Weird Stargate Episodes - Need aka "A Very Special Episode of Stargate SG-1!"

Daniel: Why do I keep ending up like this? Everyone wants a piece of me! That's cool, but still, I'm a married guy!

Next up is a bit of a new thing that’s kind of a riff off my Weird Trek Episodes posts. I’ve been revisiting Stargate: SG-1 on Amazon Prime and it feels like coming home. I’ve been skipping around with the early seasons, and it is good. You got good heroes, good villains, and a good continuation of what was done in the movie. I ended up coming across an episode that kinda fits the definition of weird, but your mileage may vary. Tonight, it’s “Need,” the 5th episode from Season 2.

The episode starts out with SG-1 arriving a planet that is producing naquadah, a mineral that the Gou’ald use to make their weapons. They do their best to hide from the Jaffa who are forcing the slaves to do their work. Unfortunately, Daniel Jackson has to get into trouble when he sees a young woman try to leap to her death. He saves her, but she leads the Jaffa to the team, and they end up being captured. The leader, Pyrus, forces them to work in the mines. Shyla, the lady Daniel saved, takes a liking to him.

SG-1 tries to escape from the mines, but they cause a cave-in, and Daniel is severely injured. Shyla uses their Gou’ald sarcophagus on him to heal his wounds. It’s also where we find out that Pyrus isn’t working for the System Lords, and that he has used the sarcophagus for centuries. Shyla then manipulates Daniel into using the sarcophagus while healthy, and he ends up getting addicted to its aftereffects over the next few days. Sam Carter, who remembers her time being possessed by a Gou’ald, realizes that this may have happened to Daniel when he returns aloof and distracted. Jack O’Neill pretty much has to keep reminding Daniel that they need to get home.

If you want to look at how politicians view the working class, I think this pic fits.

Even though he’s being used by Shyla, Daniel’s able to get the team out of the mines and back home. Daniel promises to return to Shyla, and even tries to resign from the team after they return to Earth. Later, Daniel starts to have withdrawal symptoms from being away from the sarcophagus for so long. He tries to stage a break out, but Jack is able to get him to come to his senses. After he gets weened off the device’s effects, he asks General Hammond if they can go back to Shyla’s world to help them. Even though she did manipulate him, Daniel still cares for her and does want to help her people mine naquadah in a better way. The episode ends with Shyla destroying the sarcophagus.

I thought that this was a fine episode. It’s not their best, but it’s not “Emancipation” either. It does well for being a by the books episode of SG-1. We got Daniel using the sarcophagus… again, and it actually plays into the episode in a big way. Dude had being using these things since the movie, so it was nice to see it have a negative effect on him. It’s even hinted in the episode that the usage of the sarcophagus is why the Gou’ald are so messed up. It even explained why Pyrus was a bit of a bad guy.  I also thought Shyla was a nice antagonist since she ultimately was trying to find someone to lead beside her when her father dies.

The episode has some nice moments here and there. Seeing Michael Shanks be high when the rest of the team is covered in dirt was hilarious. Another good scene was the Daniel’s and Jacks’ confrontation. You got the idea that Jack went through the same thing, and Michael Shanks played the role well. I will say that it is a bit all over the place with its plot, though. It also takes some time to really get going. Other than those things, this was a fine episode.

In the end, this was nice, but it wasn’t one of the best from this season. Still, if you want to see why the sarcophagus may be a bad thing, SG1 in trouble again, and another hot lady lusting over the awesomeness of Daniel Jackson, give it a shot. Anyway, I’ll get back to some writing and reading. Until then, Peace, God Bless, and be careful out there. Be wary of hot women getting you the hook up to the nasty stuff.