Summary
Aboard the Odyssey, Teal'c and Mitchell train with blunted
staves. More to the point, Teal'c beats on Mitchell. Daniel,
meanwhile, is deep in a book, and when he comes to a door
it opens, revealing Vala and a dozen or so assorted crewmen,
assembled for what looks to be a killer shindig complete
with streamers and confetti. Daniel is nonplussed -- it
is not his birthday. Nor is it Vala's, but she is just so
darn bored with life on the Odyssey and had to do something
to pass the time. The two make their way to the bridge where
the rest of SG-1 has assembled along with General Landry.
The Odyssey has reached its destination.
Thor beams aboard and is introduced to General Landry.
Daniel mentions the lack of communication between the SGC
and the Asgard. The High Council wants to meet with members
of the SGC. More importantly, the Asgard are finally ready
to impart all of their technology, knowledge and wisdom
to the people of Earth. In response to the shocked looks
and questions from members of SG-1, Thor explains that,
although some Asgard still believe that Earth is not ready,
as a race the Asgard will soon be extinct.
(After the opening credits.)
Numerous Asgard wander through the halls of the Odyssey.
Thor explains to Sam that the Asgard Computer Core will
soon be totally integrated into the Odyssey. Sam asks if
there is anything else that can be done to save the Asgard
people. There is nothing. At a briefing, Daniel and General
Landry explain to Mitchell and Teal'c that the Asgard doomed
themselves by extending their lives through science. They
are suffering from a degenerative disease that will claim
all their lives. Before that happens, they will commit mass
suicide to prevent their technology from falling into the
wrong hands.
Thor explains to Sam that humanity is the Fifth Race. The
hope of the future lies with humanity. He asks Sam not to
be sad at the thought of the Asgard passing. She leans forward
and gives the little guy a hug. Unfortunately, the Ori decide
to ruin the Kodak moment -- three mother ships show up and
attack. The Asgard disappear and the Odyssey takes off at
sub light speed. One of the Ori ships pursues. The other
two go for the planet. As Sam tries to get the hyper drive
online, the Asgard destroy their planet, taking the two
Ori ships with them. That still leaves the sole ship tracking
the Odyssey. Hyper drive is online but radiation from the
explosion must dissipate before Odyssey can jump to hyperspace.
However, the Asgard left behind some powerful energy weapons
and the Odyssey is able to make quick work of the Ori ship.
They go to hyperspace. Shortly thereafter, General Landry
asks Sam how soon her report on how long it will take to
duplicate the Asgard technology will be finished. Unfortunately,
something else has come up: the hyper drive is giving off
some strange readings and Sam wants to drop out of hyperspace
to check them out. The moment the Odyssey leaves hyperspace,
two Ori mother ships are detected.
(After a commercial.)
The Ori open fire. General Landry wants to jump back to
hyperspace. Mitchell thinks it is a bit of a coincidence
that the Ori were able to track them so quickly. Is it possible
that the Ori themselves are helping the Priors track the
Odyssey through hyperspace? The only way to find out is
to turn off all the nifty new Asgard technology and see
if any Ori ships show up. Disengaging said Asgard technology
will require a drop out of hyperspace. Once again, the moment
Odyssey leaves hyperspace, two Ori ships show up.
Sam manages to get the hyper drive back online just in
time. It will take about half an hour to get the engines
cut off from the Asgard core. And there is little chance
the Ori will give them that much time. General Landry suggests
finding a planet with a gate, beaming everyone to the surface
and destroying the ship. Daniel is aghast and Mitchell is
willing to fight to the death as long as somebody has a
plan. And Sam thinks she does. They reach the planet, beam
off most of the crew, and attack the Ori ships that inevitably
show up. One ship is quickly destroyed but the Odyssey has
taken heavy damage. Shields are offline and everything.
As a nasty beam from an energy weapon from an Ori ship
lances through space, Sam makes a grab for a console and
suddenly the energy blast stops. During a briefing, Sam
explains that the Odyssey is inside a time-dilation bubble.
Inside, time goes on as it should. Outside, time is s-l-o-w.
There is enough food and water onboard for three months
without any rationing. And it may take longer than that
for Sam to build from scratch whatever she needs to adapt
the Asgard technology to the Odyssey, using some of Merlin's
out-of-phase technology.
