Need

Plot: A princess falls in love with Daniel and uses the narcotic power of the Goa'uld Sarcophagus to keep him at his side.


The episode kicks off with SG-1 scouting out a planet seamingly rich with Naqahdah. The ruler of the planet had long ago overthrown the Goa'uld that resided there, but continued providing shipments of Naqhadah so as not to arouse suspicion that the Goa'uld was no longer in charge. This was all 700 years ago, as the King had been using the Sarcophagus to extend his life. Daniel discovers that using the Sarcophagus when healthy has a narcotic effect, focusing the mind and stimulating the senses.

This stimulation is at a cost though. Firstly, Daniel falls through on his promise to get close to the King's daughter, the princess that has fallen in love with him, in order to free the rest of his captured team mates. SG-1 had been sentenced to work to death in order to prevent them leaving and spreading word that the former Goa'uld ruler has been overthrown. Secondly, Sam has a Tok'ra inspired vision that tells her that the Sarcophagus, when overused, will destroy a person's soul. This is interesting as it's used to explain why the Goa'uld are so evil, when the Tok'ra (who do not use the Sarcophagus) are not.

All in all, it's not a bad episode, though it doesn't seem to quite fit together. The bulk of the story takes place on the planet, while the climax takes place at the SGC, away from the established guest characters. It makes sense plot wise, but it still seemed to make the building of a relationship between Daniel and the princess rather redundant. The fact that SG-1 seemed to shrug off several days hard labour without much effort was also rather curious.

Still, this episode does well to develop mythology in regards to the Goa'uld and the Sarcophagus.

6 out of 10