"The Fifth Man" ( 5 x 04 )

Uh, is SG-1 getting a new crewmember? Hm… Maybe. That’s what it kind of sounds like. I guess I’ll just watch and see what happens!

The scene opens up with STAFF WEAPONS AND EXPLOSIONS, YEAAAH!! Carter, Jackson, and Teal’c race to the ‘Gate, and O’Neill is back a ways with… some guy named Tyler? O’Neill orders the three to go through and get reinforcements.

They go through… and apparently no one remembers this “Lieutenant Tyler”.

…Well, no one except for SG-1.

“Is this the face of a crazy man?” 

(Oh wait, wrong episode.)

On base, Hammond orders SG-1 to relinquish their weapons and go to the infirmary… but something feels very wrong here. I can’t quite put my finger on it, though.

Don’t forget about Jack and that Tyler dude!

Back on the planet, O’Neill carries an injured Tyler to a safer location, away from the attacking Jaffa. Nope, I definitely don’t recognize him.  Tyler expresses gratitude that O’Neill stayed behind, but Jack more or less brushes it off. That’s just how he is: He doesn’t leave anyone behind.

(“For this, you can stay at my place!”)

Hammond and Fraiser try to figure out what’s wrong with the three SG-1 officers, and why no one else seems to know who Tyler (who Hammond says doesn’t exist) is. However, thinking that they’ve been compromised, the general’s refusing to send anyone over to rescue O’Neill… and Tyler.

Well, darn.

In the infirmary, SG-1 talks about it and

OMIGOSH WHAT IF THEY’RE FROM A DIFFERENT UNIVERSE?!

Oh dude that would make so much sense! Maybe in another universe there’s a Lieutenant Tyler and something weird just happened with the Stargate so now they’re in our reality but then where’s our SG-1? Or is this our SG-1 in another universe?! 

…Oh. Jackson pretty much says what I said, and then Teal’c says that too, and then Carter looks him up on the database… but she’s been locked out.

Well.

She does manage to get in, and there’s nothing on him. But someone else has been looking up stuff on SG-1. (Maybourne?! Are you smirking in the backgr—oh wait you’re in the Caribbean.)

And O’Neill goes off to try and find water for him and Tyler, complete faith that the SGC will come for them…

Hammond’s not doing nothing though. They send a UAV through.

O’Neill catches sight of it and they’re able to radio him, but when he mentions Lt. Tyler, Hammond again hesitates in sending backup.

And then Q APPEARS!!!!

All right, it’s not Q, it’s Colonel Simmons, but hey, he’s back!! Sa-weet! Or maybe not…

Simmons wants to do his own little investigation, and Hammond reluctantly agrees. If it’s the only way to get to the bottom of what’s going on, he’s willing. Simmons talks with Daniel first, and I don’t think this will go well.

In the infirmary, Fraiser touches some residue on Teal’c’s jacket, and starts getting flashes of memories of… Lieutenant Tyler. Hm… a hallucination indeed? Memory altering substance? But which way?

With Simmons, he shows Jackson a video of a recent briefing, and sure enough, there’s no Tyler. But that’s not all there is. Simmons then pulls the Sarah card. You know, Sarah-Daniel’s-ex-who-got-Goa’uld’ed. That card.

Ooo, that’s really harsh, Q.

“You think that makes me sympathetic to the Goa’uld?”

“I think that makes you someone whose judgment can be easily clouded.”

Oohh, man, Simmons, you have no idea who you’re talking to! This is Daniel Jackson, whose thirst for vengeance against those snakes is only one-upped by Teal’c! (Except, uh, in a different kind of way.)

Hammond, meanwhile, conducts his own investigation with that wonderful red phone… but it’s not really going anywhere. (Hm… this seems suspicious…)

On the other planet, night has fallen, and Tyler says he’s from Texas.

Hold on a second.

In a previous scene they showed packages with the words, “Tyler, Texas” (obviously a place), and he just happens to be Tyler, from Texas? What’s his first name? This doesn’t feel right. I smell an impostor.

…Then why would they all have memories….?

We do get a funny scene:

O’Neill: “Do you know what the Goa’uld really want from us? Minnesota. That’s what. For the fishing, mostly. I’ll take you sometime.”

Tyler: “Fishing?”

O’Neill: “Oh, yeah. Ask Teal’c. He can’t get enough.”

Hehehe!

And on base, Teal’c is brought in to see the latest slime in the long list of slimes that like to pick on the SGC. One of them happens to be Q… I mean Frank Simmons.

For Teal’c, he’s pulling the brainwash card. You know, the captured-against-your-will-and-subjected-to-Apophis-to-kill-your-bros card. Teal’c of course takes it in stride, and says this when Simmons questions his true loyalties:

“If I were still loyal to the Goa’uld,you would know it.”

“Really?”

“It would be immediately apparent, as I would not hesitate to kill you where you sit.”

Oh, snap!

Simmons’ expression is priceless. About the same as Maybourne’s at Teal’c’s “I would be well within my rights to dismember you” comment in “Touchstone”.

