Games - There But For the Grace of God

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	Games - There But For the Grace of God

Plot

SG-1 is exploring an alien complex on the planet P3R-233. Dr. Daniel Jackson stumbles onto an alien artifact resembling a mirror. He touches the artifact, a quantum mirror, and unknowingly enters an alternate reality. Finding the complex suddenly abandonded, Daniel concludes that the rest of SG-1 returned through the Stargate without him.

Upon his return to Earth, Daniel discovers that the SGC has suddenly become quite different. He is arrested by Colonel Hammond and is held captive. Catherine Langford confronts him and demands to know how he acquired SG-1's code to open the iris. Daniel, still believing that he is in his own reality, insists that he is a member of SG-1.

Through his encounter with Catherine, Daniel quickly discovers several differences in this reality, including the fact that he refused to work on the Stargate program when given the opportunity after one of his seminars (Stargate), and that Samantha Carter is not a member of the military, but a civilian astrophysicist assisting the Stargate Association (SGA).

When Daniel tells Catherine that she was retired and living with Ernest Littlefield, she is shocked, and confronts General Jack O'Neill, who is now commanding officer of the SGA. Daniel uses his probing knowledge of O'Neill to get his attention. When Dr. Carter enters, she explains that they "lost" Washington and Philadelphia. Asking what they mean by "lost", Dr. Jackson learns that Earth is under attack by the Goa'uld, 1.5 billion people are dead, and most of the world's major population centers have been destroyed.

Dr. Carter soon concludes that Daniel is from an alternate reality, and Daniel resolves to prevent this nightmare from occurring in his own reality. However, Apophis's Jaffa, led by Teal'c, invade the SGA in retaliation for the destruction of Chulak. Before O'Neill confronts Teal'c with information presented to him by Daniel, Carter fondly embraces him. Catherine explains to a confused Daniel, "I take it they aren't engaged in your universe."

One by one, the alternate members of SG-1 die. The SGA is destroyed to prevent it from falling into Apophis's hands just after Daniel manages to escape through the Stargate. Daniel barely escapes back to the planet with the mirror, armed with the gate address of the world that is the staging point for the invasion, and with the hope that what he saw in the alternate reality does not come to pass for his Earth.

Trivia

Walter Harriman announces "Chevron Five encoded!" but 13 seconds later, a close-up of the dialing computer shows Chevron Five being encoded.
This is perhaps the only episode showing Walter firing a gun.
The customary 38 minute window that a Stargate can remain open without extraordinary measures is first established here, as is the fact that Earth's dialing computer dials notably slower than a DHD.
The quantum mirror is later seen in "Point of View
" and mentioned and dismissed as a possibility for the unusual circumstances in "The Fifth Man
". It is also dismissed as a way to send the alternate SG-1's home in "Ripple Effect
", as Hammond has had it destroyed.
The events of this episode resonate contiguously through "The Serpent's Lair
".

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