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"The Other Side" is the second episode of the fourth season of Stargate SG-1.

Synopsis[]

The Eurondans, who have an ancestral history with the Tau'ri, contact Earth and request their assistance to win a generations-long war. However, the lack of intel about their "enemy" and their shady behavior arouses a lot of suspicion from Dr. Daniel Jackson.

Plot[]

The Stargate Command technical team examining the logs of the Stargate, which has activated three times in the last hour, each time with small impacts on the Iris. Studying the information recorded during the activations, they detect an extremely slow radio message. For the first time in the history of the SGC, humans from another planet calling themselves the Eurondan "call home"; dialing the Earth's Stargate without first being contacted by the Tau'ri. Major Samantha Carter realizes to her regret that the three impacts were messengers attempting to reach Earth. Asking for help from the SGC, the Eurondan claim that they are under attack from an unstoppable and unspeakable enemy.

SG-1 arrives and initially assists. Using a Eurondan device Colonel Jack O'Neill shoots down an unmanned reconnaissance drone. This allows the Eurondans to demonstrate their advanced technology; their aircraft are remotely controlled by a neural interface and their underground base is protected by an energy shield, powered by nuclear fusion reactors. However, the reactors are fueled by heavy water, of which the Eurondans have no more supplies. As a result, their defenses are breaking down. Despite imminent defeat, the Eurondans are unwilling to use the Stargate to find a new home because a large majority of their people are trapped in suspended animation and would believe that they've fought the war for nothing if they abandon it.

The SG-1 team is impressed by Eurondan military technology. The Eurondan leader, Alar offers to provide knowledge of all their technology in exchange for a continuous supply of heavy water. For the first time, it appears that the SGC has finally found an advanced culture willing to offer them the means to defeat the Goa'uld. However, Dr. Daniel Jackson is skeptical of the Eurondans, concerned that the arrangement has been conducted without any knowledge of the Eurondan's enemy or why the war started. The Eurondans themselves refuse to disclose any information and are apparently disturbed by discussing the enemy and their decadent ways. However, O'Neill is authorized to negotiate on behalf of Earth and becomes irritated with Jackson's objections, not wanting to jeopardize their potential alliance.

Carter and Jackson return to the SGC, Carter reporting to Major General George S. Hammond that the Eurondans are "at least a hundred years ahead of us, maybe more," and that they are willing to share all of it. Hammond notes Jackson's disproval, and reminds him that Apophis is alive and in a position to wipe the human race off the face of the Earth. Daniel agrees that saving lives is good, but reminding Hammond of his own proclamation that the SGC would operate under the highest ethical standard, notes that their actions in providing heavy water would be going much further than that. Doing so would be turning the tide in a world war they know nothing about, against an enemy they know nothing about. It may be the right way to get the Eurondans' technology, but is it the right thing to do? Carter admits he has a point, and Hammond agrees with the idea that they need to know more about the Eurondans' war.

If SG-1 initially notice the fact that the Eurondans are all Caucasian, they do not comment on it. During negotiations, Daniel asks about their enemy, but despite Carter confirming that Hammond also wants to know, O'Neill orders him to shut up. However, Alar has made several veiled objections to the presence of Teal'c during their time there, and after the meeting, asks O'Neill to not have him return because he is "not of their kind". O'Neill suspects that this is not because he is a Jaffa, as his First Prime mark makes him quite distinct, but because he is darker complected. The men are supposed to return to the SGC, but O'Neill stops Daniel from finishing the dial out, apologizes to him and prompts him to ask questions, "lots of questions."

Sneaking around for answers, O'Neill and Teal'c find the stasis room and discovers that the population preserved in suspended animation comprises nearly identical caucasian Nordic-looking individuals. Asking Farrell questions under the pretense that they will be allies, Jackson learns that the enemy, which is feared and reviled, are sometimes called 'Breeders' by the Eurondans. They are called this because they had no respect for "genetic purity", breeding without care or plan, and that they are made up of a diverse population. Carter notices pipes extending from the bottom of the facility to the surface (which did not make sense because of the poisoned atmosphere) and realizes that to build a bunker of such size and depth would have required many years of planning and construction before this supposed "war" began. Alar replies stating the war was "inevitable."