The situation worsens with O’Neill and Tyler when a Glider shows up… They take it down, but I’m pretty sure there’s more where that came from.

And it’s Carter’s turn to see Simmons. He of course pulls the Jolinar card… and the “Entity” card… and the “Orlin” card… And that’s when she plays hardball and realizes he’s the one who was looking them up! And he’s done with her. (Kill’t!)

And Fraiser’s figured it out: That chemical on Teal’c’s uniform is to blame. False memories. With that, Hammond authorizes backup to go through. (Right on!)

On the planet, a Jaffa horn sounds, and Tyler reveals the truth: He’s not human (he’s Reol) and he exposed them to a chemical (yup). O’Neill doesn’t believe him, until Tyler touches him and allows Jack to see his truly alien form. (And it’s all wiggly and… alien.) Turns out it’s just a defense mechanism, and he just wanted to get away from the Jaffa and see if SG-1 could be trusted.

Jack of course doesn’t much care either way, and agrees to help… well, Tyler, since that’s what he goes by. They manage to take down several Jaffa (these guys aren’t quite as beast as Apophis’ cronies), but they are nearly captured until

SG-1 IS HERE!! YAAAY!!!

O’Neill expresses his displeasure in that Tyler felt the need to trick them, but Tyler says that his people have merely been hunted for so long, and they don’t know who to trust. (Remind anyone of DS9’s Founders?)

But we’ve still got a little Jaffa problem.

Er, no, a big Jaffa problem – they’re guarding the ‘Gate.

Tyler offers to use himself as bait, but O’Neill disagrees that’s a good idea. So he just gives him a zat, tells Daniel to stick around, and… then Tyler zats him.

DON’T BE A HERO TYLER.

And we get one look back on base: Hammond and Simmons.

The general basically tells him to bug off, because we know what we’re doing here at the SGC.

“I know how to leave gracefully. I only hope you do.”

Now you shut it and GO AWAY, Q!!

Tyler has indeed tried to be a hero and uses himself as bait. He’s captured and brought to the ‘Gate, and then TEAL’C HAS A FREAKIN’ GLIDER CANNON, YEAAAH!!! That’s what I call heavy artillery!!

SO. AWESOME.

And the combined forces of AWESOME and some P90’s manage to take down all the Jaffa and save Tyler.

And we get a great convo between him and Jack:

“You could’ve escaped.”

“We don’t leave our people behind.”

“But – I am not one of your people!”

“…Could’ve fooled me.”

So, Tyler goes back to his people, with the thought of a possible alliance hanging in the air, “and maybe then you can take me fishing.”

Final thoughts… “Au contraire, mon capitan; heee’s baaaack!” (“Déjà Q”, TNG)

Yes, I do indeed love seeing John de Lancie as Col. Simmons in this series, and I’m even more excited that he seems to be a recurring character. Hopefully more than just these two episodes. And yes, I will continue to make Q jokes and quotes about him. Sorry. Typecasting and all.

He’s a different kind of antagonistic force in the series. He’s not like anyone else, not even the other sort of politicians, NID people, et cetera… He’s much colder and attacks on a much more personal level. He’s downright insulting, to be honest. And I don’t think he’s just testing them – I think he really wants SG-1 broken up! Ooh, he better be glad that Jack wasn’t there, because Jack probably would’ve told him to… well, you can imagine what Colonel Jack O’Neill would’ve told him to do.

Simmons needs a nickname. Q-ball? Since Maybourne’s Slimeball? …Nah. I dunno.

There’s also the interesting little thing about where his loyalties lie versus where those of SG-1 lie. They are each loyal to each other and to Stargate Command as a whole, and it is the personal connection which Simmons so despises that holds this crazy place together. My impression is that Simmons doesn’t quite get it. All these teams go through hell at least a few times (or literally once if you’re SG-1) and they’ve got… well, a hell of a job to do. You’ve got to care about each other, or you might end up forgetting what you’re doing out there and what you stand for. The SGC, and on a broader scale idea, America, is all about the ideals of honor, loyalty, and freedom. Heck, that’s why Teal’c joined us in the first place (as we kind of saw in “Threshold”, among other episodes). Sure, you’ve got to use your head and follow protocol, but there’s so much more to it.

A prime example was when Tyler finally revealed his true nature to O’Neill, but at that point, Jack just really didn’t care. Now, instead of helping another SG-1 member, he was just helping someone else in need. Even when Tyler was ready to sacrifice himself, they still hung around and managed to save him before they went through.

And once again, Q has failed to recognize humanity at its finest…

PREDICTION/REFLECTION THINGY

(Antagonists… ASSEMMMBLLLLE!)

Cigarette Smoking Man: So? Were you successful?

Simmons: …NO. This is pointless. And I keep getting the weird feeling I’m some almighty god.

CSM: You have the power of the state…

Simmons: Feh. As if that’s enough. (Pause.) Where’s Maybourne?

CSM: The Caribbean, I believe.

Simmons: What a slimeball. When’s that alien going to follow through on his promise?

CSM: In time, Colonel, you may find that Teal’c is far more dangerous in his words than his actions…