| Synopsis | Review | Quotes |
First Aired On: February 26, 1999 in the United States
Written By: Jonathan Glassner
Directed By: Peter DeLuise
Guest Stars: Carmen Argenziano (Jacob Carter), Jeff Gulka (Charlie), Teryl Rothery (Dr. Janet Fraiser)
Synopsis: The episode starts in the SGC. The Stargate has mysteriously activated and, although they do not receive a code to open the iris, they are unable to keep it closed. The gate suddenly opens and a young boy walks through. Initially he doesn't speak, and Carter, the SGC's "Goa'uld detector" ever since her experience with Jolinar, examines him to make sure he's not a Goa'uld. Finally he speaks, saying he has come to Earth to warn them.
The boy is taken to the infirmary where Dr. Fraiser checks him out. She reports he's human, but weak. O'Neill goes in to talk to the boy. The boy tells him that his Mother is in the room and that he's only to talk to O'Neill. Problem is, no one else can see Mother. The boy says she's been in the SGC for several weeks and has been observing them. Not surprisingly, this alarms the others in the room. O'Neill and the boy talk for awhile, the boy decides he likes O'Neill's son's name and wants to be called Charlie, and O'Neill learns that Charlie's planet, Retalia, was attacked by the Goa'uld. Earth is in danger because of a group of rebel Ritu who want to destroy it.
SG-1 discusses their situation, Hammond tells Teal'c and O'Neill to return to Charlie and see if they can find out more about the Ritu race. As Teal'c enters the room, however, Charlie cries out in fear at seeing the Jaffa. O'Neill assures him it's okay, Teal'c is a good guy. However, just as Charlie is beginning to accept O'Neill's assurance, Teal'c doubles over in pain and leaves the room. O'Neill follows, and Teal'c tells him that his symbiote has suddenly grown extremely agitated, something he's never felt before. He warns that O'Neill must be very careful when dealing with Charlie. Dr. Fraiser joins them and says that all of the boy's internal organs are out of whack and his cat scan revealed that a normally dormant area of his brain is active, possibly indicating ESP.
SG-1 talks to Charlie some more, asks him why the rebel Ritu want to kill everyone on Earth. They learn that the rebel Ritu believe the Goa'uld can only be destroyed through attrition, killing off all people so that the Goa'uld will die for lack of hosts. Daniel asks Charlie if he is a Ritu, and Charlie explains that he's a genetically engineered human. Mother, on the other hand, is a Ritu and that's why SG-1 can't see her. Carter explains that it's possible for an alien race to be invisible for some technical, scientific reason including light waves being bent at exactly 180 degrees the opposite of humans...but I'll let her explain that. Anyway, Mother was the one who opened the iris on the Stargate when Charlie was coming through. When SG-1 still doubts Mother's existence, she gets fed up with their "narrow-mindedness" and shoots a bolt of electricity across the room, smashing a TV set. Needless to say, SG-1 now believes that Mother is inside their base. :)
SG-1 returns to the debriefing room and discusses this turn of events. They discover that Teal'c can sense the Ritu because he carries a larval Goa'uld inside of him--the Goa'uld are sensitive to the Ritu's presence. Teal'c then suggests that if that's the case, then they should contact the Tok'ra and see if they could be of some assistance. Daniel and Carter head outside, and, in a scene reminiscent of "Enigma," contact the off-world Tok'ra.
Jacob Carter and another Tok'ra answer the call soon after, enter the room where the Ritu is, and confirm that there is, indeed, a Ritu in their base. The other Tok'ra, who had returned to wherever it was they came from, comes back with special weapons stolen from the Goa'uld which can destroy or simply illuminate the Ritu. He flashes the light around the room and, lo and behold, there's a huge, bug-like alien roaming in one corner. O'Neill apologizes to Charlie for not believing him earlier.
Jacob explains that the Ritu are a peaceful race, except for the rebels, who act as terrorists and cause lots 'o damage. They work in bands of five or so rebels and secretly plant destructive devices wherever they think they're necessary. Mother gives them the coordinates of the planet where the Ritu rebels have their headquarters and SG-1 goes there. What they find is a whole lot of ugly, fighting bug-like aliens. Fortunately, the rebels don't see them, and SG-1 returns to the SGC confident they didn't actually bring a rebel team back with them.