After two weeks -- during which Mitchell runs the halls
of the Odyssey and Vala begins to drive Teal'c mad with
her incessant chattering -- things are not looking up. When
the Odyssey returns to real time, it will take .86 seconds
for the Ori blast to hit the ship. And none of the plans
Sam has come up with, none of the computer simulations she
has run, allow them to survive, let alone the Asgard core.
(After a commercial.)
The Odyssey hangs silently in space, the Ori blast far
too close for comfort. Onboard, Vala cannot sleep. She knocks
on Daniel's door (inasmuch as you can knock on a door with
a bell) but he just closes the door. Mitchell and Teal'c
continue to train. Sam replicates a cello. Daniel reads.
Later, as Vala sits and listens, Daniel laments the passing
of the Asgard and the fact that life is, no matter what
you do, too short. Vala agrees and removes her jacket. She
approaches Daniel but he pushes her away. It has been three
months. Daniel bursts into a tirade about emotions and working
relationships and Vala. She sits silently, crying, as he
berates her. When he has said his piece, he sits down next
to her and realizes that she was not just toying with him.
He reaches out and kisses her. Rrrar.
Vala exits Daniel's quarters with her clothing slightly
askew just as Mitchell runs by. He goes to talk with General
Landry, who is busy tending to his plants. Mitchell cannot
understand what they are still doing stuck in the time bubble
when they know the Ori can track the Asgard technology,
meaning the Odyssey is useless. General Landry, however,
is dead set against having "this" conversation
again. The poor man just wants a sun lamp for his plants.
(After a commercial.)
Everyone is getting a bit antsy. General Landry stares
out at the Ori blast. Vala volunteers to help Sam. Mitchell
and Teal'c continue to train. At the dinner table, Mitchell
suggests Superman flying really fast around the ship would
get them out of the mess. Sam thinks it is a crazy thought.
During a musical montage, Sam practices the cello, General
Landry tends to an every-increasing greenhouse, Vala roller-skates,
the team celebrates Christmas, General Landry and Mitchell
play chess, Vala breaks down in Daniel's arms, Mitchell
becomes increasingly frustrated and destroys his room, and
time marches on slowly.
After the montage ends, a very old General Landry nearly
hacks up a lung while staring out into space. It has been
twenty years, according to an equally old Daniel. Sam has
become quite proficient at the cello in two decades. Daniel
has grown his hair out again (as has Sam) but he keeps studying,
much to Sam's consternation. She cannot understand how he
can continue to study things knowing that his knowledge
will die with him.
General Landry passes away with a grieving Sam at his side,
telling her not to give up. She leaves his quarters and
embraces Teal'c (who does not seem to have aged at all).
At the dinner table, the team sits silently, comforting
one another as best they can.
(After a commercial.)
The members of SG-1 have grown old inside their time bubble,
all grey and wrinkled. Fifty years will do that. Aside from
Teal'c, they all have long hair these days. And then Sam
drops a bombshell: she figured out how to reverse time in
a localized field. But there is not enough power left to
pull it off. Mitchell recalls the time when Sam was wounded
and managed to get Mitchell to use an Ori staff weapon to
power one of Merlin's devices. He proposes using the Ori
blast floating outside to do roughly the same thing.
The only way to use the power from the Ori blast is to
rewire the ship and let the blast hit it. Hopefully, enough
energy will be absorbed to power the backwards-time-dilation-device
while the ship is being destroyed. However, one of the team
will have to stay old. Teal'c volunteers. He is the logical
choice, aging somewhat differently than the rest. Daniel
and Vala express their love for one another. Sam places
Teal'c in his own localized field of time and the Ori blast
hits the Odyssey, destroying it. But it worked. Time has
gone backwards.
As time replays itself, Sam reaches for the console. Teal'c
stops her. The ship is able to move quickly enough to not
be hit by the energy blast. Back at the SGC, Vala begs Teal'c
to tell her something -- anything -- about the future. In
his usual, stoic manner, he refuses. As the chevrons are
locked one last time, SG-1 stands in the gate room in front
of the stargate and swap aphorisms. Good things come to
those who wait, according to Teal'c. The last chevron is
locked and the wormhole established. Mitchell puts on his
hat and leads the team through the gate for yet another
mission to save the universe.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is all she wrote!
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