Okay guys, I have a confession to make:
I watched this episode before really writing the blog on it. Why? Well… I loved it so much that I wanted to give it my full attention the first time around. Also, I’ll try to keep the summary parts briefer so I can focus on the inner facets without making this a 3000-word review. (Instead it'll be 2000 words.) But now I’ve already started rambling, so I’m just going to hit “Play” and get this review going.
The story begins with Teal’c having some sort of dream of himself back on Chulak, and a young boy appears. He wakes up screaming the name, “Rya’c!” and for the usually-stoic warrior he looks pretty panicked. He’s lying on a hospital bed at the base.
We find out that they were trying to remove the Goa’uld from his abdomen, while using a drug to supplement, but of course it kind of failed. Well, no, it epically failed, since he nearly died before they put the symbiote back in. Jack asks him about what “Rya’c” means, but of course Teal’c brushes it off as nothing. Why? Because he’s Teal’c and he likes to solve his own issues.
We’re at The Hangout (the conference table, remember?) again and they’re discussing the possibility of going back to Chulak, since there are Goa’uld larvae there. The thinking is that these larvae could have enormous medical benefits… but of course Hammond doesn’t want them to go. As you recall, in the pilot they weren’t exactly making friends over there. Obviously not one to like to argue with authority, at least not that which he respects, Teal’c leaves with nothing further said.
Later that day O’Neill encounters Teal’c in his quarters, perhaps meditating, in front of candles. (An insight into the Jaffa culture..? Maybe.) O’Neill tries to console him, saying that he’ll be fine, but then we get this line from Teal’c:
“I am not concerned about my life...”
Of course you aren’t, Teal’c, you’re like the most honourable, selfless guy in the unive-
“…I am concerned for the life of my son.”
WHOA, HOLD THE PHONE.
I swear, we learn something new about each of these guys each episode!
If it were any later in the series I would be mad at the writers for randomly throwing something like this into the plot. I would say they were getting lazy and turning this into a soap opera. But since it’s so early, merely ten episodes in, it kind of makes… sense.
Think about it.
We don’t know hardly anything about Teal’c. All we know is that he’s this great guy, a dissident against the Goa’uld, who suffers a bit of discrimination because of his species but takes it all in stride anyways. Considering what I’ve interpreted as an unusually caring nature (as I pointed out in my “Broca Divide” review) maybe it’s not so weird. He’s a dad. It all makes sense now.
Anyhow, O’Neill is obviously upset because Teal’c had never informed him nor General Hammond about the fact that he had left a wife and son back in Chulak. The fear, of course, would be that his loyalties could be compromised. It’s not unrealistic at all. We all know by now how die-hard loyal he is to those he cares about. O’Neill now starts to question what else Teal’c might’ve withheld about his life – which is more than a little, no doubt. Nonetheless, he insists he must go back to Chulak… obviously the reason why he wanted to go there for any reason in the first place.
His son is going to be implanted with a Goa’uld of his own, something that Teal’c obviously doesn’t want to happen. We already get an insight into his world in the recognition that this implantation is the means by which the Goa’uld enslave the Jaffa. I liken it to the Jem’hadar (from Star Trek DS9) addiction to Ketracel-White. As we’ve seen, once the Goa’uld is in there, it’s in there for good. Try to remove it, and it kills the host because of how closely it’s integrated into the immune system.
We’re at the Hangout again, and Teal’c is not with the rest of SG-1 as they talk to Hammond. They try to argue that they might be able to start a revolution of sorts with the Jaffa Teal’c knows to also be a dissident as well as any other rebels. Hammond doesn’t buy it and orders O’Neill into his office.
…And that’s when O’Neill is forced to spill the beans about Teal’c’s family. The general’s upset, too, and insists that Teal’c must be compromised. O’Neill tries to defend him by using the argument that he did save their lives on the first mission.
A klaxon blares and everyone goes down to find Teal'c at the controls, about to go through the Stargate. Hammond confronts him, but also has a bit of a defining moment when he authorizes Teal’c to go with SG-1 and bring his son back.
I just think that’s really neat. At first I didn’t much like Hammond. He seemed to go so strictly by the rules, being the commander of the base and all, but he’s not so rigid that he won’t understand a thing like the importance of family above all else. Looking forward to getting to know the guy better in the future.
SG-1 heads out disguised as scholars and Teal’c once again has his Jaffa uniform on. (You know, the snake head.) They manage to get past the guards on the other side unharmed.
What I don’t understand is why they change out of their disguises once they get past the guards. It’s so stupid. It’s like screaming, “HEY, LOOK AT ME, I’M A TARGET, I’M THE GUY WHO MESSED UP YOUR BRILLIANT PLAN A FEW MONTHS AGO!!” for the entire world to hear. They need some serious espionage lessons.