Their confidence is shaken when Jacob's Tok'ra companion is shot by a Ritu rebel and falls through the glass into the gate room. Fortunately, he dropped his weapon up in the control room and Teal'c is able to kill the rebel. The SGC goes on alert, realizing that there's where there's one rebel Ritu, there's probably more rebel Ritu. They break into smaller Ritu-hunting teams, and search the base. All the extra SGC officers (not including SG-1, of course) are killed during the search, but in the end, SG-1 kills all the Ritu they encounter. O'Neill gets one, Jacob Carter is hit in the shoulder so his daughter gets the one that shot him, and Daniel gets one in the infirmary. Poor Mother, however, is killed by the last rebel, leaving behind a very devastated Charlie. Since Charlie is so sick, O'Neill agrees to let him go off with the Tok'ra to become a host which would enable him to be healed. There's a touching good-bye scene between Charlie and O'Neill, and Jacob takes Charlie back with him to join the Tok'ra.
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Related Episodes: References to Cassandra's Naquada bomb in "Singularity" and Rya'c's tooth bomb in "Family." Daniel and Carter use the Tollan device exactly as we saw it in "Enigma" to contact the Tok'ra. SG-1 received this device during "Serpent's Song" from Martouf. Charlie makes a reference to Tonani, who we met in "Spirits." Jacob Carter received his Goa'uld during "Tok'ra Part 1" and "Tok'ra Part 2." Reference to Carter's ability to sense a Goa'uld (she was possessed by the Goa'uld in "In the Line of Duty" and first noticed her skill in "Need"). There's also an extremely vague reference (mainly in facial expressions) to Daniel's words about how Jack can be "ignorant" during "One False Step." One last one. Teal'c makes a reference to how not all Goa'uld hosts are human, which was briefly explored during "Thor's Hammer" and "The Fifth Race."
Daniel Jackson's History/Linguistic/Mythology Lesson:
Sam Carter's Physics Lesson:
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Quotes:
Hammond: "Search him."
O'Neill: "General...if I may suggest allowing Carter to do it. She can detect...other stuff." Hammond nods.
Carter: "Hello. What's your name?" Kid doesn't answer. "My name is Sam. I have to check you for things you...probably know nothing about. But just in case..." She searches him. "Well, he's not Goa'uld or Jaffa. I can't sense any Naquada. As far as I can tell, he's clean."
O'Neill: "What's he doing here?"
Boy: "I am here to warn you."Fraiser: "Well, as far as I can tell, he's human."
O'Neill: "No bomb in the chest, little biohazard in the tooth, maybe?"
Fraiser: "I've checked for both. He's no threat to us as far as I'm able to tell, but he's pretty weak. I'm guessing he's malnourished."
Carter, to the boy: "What's your name?"
Boy, pointing to O'Neill: "Your name is Colonel O'Neill."
O'Neill: "How'd you know that?"
Boy: "My mother told me."
O'Neill: "Your mother?"
Boy: "Yes. She says I am to speak only with you."
O'Neill: "Well, these people are my friends. You can trust them."
Boy: "Mother says to speak only to you."
O'Neill: "Okay. Why me?"
Boy: "Because Mother has observed you and determined she likes you. You are the one who can be trusted."
O'Neill: "Well, thank you, ma'am. How long have you been watching me?"
Boy: "For many weeks."
O'Neill: "Weeks."
Boy: "Yes. She first saw you on another planet and she followed your team through the Stargate at that time. She observed you all until your team returned with the one called...Tonani. Based on your actions at the time, Mother believes you are the only honorable leader among your people. It was only your people who did not want to steal Tonani's mineral."
O'Neill: "Then why not trust the rest of my team?"
Boy: "Because you are the leader. Mother insists I speak no further unless it is with you, alone."
Hammond: "Let's step into the corridor for a few moments, folks."
O'Neill, after they've left: "So what do I call you?"
Boy: "I do not have a name."
O'Neill: "What does your mom call you?"
Boy: "Son."
O'Neill: "That's not much of a name."
