7.20 "Inauguration" Episode Guide

Précis

On his first day in office, President Hayes is briefed on the Stargate program. Vice President Kinsey immediately tries to convince the President to replace General Hammond and SG-1, assisted by investigator Richard Woolsey. The two try to persuade Hayes that SG-1 is not to be trusted. Woolsey has a change of heart about Kinsey and backtracks with the President, who remains noncommittal.

Guide | Transcript

SciFi.com Official Summary

As the newly elected President Hayes steps into the Oval Office, he finds General Francis Maynard, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, waiting for him. Maynard is there to brief Hayes about the Stargate program, of which Hayes has been unaware until this very moment. Hayes storms into now Vice President Kinsey's office, angry that Kinsey knew about Stargate Command and never told him. Kinsey claims he was under a special executive gag order—and that now he and Hayes are finally in the position to clean house at SGC by replacing General George Hammond and SG-1. But Hayes says he's going to need convincing.

He learns that Kinsey, while head of the Senate Appropriations Committee, tried to shut down SGC. But General Maynard informs him how Kinsey later almost convinced the other nations of the world, during a full-disclosure meeting at the Pentagon (in "Disclosure") to give him control of the Stargate program.

The President meets with Kinsey, General Maynard and Kinsey's investigator, attorney Richard Woolsey, who has been brought him in to present a case that Hammond and SG-1 need to be replaced. Woolsey cites SG-1's insubordination when they ignored orders to suspend all offworld travel pending a review of the Stargate program (in "Within the Serpent's Grasp"). Two years later, the team refused Hammond's own order for SG-1 to stay put (in "Upgrades"). General Maynard counters that in the latter case, SG-1 managed to head off an invasion by sabotaging a mothership the Goa'uld would have eventually used against Earth. He also reminds Woolsey that SG-1 was under the influence of an alien device at the time.

Which brings Woolsey to the number of times SG-1 has fallen under alien control. He cites Major Carter's implantation with a Goa'uld symbiote (in "In the Line of Duty") and becoming host to an alien virus (in "Entity"). There was also Dr. Daniel Jackson's death and ascension into a higher life form (in "Meridian"); and the fact that Teal'c—an alien and one-time Goa'uld soldier—now possesses full security clearance at America's most classified facility. Maynard counters that Teal'c earned that trust—and Woolsey notes that this trust almost cost SG-1 dearly when he rejoined the ranks of System Lord Apophis (in "Enemies"). Maynard points out Teal'c had been brainwashed.

Woolsey just considers that another example of how often SG-1 has shown a vulnerability to alien influence. He says Colonel O'Neill has been infected by alien contagions a half-dozen times, was experimented upon by extraterrestrials another half-dozen times, had his memories manipulated on numerous occasions and (in "The Fifth Race") had the entire repository of an ancient alien database effectively downloaded into his head.

Hayes, impressed upon hearing these extraordinary reports, can't believe what SG-1 has endured. Woolsey maintains that is precisely the point: "How can we trust these individuals to protect our planet given everything they've been through? Who's to say they're completely free of these influences?"

After a break—during which Kinsey reminds Hayes he wouldn't have been elected without Kinsey's support—Woolsey brings up the number of times General Hammond and SG-1 demonstrated "shockingly poor judgment" by placing themselves, the base and Earth itself in jeopardy. He cites how the effects of an alien device found its way into the civilian population (in "Sight Unseen"). Woolsey goes on to imply that Hammond and SG-1 have allowed their personal feelings to influence command decisions, citing the time Hammond held off closing the iris, despite an incoming barrage, until SG-1 was back safely (in "Chain Reaction"). He also brings up Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter's close relationship—at which point Kinsey jumps in to denounce it as highly inappropriate and, if you "read between the lines" of the mission reports (particularly that of "Paradise Lost"), more than it appears to be.

