Secrets

Plot: Daniel and Teal'c return to Abydos so that Daniel can explain to Sha're's father that he has been unable to rescue her. Meanwhile, Sam and Jack go to Washington to be awarded the Air Medal by the President.


With two plots running concurrently in this episode, quite a lot happens. Firstly, Washington. Having literally saved the world by defeating Apophis, Sam and Jack are awarded a medal of honour. It's not all plain sailing at the ceremony though. We're introduced to Sam's father, Jacob, for the first time. Jacob is played by Carmen Argenziano and is a General in the Air Force himself. He begins pressuring Sam into applying for a position at NASA. Ironically, he tries to convince her that whatever she's doing at Cheyenne Mountain can't possibly be better than actually going in to space. The whole thing is a little hammy, but the sentiment is reasonable enough. Later, Jacob reveals that he has Lymphoma, thus laying the foundation for a plot that will be realised in a couple of episodes time with the Tok'ra.

Carmen Argenziano plays a likable character. I always remember seeing him in an anti-war, anti-government, anti-establishment, anti-most things film from the 70s called Punishment Park. In it, people deemed to be 'threats to national security' are offered either an extended jail term, or 3 days in Punishment Park, where they have to cross a length of desert without food or water. As I recall, they also have to deal with trigger happy guards as well. It's an interesting watch and I recommend checking it out.

Jack, meanwhile, is tracked down by a reporter who has been told about the Stargate by a source with knowledge of the programme. Jack obviously denies everything, but the reporter meets with a rather unfortunate accident before he can do any real damage. Jack suspects that Hammond is behind it but can only say to Jack that 'it was an accident'. It's quite a morally ambiguous moment, one of many that SG-1 and Atlantis will challenge viewers with for years to come. Regardless, it's clear that doing away with the reporter was quite necessary to protect the sanctity of the project.

On Abydos, Teal'c and Daniel begin to explain to Sha're's father (played by Erick Avari) that he has been unable to find his daughter. Funnily enough though, she's already there, and pregnant with Apophis' child. Creating a child of two Goa'uld parents is not allowed under system lord law, so Sha're has been hidden away on Abydos. Interestingly, while pregnant the Goa'uld remains dormant, so Sha're's personality is able to re-assert itself, allowing for an emotional reunion between her and Daniel.

She is heavily pregnant and Apophis is expected to return soon. Before he can though, Heru'ur shows up to kidnap the child. This allows Teal'c and Daniel to plan a ruse in which Sha're's Goa'uld is made to believe that the born child was taken by Heru'ur, when in fact it was given to Sha're's father to be hidden away. Clever.

As an extra tidbit, the actress who played Sha're, Vaitiare Bandera was really pregnant at the time with Michael Shanks' child!

The concurrent plots make this quite an interesting episode, though somewhat lacking in action. It does, however, contribute to a plot line that had been somewhat left dangling after the pilot. I think they would have done well to wrap up the Sha're plot up altogether though, as it contributes little to the actual show, other than allowing Daniel to angst a little from time to time, apart from that she's rarely mentioned.

7 out of 10