Black’s Vala returns to SG-1 … with big news

Fan favorite Claudia Black makes her return to Stargate SG-1 in next week’s episode, “Crusade,” and the sexy and manipulative Vala Mal Doran has big news. The actress shared the plot development — and her own happy news behind the camera — with TV Guide.

Beware of spoilers below!

After arriving in a village of religious fanatics devoted to the Ori, Vala learns that she is with child. She marries a kind local man after convincing him that he is the father — though Vala herself believes the child was mysteriously conceived without sexual relations.

“It’s an interesting turn for Vala,” Black told TV Guide. “She genuinely cares for the man. She does something wrong, but she must in order to survive.”

The character’s pregnancy was fortuitous, with Black herself giving birth to a child in December. “I was so worried the producers were going to be disappointed,” Black said. The actress had hoped to return to the series after her six-episode stint at the beginning of the current season — at the time filling in for series regular Amanda Tapping, who was herself on maternity leave.

As it turned out, executive producer Robert C. Cooper — who wrote and directed “Crusade” — had been thinking about bringing back Vala … and using pregnancy as a way to introduce a new villain. (Watch for that in the Season Ten premiere, “Flesh and Blood.”)

Look for the full story in the February 27 – March 5 issue of TV Guide (Oscar Preview issue)! The magazine is now arriving in subscribers’ mailboxes, and will be on newsstands later this week. The Stargate feature also includes a brief Q&A with actor Ben Browder (“Cameron Mitchell”).