"The First Ones" ( 4 x 08 )

Based on the image of the large, ugly Unas on the title screen, I predict that this episode will feature said large, ugly Unas. Actually I guess he’s not that ugly. Kind of reminds me of the Jem’hadar…

We start off on P3X-888, with the SG-11 team, except that Jackson’s there, and he’s working with Robert Rothman (remember, the kinda lame guy who was his replacement in the dream of “Forever in a Day” (3x10)?) and digging up some old Goa’uld bones. And literally, it’s the Goa’uld symbiote. Nastiness, in fossil form. What’s more, these fossils don’t have any traces of naquadah.

Weeeird.

You know what’s weirder?

The thing stalking Jackson, as evidenced by the distorted camera and green lens.

Also by the thing attacking one of the SG-11 team members and then dragging Jackson off.

Back on base, the ‘Gate whirls to life, and the only person to step out is…

…Robert.

Apparently what he believes was an Unas killed most of his crew in their attempt to rescue Jackson (noes!) and it turns out that 888 was the world Jackson believed the Goa’uld originated from. And, well, since the Unas were the first hosts…

SG-1 and 2 prepare to embark on a rescue mission. Hurrah!

Back on the planet, Jackson wakes up and is indeed facing an Unas. However, he’s also tied up by the wrists. Well, this could be unpleasant.

SG-1 and 2 move out, and a couple guys from SG-2 will keep an eye on the Stargate while SG-1 looks for Daniel, Rothman and the rest of SG-2 with them.

In a forest, Jackson is once more on his feet, and is obviously unable to communicate with the Unas (either that or it’s become tired of his incessant chatter). I presume that this Unas is unbonded, but not that primitive… It knew how to tie up his hands. It also knew to knock the radio from his hands.

They eventually stop near a lake, and the Unas begins some sort of ritual breathing practice. Jackson speaks into a recorder and hypothesizes that he’s the “evening meal” for this apparently-young Unas. He once again tries communicating with him (we’re just going to assume that the Unas is male for now) and at first it looks like he succeeds, but to no ultimate avail.

The Unas does have a language, though, as it speaks.

He leads Jackson to water, but seems to avoid going too close to it. He mimes to Jackson that he should cup his hands to gain the water, rather than lean directly into it. (Hm?)

And then he takes off! (Or, uh, tries to.) He goes into the water, and indeed, the Unas does not follow. And then a Goa’uld starts SWIMMING TOWARD HIM OH GOD but then the Unas grabs it, wrenches it apart, and unceremoniously spreads its blood over Jackson’s face.

All right, so, clearly, the Unas has some sort of familiarity with the Goa’uld blending process. (Or, parasitical takeover, rather.) If Jackson had lowered his face into the water he probably would’ve been Goa’uld’ed through the mouth. (…Ew.) That also explains why the Unas didn’t want to go into the lake. However, I don’t think he wants Jackson dead. If he did, he wouldn’t have saved him from that Goa’uld and inadvertently warned him earlier on.

Meanwhile, the SG teams have found SG-11’s camp, but the only survivor is a Major Hawkins. Teal’c has spotted some tracks, and so he’s going to use those epic tracking skills Bra’tac taught him.

They eventually stop, but they’re awfully close to that lake..!

The Unas has taken Jackson into a cave now, and he cooks up the Goa’uld corpse for dinner. (Okay, that’s kinda gross. I wonder how all those Goa’uld worshippers would react, haha.) Jackson still worries he’s going to be eaten, which has more or less killed his appetite, so he refuses the other half and instead takes out some kind of… snack… thing. Looks like chocolate-something. He shares it with the Unas, and by the end, they’re just hangin’ out by the fire, laughing about this great little treat.

That night, O’Neill expresses his concern for Hawkins, and tells Rothman to let him know if there’s anything weird about him. Rothman insists that there’s not (yeah, I wouldn’t exactly take his word for it, I don’t know how perceptive our friend Rob is) and indeed he says he’s not “good” at “people”.

Later in the cave, Jackson wanders around with his recorder and notices pictographs – the Unas do seem to understand the Goa’uld host-taking process; thus the tooth necklace around this Unas’ neck. He also suspects that there must be other Unas in these caves, hiding from the Goa’uld.

The Unas then approaches, scraping the side of his face and then smearing the cave wall with it.

All our SG-1 guy can say? “I think I’ve just been marked for death.”

Oh snap.

The next morning, Teal’c is taking watch by the lake when he senses a Goa’uld coming out, and then shoots it mid-air behind his back with his staff weapon. (You see why I think this guy is awesome?!) I’m a little confused why the symbiote would come after him (he is, after all, a Jaffa, and thus cannot be blended) but hey, whatever.

When SG-1 and 2 come to rendezvous with him, Teal’c announces that one or more of them could now be Goa’uld. Carter says she can’t even sense the ones in the water, but Rothman thinks that’s because none of them have naquadah in their systems. Everyone eventually puts down their weapons, and is restrained. I sense a little bit of Teal’c hesitating to do this (who wouldn’t, after working with all these guys the past three and a half years) but doing so merely because it is necessary. As Teal’c ties off O’Neill’s hands, we do get some funny dialogue:

O’Neill: “I’m telling you, it’s got to be Hawkins.”

