0310 Forever in a Day recap
Break our hearts, SG-1, why don't you?
Forever In A Day transcript
We are plunged directly into a firefight. SG teams and Jaffa are all over the place. Jack uses C4 to blow the door of a holding pen, releasing captive Abydons.
Kasuf rushes out and tells Daniel that she did it in order to take "the boy" - Sha're's child. Daniel turns, sees a pavilion in the distance... and Amaunet. He heads toward her.
He kills a Jaffa guard (who is standing about three feet away from his wife - fanon writers who think Daniel has no weapon skills should take note). Teal'c, sent by Jack to guard Daniel's six, kills the second guard; but before he can do more, a new wave of Jaffa appears over the hill, and Teal'c is forced to turn and help defend the other SG teams.
(A moment's pause is necessary to admire the sheer awesomeness of Jack and Sam in full military mode, blowing up Jaffa with cool efficiency.)
Daniel, with a reloaded clip, enters the pavilion and confronts Amaunet at gunpoint, demanding to know where she's taken the boy.
"Where you and the System Lords can never find him," she declares. Teal'c's ploy in Secrets apparently worked, since Amaunet assumes the SGC is working with Heru'ur.
Amaunet raises her hand with the ribbon device, ignoring Daniel's gun, and zaps him.
"No, Sha're, fight it," Daniel begs, even as he's driven to his knees.
"My host cannot help you." Cool arch of the eyebrow.
We see, for the first time, the close-up of Amaunet's hand focused on Daniel, the concentrated glow of her eyes.
Time slows, as Daniel croaks, "Sha're..."
And Teal'c bursts into the tent, his eyes taking in the scene.
He primes the staff weapon...
Again, that close-up of Amaunet.
Teal'c's eyes flicker to Daniel...
Daniel's gun slips from his frozen fingers...
And time stops.
Credits.
Daniel slowly awakens, confused, in the infirmary. Janet, George, Sam, and Jack are next to his bed. Teal'c is withdrawn, standing in the doorway. They gently prompt his memory, until Jack quietly says, "She's dead, Daniel."
Teal'c explains that he did it to save Daniel's life. Daniel is sure Amaunet's Jaffa will revive her in a sarcophagus. Exchange of glances, and Hammond asks if Daniel is well enough to be taken out of the infirmary. Janet allows it with the IV and a wheelchair.
They meet Kasuf in the halls. Daniel insists that Sha're will be revived by the "demon inside," but Jack says, "Not this time. I'm sorry." They reach their destination - the morgue - and the attendant uncovers Sha're's face.
Daniel stands and leans over his wife's body. He asked why they didn't leave her for the Jaffa, but they explain there was no one left to take her to a sarcophagus. (Kasuf is a class act, as always, thanking Jack for those Abydons he did save.) Daniel accuses Teal'c of firing too soon. Teal'c regrets her death, but says he would do it again if need be, to save Daniel's life.
Daniel slumps back into the wheelchair, knowing his wife is dead.
Sam comes to visit him, and a thousand fanfics with chocolate walnut cookies are born. Daniel considers a ballpoint pen and talks about Sha're - how the smallest things were a wonder to her, but with all the wonders at their disposal, he couldn't save her. They talk a little longer, and then Daniel says he's going to try and sleep.
Eyes close. Eyes open on a bright flare of light and pain -
Amaunet's hand focused on Daniel, the concentrated glow of her eyes.
"Hear me, Danyel..."
Daniel awakens and focuses on the first person in his line of vision - Sha're herself, calling excitedly to tell Janet that Daniel's awake. Confused, Daniel answers Janet's questions - "Daniel Jackson, July 8th" - and vaguely hears the team (plus Kasuf) explain that Amaunet zapped him, Teal'c shot Sha're to save him... and they took Sha're straight to the Tok'ra, who had a captured sarcophagus and were able to revive her and remove Amaunet. Sha're and Daniel are too busy touching each other's faces to really pay attention, and the smiling team withdraws to give them time alone.
"Daniel," Sha're says, "I only came to tell you about the boy."
"What about him?" Daniel asks.
Sha're's face changes, she looks pained... and then, without warning, she's sucked into the wall.
Daniel awakens again. Janet asks, "Are you okay?"