The Eurondans are all from the same phenotype, populating their society through planned breeding and even through cloning, ensuring the continuance and purity of their people. It was, in fact, they who had originally started the current war, poisoning the atmosphere in an attempt to kill off those who would not submit to their eugenicist beliefs on reproduction. Unwilling to support attempted genocide, O'Neill (and Teal'c, to Alar's frustration) commandeers many of the Eurondans' remote fighters under the pretense of helping out. They instead escort the Breeder bombers to Eurondan territory, with O'Neill finishing up by crashing one fighter right above the shielded bunker which houses the command center and technology of the Eurondans. Alar attempts to shoot him but is easily stopped by Teal'c. SG-1 leaves the facility as it begins to fall apart due to the Breeders' heavy bombing, O'Neill warning Alar not to follow.

Alar frantically offers to teach Earth all he knows in exchange for safe passage through the gate. Jack simply turns away, stepping through the gate last, and then orders the iris closed behind him. A slight impact is registered on the iris moments later. Hammond guesses that SG-1 was unsuccessful in obtaining Eurondan technology while Sam stares at Jack, obviously stunned and lost for words over what has happened.

Appearances[]

Appearances for The Other Side

Locations

Events

Items

Vehicles

Sentient Species

Organizations

Mentioned

Notable quotes[]

O'Neill: Carter?
Carter: Colonel, Sir, this is the fifth incoming wormhole in the last hour and a half.
O'Neill: OK, I'm two hours early. When did you get here?
Carter: I haven't left yet.
O'Neill: Didn't I order you to get a life?

(O'Neill, Teal'c and Jackson are about to travel to Euronda)
O'Neill: You've got that look.
Teal'c: To which look are you referring, O'Neill?
Jackson: The one that says, "I have misgivings about this mission, but deep down I know we're doing the right thing?"
O'Neill: No, the other one.
Jackson: Oh.

(O'Neill is about to pilot one of the autofighters.)
O'Neill: Does this thing take quarters?

Jackson: Their world is in flames and we're giving them gasoline!
Teal'c: We are in fact giving them water.
Jackson: I was speaking metaphorically.
O'Neill: Well, stop it! It's not fair to Teal'c.

(Teal'c and O'Neill discussing Alar)
O'Neill: So what's your impression of Alar?
Teal'c: He is concealing something.
O'Neill: Like what?
Teal'c: I am unsure, he is concealing it.

Hammond: I take it, Colonel, that you were unable to procure any of the Eurondan technologies.
O'Neill: That's correct, sir.
Hammond: I'm sorry to hear that.
O'Neill: Don't be.

Cast[]

Main Characters

Guest Stars

Notes[]

  • The Eurondans show obvious resemblances, through their actions and racial ideology, to the Nazis during World War II. Their dependence on heavy water recalls the sabotage of heavy water shipments for the Nazi nuclear program, and the embattled bunker suggests the Führerbunker in 1945. Also the Eurondans have a clear technological advantage over the Breeders, but show a severe lack of resources. This is also a clear allusion to WWII, as the Nazis were in a similar situation throughout the war. While they had an advantage in technology, they were unable to replenish their forces. Further, Alar's wish to follow SG-1 back to safety so that he might work as a scientist for them parallels the Allied use and forgiveness of Nazi scientists in the space race (known as Operation Paperclip). Also, the Eurondans' racial purity and eugenics ideas and applications resemble Nazi German goals of racial purity and the removal of all impurities through eugenics. Lastly, it is implied at the end that Alar did in fact follow SG-1 through the Gate, and was then thus killed by the Iris on the Earth Gate. This parallels the disappearance of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler who is believed to have committed suicide in a deep bunker, during the Allied Victory over Germany, but his body has to this day never been found. The Breeders in this episode will likely have won their War against the Eurondans due to SG-1's actions, but the body of Alar, will never be found.
  • Director Peter DeLuise can be seen at the beginning of the episode as the soldier yelling "Move! Move! Move! Move!"

Goofs[]

  • In beginning sequence of the episode, MSgt. Walter Harriman ID tag on his shirt reads Davis instead of Harriman.

Other languages[]

  • French: L’Autre Côté (The Other Side)
  • Italian: L'Altra Faccia (The Other Side)
  • Spanish: El Otro Lado (The Other Side)
  • Czech: Druhá Strana (The Other Side)
  • Hungarian: A másik oldal (The Other Side)
  • German: Die andere Seite der Medaille (The Other Side Of The Coin)

Links and navigation[]

Smallwikipedialogo This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at The Other Side (Stargate SG-1). The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with SGCommand, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
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