In the Line of Duty

Plot: A Goa'uld escapes a dieing man by infesting Sam Carter. This Goa'uld is not what everyone assumes it be, however.


I'd say that this episode is most notable for really putting a new spin on the idea of the Goa'uld. So far, we've only been introduced to bad ones, but it transpires that there really are two sides to every tale. Sam is infested by Jolinar of Malkshur, who is a member of the Tok'ra. Daniel translates the worse as 'resistance', which helps to give some idea of what they're about. We learn a great deal about them in quite a short period of time, particularly how they live in harmony with their host, even building rewarding relationships. Most importantly, they oppose the idea of posing as Gods to enforce slavery upon people.

We'll see a lot more of that later in this series, as the Tok'ra play a fairly major part in it. They'll be an ally of Earth for years to come.

On top of that, we find that the Goa'uld can choose to leave the host if it wishes. Indeed, Jolinar gave his life to ensure that Sam lived. His life was lost after being found by a Goa'uld hunter. These hunters are the assassins of the Goa'uld world and are called The Ashrak. I'm not convinced that we ever see them again, but it's certainly an interesting concept. I think it ties quite nicely in with the idea of a Wraith Runner. The hunter and the hunted.

We also get the chance to catch up with Cassandra in this episode. She's played by Katie Stuart for the final time. We'll see her later played by different actresses, but she seems to be doing fine living with Janet Frasier, which is awesome.

This episode runs a funny parallel with the first episode of the last season, where Kawalsky was infested with a Goa'uld. This is a vast improvement on that episode for sure and helps to set up the major plot arc for the second season, the Tok'ra.

7 out of 10