Boy: "No. It's more of a description."
O'Neill: "Yes, it is."
Boy: "Mother says you too have a son."
O'Neill: "I had one. He's gone now."
Boy: "What was his name?"
O'Neill: "Charlie."
Boy: "I like Charlie. It's a good name. Can I be called Charlie?"
O'Neill: "Yeah, sure, if that's what you want."
Charlie: "Okay, Colonel O'Neill. I'm Charlie."
O'Neill: "Hi, Charlie." They shake hands. "Call me Jack."
Charlie: "Jack."
O'Neill: "Where are you from?"
Charlie: "A planet called Retalia."
O'Neill: "Nice place?"
Charlie: "Used to be. Until most of the Ritu were destroyed by mean creatures with glowing eyes."
O'Neill: "Well, that's the Goa'uld. I'm sorry to hear that."
Charlie: "That's why I'm here. To warn you."
O'Neill: "Well, thank you, Charlie, but we already knew about the Goa'uld."
Charlie: "Not the Goa'uld. It is the Ritu rebels who intend to eliminate you."Charlie, seeing Teal'c: "Jaffa!"
O'Neill, to Teal'c: "Get that a lot?" He tries to catch Charlie. "Charlie, Charlie, Charlie! It's okay!"
Charlie: "He's a Jaffa! He wants to kill me just like he killed the Ritu!"
O'Neill: "No, no, no! He's a good Jaffa. In fact he saved my life one time."
Charlie: "No!"
O'Neill: "Oh for crying out loud. Ah, look, Mom, you said you trust me, all right? Well I'm telling you, Teal'c is okay. As a matter of fact, all my friends here are okay. Okay?"
Charlie: "She's over there."
O'Neill: "Okay..."
Charlie: "Mother says to trust only you and the other members of your team."
O'Neill: "Good. Thank you. Charlie, Teal'c. Teal'c, Charlie."
Teal'c, flashing a smile that puts all his earlier ones to shame: "I am pleased to meet you."Fraiser: "It's like Mother Nature put him together in a hurry and got everything just a little wrong."
O'Neill: "So what, he's got ESP? Some telekinetic thing going on?"
Fraiser: "I don't know. I'm a skeptic on such things, but..." She shrugs and walks away.
O'Neill: "It would explain a lot."Charlie: "The rebels believe that the glowing eyed people are too powerful to destroy directly. They can only be destroyed by...attrition."
O'Neill: "Attrition? What does that mean?"
Daniel: "Ah, attrition is the gradual diminution of strength or numbers..."
O'Neill: "I know what the word means. I meant in context."
Carter: "My god. They must want to kill all possible hosts. They must think that if the Goa'uld have no new hosts to infest, they'll eventually die out."
Daniel: "By attrition."
Charlie: "Yes."
Carter: "But that's insane. There must be billions of possible Goa'uld hosts all throughout the galaxy."
Teal'c: "And they are not all human."
Charlie: "Mother agrees. That is why the central authorities of the Ritus sent us here."
Daniel: "Charlie, I'm curious, are you a Ritu?"
Charlie: "No. I am of your species."
Daniel: "Is your mother a Ritu?"
Charlie: "Of course."
Daniel: "And is that why we can't see her?"
Charlie: "Yes."
Daniel: "Well, if you're one of us, why can you see her?"
Charlie: "Because I'm special."
Daniel: "You're special. How?"
Charlie: "Mother created me to serve as an intermediary."
Daniel: "She created you."
Charlie: "Yes. She hoped I would be older before I came, but my accelerated growth caused my body to begin failing so we had to come sooner."Charlie: "Mother is growing impatient with your narrow-mindedness."
Hammond, as an electrical bolt flies across the room and smashes a tv monitor: "Stand down!"
O'Neill: "I assume that came from..."
Charlie: "Mother."
O'Neill: "Mother."Hammond: "Theories? Suggestions?"
Carter: "Seems obvious that this Ritu exists."
O'Neill: "Well, here's a question. How do we deal with an invisible threat?"
Carter: "We need a way to defeat them."
O'Neill: "That would be helpful."
Teal'c: "I have that way. It seems that my symbiote can sense this creature."
