SGCommand
Register
Advertisement
This article is about the episode. For the people, see Nox.

"The Nox" is the eighth episode of the first season of Stargate SG-1.

Synopsis[]

After increased pressure to acquire advanced technology from their missions, SG-1 travel to the planet Gaia in order to capture a creature apparently capable of rendering itself invisible. When Apophis and his guards find them, they are killed, but then miraculously resurrected by the Nox, an advanced race who will not meddle with any of their immediate affairs, especially capturing Apophis.

Plot[]

SG-1 travels to the planet Gaia in search of a being with the ability to appear and disappear at will; such abilities would give a great tactical advantage against the Goa'uld. When Apophis arrives on the planet in pursuit of the same creature, the team plot to sedate him with the tranquilizer guns they brought to take down the creature.

After taking down one of his armed guards, Apophis uses his energy shield to protect himself from Colonel Jack O'Neill's tranquilizer dart. The team are killed, apart from Teal'c who declares "Tal shaka mel, I die free," but disappears as Apophis moves to fire upon him, which leaves Apophis himself deeply shocked.

Skirmish on Gaia 1

Apophis on his search for invisibility shortly before killing O'Neill, Carter and Daniel

Later, O'Neill, Dr. Daniel Jackson and Captain Samantha Carter awaken in a place that bears similarities to a barn. They discover that they were brought back to life by the Nox, a race of peaceful, advanced people with healing powers and the ability to make objects disappear and reappear at will. The Nox also revive a Jaffa guard whom Teal'c recognizes as Shak'l, one whom he had trained while he was in the service of the Goa'uld.

Meanwhile, Apophis and his remaining entourage attempt to locate the team. Apophis is agitated at the fact that Teal'c stood before him, then disappeared moments later. Adding to his frustrations are the fact that their searches for the team and the Stargate are fruitless.

The Nox appear primitive, though refuse to share how they healed the team. They tell SG-1 that their weapons are "gone", and continuously try to talk them out of trying to defend them against Apophis. Adding to the situation is an apparent complacency regarding their safety, stating that their ways have kept them alive for as long as they have existed. They also refuse to allow any harm to Shak'l, despite SG-1's protests.

Teal'c offers Shak'l a chance to join them, but he refuses to believe that Apophis is a false god. He feigns an injury and attracts the attention of Lya, who he kills after stabbing Teal'c. He subsequently escapes and finds Apophis, who he tells about the Nox. While the Nox begin the healing ceremony to revive Lya, SG-1 begin their pursuit, during which the Nox child, Nafrayu, appears behind him, asking to see a Goa'uld. O'Neill tells him to go home.

Ritual of Life

The Nox reveal that the healing ceremony leaves them vulnerable as they are unable to hide themselves during this time. Despite their attempts to convince the Nox of the impending threat, they refuse to do anything to defend themselves. Moments later, it is revealed that Nafrayu has not returned home. During their search, Anteaus says that he told SG-1 to do the same, and that "the very young do not always do as they are told".

Nafrayu finds Apophis in his quest to find a Goa'uld, who kills him. The search party find Nafrayu's body and take him back to the camp to begin the healing ceremony. SG-1's offer to defend the Nox from the Goa'uld during the ceremony falls on deaf ears, with the Nox demanding that there will be no more killing, and that SG-1 return home.

SG-1 plots to take Apophis down a second time, this time utilizing a flaw in Apophis' personal defense - a slow moving object, like a staff weapon or an arrow, passes through the field easily, while also deflecting faster-moving bullets and staff weapon blasts. They take out the Jaffa guards, leaving O'Neill to corner Apophis with his bow and arrow. Just as the arrow is about to hit Apophis, the Nox make him disappear.

SG-1 return to where the Stargate was, and are greeted by Anteaus and Nafrayu, who wishes to bid them farewell. The Nox make the Stargate appear again, and promise to bury it once their guests leave. O'Neill protests, saying that the Goa'uld would return in space craft to destroy them. Anteaus then reveals a large floating city for SG-1 to see, proving how advanced they really are, and that their primitive appearance was merely a front. Anteaus communicates a hope that one day the Tau'ri will learn that their way is not the only way. After they disappear, the team laments the fact that they would not listen to the Nox and now they were going to leave, never to return. O'Neill reveals that many lessons were learned, and were worth taking home.

Appearances[]

Appearances for The Nox

Locations

Events

Items

Sentient Species

Languages

Creatures

Organizations

Mentioned

Notable quotes[]

O'Neill: Where's the Stargate?

