“The Serpent’s Lair” ( 2 x 01 )

So! The Season One finale left me with pretty much the biggest cliffhangers ever. Let’s recap very quickly, shall we?

-          Jackson had an experience involving an alternate universe with no Teal’c, different positions, at war with the Goa’uld… but worst of all, no Teal’c!

-          Jackson came back to this reality with some coordinates involving said Goa’uld

-          The Stargate program is shut down, but before they can bury the ‘Gate, SG-1 goes off to pursue these coordinates

-          They find themselves on a freaking massive Goa’uld vessel , and in a grapple Skaara/Klorel is killed

-          The season ended with the crew standing in a room, looking out the ship’s window to Earth and its moon, and then another ship is revealed next to it

-          Earth = Screwed

Now that that’s over with, it’s time to see just how this epic arc will end… unless it’s a two-parter season premiere. (Cue head-desk.)

We zoom back into the crew (hey, that works) and O’Neill is back in command mode. He’s put aside his grieving of Skaara and is once more focused on the mission at hand. He orders Carter to be ready to blow this place (with the strageically-placed C-4, of course) at his command. Looks like that may not have that “24 hour” timeslot she and Jackson had planned.

Apophis’ ship, since he’s commanding the other vessel, comes into view. We get another factoid about Goa’uld technology: According to Teal’c, it has shields.

(SHIELDS UP! SHIELDS AT FIFTY PERCENT! SHIELDS FAILING! Oh, wait, wrong franchise.)

But before they can do anything, the Jaffa get into the room and throw some kind of sphere inside. It emits a blinding light and a high-pitched whine before knocking them all out.

Well, that’s not good.

Teal’c is the first one to sit up, and as O’Neill wakes up, too, it seems they are blinded. The Jaffa insists it will pass (that sphere was a “Goa’uld Shock Grenade”) but it’s a formidable weapon. A bit of dark humour arises as O’Neill is trying to bolster everyone’s spirits as they wake up:

“We’ve been in worse situations than this.”

(Teal’c) “Not to my knowledge.”

“…Thanks, Teal’c.”

Jackson feels like he’s more or less failed, but O’Neill, ever the optimist, thinks they still have a chance to get out of here.

Back on base (hey, we’re on Earth) Samuels is talking to a very-unhappy Hammond. Samuels tells him that there are two new weapons, prototypes, that they’re going to try and launch at the Goa’uld vessels. They don’t want to get the military involved quite yet.

My guess? These weapons are going to epically fail and SG-1 will still need to save the day.

On Apophis’ ship, a Serpent Guard tells him his son is in the revival sarcophagus, and Apophis orders SG-1 executed immediately (noes!). However, he is also going to wait until Klorel has risen again before launching an attack on Earth.

So, good news is, they have time.

Bad news is, they might die before they can do anything.

Quite the predicament.

We’re on Earth again, and Samuels is explaining these new missiles, infused with some of the Stargate element, to Hammond and a council. There are three hours until they strike. I still think Samuels is severely underestimating the Goa’uld. He’s gonna pay hell for this.

And we’re back in the cell that SG-1 is in. A Jaffa approaches, and…

IT’S BRA-TAC!!!

HAAHAHAHA YAAAAAAAY

I swear!! I swear I recognized his voice earlier when he was talking to that other Jaffa but I thought I was just hearing things!! Oh, man, this just got about THIRTY TIMES as awesome.

And the first thing he does?

He clocks O’Neill in the jaw and calls them all idiots.

Ah, I missed you, most-awesome-133-year-old-ever.

It turns out that Bra-tac had a plan of his own to save Earth, and is pretty upset that they interfered. He’d done a ton to get back into Apophis’ good graces, essentially as a spy/assassin/plotter in general. He was indeed the Jaffa ordered to execute them (I knew it, I knew it!) but he’s going to get them out.

On Earth, Hammond is getting ideas that maybe SG-1 is on one of the ships, and something they did has stalled the attack. (So brilliant! Gotta love that bald guy from Texas.)

Back on the ship, Bra-tac has taken the crew to the Stargate room where they’re once more loading up with guns. The old Jaffa’s plan had been to lead an army against Apophis in Klorel’s name (since that would not be unusual in the Goa’uld culture), but he doesn’t think that’s going to work now.

Earth again (these transitions are so sudden!), and Hammond is about to send roughly… Oh, I’d say fifty people through the Stargate to a place he’s called “Alpha Site”, where basically they will carry on the human race if the Goa’uld destroy Earth.

(Man, wouldn’t that be a bummer.)

Klorel rises from his Sarcophagus once again, and he is absolutely determined to destroy Earth to bits.  With the ships moving again, Earth launches the missiles, and I can see that this is not going to work. IT’S NOT.

Apophis and Klorel (though he struggles… Skaara?) activate their ships’ shields against the missiles and… nothing happens. Of course.

On Apophis’ ship, Klorel transports over and reports that his host is stronger now. I presume this is because Skaara had seen O’Neill and his hope was restored. He seems to be fighting against Klorel now, and while the son asks if he can continue to recuperate, Apophis flat-out refuses and tells him to get back on his ship. Tough dad.