"No," he says flatly. Then, "Is Sha're here?"
Janet hesitates, then says they haven't taken her body to Abydos yet. Daniel's back to a dead wife.
We get Daniel in his existential sweater ™ (albeit with turtleneck underneath) as he comes to Hammond's office and tenders his resignation: "I joined this program so I can find my wife. I found her. End of story."
Jack wanders into Daniel's office and plays with various artifacts as Daniel continues to pack his things. We learn that Robert Rothman, Daniel's research assistant back when he was doing his dissertation, has taken his place on SG-1. Jack argues that Daniel can't really leave - the SGC is too important, he can't walk away from the wonders of the Gate, and anyway, he'd miss Jack.
Daniel dryly says, "Yes, all the sulky, bad-tempered insults, all the illogical arguments."
Jack shrugs and qualifies, "Okay, you'll miss Carter and Teal'c."
Daniel pauses a little too long. "I'll miss Carter." But he can't walk through the Stargate any longer, with that emptiness where the hope of finding Sha're used to be.
Daniel carries a box down a hallway towards the elevator. Teal'c stands in front of the closed doors. Daniel coolly asks him to get out of the way.
"Is there not some form of human ritual," Teal'c says with dignity, "in which I may ask your forgiveness?"
"No," Daniel says flatly. He steps around Teal'c and enters the elevator. We see that little twitch in Teal'c's jaw as the doors close.
The scene shifts to Daniel's apartment, where the last of his boxes are unloaded. Jack's looking good in a leather jacket; Sam has a nice leather coat. Daniel tells them he'll go somewhere "far away - the most remote dig I can find." He'll see them again at the funeral. Sam and Jack both give Daniel a good-bye hug: "It's been a pleasure doing business with you... Doctor Jackson."
(Oddly, that last shot of Daniel looks a lot like Chris Reeve playing Clark Kent.)
We then see Daniel asleep in his big double bed. A red light plays on his face, and he opens his eyes, squinting -
Amaunet's hand focused on Daniel, the concentrated glow of her eyes.
"Hear me, Danyel..."
He awakens and turns on the bedside light. Sha're, clad in a negligee with her hair loose, sits up next to him in bed and asks, "Are you ill, my husband?"
"Apparently," Daniel says, staring at her.
"Go back to sleep," she soothes him, gently patting his chest. "Tomorrow you will rise and return to your travels through the chappa'ai."
"No, I won't," he says dreamily, playing with her hair. "I won't need to any more. I've already found you."
"You must continue," she insists, "so you can find the boy."
"Where is he?" Daniel asks.
But Sha're won't answer. "To continue your travels, you must first forgive Teal'c," she insists. "He did what is right."
Daniel's face hardens a little. "When he killed you."
"Yes."
"But you're here."
"Yes," she says, smiling a little. "Now, go back to sleep." She caresses his face, and he turns away from her, drifting off.
His eyes open again, and he turns back to see the bed is as empty as it ever was.
The scene shifts to Abydos, and a beautifully moving funeral which is only improved for me by my absolute ignorance of Ancient Egyptian. (quarryquest will be doing some meta on this.) Daniel's side is represented by Sam, Jack, Janet, and Hammond - and, very noticeably, not Teal'c.
As the ceremony ends and the body is covered with sand, Kasuf tells Daniel that he still has not heard Sha're. He commands Daniel to "go to her." Daniel walks around the tent and Sha're suddenly appears behind him, clad in Abydon robes.
"Daniel, you must forgive Teal'c," she insists.
"Yes, you already told me that," Daniel says dryly.
"And together, you must find the boy," Sha're continues.
When Daniel asks why, Kasuf appears behind him and declares, "For he is harcesis! The one who holds the secrets."
"The boy is the son of two Goa'uld hosts. He contains all the secrets of the Goa'uld," Sha're clarifies. "You must find him."
"How?" Daniel asks.
But Sha're is sucked into the landscape...
Amaunet's hand focused on Daniel, the concentrated glow of her eyes.
"Hear me, Danyel..."
Daniel awakens alone in bed again. He picks up the phone and dials.
We see SG-1 (including Robert Rothman) returning from off-world, met by Daniel in civilian clothing. A bit of banter back and forth, and Jack and Hammond and Rothman leave. Teal'c pauses and says, "It is good to see you well, Daniel Jackson."
