GateWorld - Stargate SG-1 Season Three: "Forever In a Day"

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RATINGS SCORECARD
GATEWORLD - * * * 1/2
FAN POLL - 6.50
SYNDICATION RATING - 3.0 / 3.1

Season Ratings

EPISODE NUMBER - 310
DVD DISC - Season 3, Disc 3
ORIGINAL U.S. AIR DATE - 10.08.99
SYNDICATION AIR DATE - 11.27.00
WRITTEN BY - Jonathan Glassner
DIRECTED BY - Peter DeLuise
GUEST STARRING - Erick Avari (Kasuf), Vaitiare Bandera (Sha're), Jason Schombing (Rothman)

Jackson deals with the apparent death of his wife, Sha're, at the hands of Teal'c.

When SG-1 arrives on a world to free a group of captured Abydonians, including Kasuf. They quickly discover that the Abydonians' captor is the Goa'uld Amonet -- bride of Apophis, who has possessed the body of Daniel's wife, Sha're. While SG-1 frees the Abydonians and battles the Jaffa forces, Daniel pursues Amonet into her tent. He tries to speak with his wife, but quickly finds himself on his knees at the receiving end of a Goa'uld hand device.

Teal'c appears and, seeing the mortal danger Daniel is in, fires his staff weapon, killing Amonet and Sha're. The group returns to Earth, and Daniel is in sorrow. He does not speak to Teal'c. At first, Daniel refuses to believe that Sha're is truly dead -- until Colonel O'Neill brings him to the morgue and shows him her body. There were no Jaffa remaining to take her to a sarcophagus, they tell Jackson.

When Daniel next awakens, Sha're is at his side. The Goa'uld parasite within her is gone, and she has been restored to him! Daniel wonders which reality he has now experienced is the truth. As he moves back and forth, being assured that she is dead and then seeing her alive, real, Daniel slowly hears the message that Sha're is telling him: "You must forgive Teal'c."

Daniel finally acknowledges that she is dead, but struggles with the fact that he mustforgive Teal'c -- and that he must find Amonet's son, the son of Apophis. The child is aHarcesis, the offspring of a forbidden Goa'uld union, who carries all the knowledge and secrets of the Goa'uld.

Finally, Daniel and his team return to Abydos to bury Sha're. He resigns from the S.G.C., since his reason for being a part of it is over. But when Sha're returns to him in his sleep, Daniel gets an idea: he rejoins the team and embarks on a mission with SG-1. After arriving on a new alien world, Daniel darts off and through the Stargate. He returns to the planet where Sha're was found, to the tent where she was killed. Through his visions of her, this is where Sha're has been telling him to go.

She is there, waiting for him. Jackson comes to realize that he must forgive Teal'c forwhat he has done, and that he has a new mission -- find the boy. Soon we see that, in fact,no time has passed at all. Daniel is still kneeling before Amonet, as Teal'c fires hisstaff weapon to kill her.

Broken free of the hand device, Daniel collapses next to Sha're's body and tells Teal'c,"You did the right thing." He is convinced that Sha're communicated with him through thehand device, asking that he promise to find her son -- and to say goodbye.

ANALYSIS

Amonet/Sha're returned to Abydos in order to locate her stolen child. Amonetpreviously had told Apophis that the child had been stolen by Heru'ur ("Secrets"), but may have discovered from her host (Sha're) that the child was being kept by the Abydonians. Amonet enslaved the people of Abydos tohide her true purpose from Heru'ur -- she was looking for her son.

The child that Daniel and Teal'c delivered is the son of Apophis and Amonet. He is a Harcesis, a rare child born when two Goa'uld hosts mate (the practice is forbidden) ratherthan producing Goa'uld larva offspring, incubated within the Jaffa. Each Goa'uld retains the genetic memory of its predecessors; but a Harcesis is a human born with that Goa'uldgenetic memory and knowledge. Now that Sha're is dead, finding the child is Daniel'sprimary motivation.

The son of Apophis and Amonet has been taken from Abydos by one of Amonet's closesthandmaidens, to a place called "Kheb." In mythology, Kheb is the place where Osiris hid from Seth.

The Goa'uld System Lord Heru'ur may also be a Harcesis, since he is also the son oftwo Goa'uld: Ra and Hathor ("Thor's Chariot"). But this likelyrefers to his symbiote, and not to the possibility that his human host was fathered by thehost of Ra (just as Klorel is said to be the "son" of Apophis, because "he seeded the queen mother" ["Within the Serpent's Grasp"] -- that is, provided her with human DNA in order to produce larval Goa'uld that could be incubated within human Jaffa).

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

Daniel Jackson - The entire reason for Daniel to be a part of the Stargate program is now gone: his wife, Sha're, is dead. But, in her death, Sha're has given him a new purpose. He must find the child of Apophis and Amonet. The boy is a Harcesis, born of two Goa'uld and therefore possessing the genetic memory of the Goa'uld.

Daniel's date of birth is July 8.

Teal'c - Though Daniel has already forgiven him, Teal'c may be burdened by the fact that he was forced to kill Sha're. Was there no other way? Could he not have stopped her from attacking Daniel with the hand device using some means other than blasting her in the chest with his staff weapon? As in the past, Teal'c has again committed a great wrong in order to serve an even greater good (see "Children of the Gods", "Cor-Ai").

NOTES

Because the Goa'uld hand (ribbon) device is controlled in part by the emotion of theuser, the host can have some influence over it. The device can even be used to transmitdetailed thoughts from the host to the victim. How these thoughts manifest themselves inthe victim's mind may be subjective -- they are interpretted as somewhere between dreams andreality.

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

Why did Amonet/Sha're wait so long to return to Abydos? Did she want to wait untilApophis was dead, so that the fate he planned for their son (to be his next host) would notcome to pass?

How did Amonet know that the child remained on Abydos, and was not taken by Heru'ur("Secrets")?

To what degree did Sha're retain control over herself? Amonet glanced at the hiding SG-1 in "Secrets," but did not reveal their position to Apophis. Might this indicate that Sha're was not entirely buried by Amonet (as Skaara fought for control against Klorel in "The Serpent's Lair")?

Why did Teal'c not mention that the newborn child was a Harcesis a year ago ("Secrets")? Did it slip his mind? Teal'c was, after all, highly motivated to bring Sha're back to Earth and make use of her access to the Goa'uld genetic memory. Why leave her child on Abydos?

Were the frequent appearances by Sha're actually attempts to contact Daniel, or justfigments of his own imagination? If the former, why did she not try to deliver her messagethe first time he saw her?

What will SG-1 do with Sha're's body? Will she be given an Abydonian burial, as shewas in Daniel's vision? Taken to the Tok'ra to be brought back to life (if they even have asarcophagus -- doubtful, considering the fact that they refuse to use them)? Or left inhopes that a Jaffa will come to Abydos, find her and take her to a sarcophagus?