O'Neill: "Okay, limited helpfulness right there."
Teal'c: "Explain."
O'Neill: "Can it tell us where exactly in a room a Ritu is? How many there are? What they're doing? Etcetera."
Teal'c: "It was not that specific. It only detected a presence."
O'Neill: "So...limited."
Teal'c: "Perhaps if my symbiote can detect this creature, the Goa'uld can also sense them."
Daniel: "That's a good point. They had to see them to wipe them out."
Teal'c: "Perhaps the Tok'ra can be of assistance."
Hammond: "It could be our best hope. Captain Carter, Dr. Jackson, signal the Tok'ra."
Carter: "Yes, Sir."Jacob: "Hello, Sam."
Carter: "Dad. We have a little bit of a situation and we may need Selmak's help."
Jacob: "Selmak, Selmak, Selmak! I thought maybe you just wanted to see your old man."
Carter: "I do, Dad."
Hammond: "But this time we do need your symbiote, Jacob."
Jacob: "Nice to see you too, George."
Hammond: "No offense, old friend."O'Neill: "How're you doing, Charlie?"
Charlie: "Tired. Really tired." He hears a noise. "Oh, for crying out loud...."
The crafty little smile O'Neill makes at the comment makes the entire episode worth watching! :)O'Neill, upon seeing Mother: "Whoa. I owe you an apology."
Charlie: "I wouldn't lie to you, Jack."
O'Neill: "I know that. I'm sorry."Carter: "Even though we can't see them, these Ritu can definitely see us."
Teal'c: "Which puts us at a great strategic disadvantage. I can understand why the Goa'uld would want to eliminate them."
O'Neill: "They're Goa'uld, Teal'c. That's their job."Charlie: "Mother says not to cry."
O'Neill: "Crying's okay."
Charlie: "She says the boys of your culture do not cry."
O'Neill: "Not true. In fact, there's an official list of reasons for which crying is a good thing."
Charlie: "Mother is leaving."
O'Neill: "Well, see that's a good reason. Mom leaving is, I believe, number six on the list of good reasons. Actually, six is Mom says she's leaving in a couple days, five is Mom leaving immediately. Four is Mom already left. Now three is huge, one of the bigger ones on the list."
Charlie: "Mom is still here. She's leaving as soon as she can tell you everything that can help."
O'Neill: "She's not taking you with her?"
Charlie: "She wants to leave me here with my own kind."
O'Neill: "Well, for what it's worth, I think she's right. I think you should stay here. You'll be better off."
Charlie: "I think I belong with you, Jack."
O'Neill: "Look, Charlie, ah, before she leaves, do you think she could tell us where we could find those rebel Ritus?"
Charlie: "She says she'll show me the address."
O'Neill: "That'd be great."
Charlie: "Jack? Could I be your son for awhile?"
O'Neill: "I don't know, Charlie. I don't think you'd want that."
Charlie: "Yes I do. You'd be great. I can tell."
O'Neill: "I tell you what. Let's deal with those Ritu, then we'll talk about it. 'Kay?"
Charlie: "Okay."
O'Neill: "Okay."Hammond: "So you would say threat assessment is high?"
O'Neill: "Oh yeah."
Carter: "There were a lot of them, Sir."
Teal'c: "They are indeed invisible."Daniel: "Jack, what happens if they come through the door behind us?"
O'Neill, whirling around with his gun raised: "What?!" Realizes Daniel didn't mean that there were actually Ritu sneaking around behind them. "Don't do that!"O'Neill, in sign language to the guard outside the infirmary: "Don't look at me. Look ahead." He turns to Daniel, still speaking with his hands. "We go in on three. One..."
Daniel, making cute little civilian signs with his fingers while mouthing some words: "There are people in there."
O'Neill, now mouthing: "I know! One, two, three!"O'Neill: "You know, there's another rule that says it's okay to be sad when saying goodbye to a good friend."
Charlie: "I want to stay with you, Jack."
O'Neill: "Well, Jacob's going to take you to a place where you can get well. I can't do that. But you know what?"
Charlie: "What?"
O'Neill: "I'll come visit. You'll come visit. Okay?"
Charlie: "I guess."
One False Step 1969