Daniel hesitates, then calls after him, "Teal'c." Another pause, then slowly, "You did the right thing."
Teal'c silently acknowledges Daniel's words with a slight nod before walking away.
Sam and Daniel discuss the ribbon device, and Sam agrees that yes, there's a definite element of thought control and emotional focus involved, so it's possible that Sha're sent a message through the device - even though Daniel's still unsure that Sha're was even trying to send him a message, or what that message was.
Back in his apartment, Daniel discovers visitors: Jack and Kasuf (in BDUs). Jack let them in. ("You need a new lock, by the way.") Kasuf demands that Daniel continue to go through the Stargate, because Sha're wants him to - so he can find the boy.
"Forgive me, good father, how do you know that?"
"Sha're told me," Kasuf says, as if it's obvious. "Go, ask her yourself." He points to the door of Daniel's bedroom.
Daniel slowly walks to it, opens it - and walks through to the planet where they fought the Jaffa. Sha're, dressed as Amaunet, beckons him into the pavilion. He follows her in, and a sudden bright light appears as we close in on his face -
Amaunet's hand focused on Daniel, the concentrated glow of her eyes.
"Come to me, Danyel..."
Daniel awakens in bed again. He flings himself out of bed and out the door.
Teal'c is in kel no reem (one of only two scenes in the entire vision that are not from Daniel's POV) as Daniel opens the door without preamble and asks, "Am I interrupting?" Teal'c invites him in, and Daniel asks him about the harcesis. Teal'c clarifies that the Goa'uld forbid two hosts to have a child together, because their genetic memory will be passed down to their human offspring. (At one point, Teal'c calls him "Daniel" - one of only two or three times throughout the entire series.) Such children are hunted down with impunity, because they have all the knowledge and secrets of the Goa'uld.
As Daniel leaves, Teal'c stops him and says, "It pleases me greatly that once again, you value my knowledge."
Hammond's office. Jack is complaining that Rothman has two left feet and holds the team back. Daniel appears and calls Jack on his grousing - "Rothman was a two-time decathlon champion." Hammond says the only way Rothman is off the team is if Daniel comes back. To Jack's surprise, Daniel agrees - he's thought about it and is ready to return to SG-1.
Sam and Teal'c are pleased when Daniel shows up in the Gate room, suited up to join them. Rothman gives him a wry smile and hands him the GDO as he leaves.
(And just because it's vintage Jack and Rothman makes a great straight man, here's their final exchange:
"So, Bruce Jenner! Sit this one out, huh?"
"Uh, me? Why?"
"You've been reassigned to a new unit."
"Why?"
"Okay, you're being replaced."
"Why?"
"Because I'm intimidated by your intelligence. Where's the confusion here?")
They arrive on the Planet of Purple Flowers. Sam and Teal'c head in one direction, Jack and Daniel in another - and then Daniel quickly doubles back, dials, and dashes through the Stargate. (The exchange between Sam and Jack after Daniel goes through is the second bit of the vision that is not from Daniel's POV.)
Daniel is back on the planet where Sha're died. He enters the pavilion and stares at the stain on the floor where his dead wife's body lay.
Sha're speaks from behind him. "You are finally here." She explains that Amaunet took all those prisoners as a show; her real intention all along had been to snatch the harcesis child and send him into hiding with her closest aide.
Daniel asks where. Sha're starts to vanish again, but comes back. Daniel has accepted her death; he has returned to SG-1, and the support of his friends; he has forgiven Teal'c, and will still have his friendship; and he has accepted the quest. Finally, Sha're can reveal her son's location: Kheb. It is nothing but a name and a myth to Daniel, but it will have to be enough, as Sha're begs him with tears in her eyes, "Promise me you will save the child!"
"I promise," he tells her, and they share one last kiss before...
Amaunet's hand focused on Daniel, the concentrated glow of her eyes.
Daniel's gun hits the pavilion floor...
And time restarts.
Amaunet has a split second to see Teal'c standing there before he fires the fatal shot. She topples to the ground, Daniel falling right with her. The glow of Amaunet fades from Sha're's eyes.