Jackson: I think they're a family.
O'Neill: Of what?
Jackson: I have no idea.

Nafrayu: (points to himself) Nafreyu.
Carter: Nafreyu. (points to herself) Carter.
Nafrayu: Carter. (Carter smiles widely)
O'Neill: No, you can't keep him.

Anteaus: I will take you to your doorway.
O'Neill: Whoah!
Jackson: You understand what I'm saying?
Anteaus: It took time to learn your speech.
Carter: Not much time.

O'Neill: So Shak'l thinks we're unarmed, Apophis thinks he's invulnerable.
Jackson: And they're right. I think I've detected the flaw in your plan.

Anteaus: The very young do not always do as they are told.

Anteaus: Maybe one day you will learn, that your way is not the only way.

Teal'c: It appears they possess a form of technology far greater than that of the Goa'uld.
Carter: They looked so helpless.
Jackson: And now they're going to bury the Stargate and we can never come back. We should have listened.
O'Neill: "The very young do not always do as they're told." It's a little something the Nox told me one time. Something worth taking home.

Cast[]

Main Characters

Guest Stars

Notes[]

  • The title of the episode refers to the race discovered within the episode. Nox is also the Roman Goddess of the night. It is also the Latin word for "Night".
  • All of Apophis' escorts have the gold markings of a First Prime. This could be due to them being his Serpent (Royal) Guard.
  • The Goa'uld personal shield appears again a few times on the show. While it isn't shown if Colonel Jack O'Neill's theory was correct here because Apophis disappears before the arrow can hit him, in "Secrets" O'Neill is able to penetrate the shield of Heru'ur with a Combat knife. He is also able to penetrate Osiris' shield in "Chimera" with a tranquilizer gun which is in contrast to this episode where the team learns of the shield when his dart fails to penetrate it. It is possible they configured the gun to be much slower to allow it to pass through.
  • This episode marks the first time Teal'c is referred to as "Shol'va", meaning "Traitor". Teal'c also uses the phrase "I die free", which is later shown to be the unofficial motto of the rebel Jaffa. The phrasing used for this was changed in later episodes when spoken to 'Shel kek nem ron' which differs from the phrasing in this episode of "Tal shaka mel, I die free."
  • This episode makes the first appearance of SG-5.
  • The scenes taking place on the planet Gaia were shot at the Mid-Valley Viewpoint of the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve.
  • This episode has many elements in common with the original series Star Trek episode "Errand of Mercy", where the heroes attempt to fight to protect a rigidly pacifistic and apparently primitive race of people from violent oppression, only to discover that the "primitives" are in fact far more powerful than they originally thought.
  • A clip from this episode was featured in the film Fanboys.

Goofs[]

SG1 Patches

Both versions of the SG-1 patch.

  • About halfway through the episode, Dr. Daniel Jackson's team patch has a narrow, gray-colored "1," like is used for the rest of the series. However, in the last scene at the Stargate, he has a different patch, this one with a thick, black "1," as was used in earlier episodes.
  • Due to an audio error in some copies of this episode, Apophis' voice over is missing.
  • At the beginning of the episode, the FRED is parked right in front of the Stargate and should've been vaporized by the unstable vortex.

Awards[]

  • Nominated Primetime Emmy for "Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore)" (Joel Goldsmith)

Other languages[]

  • French: Les Nox (The Nox)
  • German: Die Macht der Weisen (The Power of the Wise)
  • Italian: Missione "Invisibile" (Mission "Invisible")
  • Spanish: Los Nox (The Nox)
  • Czech: Noxové (The Nox)
  • Hungarian: A Nox (The Nox)
  • Polish: Noxowie (The Nox)
  • Russian: Нокс (Nox)

Links and navigation[]

v  e
Episodes and Seasons
Season 1 12345678910111213141516171819202122
Season 2 12345678910111213141516171819202122
Season 3 12345678910111213141516171819202122
Season 4 12345678910111213141516171819202122
Season 5 12345678910111213141516171819202122
Season 6 12345678910111213141516171819202122
Season 7 12345678910111213141516171819202122
Season 8 1234567891011121314151617181920
Season 9 1234567891011121314151617181920
Season 10 1234567891011121314151617181920
Season 1 1234567891011121314151617181920
Season 2 1234567891011121314151617181920
Season 3 1234567891011121314151617181920
Season 4 1234567891011121314151617181920
Season 5 1234567891011121314151617181920
Season 1 1234567891011121314151617181920
Season 2 1234567891011121314151617181920
Season 1 12345678910
Advertisement