Enemies

Summary | Analysis | Notes | Characters | Questions | Production | Review

SG-1 finds themselves stranded in a crippled ship in a distant galaxy – with Apophis threatening to destroy them. Teal'c is brainwashed and made loyal to Apophis once again.

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EPISODE #501
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: 06.29.2001
SYNDICATION AIR DATE: 09.09.2002
DVD DISC: Season 5, Disc 1
WRITTEN BY: Joseph Mallozzi & Paul Mullie
DIRECTED BY: Martin Wood
GUEST STARS: Carmen Argenziano (Jacob/Selmak), Peter Williams (Apophis), Jennifer Calvert (Councilwoman Ren'Al), Gary Jones (Technician), Thomas Milburn, Jr. (Jaffa), Dean Moen (Jaffa)
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The shockwave from the supernova of Vorash's sun knocked SG-1's stolen Goa'uld mothership off course after it entered hyperspace, throwing them 4 million light-years into deep space ("Exodus"). At top speed, it will take 125 years to get home – if they can avoid Apophis' giant mothership that has followed them. With no weapons or shields, they cannot defend themselves when Apophis threatens to destroy them.

But another ship appears in the nick of time, engaging in battle with Apophis. Jacob takes the ship away from the fight and into the coronasphere of a local blue giant, hiding them from sensors while they try to make repairs.

The shockwave damaged their hyperdrive control crystals, but Jacob and Sam manage to bring the shields back online. They leave the star's coronasphere to find the alien ship gone. Apophis' ship remains ... but with no life signs on board. O'Neill, Samantha Carter and her father board the ship to find that the self-destruct countdown has been activated. They head for the engine room to salvage the ship's hyperdrive crystals, and make an unsettling discovery along the way: Apophis' ship has been infested with Replicators, and the crew is dead.

The powerful Asgard are at war with the technologically advanced, hive-minded creatures, but have been heretofore losing. SG-1 barely managed to keep the bugs from gaining a foothold on Earth after crashing an infested Asgard ship into Earth's atmosphere one year ago ("Nemesis," "Small Victories").

Back on Earth, Stargate Command receives a visit from Ren'al of the Tok'ra. She tells General George Hammond that their scouts detected the explosion of the Vorash sun, just as expected. Only a single escape pod made it out of Apophis' fleet; they tracked it to Goa'uld territory, but do not know who was on board. But there has been no word from SG-1 and Jacob, and the Tok'ra are presuming they failed to escape the shockwave of the nova. Jacob/Selmak has been declared a fallen war hero. But the General tells her that he will hold out hope a bit longer: SG-1 has a knack for beating the odds.

With the control crystals replaced, the team sets a course for Earth – but soon find a lone Goa'uld transport ship that escaped before the Replicators took over Apophis' vessel. It is piloted by Teal'c, who was believed to be dead but was revived by Apophis in a Goa'uld sarcophagus. The team welcomes back their friend and a few loyal Jaffa who helped him escape.

But after O'Neill greets his friend, Teal'c turns on them. He has brought Apophis with him, and the Jaffa seize control of the ship. Teal'c has been brainwashed, and claims to have been working secretly in the service of Apophis these past four years.

SG-1 is locked away, but Jacob manages to elude the soldiers. Apophis orders a course set for Delmak, his homeworld – though it will take over a century to get there. Teal'c pledges to serve him with honor until he dies in his name.

Despite the destruction of Apophis' ship, the Replicators will not be left behind. A few have stowed-away in supply containers brought on board by the Jaffa, and begin to multiply. They first occupy the engineering section, bringing the ship out of hyperspace as they use the ship's resources to continue to replicate. The Jaffa can find no way to stop them.

Jacob is soon captured, but the team escapes when Replicators trigger the door lock. They learn that the bugs have modified the mothership's engines to travel more than 800 times faster than their previous maximum speed, allowing them to travel to Delmak in a matter of hours. From there, they will spread into the Milky Way Galaxy.

It's a relief that the Replicators are delivering SG-1 back to their own neighborhood – but Sam reminds them that they cannot allow the bugs to gain a foothold in our galaxy. Even the advanced Asgard have not been able to stop them. The team launches a plan to destroy the ship: Jack and Sam will destroy the sub-light engine control crystals just after the ship exits hyperspace, causing the ship to crash right into Delmak. Jacob and Daniel stand by in the cargo ship, ready to escape.