Daniel can't stand, but he scrambles along the ground to reach her. She has just time enough to whisper, "I love you, Danyel," before she dies.
Teal'c goes down on one knee and says, "I am sorry, Daniel Jackson."
"You did the right thing, Teal'c," Daniel tells him, even as he focuses on Sha're. We get a tight look at the expression on Teal'c's face before Sam and Jack burst into the pavilion. (Why is Sam so beautiful even when her face is all smudged?) Teal'c tells them that Daniel will be fine, and we close on Daniel whispering, "I love you, too," as he caresses the face of his dead wife.
Questions:
1. The entire episode, from the moment the gun slipped through Daniel's fingers until the moment it hit the ground at the very end, takes place within Daniel's mind, in the seconds it took for that gun to fall. Is there any way to interpret this episode to suggest that the events actually took place? (There are many fanfic authors out there who maintain that Daniel did leave the SGC after Sha're's death.) If not, why is the Purple Flower Planet among the Stargates we see in Reckoning?
2. How real was the vision in Daniel's mind? Might Apophis have picked up events from the vision when he probed Daniel's brain with the memory device? Suppose Arrom had remembered the events of the vision as his real personal history when he first remembered Sha're's name in Fallen?
3. Daniel's blistered forehead is the only canonical burn in the entire show that is caused by a ribbon device. Was this a false detail provided by the vision, or the regular result of a really bad ribboning, when the victim is only seconds from death?
4. Sha're provided the vision, but Daniel's own mind and memories provided the details. How much of what we see in the vision is based on reality, rather than projection of possibilities? Do you think Robert Rothman was already part of the SGC at this point? How similar was Sha're's real funeral to the one in the vision?
5. Sha're is desperate to get Daniel to search for her son, but she loves him enough to make sure he will forgive Teal'c and still have friends and support before she tells him where to find him - even though she knew that Teal'c was standing right there, and that he might kill her before she can get the message across. How awesome is this woman, and how much would of the show's storyline would really have had to change in order to accommodate her survival and inclusion?
6. And on a lighter note: Daniel's existential sweater ™, his robes on Abydos, the red shirt, Jack's leather jacket, and Sam's leather coat: which is your favorite civilian outfit?
Forever In A Day transcript
We are plunged directly into a firefight. SG teams and Jaffa are all over the place. Jack uses C4 to blow the door of a holding pen, releasing captive Abydons.
Kasuf rushes out and tells Daniel that she did it in order to take "the boy" - Sha're's child. Daniel turns, sees a pavilion in the distance... and Amaunet. He heads toward her.
He kills a Jaffa guard (who is standing about three feet away from his wife - fanon writers who think Daniel has no weapon skills should take note). Teal'c, sent by Jack to guard Daniel's six, kills the second guard; but before he can do more, a new wave of Jaffa appears over the hill, and Teal'c is forced to turn and help defend the other SG teams.
(A moment's pause is necessary to admire the sheer awesomeness of Jack and Sam in full military mode, blowing up Jaffa with cool efficiency.)
Daniel, with a reloaded clip, enters the pavilion and confronts Amaunet at gunpoint, demanding to know where she's taken the boy.
"Where you and the System Lords can never find him," she declares. Teal'c's ploy in Secrets apparently worked, since Amaunet assumes the SGC is working with Heru'ur.
Amaunet raises her hand with the ribbon device, ignoring Daniel's gun, and zaps him.
"No, Sha're, fight it," Daniel begs, even as he's driven to his knees.
"My host cannot help you." Cool arch of the eyebrow.
We see, for the first time, the close-up of Amaunet's hand focused on Daniel, the concentrated glow of her eyes.
Time slows, as Daniel croaks, "Sha're..."
And Teal'c bursts into the tent, his eyes taking in the scene.
He primes the staff weapon...
Again, that close-up of Amaunet.
Teal'c's eyes flicker to Daniel...
Daniel's gun slips from his frozen fingers...
And time stops.
Credits.
Daniel slowly awakens, confused, in the infirmary. Janet, George, Sam, and Jack are next to his bed. Teal'c is withdrawn, standing in the doorway. They gently prompt his memory, until Jack quietly says, "She's dead, Daniel."
