Stargate SG-1 9.3: "Origin"

Written by Robert C. Cooper
Directed by Brad Turner

In which Daniel and Vala meet with the Priory of the Ori, and discover that their attempt to contact relatives of the Ancients may not have been the best of plans, when the Priors come calling to Earth…


This is essentially the end of the long process of “passing the torch”, which was, I suppose, an inevitable storytelling concern. I like the fact that they allow the new characters to establish themselves first before having O’Neill show up and give his own brand of approval. It actually feels a bit intrusive when he walks in the door, and that tells me that the writers have made their case for the new team.

So this is the beginning of a new direction in the “Stargate” mythology. Actually, it feels like an organic extension of what has come before, especially in light of what’s been happening in the Pegasus Galaxy. The Ancients (Altera, Alterans, whatever) started out as these great enlightened folk, but over the past several seasons, their motives and choices have been seriously questioned.

Enter the Ori (nice play on the word “origin”!), who seem to have taken the whole “holier than thou” thing to a whole new level. As the characters point out constantly in this episode, the Ori are even worse than the snakeheads, because in a lot of ways, the Ori have all the hallmarks of gods. There must be a weakness, but it’s certainly not evident at this point. And thanks to the usual “Stargate” method of taking all possible precautions, Daniel hands the Ori a whole new galaxy to convert or annihilate.

Granted, it’s not all Daniel’s fault; how could he know that the Ori were assuming that their brethren back in the Milky Way were running things with an equally iron fist? If there’s one thing that “Stargate” has underscored over the years, it’s the fact that a relatively weak alliance built on celebration of diversity will always look like a feast to much stronger totalitarian regimes.

Naturally, the new Jaffa Nation would be a strong ally for the effort to contain and repel this new influx of “false gods”, but I don’t think it will be that easy. There’s the general disdain of Teal’c, for one thing, and the overwhelming sense that Gerak thinks that he ought to be given a lot more respect and authority in all matters than he really deserves. I suspect that the ongoing struggle to maintain that alliance will play in the hands of the Priory.

Several things are suggested about the Priors in this episode. First, it seems as though the Ori transform normal humans into some kind of modified servant. Those servants become the Priors, and there’s certainly a sense that there’s some mind control at work. Again, shades of the Goa’uld, but this time, the mind control is inherent, not based on a distinct parasite. Beyond that, the Priors have the resources to build ships and use gate travel to get to other galaxies without much effort. They also seem to remain in general telepathic contact with one another, possible with their relationship to the Ori at the center of it all.

While the followers of the Priory are not unlike the Jaffa in terms of their numbers and enslavement to a more powerful set of beings, the Ori trump the snakeheads in one major regard: thus far, it doesn’t look like there’s conflict between camps of Ori. The Goa’uld could be set against one another with relative ease, thus providing the alliance with a means of fighting a stronger enemy by fostering internecine warfare. While the Ancients have had a few “bad apples” like Oma running around, they tend to be rather unified in their decisions. It looks like the Ori are the same way, and that’s a problem.

So what’s the solution? Mitchell is the ostensible leader, but Daniel is definitely taking a more central role. That makes sense, given that the most obvious means of fighting the Ori would involve either his connection to the Ancients themselves or (more realistically) his ability to utilize Ancient tech when it’s discovered. They might even get to use former enemies like the remaining Goa’uld. Assuming that the series continues to have strong support, the arrival of the Ori is actually a great device for exploring the post-System Lords status quo.

I like this direction (despite some of the retreads of the “false gods” motif) because it opens the door to a deeper sense of philosophical exploration, much like the earlier seasons. There’s still plenty of the trademark cheesiness, but there’s a great chill factor to it all as well. The Doci, played by John Malkovich’s evil twin (Mr. Warlock Julian Sands, I believe), is one creepy guy, and I love how he casually dismisses Daniel’s attempt at embracing cultural differences. Mitchell is showing a bit more of the “John Crichton” personality that Browder loves to channel, but it actually makes sense, given that Mitchell is dealing with adversity through humor. It’s much like O’Neill, before he started being a bit too snarky. Now that the premiere is done and the torch has been passed, it should be interesting to see how the writers deal with the week-to-week cast integration.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 8/10