9.04 THE TIES THAT BIND
Episode Summary
Daniel Jackson learns that he and the wilful Vala have been permanently bound together by means of an alien energy field. The ties that bind them can be broken, but only if Daniel and Mitchell undertake a dangerous bartering mission.
Spoiler Snippets
In an alien marketplace, the Jaffa trader Inago is approached by Daniel and Mitchell. When the two tell him that they’re meeting with a mutual friend – Vala – Inago draws his weapon on them, only to wind up in a stand-off when Vala sneaks up behind him. Vala has used Daniel and Mitchell as her distraction.
When she and Inago greet one another, it becomes immediately apparent that Inago is about as fond of Vala as Daniel is. Each has cheated the other in the past, which presents real problems to Daniel and Mitchell, because Inago has something in his possession Vala needs back from him, and Vala had something in her possession that Inago needs back from her. Now, it’s in some very dangerous hands…
Back on Earth, Daniel, Teal’c and General Landry make a pitch to Senator Fisher for extra resources for the SGC to combat the Orii – the evil ascended beings whom Daniel encountered in a trance-like state. Senator Fisher’s counter-proposal is to massively cut SGC funding, stop all new exploration and divert funds into building more ships like Daedalus.
While Teal’c attempts to argue that while the Jaffa are indeed free, the Goa’uld are still served by their human slaves and thus remain a threat, Vala – only present at the hearing because she’s inconveniently bound to Daniel by the alien energy field – decides to give the Senator a piece of her mind.
Her pithy, informative lecture on the, er, over-compensatory nature of big ships and big guns leads to the maligned Senator cutting short the meeting…and SG-1 having to go into dangerous territory to retrieve the technology they must trade with Inago in order to free Daniel from Vala.
Characters
Daniel Jackson, Teal’c, Cameron Mitchell, General Hank Landry, Vala, Inago, Senator Fisher, Arlos.
Credits
Writers: Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie
Director: Will Waring