There’s a bit of a heartbreaking scene when Teal’c approaches his former home – now burned completely – and has more than a small emotional breakdown when he sees the mark of a traitor painted onto the outside wall. At first I thought it strange how strongly he reacted to it, but then I realized just how significant it was. He lived his whole life as a soldier; a loyal warrior, and it is a dishonor of the highest degree to be labeled a traitor. He fears that his wife and son were in the house when it was destroyed and breaks down from the stress of this idea.
And then we meet the second-coolest Jaffa ever, Bra-tac.
Teal’c’s former mentor.
The guy is a freakin’ beast. He’s amazing in combat and he’s pretty much the epitome of “liberal thinker” on this planet. He goes beast on O’Neill when they get into a little scuffle/show of power and he’s 133! He’s a nice guy though and ensures Teal’c that his son and wife are alive, and agrees to help them stop the ceremony.
He does, however, mock Teal’c’s choice of “friends”, doubting his description of them as “warriors of great skill and cunning”. He’s got a nasty but very entertaining sense of humour. It turns out that Bra-tac does respect them to an extent, given their reputation as the few who defied the Goa’uld about six or so months earlier.
O’Neill orders Carter and Jackson back to the Stargate to wait for him and Teal’c to return from seeing Rya’c. With that, they head off to find the wife and son, presumably among outcasts. Teal’c finds them, and his son is in a tent, about to be implanted. The presiding priest tries to stab Teal’c but in the scuffle stabs himself. His wife, Drey-auc, tried to stop him, because she had begged the priest to perform the ceremony. She’s very, very upset with his decision to return, and says he’s condemned his son to die, and also that he abandoned and betrayed she and their son.
Despite their argument, it’s clear that he cares very, very deeply for his family. It was because of this close relationship that she felt so betrayed. It makes you wonder just how hard it must’ve been for him to leave with SG-1 to Earth.
His son, Rya’c, is the most adorable kid ever. Unfortunately, he’s also very sick with Scarlet Fever…
…and only the Goa’uld symbiote would’ve cured him.
Oops.
Insert guilt-trip.
O’Neill thinks that if they can get Rya’c through the Stargate soon enough, they may be able to cure him back on Earth. So now it’s a race against the clock.
Back with Carter and Jackson, they follow a procession of priests straight to a chamber full of Goa’uld larvae and grab one out to take back. She tries to convince Jackson to leave the rest of the larvae alone, insisting that if he were to kill them, they would be no better than the Goa’uld themselves, but he ultimately decides to shoot anyways and condemns the infants to death.
I find this very out-of-character for him. Jackson’s always been the most culturally sensitive. The only explanation I can think of is that he’s feeling vengeful, since his wife was taken by a Goa’uld. Heck, even Carter seems shocked, but she says no more of it.
After traveling through the forest, they stop and find that Rya’c is on his last leg. Teal’c decides that his son’s life is worth more than his own, perhaps the product of his immense guilt. He says,
“I’m sorry, my son, that it is I who must do this to you. But I do it to save your life.”
He removes his symbiote and transplants it into Rya’c. Again, the self-sacrificing nature.
God, Teal’c! Why?! Why do you have to be so freaking adorable and heartbreaking?!
Rya’c is doing all right now, but Teal’c is dying. Carter and Jackson reunite with the others, and reveal that they were able to get a Goa’uld larva. They implant it into Teal’c and he’s a-okay! However, now he must leave and go back to Earth, but he promises to his son that he will return. It’s a very touching scene and you can see that Teal’c really wants to stay, but his duty calls. With Bra-tac’s help they defeat the guards at the ‘Gate and head back to Earth.
Final thoughts… All right, this was completely predictable. They’re not going to let a main character die ten episodes in. Nor are they going to let anyone close to him, since I predict all these characters (Bra-tac and Teal’c’s family) may one day appear again. That’s the implication, anyways. Bra-tac promises to guide Rya’c into what I think could one day be a revolution. The possibilities for this world and for this plot are endless!
Above all, though, this was an episode for Teal’c. We learned more about him in this one episode than we knew the whole series – and I’m not talking just background history. It’s who he is as a man that is made clear here. And I must say, it looks pretty darn amazing to me.
PREDICTION FOR NEXT EPISODE: “Fire and Water”
The crew does as I always imagine them doing and reminisce on the previous mission.
O’Neill: Why are we always talking about the last mission about this time?
Jackson: It’s like I told you guys! We’re being watched! Someone’s pulling the strings!
Carter: That’s crazy. You’re crazy.
O’Neill: What do you think, Teal’c?
Teal’c: I prefer not to speculate.
O’Neill: I could order you to.
Teal’c: As an Earth song from the land of Canada I heard says, ‘I will choose free will.’
Carter: What the..?
O’Neill: Did Teal’c just reference a RUSH song?
Jackson: Well, you told me to stop letting him watch cable, so I gave him my CD collection and a radio!
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