Teal’c: “Trust in me, O’Neill.”

O’Neill: “What if I’m not O’Neill?”

Teal’c: “Then I was not talking to you.”

He then goes off in search of Daniel.

In the cave, Jackson works to fix up the Unas’ hand, but he can’t bargain with him. As he’s dragged off through the caves once more, he marks something on the cave wall, and goes willingly.

Back in the forest clearing by the lake, the SG teams sit around tied up and start to bicker. Just as O’Neill shouts, “Okay, anybody with a snake in their head, raise their hand!”  Hawkins’ EYES GLOW AND HE BREAKS THE RESTRAINT OH GOD. Teal’c reappears at just the right moment and shoots down the Goa’uld. He explains that any Goa’uld would be strong enough to break through the restraints, and so he starts to unclip everyone’s bondages.

As he gets to Rothman, he hesitates briefly, seeing blood on his wrists, clearly the sign of an attempt to escape. And then OH GOD NOW HIS EYES ARE GLOWING!! Rothman-Goa’uld grabs Teal’c’s staff weapon and knocks him down, but O’Neill quickly grabs his gun and shoots down Rothman.

Oh, man. Jackson’s not going to respond well to this.

SG-2 promises to give them both proper burials, and the three of SG-1 go off to find their friend.

They enter the caves and it turns out that Jackson wrote “This Way” and an arrow, and subsequent arrows leading the way. They eventually track down their fourth member and find him with the Unas, and several other Unas, including a sort of alpha male. Jackson’s friend is seemingly trying to convince the alpha that, “Hey, let’s not eat this guy, let’s make him one of us!” SG-1 is of course disbelieving.

The alpha and the other Unas get into a sort of brawl, and the one Jackson knows ultimately prevails.

Hey, now he’s alpha! Just like in Teen Wolf! Right of passage by killing the old one!

The Unas seems to ask Jackson to join him, but does not attack when he refuses.  However, it seems that perhaps, one day, Jackson may return here…

Final thoughts… I like Daniel Jackson. I really do. I know it sometimes might not come off that way, as I tend to (perhaps inadvertently) focus on O’Neill and Teal’c in most of my analyses and deeper thinking. I suppose it’s not really fair to Carter and Jackson, ‘cause I love them too, and for the latter, this episode is one of those reasons why.

Jackson is, first and foremost, a linguist. He’s a culture expert. He could fit in on Qo’noS or Vulcan or Romulus or Bajor or the freaking Death Star (okay I know that’s not a planet) if he had to. He’s very adaptive in that respect. In fact, just the other day I was watching the Stargate film with my folks (my mom thoroughly enjoyed it) where we got to see Jackson in all his linguistic, cultured glory.

(Also in all his dweeb-iness. But I digress.) 

Because, you know, once in a while, it’s nice to get away from all the guns and explosions, because as amazing as it is to see stuff go up in flames, a bit of insight especially into a race we don’t know so well is quite pleasant. Prior to this episode we knew hardly anything about the Unas. Now we know a bunch, and I’d say it’s all thanks to our good friend Daniel. By understanding where these first hosts came from, and making a concerted effort to know them (even if he only did it for self-preservation), perhaps we learn a little bit about the true enemy there – the Goa’uld. After all, that Unas did save him from getting a snake down his throat or in his back.

Which brings me to another pretty important point. At least, I think it’s kind of important.

We now know where our slimy little Goa’uld friends came from.

There are still many things I don’t understand, such as why they don’t have naquadah in their blood, but there were a few interesting thoughts here. It would seem that the Goa’uld are malevolent by nature. In fact, I’m not sure that they’re truly intelligent in themselves, since the offspring of a Goa’uld queen only know what they know because of genetic memory… memories from the host.

The one thing that does seem innate is control. Since I’m supposing that Rothman wasn’t a host from the time he told the SGC of SG-11’s capture, the symbiote knew to wait to make its escape.

How, then, do we explain the Tok’ra? Was it the host of Egeria (er, presuming that the name of the symbiote was Egeria) that convinced her symbiote, or something like that? I mean, the ones that took Hawkins and Rothman were ruthless.

The fact is, we don’t really know all that much about the Goa’uld. But every season, we learn a little something more… another weakness; another trait to be taken advantage of. Knowledge is power.

We can usually thank Daniel Jackson for that knowledge.

PREDICTION/REFLECTION THINGY

(This planet gives me the creeps.)

O’Neill: This planet gives me the creeps. Can we get out of here already?

Jackson: Jack, I don’t think anything’s going to come after us.

Teal’c: Indeed not. The threat of the Unas seems to have been neutralized, with thanks to Daniel Jackson.

Carter: Yeah, that was good going. How’d you learn to communicate with him, anyways?

Jackson: Well, just the same as with any other civilization…

O’Neill: (Imitating a chicken flapping its wings) ‘Bawk’?

Jackson: (Glaring at Jack) Very funny. Not.