The President has heard enough and ends the meeting. That night, Woolsey tells Kinsey he's worried the President will side with Hammond and SG-1. Kinsey tells him it doesn't matter. "Things happen," he says insidiously, implying that—even if it involves making someone "disappear"—he will get his way.

The next morning, General Maynard sees that the President is leaning toward Kinsey's point; Hayes believes that the Stargate program will eventually go public, and when it does, he wants to be able to say he cleaned house when he took office. But Maynard—describing System Lord Anubis' recent rise to great strength and his development of a supersoldier army (in "Evolution," Part 1)—tells him it is imperative that Hammond and SG-1 remain in place. Earth's best hope lies in finding the Lost City of the Ancients, which holds the weaponry that could defeat Anubis. SG-1 believes it may have found it on the planet Abydos (in "Full Circle). Maynard urges the President to let SG-1 continue on this path. But Hayes says it's not that simple. The President knows that if he crosses Kinsey on this issue, he'll leave himself wide open for retaliation. Even as Commander-in-Chief, he may not be able to protect SG-1.

Later, a shaken and troubled Woolsey confesses to Maynard his own grave concerns about Kinsey. Maynard encourages Woolsey to find hard proof of any perfidy. Woolsey reasons that Hammond—who unexpectedly resigned from Stargate Command at one point and then returned—was blackmailed by Kinsey, and is only back because he has proof of Kinsey's involvement with rogue elements of the NID. When Woolsey visits Hammond at Stargate Command, Hammond sees that Woolsey is on the level and gives him a copy of the incriminating computer disc (retrieved by O'Neill in "Chain Reaction"). Woolsey brings the disc directly to the non-commital President, hoping that, one day, history will show he tried to do the right thing.

Modified by Solutions.

Cast

• Richard Dean Anderson as Col. Jack O'Neill
• Amanda Tapping as Maj. Samantha Carter
• Christopher Judge as Teal'c
• Don S. Davis as Gen. George Hammond
• and Michael Shanks as Dr. Daniel Jackson

Guest Stars

• Ronny Cox as Vice President Robert Kinsey
• William Devane as President Hayes
• Robert Picardo as Richard Woolsey
• James McDaniel as General Francis Maynard
• Jerry Wasserman as Chief of Staff
• Mikka Dargel as Kinsey's Aide (Sara)

Production

• Written by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper
• Directed by Martin Wood

Related Articles

Keywords

• Abydos
• Anubis
• Apophis
• Goa'uld
• Joint Chiefs of Staff
• NID
• SG-1
• Stargate Command (SGC)
• System Lord

Episode Guides

• 1.22 "Within The Serpent's Grasp Part 1"
• 2.02 "In The Line Of Duty"
• 2.16 "The Fifth Race"
• 4.03 "Upgrades"
• 4.15 "Chain Reaction"
• 4.20 "Entity"
• 5.01 "Enemies Part 2"
• 5.21 "Meridian"
• 6.13 "Sight Unseen"
• 6.15 "Paradise Lost"
• 6.17 "Disclosure"
• 6.22 "Full Circle"
• 7.11 "Evolution Part 1"

Other

• Season Seven Episode Guide
• Episode Guides
• Transcripts
• 7.20 "Inauguration" Transcript
• Previous: 7.19 "Resurrection" Episode Guide
• Next: 7.21 "Lost City Part 1" Episode Guide

Related Links

Official

• Official MGM Stargate SG-1 Website
• SciFi Channel 7.20 "Inauguration" Episode Guide

Fan

• Solutions On-Site Forum: Season Seven Discussion Board
• Solutions Many Voices Ratings and Reviews
• Solutions LJ Companion Site
• Stargatefan Season Seven (Episode Guides, Transcripts, Multimedia, Missing Scenes)
• SG-1Web: Nitpicker's NetGuide Season Seven
• Stargate Screencaps: Season Seven

---

--Kylie Lee 11:25, 26 Jun 2004 (PDT)