Jack refuses to leave Teal'c behind. SG-1 goes looking for him, and engages Teal'c and his Jaffa in a firefight. O'Neill is forced to shoot his friend, hoping that Teal'c's larval symbiote can keep him alive. They capture Teal'c and bring him to the cargo ship, where he is put in restraints.

His Jaffa wiped out by the Replicators, Apophis stands alone on the bridge with no options remaining. Replicators swarm around him as the ship exits hyperspace. Jack fires his P-90 at the control crystals, and a swarm of Replicators chase him and Carter through the corridors. They flee to the cargo ship, and the team escapes before the mothership crashes into the planet's atmosphere.

But Teal'c may never be the same. As Jacob warns Jack, getting back his friend's mind may be much more difficult. Teal'c does not believe Jack when he tells him that Apophis is dead, again. "Gods cannot be killed," he declares.

ANALYSIS

  • The Tok'ra had two scout ships in the vicinity of Vorash, which confirmed the detonation of the star and the destruction of Apophis' massive fleet. But sensor readings in the system were quickly blacked out by radiation from supernova, and will continue to be for some time.
  • Where is Tanith? No mention of him is made. He may have been killed by Apophis for allowing himself to be used by the Tok'ra, or he may have fallen victim to the Replicator attack. Most likely, though, Tanith was the occupant of the one-man pod that the Tok'ra detected leaving Apophis' ship several minutes before the Vorash sun went nova. The Tok'ra tracked it to Goa'uld-occupied territory, but could not follow it further.

    It's odd that Tanith would leave the safety of Apophis' fleet at such a time, when he knew that SG-1 had a ship in the area and was planning something against Apophis. He may have even caught wind of the plan to destroy the sun (perhaps overhearing O'Neill and Teal'c's discussion just before Teal'c was shot on Vorash), and fled without warning Apophis. Or, perhaps Apophis sent him on a specific errand.
  • According to the Tok'ra, the actions of SG-1 and Jacob/Selmak in destroying such a large portion of Apophis' massive fleet have already thrown the Goa'uld into chaos. They predict that the resultant war between the dominant powers will have the remaining System Lords fighting for years to come. SG-1 has very recently chopped off the heads of the armies of Cronus and Apophis, leaving their underlings and other System Lords to fight over control of their armies and territory.
  • The Replicators' ship seems to have transported a number of the bugs over to Apophis' ship, then left, since it was not present in the area – nor had it been destroyed – when SG-1 returned. The bugs did not simply wish to transplant themselves from one ship to another, hoping that the Goa'uld had more advanced technology. Instead, they sought out a way to spread.

    This appears to be an underlying motive for their behavior. Not only are they driven to replicate, but they are driven to replicate in order to expand their sphere of influence. One year ago, they had spread across the Asgard home galaxy. They may well have expanded beyond that by now, unless the Asgard have found a way (perhaps through human technology and strategy) to turn the tide of the war.
  • Replicators focus themselves on replication until reaching a critical number, at which time they quickly seek out new sources of technology to consume. Not only that, but they appear to have a desire to expand the size of the territory they control, since the Replicators opted to take the Goa'uld mothership 4 million light-years to an entirely new galaxy, rather than search out another world locally.
  • Since there were Replicators present, it is logical to assume that SG-1 had found themselves in the Asgard galaxy – pinpointing its location as somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 million light-years from our own. But assuming that the Replicators have continued to spread over the last year, it may not have been the Asgard galaxy at all.
  • Most likely, Teal'c's behavior is not just the result of having been placed in a Goa'uld sarcophagus, but of some other form of technology. Though the sarcophagus does contribute to draining one's soul and making them evil ("Need," "The Tok'ra, Part 1"), there is no evidence that one (or even a few) exposures to the technology can so radically alter one's personality.