Teal'c explains that he did it to save Daniel's life. Daniel is sure Amaunet's Jaffa will revive her in a sarcophagus. Exchange of glances, and Hammond asks if Daniel is well enough to be taken out of the infirmary. Janet allows it with the IV and a wheelchair.
They meet Kasuf in the halls. Daniel insists that Sha're will be revived by the "demon inside," but Jack says, "Not this time. I'm sorry." They reach their destination - the morgue - and the attendant uncovers Sha're's face.
Daniel stands and leans over his wife's body. He asked why they didn't leave her for the Jaffa, but they explain there was no one left to take her to a sarcophagus. (Kasuf is a class act, as always, thanking Jack for those Abydons he did save.) Daniel accuses Teal'c of firing too soon. Teal'c regrets her death, but says he would do it again if need be, to save Daniel's life.
Daniel slumps back into the wheelchair, knowing his wife is dead.
Sam comes to visit him, and a thousand fanfics with chocolate walnut cookies are born. Daniel considers a ballpoint pen and talks about Sha're - how the smallest things were a wonder to her, but with all the wonders at their disposal, he couldn't save her. They talk a little longer, and then Daniel says he's going to try and sleep.
Eyes close. Eyes open on a bright flare of light and pain -
Amaunet's hand focused on Daniel, the concentrated glow of her eyes.
"Hear me, Danyel..."
Daniel awakens and focuses on the first person in his line of vision - Sha're herself, calling excitedly to tell Janet that Daniel's awake. Confused, Daniel answers Janet's questions - "Daniel Jackson, July 8th" - and vaguely hears the team (plus Kasuf) explain that Amaunet zapped him, Teal'c shot Sha're to save him... and they took Sha're straight to the Tok'ra, who had a captured sarcophagus and were able to revive her and remove Amaunet. Sha're and Daniel are too busy touching each other's faces to really pay attention, and the smiling team withdraws to give them time alone.
"Daniel," Sha're says, "I only came to tell you about the boy."
"What about him?" Daniel asks.
Sha're's face changes, she looks pained... and then, without warning, she's sucked into the wall.
Daniel awakens again. Janet asks, "Are you okay?"
"No," he says flatly. Then, "Is Sha're here?"
Janet hesitates, then says they haven't taken her body to Abydos yet. Daniel's back to a dead wife.
We get Daniel in his existential sweater ™ (albeit with turtleneck underneath) as he comes to Hammond's office and tenders his resignation: "I joined this program so I can find my wife. I found her. End of story."
Jack wanders into Daniel's office and plays with various artifacts as Daniel continues to pack his things. We learn that Robert Rothman, Daniel's research assistant back when he was doing his dissertation, has taken his place on SG-1. Jack argues that Daniel can't really leave - the SGC is too important, he can't walk away from the wonders of the Gate, and anyway, he'd miss Jack.
Daniel dryly says, "Yes, all the sulky, bad-tempered insults, all the illogical arguments."
Jack shrugs and qualifies, "Okay, you'll miss Carter and Teal'c."
Daniel pauses a little too long. "I'll miss Carter." But he can't walk through the Stargate any longer, with that emptiness where the hope of finding Sha're used to be.
Daniel carries a box down a hallway towards the elevator. Teal'c stands in front of the closed doors. Daniel coolly asks him to get out of the way.
"Is there not some form of human ritual," Teal'c says with dignity, "in which I may ask your forgiveness?"
"No," Daniel says flatly. He steps around Teal'c and enters the elevator. We see that little twitch in Teal'c's jaw as the doors close.
The scene shifts to Daniel's apartment, where the last of his boxes are unloaded. Jack's looking good in a leather jacket; Sam has a nice leather coat. Daniel tells them he'll go somewhere "far away - the most remote dig I can find." He'll see them again at the funeral. Sam and Jack both give Daniel a good-bye hug: "It's been a pleasure doing business with you... Doctor Jackson."
(Oddly, that last shot of Daniel looks a lot like Chris Reeve playing Clark Kent.)
We then see Daniel asleep in his big double bed. A red light plays on his face, and he opens his eyes, squinting -
Amaunet's hand focused on Daniel, the concentrated glow of her eyes.
"Hear me, Danyel..."
He awakens and turns on the bedside light. Sha're, clad in a negligee with her hair loose, sits up next to him in bed and asks, "Are you ill, my husband?"
