New ‘Avalon’ details reveal premiere’s plot

The plot of the ninth season premiere of Stargate SG-1 has remained largely a mystery, with only scant details emerging over the last several months. Now GateWorld has received new information from our friends at Sony that finally sheds light on the story of “Avalon.”

Beware of spoilers!

Here’s how “Avalon, Part 1” is described:

SG-1’s newest member, Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell (Ben Browder), arrives on his first day to find that Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping), Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks), and Teal’c (Christopher Judge) have all taken on new assignments. With no one available to lead SG-1, General Hank Landry (Beau Bridges), the new head of Stargate Command, appoints a stunned Mitchell to the position.

Complicating matters for Mitchell is the sudden return of the beautiful thief Vala (Claudia Black). Motivated, as usual, by her insatiable appetite for ill-gotten gain, Vala has come armed with a stolen tablet that she is convinced holds the secret to a buried treasure — but she needs Daniel’s expertise to decipher its message. Against his better judgment, Daniel acquiesces to Mitchell’s request to meet with her.

Unfortunately, the tablet isn’t the only thing Vala has stolen. She has also brought along a bit of insurance — two ancient bracelets that Teal’c explains were once used by the Jaffa to bind themselves to prisoners to keep them from escaping. Before he has a chance to argue, Vala clamps one of the bracelets onto Daniel’s wrist and the other onto her own. When Dr. Lee (Bill Dow) is unable to remove the shackles, Jackson wearily complies with Vala’s request and cracks the tablet’s code. His findings lead the pair, along with Mitchell and Teal’c, on an expedition deep underground to an ancient cave.

When they find themselves trapped below the earth, with the treasure just out of reach, another series of complicated riddles may prevent them from uncovering the treasure — or from getting out alive!

And in “Avalon, Part 2”:

Still bound to one another by the Jaffa bracelets, Daniel Jackson and Vala are transported to a distant galaxy populated by worshippers of a strange and potentially threatening authority.

During the excavation of the treasure he helped uncover, Daniel finds a set of books written by the Ancients. Besides providing evidence that the history of the highly advanced civilization may stretch even deeper back in time and even farther away, the books describe a unique device used for intergalactic communication. When the excavation crew uncovers the device, Daniel, ever eager to uncover the secrets of the Ancients and excited by the possibility of visiting galaxies beyond the realm of the Stargates, decides at once to test the machine.

Within seconds, he and Vala — who are still bound to one another by the Jaffa bracelets — drop to the ground, unconscious. Alarmed, Mitchell puts them under medical supervision. However, unbeknownst to anyone on Stargate Command, Daniel and Vala have been transported to an unfamiliar village inhabited by devout worshippers of the mysterious Ori — all-powerful and unforgiving beings who demand immediate persecution of any and all detractors.

To make matters worse, Daniel and Vala soon discover that they have inhabited the bodies of two villagers already under scrutiny for seditious behavior. Can Daniel and Vala convince the villagers of their true identity before the people they inhabit are burned at the stake?

“Avalon, Part 1” makes its world premiere on Friday, July 15 at 8 p.m. Eastern/Pacific on The SCI FI Channel! Part 2 follows on July 22. Visit GateWorld’s Season Nine episode guide to learn more.