    Indeed, Teal'c's brainwashing rings familiar to Daniel, who reminds his friend that Apophis once brainwashed Teal'c's son, Rya'c ("Family"). Did Apophis use the same technology on Teal'c? If so, he may be able to be cured with a simple zat gun blast, as was used on Rya'c.
  • The Replicators altered the Goa'uld mothership's engines to travel more than 800 times their previous top speed. But even at this speed, with 4 million light-years to cover, it would have taken the ship nearly 2 months to reach home. Since the ship reached Delmak in a matter of hours, it is more likely that the ship's top-speed was increased to more than 100,000 times its original.
  • How can the Replicators do this? Is it a natural result of their programmed adaptability, or have they assimilated technology from another species that allowed them to make these engine modifications? Perhaps they could do this only after assimilating Asgard technology, since the Asgard have demonstrated that they can cross millions of light-years in a matter of hours ("Small Victories").
  • The Replicators created a large "mother bug" at their center of operations. This is similar to their behavior on board the Russian submarine on Earth ("Small Victories"), though here they clearly had much greater resources.
  • Since SG-1's last two experiences with them, the Replicators have started to take on more varied sizes and forms – some of which actually look like insects. Several larger Replicators are created with wings, enabling them to move more quickly and leap long distances.
  • Could Apophis have survived the crash? It is extremely unlikely that his personal shield was powerful enough to survive the destruction of the ship, let alone allow him to survive a fall through the atmosphere and to the surface. Could he have walked to the transport rings or a Stargate? Anything is possible in the Stargate universe, and Apophis has returned from the dead before ("Jolinar's Memories"). But there has been no evidence thus far that a Goa'uld can walk around while his personal force shield is activated.

    Apophis has been presumed dead by the S.G.C. three times before, though each time we either saw him escape or were told of the possibility that he might return. He escaped through the on-board Stargate before his ship was destroyed over Earth ("The Serpent's Lair"); Martouf warned that Sokar could bring him back to life with a sarcophagus after his death in the S.G.C. infirmary ("Serpent's Song"); and he used the rings on Sokar's mothership to escape to the planet Delmak before the ship was destroyed by the explosion of the moon of Ne'tu ("The Devil You Know").
  • It is ironic that the great enemy of the advanced Asgard has helped in the struggle against the Goa'uld, by triggering events that brought SG-1 back home and destroyed Apophis' mothership – and probably killed Apophis himself. It was the Asgard who promised to help in the war against the Goa'uld when their conflict with the Replicators was over ("Small Victories").

NOTES

  • A Goa'uld Ha'tak-class mothership can travel through hyperspace at a top speed of about 32,000 times the speed of light, or 3.65 light-years per minute.
  • Apophis' larger mothership class is faster, and has more powerful weapons and shields – weapons powerful enough, in fact, to penetrate the shields of a standard Ha'tak-class mothership at full power.
  • Goa'uld transportation rings are commonly used for travel inside a ship, between decks – not just between two ships.
  • A ship parked in the cargo bay of a Ha'tak-class mothership is capable of transporting passengers to and from a ring room located elsewhere on the mothership.
  • A ship cannot exit a Goa'uld mothership while it is traveling through hyperspace. It is likely that it would be ripped apart by the transition.
  • Goa'uld motherships use sub-light engines to decelerate after exiting hyperspace.
  • On the standard layout for a Ha'tak-class mothership, there is a cargo bay only some 30 seconds from the engineering section.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

  • Teal'cTeal'c - After Tanith delivered a mortally-wounded Teal'c to Apophis, his former master, the Goa'uld revived Teal'c with a sarcophagus – then proceeded to brainwash him. Convinced that Apophis is a true god, Teal'c resumed his former position as Apophis' First Prime. He claims that he has never ceased to be in the service of Apophis over these last four years, and saved O'Neill's life many times when he would have rather watched him die.

    Even after being rescued by SG-1, and even after the death of Apophis, Teal'c refused to change his mind. He does not believe that Apophis is really dead, since "a god cannot be killed."
  • ApophisApophis - After brainwashing the traitor Teal'c and sadistically reinstating him as his First Prime, Apophis fell victim to a power he could not find a way to combat: the Replicators. With all his Jaffa dead and Teal'c captured by SG-1, Apophis stood alone, helpless on the bridge of the ship as it crashed into his homeworld of Delmak. He is presumed dead.
  • Jack O'NeillJack O'Neill - Jack struggled to come to terms with the death of his friend and his own inability to stop it, believing that he should have seen the ambush coming (he knew there were hostiles on Vorash) and that his best efforts were still not enough. He has lost people under his command before, and he has been left behind on missions before ("The Gamekeeper," "A Matter of Time").

    O'Neill was overjoyed to see Teal'c alive and well, but their reunion was bittersweet: Teal'c turned on him and declared himself a servant of Apophis, even threatening to make O'Neill host to his symbiote when it matured. Perhaps Jack believes that it would have been better had Teal'c not been revived at all.