"Apparently," Daniel says, staring at her.
"Go back to sleep," she soothes him, gently patting his chest. "Tomorrow you will rise and return to your travels through the chappa'ai."
"No, I won't," he says dreamily, playing with her hair. "I won't need to any more. I've already found you."
"You must continue," she insists, "so you can find the boy."
"Where is he?" Daniel asks.
But Sha're won't answer. "To continue your travels, you must first forgive Teal'c," she insists. "He did what is right."
Daniel's face hardens a little. "When he killed you."
"Yes."
"But you're here."
"Yes," she says, smiling a little. "Now, go back to sleep." She caresses his face, and he turns away from her, drifting off.
His eyes open again, and he turns back to see the bed is as empty as it ever was.
The scene shifts to Abydos, and a beautifully moving funeral which is only improved for me by my absolute ignorance of Ancient Egyptian. (quarryquest will be doing some meta on this.) Daniel's side is represented by Sam, Jack, Janet, and Hammond - and, very noticeably, not Teal'c.
As the ceremony ends and the body is covered with sand, Kasuf tells Daniel that he still has not heard Sha're. He commands Daniel to "go to her." Daniel walks around the tent and Sha're suddenly appears behind him, clad in Abydon robes.
"Daniel, you must forgive Teal'c," she insists.
"Yes, you already told me that," Daniel says dryly.
"And together, you must find the boy," Sha're continues.
When Daniel asks why, Kasuf appears behind him and declares, "For he is harcesis! The one who holds the secrets."
"The boy is the son of two Goa'uld hosts. He contains all the secrets of the Goa'uld," Sha're clarifies. "You must find him."
"How?" Daniel asks.
But Sha're is sucked into the landscape...
Amaunet's hand focused on Daniel, the concentrated glow of her eyes.
"Hear me, Danyel..."
Daniel awakens alone in bed again. He picks up the phone and dials.
We see SG-1 (including Robert Rothman) returning from off-world, met by Daniel in civilian clothing. A bit of banter back and forth, and Jack and Hammond and Rothman leave. Teal'c pauses and says, "It is good to see you well, Daniel Jackson."
Daniel hesitates, then calls after him, "Teal'c." Another pause, then slowly, "You did the right thing."
Teal'c silently acknowledges Daniel's words with a slight nod before walking away.
Sam and Daniel discuss the ribbon device, and Sam agrees that yes, there's a definite element of thought control and emotional focus involved, so it's possible that Sha're sent a message through the device - even though Daniel's still unsure that Sha're was even trying to send him a message, or what that message was.
Back in his apartment, Daniel discovers visitors: Jack and Kasuf (in BDUs). Jack let them in. ("You need a new lock, by the way.") Kasuf demands that Daniel continue to go through the Stargate, because Sha're wants him to - so he can find the boy.
"Forgive me, good father, how do you know that?"
"Sha're told me," Kasuf says, as if it's obvious. "Go, ask her yourself." He points to the door of Daniel's bedroom.
Daniel slowly walks to it, opens it - and walks through to the planet where they fought the Jaffa. Sha're, dressed as Amaunet, beckons him into the pavilion. He follows her in, and a sudden bright light appears as we close in on his face -
Amaunet's hand focused on Daniel, the concentrated glow of her eyes.
"Come to me, Danyel..."
Daniel awakens in bed again. He flings himself out of bed and out the door.
Teal'c is in kel no reem (one of only two scenes in the entire vision that are not from Daniel's POV) as Daniel opens the door without preamble and asks, "Am I interrupting?" Teal'c invites him in, and Daniel asks him about the harcesis. Teal'c clarifies that the Goa'uld forbid two hosts to have a child together, because their genetic memory will be passed down to their human offspring. (At one point, Teal'c calls him "Daniel" - one of only two or three times throughout the entire series.) Such children are hunted down with impunity, because they have all the knowledge and secrets of the Goa'uld.
As Daniel leaves, Teal'c stops him and says, "It pleases me greatly that once again, you value my knowledge."
Hammond's office. Jack is complaining that Rothman has two left feet and holds the team back. Daniel appears and calls Jack on his grousing - "Rothman was a two-time decathlon champion." Hammond says the only way Rothman is off the team is if Daniel comes back. To Jack's surprise, Daniel agrees - he's thought about it and is ready to return to SG-1.
