“Fire and Water” ( 1 x 12 )

Well, the DVD title screen is showing a bright blue alien face. Maybe it’s a matter of conflict between two races on one planet, perhaps a la Star Trek: Enterprise’s Xindi? We’ll see.

At the base, someone’s trying to get into the ‘Gate. They say that it’s SG-1, and Teal’c, O’Neill, and Carter have just come back in total shock. O’Neill solemnly reports that Jackson… is dead!

Nope, this is not going to be a happy-go-lucky episode. Darn.

The crew is in the infirmary, and Carter seems to be taking it the worst. She tearfully reports to the doctor that there was a flash of fire, and that Jackson screamed out for help, but they couldn’t save him.

Teal’c is being difficult and refusing medical treatment, not even a blood pressure gauge. O’Neill is also in shock, but he’s being the most stoic about it, probably trying to bury his feelings.

The next day, each of the crew is debriefed. They report that they went to a planet which appeared uninhabited, and then Jackson was engulfed in flames. O’Neill says he was powerless to retrieve him; the flames were too hot. The rest of the crew jumped into a lake and that’s what saved them. They then evacuated on O’Neill’s orders.

He obviously blames himself, as the Colonel and leader, for Jackson’s death. It’s a natural reaction, but the doctor is very concerned about PTSD. She convinces the general to let her keep an eye on the rest of the crew for the next week.

A funeral for Jackson is held in front of the Stargate – fitting, considering his life’s work. O’Neill gives the eulogy, and basically comments on Jackson’s life and his influence on SG-1, and they hang a commemorative wreath on the surface of the ‘Gate.

And then… we get a scene change to the other end of the Stargate.

And of course, Jackson’s actually alive.

He speaks to a very tall, very unusual-looking alien who points him to a wall of text – Cuneiform. It reads, “Reveal Fate Omoroca”. The alien blasts him back against a wall, and Jackson insists he doesn’t understand what the alien wants of him.

Back at Jackson’s wake, the remaining SG-1 crew and Hammond are in attendance. O’Neill is incredibly upset and starts to consider retirement, and of course Hammond protests.

In the cave (or wherever Jackson is) he’s trying to figure out what an ancient Babylonian code means, since he has no way of communicating with the alien. I presume this is because it’s not humanoid and perhaps whatever translation humanoids go through with the ‘Gate doesn’t apply here.

But of course I’m wrong and the alien, whose name is “Nem” does speak English. It’s broken, but it’s still there. Aww. I thought I’d figured this out.

The alien insists that Jackson solve this mystery (“What fate Omoroca?”) or… he will die.

Then we’d really have a funeral.

SG-1 is going through Jackson’s apartment, cleaning it out. Carter goes through one of his journals, but O’Neill protests. She suddenly has this vision or flashback of sorts, involving fire, water, and bubbles rising. It turns out that O’Neill and Teal’c have had this flashback, too. O’Neill insists that he believes Jackson is alive, and it seems the other two may agree.

…And we’re right. The alien whom has taken Jackson hostage did, indeed, implant into their minds false memories of Jackson’s death so they would not return. It seems to have recognized Jackson’s intellect and therefore kept him there.

So what’s he looking for?

His mate.

Of course. Another love story, just like “The Torture of Tantalus”.

He wants to know what happened to her, and believes beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jackson has the knowledge somewhere within him. He also believes that Jackson is connected with the Goa’uld. Jackson refutes and says that his only connection to them is through his wife, who was taken. Nem once more poses the infuriating question and Jackson pretty much has lost all his cool by now. He’s exploding with anger and frustration, but I think I know what’s going on. I think this alien, too, had his mate captured by the Goa’uld and taken either as a queen 4000 years ago (when she vanished) or enslaved.

Back at the base, the doctor confirms that their respective brain chemistries had been altered in one way or another. The klaxon blares as SG-6 returns, but all three crewmembers believe they just saw Jackson return. O’Neill fears he’s “losing it”. He insists they must go back through the ‘Gate, but he clutches his head in pain and is escorted back to the infirmary.

Jackson is trying to get out, but is stopped by Nem. He’s not able to get any kind of coherent information out of the alien, except for “Babylon”. At last, though, he prompts the alien into a story of how Omoroca defeated an individual called “Belus”. The alien once more states he cannot trust Jackson because “You serve the Goa’uld…

It is the fate of every humans that Omoroca could not prevent.”

Jackson figures out that she came to Earth to fight the Goa’uld , but seemed to have failed. He explains to the alien that, since that time, humanity has come very far and now rivals the Goa’uld in prowess.

