10.14: The Shroud

[Dave]

The team, sans Daniel Jackson, travels to a planet which has been visited by a Prior of the Ori. The villagers aren’t sure that this Prior is as much of a threat as the team thinks he is. When the team meets the Prior, they realize why he is so very different from the rest.

A lot developed in this episode for a change. Quite a lot more had changed by the end than in the last 10 episodes.

The Prior turns out to be.... Daniel.

Spoilers follow (obviously)...

Merlin's device is ready to be assembled, but only Daniel knows how. Daniel still has Merlin inside him and also has the powers of a Prior. Adria thinks she is working for her. The SGC think he is working for them. The is he/isn't he conflict is the major plot of the story.

Daniel wants them to open the supergate to the Ori galaxy, blocked by the black hole. Supposedly that is so he can fly Merlin's weapon there and destroy the Ori. Or is it a ruse to open the supergate and let the Ori attack?

In the end, Daniel kills Adria and Merlin's weapon is sent to the Ori galaxy. Unfortunately, with the supergate still open, ship after ship of Priors and their armies come through.

In the long term, they made the right choice. In the short term, they have a more difficult task to face.

 

[Dr.Jackson]

I have to say that with all the talk of Daniel becoming a Prior, I was expecting more from this episode. Guess I just set myself up to be a little disappointed by it.
I think the whole easy resolution within the confines of the episode is my major bugbear at the moment. I'm sure that this story could have been played out over a couple of episodes to keep us guessing as to Daniels' allegiance and ultimate plan.

I don't think that any of us believed that Daniel would be a bad guy for very long, if at all. His duplicity towards Adria when he returned to activate the weapon was a ploy that I saw long before it happened, so it didn't serve its function of getting us to have second thoughts as to whether he was still on the good guys side.
It strikes me that despite the huge threat of the Ori, SG-1 seem to have had time to contract the luck virus (seen in Red Dwarf), so everything that they need is conveniently to hand, and every situation that they can get into will resolve itself in their favour.

The battle against the Ori followers (and possibly the Ori - who is to say that they have been destroyed?) should take us into 'The Ark Of Truth' movie where it will more than likely be resolved. I just hope that they are thinking outside the box with the writing, rather than SG-1 solving everything on their own, more by luck than by design.