Sam and Teal'c are pleased when Daniel shows up in the Gate room, suited up to join them. Rothman gives him a wry smile and hands him the GDO as he leaves.
(And just because it's vintage Jack and Rothman makes a great straight man, here's their final exchange:
"So, Bruce Jenner! Sit this one out, huh?"
"Uh, me? Why?"
"You've been reassigned to a new unit."
"Why?"
"Okay, you're being replaced."
"Why?"
"Because I'm intimidated by your intelligence. Where's the confusion here?")
They arrive on the Planet of Purple Flowers. Sam and Teal'c head in one direction, Jack and Daniel in another - and then Daniel quickly doubles back, dials, and dashes through the Stargate. (The exchange between Sam and Jack after Daniel goes through is the second bit of the vision that is not from Daniel's POV.)
Daniel is back on the planet where Sha're died. He enters the pavilion and stares at the stain on the floor where his dead wife's body lay.
Sha're speaks from behind him. "You are finally here." She explains that Amaunet took all those prisoners as a show; her real intention all along had been to snatch the harcesis child and send him into hiding with her closest aide.
Daniel asks where. Sha're starts to vanish again, but comes back. Daniel has accepted her death; he has returned to SG-1, and the support of his friends; he has forgiven Teal'c, and will still have his friendship; and he has accepted the quest. Finally, Sha're can reveal her son's location: Kheb. It is nothing but a name and a myth to Daniel, but it will have to be enough, as Sha're begs him with tears in her eyes, "Promise me you will save the child!"
"I promise," he tells her, and they share one last kiss before...
Amaunet's hand focused on Daniel, the concentrated glow of her eyes.
Daniel's gun hits the pavilion floor...
And time restarts.
Amaunet has a split second to see Teal'c standing there before he fires the fatal shot. She topples to the ground, Daniel falling right with her. The glow of Amaunet fades from Sha're's eyes.
Daniel can't stand, but he scrambles along the ground to reach her. She has just time enough to whisper, "I love you, Danyel," before she dies.
Teal'c goes down on one knee and says, "I am sorry, Daniel Jackson."
"You did the right thing, Teal'c," Daniel tells him, even as he focuses on Sha're. We get a tight look at the expression on Teal'c's face before Sam and Jack burst into the pavilion. (Why is Sam so beautiful even when her face is all smudged?) Teal'c tells them that Daniel will be fine, and we close on Daniel whispering, "I love you, too," as he caresses the face of his dead wife.
Questions:
1. The entire episode, from the moment the gun slipped through Daniel's fingers until the moment it hit the ground at the very end, takes place within Daniel's mind, in the seconds it took for that gun to fall. Is there any way to interpret this episode to suggest that the events actually took place? (There are many fanfic authors out there who maintain that Daniel did leave the SGC after Sha're's death.) If not, why is the Purple Flower Planet among the Stargates we see in Reckoning?
2. How real was the vision in Daniel's mind? Might Apophis have picked up events from the vision when he probed Daniel's brain with the memory device? Suppose Arrom had remembered the events of the vision as his real personal history when he first remembered Sha're's name in Fallen?
3. Daniel's blistered forehead is the only canonical burn in the entire show that is caused by a ribbon device. Was this a false detail provided by the vision, or the regular result of a really bad ribboning, when the victim is only seconds from death?
4. Sha're provided the vision, but Daniel's own mind and memories provided the details. How much of what we see in the vision is based on reality, rather than projection of possibilities? Do you think Robert Rothman was already part of the SGC at this point? How similar was Sha're's real funeral to the one in the vision?
5. Sha're is desperate to get Daniel to search for her son, but she loves him enough to make sure he will forgive Teal'c and still have friends and support before she tells him where to find him - even though she knew that Teal'c was standing right there, and that he might kill her before she can get the message across. How awesome is this woman, and how much would of the show's storyline would really have had to change in order to accommodate her survival and inclusion?
6. And on a lighter note: Daniel's existential sweater ™, his robes on Abydos, the red shirt, Jack's leather jacket, and Sam's leather coat: which is your favorite civilian outfit?