In terms of the overall plot this is a pretty big stepping stone. It confirms the existence of non-humanoid aliens aside from the Norse gods that could and have fought the Goa’uld. Nem again and again touches Jackson’s head and says, “The knowledge… is in here.” Perhaps it’s a sort of encouragement that humanity can prevail; that it has the ability to prevail. Perhaps that was Omoroca’s fate, to die in battle but spark an uprising that threw the Goa’uld off of Earth.

The crew sits around a music player and is told it’s supposed to help them remember what happened – truly. However, it only seems to be working for Teal’c, and he shouts out, “Chulak!” when he has another flashback of Jackson’s death. The prevailing idea is, “He’s dead… but he’s alive.”

Jackson realizes that the alien he’s dealing with has certain telepathic/psychic abilities and encourages him to look through his mind to see the knowledge he wants. The alien initially refuses, saying it is too dangerous, and it could kill him. (Wait, he threatened to kill Jackson just some time ago for not helping and now he’s concerned about his well-being? Maybe it was just an empty threat.)

The crew’s still at the Hangout, still trying to figure this mess out. But another issue arises: time displacement. They all believe they were gone no longer than thirty minutes, but in reality it was four hours. How is it not obvious their minds were messed with? They’ve encountered all sorts of weirdness already but they can’t figure this out?

…And then O’Neill figures out what I just said.

Like I said. I just need to wait about ten more seconds and then all my questions are answered.

One of the doctors puts Carter under hypnosis in order to go through her memories again. It turns out they did encounter the alien Jackson is now with, but he actually targeted Teal’c, and realizing that he carried a Goa’uld, asks if they are from Earth, or Babylon. Then, he knocked them out and altered their memories at that point until letting them resurface and escape to the Stargate.

On the other planet, Nem straps Jackson down and turns on a machine which seems to be bringing forth all of his memories of reading about Babylon and Omoroca. He begins to recite it all in a stream-of-consciousness fashion, and says that Belus did, indeed, kill Omoroca. He was a Goa’uld.

The three SG-1 come to the planet and are approached by the alien and Jackson. Now that he has his answer, he permits Jackson to leave. Nem’s final words are,

“And in time, Daniel, you will find… fate… Sha’re.”

Final thoughts… It was another kindred spirits sort of episode, but it didn’t play out as meaningful or heartfelt as, say, “Cold Lazarus”. I think its biggest point was the revelation of an enemy of the Goa’uld (aside from Earthers of course) and the whole mind-altering-equipment was pretty neat. It also gives credence to the whole “trust your gut” saying. Except this time it was conflicting guts! Very entertaining.

One thing I’ve noticed is that quite a few episodes do add to either a character’s past/background/deeper personality or the overall plot, or both. Can’t really ask for more.

PREDICTION FOR NEXT EPISODE: “The Nox”

Hey, “Nox” is a Harry Potter spell! Maybe they’re gonna meet Harry and all those kind of people!

(The crew is at The Hangout, talking about stuff that is “srs bsns”. All of the sudden three teenagers appear out of nowhere via apparition and sprawl onto the floor before clambering to their feet.)

Harry Potter: Ow! Ron, that’s my stomach!

Ron Weasley: It’s Hermione’s fault!

Hermione Granger: Don’t you blame this on me! You’re just an accessory to this group, anyways!

Hammond: What the devil is goin’ on here?!

Jackson: Well, General, it would appear that these three just appeared out of nowhere into the most safely guarded facility on this side of the Atlantic.

Hermione: (Face lighting up) Oh! You must be Daniel Jackson! That is just brilliant, because we really, really need your help. By the way, I love your guys’ show. It’s named after your team. But I’m probably not supposed to tell you that.

O’Neill: How the hell did you get in here!? Who are you?! How do you know Jackson!?

Ron: (Eyes rolling) Muggles…

Carter: Besides, how could you possibly know Jackson better than Jack and I?

Jackson: Because I’m obviously the coolest guy here, contrary to popular belief.

Hermione: I’m really sorry. I’m Hermione, and this is Ron and Harry, and we basically need to save the world from Voldemort, who I am convinced is a Goa’uld.

O’Neill: What? Voldemort? Who the hell is-

Teal’c: How did you come to the conclusion that this individual is a Goa’uld?

Harry: Because he’s evil and I’m his greatest enemy.

Carter: (Incredulous) You’re a kid!

Ron: Told you guys he was messed up.

Teal’c: Do you have any means of time travel?

Hermione: Well, yes, but-

Teal’c: Then why not simply go back in time and stop this Voldemort character from ever rising to power?

Harry: Because that’d be cheating! That’s not how the story goes! A whole bunch of people have to die first!