“So this isn’t … my world at all”
- Release Date: 20th February 1998
- Season 1
- Episode 20
- Director: David Warry-Smith
- Writers: David Kemper, Robert C. Cooper
SG-1 arrive at yet another advanced civilization in ruin, the third in four episodes. At least this time it’s shown that the Gou’ald have been here, and they’ve put up a warning telling everyone else that this planet is not safe. Jack decides to flee, which feels a bit out of character (I think he’d want to find out what scared the Gou’ald first) and tells everyone to leave. Daniel is checking out artifacts in a lab and activates and touches a strange mirror. Anyone that knows sci-fi tropes knows what this means.
Thinking the rest of SG-1 left without him, Daniel goes back to Earth where he is welcomed by a large force and a colonel Hammond asking who he is. He gets sedated so that tests can be performed. When it’s determined that he’s not a Gou’ald, Catherine – who is in charge of the Stargate program – says Daniel Jackson refused to join the program. It’s also revealed that Dr Carter is a non-military consultant and that nobody knows who Teal’c is. Catherine is convinced when Daniel says she reunited with her fiancée Earnest.
She takes him to see General O’Niell, saying that Jackson seems to somehow be telling the truth. To try and win Jack over, Daniel talks about hair son’s death and how he went though the Stargate initially on a suicide mission to destroy the other side. He lets Daniel stick around, but they aren’t in a position to help out, as Carter heads in and says that New York and Washington have been lost.
They fill in Daniel with what’s happening, their Earth is under attack by the Gou’ald, most cities and large areas of the country have been completely wiped out (I did notice that Wales is completely fine). Daniel also lets them know that the Jaffa are a slave race and shares their homeworld – Jack sends them a nuke while Catherine shows him a message they received from the planet Jackson game from. It’s an address to where the Gou’ald came from.
After the destruction of Tulac, the Earth gate is dialled from elsewhere. It lasts for 38 minutes, but they can’t dial the beta site – where they’re evacuating important people from Earth to – because another offworld wormhole forms. They work on getting the computer to dial out faster for next time while they discuss what they can do.
Daniel asks to return to the planet with the mirror, this Earth is lost but perhaps he can save his. The other options are evacuating or sending a nuke to what might be the Gou’ald homeworld. At this point, it’s treated like the evacuation and helping Daniel are options that can’t be done together (they can go to the beta site then Daniel can use the DHD to return to the mirror), but later on that does seem to be the plan. However, a Gou’ald ship lands on Cheyenne Mountain and they need to delay enough to dial out.
Daniel gives Jack his camcorder, perhaps Jack can convince Teal’c to turn just like his universe. It works initially, but when Jack talks about Teal’c’s family, Teal’c reminds Jack that he’s just killed them with the rest of his people. He kills Jack and carries on the invasion.
Hammond and Walter form a defensive perimeter, Carter does to get the device that activated the mirror and Jackson waits in the embarkation room. Things don’t go well, Carter blows herself up along with a load of Jaffa, and Catherine just about dials out before getting killed. Daniel jumps through the Stargate, getting hit in the arm by Teal’c. He gets back to his universe and tell them that the Gou’ald are on their way to Earth.
It’s great seeing alternative versions of characters, and we get another Jack and Sam tease as they were married in the alternative universe. It’s also a great way to set up the ending of the Season.
