“Ours is the only reality of consequence.”
- Release Date: 30th July 1999
- Season 3
- Episode 6
- Director: Peter DeLuise
- Writers: Jonathan Glassner, Brad Wright, Robert C. Cooper & Tor Alexander Valenza
This episode opens up in a warehouse, with the camera closing in on the Quantum Mirror that Daniel used at the end of season 1. The mirror turns on and we see a version of Samantha Carter with long hair followed by Kowalski, who died in the first episode. They get arrested.
Jack heads into the infirmary to find this mirror version of Sam and is instantly confused – and even more so when Kowalski appears. Hammond has a meeting with SG-1 to discuss these intruders from an alternative reality. In their world, the Gou’ald are invading Earth, similar to the one Daniel witnessed on his alternative reality adventure. These are from a different reality. Dr Carter is not part of the military and Amanda Tapping does a great job portraying her differently to Major Carter. They request to stay and work for SGC.
Hammond gets approval for them to stay, but he doesn’t like it – it doesn’t feel natural. Jack gives Dr Carter the good news, but finds her crying. She reveals that she and Jack were married and that her Jack died three years ago. She wants Jack to help her get over her late husband, which is all kinds of confusing. He leaves and has an awkward conversation with his Sam, opting not to mention the marriage.
Dr Carter starts having some kind of phasing fit, it turns out having two of the same person in the same universe. Kowalski is fine as the current universe version of him is dead. I personally dislike this trope, but they need a good reason for Dr Carter and Kowalski to return to their universe. But they can’t just send them back to die: they need a plan and come up with a suggestion: perhaps the Asgard can help.
The two Sams work on the power device Jack made in The Fifth Race, although they call it an “Asgard device” and say that Sam worked on it – but it was a device Jack built on his own using the knowledge of the Ancients. Perhaps they decided off-screen to not reveal too much about their universe, so only mentioned the Asgard. Teal’c dons his old armour and joins Jack and Daniel to help Dr Carter and Kowalski to dial the Asgard planet.
Heading through the mirror, they spy around. Apophis arrives on Earth through the Stargate (with Star Trek style Mirror, Mirror goatee – and alternate Teal’c has another beard), they manage to lure First Prime Teal’c away and our Teal’c offers him a chance to reject Apophis. He refuses, so Teal’c kills him. He takes Dr Carter as a “hostage”, Jack and Kowalski head to plug in the power device and Daniel starts to try and find their original reality on the Quantum mirror.
When Teal’c arrives, Apophis is torturing General Hammond, but he’s refusing to give up the location of where Earth’s leaders are. He gives Teal’c orders to extract the information from Hammond or Dr Carter. As he leaves, he starts the dialling program and Dr Carter makes a run for it. Teal’c orders a Jaffa to stand down, which lets her escape. Apophis returns and isn’t happy. The rest of the team also gets captured.
Apophis questions them, wanting to know where they are from. He doesn’t believe Daniel’s explanation so he kills Hammond. Jack tells him that Daniel is telling the truth and that he’s dead in their reality, which riles him up and shoots Daniel (once with a Zat). He’s about to shoot again when he gets beamed away. The Asgard are here. The Jaffa flee through the gate and everything else gets swept up. Then the Asgard leave (after reviving General Hammond).
Daniel, Teal’c and Jack say goodbye to this reality, with Daniel and Teal’c heading off first. Dr Carter and Jack share a passionate kiss, which makes her realise that this Jack will not replace her one. A rather sat looking Sam watches this happen – they both clearly have feelings for each other. Jack heads back.
This is a really fun episode, with a lot to love. I do like that Jack and Sam being together is a common alternative reality situation.
