Adria as an adult has been cast
Michael Ausiello of TV Guide has been keeping Stargate SG-1 fans in the know as he digs up spoilers and scoops for the show, now in production of its record-breaking tenth season!
In his most recent entry in his column, there was the following casting scoop for the adult Adria, Vala’s child born as the “will of the Ori” (10.01 “Flesh and Blood”). (Vala’s daughter Adria is seen as a 7-year-old and 12-year-old in the season’s premiere and as a young adult in her early 20s in 10.07 “Counterstrike”.):
Question: Come on, Ausiello, gimme the scoop on Stargate SG-1! I’ll send you a lifetime supply of Snapple and Smurfs! — Patrick
You sure? I plan on living a long time. OK, remember me telling you how producers were looking for a “name” actress to play the recurring role of Adria, the rapidly aging daughter of Vala (Claudia Black)? Well, the name they found was Morena Baccarin, whom Firefly/Serenity fans know as prostitute, er, companion Inara.
As Ausiello stated in his scoop, Morena Baccarin’s most recent sci-fi role was as Inara Serra in the TV show Firefly and its recent feature film release Serenity. She also has been seen as the recurring character Maya Griffin in The O.C. and heard as she gives her voice talent to the character Black Canary in Justice League.
Adria as a young woman will make her first appearance in “Counterstrike”. She is a strong and charismatic leader of the Ori, gathering human worshippers and warriors in the Ori’s plan to convert as many followers as they can in the Milky Way, hoping to eventually amass enough power to wipe out their ascended rivals, the Ancients (also known as the Altera and The Others).
The Ori impregnated Vala after she was sent to their home galaxy in Season Nine’s “Beachhead”. Vala married a local man named Tomin in order to conceal her mysterious pregnancy (“Crusade”). Vala returns to the Milky Way via one of the Ori warships from which Daniel rescues her (“Flesh and Blood”). Vala, however, must leave her daughter behind and in the care of the Ori followers onboard the warship.
Adria loves her mother and wishes to convert her to Origin. She claims that Vala is revered among her people because she is the mother of the Orici — the Ori’s human representative in this galaxy who leads the crusade. Adria captures Daniel and Vala and tortures Daniel in an attempt to probe his mind on the details of a weapon used against 100,000 of her people. Unable to gain her information, she demonstrates her cold cruelty by reviving a Jaffa whom she just killed with a staff weapon, obtaining the information she seeks from him, and then expertly snapping his neck.
Adria wears a protective pendant (similar to Merlin’s Sangreal, the anti-Ascended weapon he created to neutralize the Ori) which might hold the secret to some of her powers. It protected her against the weapon used against her followers, leaving her as the only survivor. The Jaffa and SG-1 take the opportunity to board her unoccupied Ori warship, only to run into complications as they vie for control. Adria isolates Daniel and Vala on the ship in order to perform her interrogations, unbeknownst to the others. After discovering that it was the Free Jaffa who used the weapon against her, she sets a course to rendezvous with the other Ori ships at the planet Dakara, the home of the Free Jaffa Nation and the place where the weapon was found. Gen. Landry and Bra’tac are on the planet gathering information about the use of the weapon. Will Adria destroy Dakara or will SG-1 and their Jaffa allies thwart her plans?
“Counterstrike” was due before cameras April 19-27.
- Season Nine Episode Guides
- Season Ten Episode Guides
- Morena Baccarin at IMDB
- Morena Baccarin’s website
- Michael Ausiello at TV Guide
Spoilers are subject to change as the episode is still in production.
[Thanks to janegb for the tip]