The Shroud

Summary | Questions | Production | Fan Reviews

When SG-1 discovers that Daniel Jackson has been turned into a Prior of the Ori, they must determine whether or not his plan to destroy the Ori is genuine.

RATINGS SCORECARD
OUR RATING -
FAN RATING - 9.28 
NIELSEN - 1.2 
EPISODE #1014
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: 05.04.2007
SYNDICATION AIR DATE: 02.04.2008
DVD DISC: Season 10, Disc 4
STORY BY: Robert C. Cooper & Brad Wright
TELEPLAY BY: Robert C. Cooper
DIRECTED BY: Andy Mikita
GUEST STARS: Morena Baccarin (Adria), Robert Picardo (Richard Woolsey), Christopher Gaze (Tevaris), Richard Dean Anderson (Jack O'Neill)
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Cameron Mitchell, Samantha Carter, Teal'c, and Vala Mal Doran visit another world, where yet another village of humans has been approached by a Prior of the Ori. They talk with the village leader, Tevaris, who explains that a Prior has recently visited them and spoke persuasively about the Ori religion. The team is curious to learn from Tevaris that this particular Prior has yet to make any threats that the village will face death and destruction if they refuse to follow Origin. Instead, he is using a "soft sell" method of evangelism, sharing only the benefits and positive merits of Origin as the one true path to salvation.

When it is announced that the Prior has returned for their answer, SG-1 takes cover to hide from him. The shrouded man walks into the village and asks Tevaris for his answer. At first SG-1 cannot see his face, but when they do they are stunned: With the white hair, a pale face, and milky eyes of a transformed Prior, it is Daniel Jackson ...

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

  • How did Daniel learn which planet SG-1 was going to be on, in order to arrange for his capture?
  • How did Vala know how to finish assembling Merlin's anti-Ori weapon?
  • Will Earth attempt to reestablish the connection from the Pegasus Galaxy to the Supergate?
  • Did Merlin's weapon work? Have any or all of the Ori been destroyed?
  • Did Adria survive the weapon's detonation? Would it have any impact on her, as a human who was sired by the ascended Ori?
  • Even if the Ori have been destroyed, would their human followers even know about it? Are their military forces now under Adria's control, with no accountability to the Ori themselves?
  • What could convince the Ori's followers to stop their bloody campaign?

PRODUCTION NOTES

  • Production Error: When Jack O'Neill first appears in the S.G.C. conference room he is wearing two stars on his collar – one more than his rank of Brigadier General allows. When the scene shifts to the Odyssey, the General is correctly wearing one star.
  • "We've been kicking around a potentially very controversial Daniel arc for Season Ten." (Executive producer Joseph Mallozzi, in a message at GateWorld Forum)
  • "Something happens to Daniel that sends him on a strange journey. So that was kind of fun to play. You get to see the darker side of Daniel and play with that portion of the latter half of the season ... he comes back and is kind of a villain." (Actor Michael Shanks, in an interview with IGN.com)
  • "There's a scene where Michael [Shanks, "Daniel Jackson"] as a Prior lifts Woolsey off the ground telekinetically, so they did a cool gag. They poured apple juice down Robert Picardo's pant leg to make it look like he'd peed himself because he was so scared. Alas, that didn't make in the final cut because of those 'assassins' (Andy's word for TPTB and their editing decisions) but apparently it would have been pretty cool. I'm going to go out on a limb here and side with the assassins on this one." (Script coordinator Alex Levine, in his blog at SciFi.com)
  • "The original plan had been to have Daniel go Dark Side and play out his descent, turn, and ultimate redemption over the course of several episodes. In fact, in its original, multi-episode version, this story would have demonstrated a much, much darker Daniel – but it was ultimately decided that making him too dark, regardless of the circumstances, would have damaged the character so the decision was made to make his turn to the Dark Side a little more uncertain. I don't know. I've always wanted to explore the theme of redemption with these characters, push them to the line – and beyond – and then bring them back and have them suffer the consequences, because, in the end, its their emotional response to these consequences that creates drama and explores hitherto uncharted facets of their personalities.

    "The reveal of the pale, milk-eyed Daniel stands as one of the top ten Stargate tease-outs ever. Hmmm. Now that I think of it, that could form the basis of a future top ten: My Top 10 Favorite Stargate Tease Outs! File that one away for a future blog entry.

    "Anyway, a terrific Daniel Jackson episode that sees the return of Jack O'Neill and one final, glorious in-series reunion between the two best friends.

    "There's a scene in the episode in which Woolsey (played by the marvelous Robert Picardo) is telekinetically lifted off the ground. Director Andy Mikita dribbled apple juice down Bob's pant leg to suggest Woolsey was so frightened, he'd actually peed himself. Alas, the urine didn't make the final cut. Hmmm. There's one of those lines you rarely see." (Executive producer Joseph Mallozzi, in a post at his blog)
  • "Just before we wrapped for the show's summer hiatus we did an episode called 'The Shroud' that picks up after the end of 'The Quest' where something bad happens to Daniel. It's one of those stories where a lot of people have asked me, 'Is he really bad or is he just kind of playing bad?' I'll leave that up to you to decide when you see the episode." (Actor Michael Shanks, in an interview with Steve Eramo)