“We drew straws. I lost”
- Release Date: 9th February 2000
- Season 3
- Episode 18
- Director: Martin Wood
- Writers: Jonathan Glassner
We return to Tollana, with SG-1 suggesting a trade agreement. The Tollans ask what Earth wants from them and suggest it is probably weapons. Jack mentions that the ion cannon would be nice to defend Earth, but the Tollans aren’t convinced that the USA wouldn’t use it against other nations on Earth. Jack abruptly ends the talks, saying that it’s pointless. On the way out, Jack takes some technology which can disable weapons – much to the disgust of the others.
Back on Earth, Hammond is impressed that they got the Tollans to give them some technology, but is angry when he finds out it was stolen, jeopardising their relationship with them. The Tollans come through the Stargate (they can walk right through the Iris) and demand action to be taken. Hammond returns the device and convinces them to hear him out. He speaks to Jack and tells him it’s either prison or early retirement – Jack picks the latter, and is quite curt to Sam by saying he’s been hiding his true self this whole time.
Daniel decides to visit Jack at his house. Jack lets him enter, but then essentially says their whole friendship is a farce if Daniel never noticed that Jack thought that stealing from others would be a good thing. Later, Maybourne visits Jack, offering a job. Jack initially denies, and arranges to talk to Maybourne a week later. At SGC, Colonel Makepeace is assigned to lead to SG-1 (much to the dismay of the rest of them, although Carter remains professional about it).
Jack has a few meetings with Maybourne and decides to join him to secure technology to help Earth. Melbourne uses as Gou’ald communication device (which we know isn’t secure) to talk to an off-world team. Their current leader was someone that fled through the second Stargate when SG-1 discovered it in “Touchstone”. Jack agrees to lead them. He just needs to get there.
While Hammond and Makepeace are discussing how SG-1 don’t seem to trust or like him, Hammond says that he might be the problem – and mentions that referring to Teal’c as “the Jaffa” isn’t helping matters. Jack enters and requests permission to retire on Edora, where he met Laira in the previous episode. Hammond approves this, but says he can’t provide him with a way home. Jack heads back with Hammond saluting him, but Daniel eying him from the control room.
The transition between Earth and Edora is quite stunning, showing the Stargate from the side with both worlds visible. It’s a shame it wasn’t done more often as it’s quite beautiful. While there, Jack quickly runs to the DHD and heads to the NID’s secret offworld base. There they have a bunch of stolen technology, and Maybourne has a mission to take a cloaking device from another planet. Jack leads the team from this, and, after taking the technology, finds out that it’s from an Asgard Protected Planet.
While there’s an engineer at the base to send details to Maybourne to try and copy devices, the NID group have an accomplice working at Stargate Command to help smuggle smaller devices. Maybourne tells him where this spy’s next mission will be, so Jack goes to drop it off – but the Stargate activates before he can return. He hides, and SG-1 comes though. Jack looks incredibly nervous when Teal’c hovers by where he hid the device, but in the end Makepeace collects it and hides it.
After SG-1 leave, Jack heads back to the NID base, saying that Maybourne has lousy timing, an Asgard beams in to look at the DHD after Jack leaves and it doesn’t take long for an Asgard ship to start beaming the stolen technology away. Jack reveals that this was all a big sting and that they have one choice – head back to Earth with him or let the Asgard beam them away. He heads through the gate and put his hand back in to keep the wormhole open (so they can’t go elsewhere). Everyone moves though and gets arrested, with Jack also putting cuffs on Makepeace.
It’s revealed that this operation was a joint effort between SGC, the Asgard, the Tollan and the Nox. Hammond received independent complaints from them and offered to stop it so they can keep working together – but the deal was that Earth had to be the ones to apprehend the criminals. Jack makes it clear that these alliances are more important than their technology. Jack sort of apologises to SG-1, but says he appreciates that Daniel was the one to reach out – but Daniel says that he drew the short straw.
It’s a great episode, and I like that they even do medical tests on Jack to test that he’s not compromised. Dealing with multiple recent events is also nice to see and shows about how important revisiting past events is to the show.