SG-1, along with three of Bra-tac’s warriors, moves out to try and get on the other ship. Bra-tac once again emphasizes the fact that he is a FREAKING BEEEAST without even having to send a spark. He’s literally taken command (again) and it’s working out pretty well.

He goes into Klorel’s chambers (or command center, not quite sure where we’re at) and basically tells the kid he’s… well, a kid with a parasite inside him, and not a god.

(I don’t think he’s going to get “Jaffa Serpent Guard of the Year” this time around.)

As Klorel is preoccupied with sucking out Bra-tac’s energy/life force, SG-1 and Bra-tac’s cronies move in to take out more bad guys. Out in the hallway, Daniel is shot by a Jaffa and he tells O’Neill to just leave him. They, in fact, do, and go to Apophis’ ship, and Teal’c’s got his gun to Klorel’s temple. Before they escape, they let Klorel go, and then they go to sabotage Apophis’ ship.

O’Neill drops a couple of grenades onto the shield generators, and they’re done.

Just like that.

(Wow, some security on that ship, huh? No backup shields? This isn’t anything like Star Trek. They always manage to have backups of backups and then backups of those..! That, of course, is because we can never let the good guys die in that series.)

Bra-tac slips a Surge Grenade into the glider bay and they team up: Carter with Teal’c, and Bra-tac with O’Neill.

Meanwhile, Jackson got put into the healing sarcophagus.

Wait, what? By who?

(Oh, right, wait ten seconds for your answer, silly Marie.)

He’s still got his gun with him, and he climbs out to see one minute left on the C-4 timer.

Oh! I just realized! He must’ve been able to pull himself in after being shot.  Wow, that must’ve been quite a feat.

He manages to activate the Stargate and gets through before the whole ship blows to pieces! And it does! The C-4 work! Yay! And the other ship (at least I think) is destroyed from the massive explosions!

The two gliders are moving, but they’re in bad shape from the explosion. However, they still have time to enjoy the view: Earth’s surface.

Jackson jumps in through the Stargate (hurrah!!) and is greeted by Hammond.

The space shuttle Endeavor (sounds like a great name for a starship, too) comes to the Gliders and rescues the rest of SG-1, and Bra-tac too. They enter into the control for the ‘Gate and are greeted with applause. (No courts-martial now!) In fact, Hammond thanks Bra-tac for leading his people so valiantly. The old Jaffa has an emotional yet silent parting with the crew, especially with Teal’c, and he leaves. It’s really quite the moment. So many things were said with so few words. But he must return to Chulak, where hopefully he can bring more Jaffa to his noble cause.

They also reunite with Jackson, and O’Neill embraces him in a tight, manly hug, because manly men can only hug in a manly manner. In fact, I was hoping for a group hug, but eh, it’s a happy ending nonetheless.

Final thoughts… So! SG-1 has saved the day, everyone’s alive, FREAKING BRA-TAC AWW YEAAAH, epic space battle avoided by the use of C-4, and it’s all good!

This two, or maybe I could fall it a three or four-parter, was pretty good. It had a ton of action (I feel like I’ve just overdosed on AWESOME) and took the plot a few different places, and has even set it up for the future. We’ve got Bra-tac, who just saved a planet (along with SG-1) and will probably be remembered rather fondly for that, and the humans who helped him, too. He’s just undermined his gods by effectively defeating them in battle.

I’ve just looked it up and confirmed that, yes, both of the Goa’uld vessels exploded. One collided with the other, and the C-4 helped put an end to it all. So, what’s happened to Apophis and Klorel? Are they both dead? Did they manage to escape? Who’s the next Goa’uld, if Apophis is indeed dead? What about his queen (Sha’re)? So many questions!! I want answers now!

So what do I foresee, perhaps in this season or beyond? Well, I can see more ships showing up, more attention from any other species focusing on Earth now that they’ve effectively defeated two enormous enemy ships, possible revolution or something on Chulak, and MORE ADVENTURES!!! for SG-1. I also expect that Senator Kinsey and Samuels, among others, will quietly go into the shadows, seeing as they were wrong about just about everything during this ordeal. Pretty sure the Stargate’s not going anywhere now.

This is going to be another great season – maybe better than the last. I can’t wait!

REFLECTION/PREDICTION THINGY

The crew celebrates their victory.

(O’Neill cracks open a bottle of champagne and laughs as it bubbles over.)

O’Neill: We did it, everyone! We saved the world!

Jackson: Again!

(They each take a glass, even Teal’c, and toast to victory.)

Carter: So, what now?

O’Neill: …What do you mean, ‘What now?’ Can’t we have a five-minute break? Jesus, we all just nearly died up there, and you already want to have another mission?

Teal’c: Captain Carter, perhaps it is merely in the crew’s best interests to simply… take a leave.

Carter: Come on, Teal’c, don’t tell me you’re worn-out after that? Must’ve been a walk in the park for ya, big guy.

(The Jaffa quickly busies himself with his champagne.)

Jackson: I wonder what the effects of alcohol are on the Jaffa brain…

O’Neill: (Watching Teal’c, he grins) I guess we’re about to find out.