    In the end, Jack demonstrated that he was willing to risk his friend's life by shooting him, rather than leave him to Apophis' control. He shot him in the chest, much as he shot Carter with a zat gun – effectively killing her – when she was possessed by an alien entity ("Entity").
  • Jacob CarterJacob Carter - Jacob/Selmak was declared a fallen war hero by the Tok'ra after it appeared that he did not survive the destruction of Vorash's sun. But he took control of the situation and helped SG-1 find a way out, even in the midst of an angry Apophis and a swarm of Replicators. Jacob truly saved the day.

    It's interesting to notice that Jacob was in control of his body most of the time, with his Tok'ra symbiote Selmak only taking control when communicating with another ship. Selmak seems to defer to Jacob when they are on missions with SG-1.
  • Daniel JacksonDaniel Jackson - Daniel reached out to Jack after the apparent death of Teal'c, demonstrating his friendship again. He also demonstrated that he has certainly had training in the use of military weapons and combat tactics.

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

  • How large is the army of Apophis? At least a dozen Ha'tak-class motherships were destroyed in the Vorash system, plus his larger mothership. How much remains, should another Goa'uld take over after Apophis' death?
  • Was Tanith in the ejected pod? Where did he go? Was he sent somewhere by Apophis? Did he know about SG-1's plan to destroy the star? Did he travel to territory controlled by Apophis, or another System Lord?
  • Were the Replicators controlling an Asgard ship, or that of another technologically advanced race?
  • Was SG-1 in the Asgard home galaxy?
  • Can Teal'c's brainwashing be reversed?
  • Is Apophis dead? What will happen to his army?
  • Did any Replicators survive the uncontrolled entry into Delmak's atmosphere?

PRODUCTION NOTES

  • "Enemies is a terrific season opener. What I wanted to do was take our two big nemeses of the last two years and put them together, so the episode features Apophis and the Replicators with a whole load of twists that will leave our audiences gasping." (Executive producer Brad Wright, in Cult Times magazine #69)
  • "I think it's one of our best episodes ever. At the end of last season, we found ourselves on a ship in another galaxy 120 years away from home, even at top speed, and with our archenemy Apophis. Another one of our enemies, who has almost wiped us out in the past, ends up inadvertently coming to our aid, and of course, they almost wipe us out too, but we manage to escape them." (Executive producer Brad Wright, in an interview with Sci Fi Wire)
  • "We considered leaving them in Outer Space and doing a year of episodes along the lines of Star Trek: Voyager, or even better, Lost in Space. However, we didn't think the viewers would buy it, especially since we didn't have Billy Mumy, or a robot yelling, 'Danger, SG-1! Danger!'" (Director Peter DeLuise, in TV Zone Special #42 [July 2001])
  • "'Enemies' was a script that we all worked on and, I think, it's one of our best episodes yet. We took our two most powerful adversaries from the past two seasons, Apopis and the replicator bugs, and put them at each others' throats. Of course, poor SG-1 has to deal with both antagonists. If you're looking for an action-packed adventure, this is the one for you." (Executive producer Brad Wright, in TV Zone Special #42 [July 2001])
  • "I remember calling Joel Goldsmith [music composer] and discussing the music for this episode. Usually, there are natural spots in a scene where the music begins and ends. Sometimes there will be a little dead space or dry spot in the middle where you let the scene play out. For 'Enemies,' I said to Joel, 'After the opening credits, jump on in, and then right before the end credits, jump out.' That's pretty much how things went. All that action required lots of music." (Executive producer Robert C. Cooper, in TV Zone Special #42 [July 2001])
  • "Apophis is dead. That said, this is sci-fi and who knows what the future holds. I just know what the near future holds." (Writer/producer Joseph Mallozzi, in an online chat with the Sam/Jack Horsewomen)
  • "I always found it interesting that, whenever certain fans took issue with a creative decision, they would always blame T.P.T.B. (The Powers That Be) as if we were one giant, multi-headed monster. In truth, we're individual little monsters who have had our share of disagreements over the years on everything from wardrobe decisions to major character arcs. Season Four had seen its share of minor debates, but this episode stands out as the first big blowout. I don't even recall exactly what was being disputed; I only remember it had to do with story structure. That and being really impassioned and, ultimately, very annoyed. In the end, Paul and I handed off the episode to Rob and shifted focus to another script, 'The Fifth Man' – and 'Enemies' turned out to be a terrific episode.

    "Also, FYI – the working title for this one was 'Serpent's Hat.' Don't ask." (Writer/producer Joseph Mallozzi, in a post at his blog)