’tac to himself. This seems to be the reality that’s actually happening. Teal’c asks for help but wakes up as T in his bedroom. Apparently, the transplant is over and he’s home, but T remembers none of it. He opens up about his dream at Stargate Command, and that when he’s there, his life as T is the dream. He visits Bray and his body is rejecting the kidney. He’s ready to die, but T finally admits that he’s afraid of Bray dying.
T waits at a picnic table when Daniel approaches him, talking about how he knew the surgery might not work. He asks why he thinks everything is happening, including the nightmares, which he mentions involves a secret military operation, clarifying that Shauna didn’t tell him, he just knows. He mentions they have talked before, but T doesn’t remember, just like he doesn’t remember the surgery. They talk about the people in the dream are like the staff at the fire house, and mention he’s an alien carrying a symbiote, which Daniel likens to a kidney. T says he isn’t even sure which dream is the dream anymore or what is real and Daniel suggests another option: both are dreams. He tells Teal’c to hang in there, and that he won’t leave his side.
We cut to the gate room, Fraiser is asking Teal’c how long he’s gone without his symbiote, and mentions that Bra’tac is still alive. They rush them to an emergency room. Jack mentioned that the rebel Jaffa meeting was a setup and they were ambushed, and Bra’tac was the only one with a symbiote. They realise that Teal’c has been swapping his between the two of them to sustain each other. Dr Fraiser’s only option is to carry on doing the same.
Hammond contracts the Tok’ra and Jacob rushes to Earth. He is taken to Teal’c and Bra’tac and Dr Fraiser explains that both them and the gou’ald are beyond repair. Jacob has something that could help: Tetronin, a substance created from ground up gou’ald to replace a human’s immune system. Jacob explains that the Tok’ra have refined the process and adapted it to the Jaffa – with the goal to end their dependency on the gou’ald. Fraiser isn’t sure this would be what they want, but Carter points out that this is freedom for their people, something they both want more than anything. She proceeds with the treatment.
Teal’c wakes up in the infirmary with Daniel beside him. He lets him know that Bra’tac is going to make it and that Teal’c did something extraordinary to get them both through it, with Daniel explaining that he did it all by himself, he just provided moral support. Daniel promises that this is real life and promises that everything will be fine when he wakes up.
It’s a great episode and I only have one nitpick: we’ve never seen Teal’c interest in firefighters for him to dream so strongly about it, although we just have to presume he watched a lot of shows about firemen. It was great seeing the ascended Daniel help out someone else, and it was a nice surprise in how he appeared. This is a big step for Teal’c and the Jaffa as well.
Next: SG-1: Memento
