Daniel Jackson: Characteristics And Motivations

Dr. Daniel Jackson

Peaceful Explorer

Daniel is a natural explorer, and his thirst for knowledge knows few boundaries. While he initially undertook the post at the SGC as a means to search for his kidnapped wife, the thrill of discovery kept him going during the ordeal and after her death.

Snake-Baiting

Because of what happened to Sha're, for many years Daniel's attitude toward the Goa'uld was one of pure hatred, and he sought any opportunity to destroy them, at times possibly unwisely (1.12 "Bloodlines"). However, he is also sympathetic to the beings who are their unwilling hosts. When the team captured Apophis and brought him back to the base as a prisoner, severely injured, Daniel visibly relished taunting the symbiote, but, when the host regained control of mind and body, Daniel was gentle and understanding with him (2.18 "The Serpent's Song").

His general indifference to his own personal safety and his sometimes unreasoning hatred for the Goa'uld have also caused him to engage, extremely recklessly, in 'snake-baiting' or mouthing off to the Goa'uld as well as physically seeking to thwart them. Such actions have earned him more than one back-hand (2.09 "Secrets", 3.13 "Devil You Know").

However, while he might hate the Goa'uld with an unreserved passion he has also demonstrated he is capable of putting aside his personal prejudices for the greater good of the mission and his other team mates. While he may be heedless of consequences to himself he does not knowingly endanger anyone else through thoughtless or reckless actions (Stargate the Movie, 2.17 "Serpent's Song", 3.3 "Fair Game", 3.06 "Point of View", 4.22 "Exodus", 5.15 "Summit Part 1", 5.16 "Last Stand Part 2").

Moreover, it is likely his first-hand experience of the absolutely corrupting influence of the Goa'uld racial memory given to him in a dream by Shifu (4.17 "Absolute Power") has caused him to question the wisdom of allowing his hatred to poison his soul. That he has considered modifying his position seems to be indicated by his response to Teal'c in which he said if Apophis were delivered into his power rather than succumbing to the desire for revenge, he hoped he would be able to chose the more rational option (4.22 "Exodus").

Making Friends And Influencing People

For the most part, Dr. Jackson is eager to make new friends among the aliens they discover. His gift for communication extends even to those cultures that have no concept of language (2.19 "One False Step"), as well as to those whose languages are not easily discernible (4.08 "The First Ones").

He is adept at turning enemies into friends, and in fact has succeeded in taming more than one 'savage beast' and making an extremely favourable and influential impression on many of the aliens the team has encountered (1.04 "Emancipation", 1.06 "The First Commandment", 1.10 "Thor's Hammer", 1.16 "Cor-Ai", 1.13 "Fire and Water", 1.17 "Enigma", 2.06 "Thor's Chariot", 2.07 "Message in a Bottle", 2.09 "Secrets", 2.13 "Spirits", 2.18 "Holiday", 2.19 "One False Step", 3.20 "Maternal Instinct", 4.05 "Divide and Conquer", 4.08 "The First Ones", 4.9 "Scorched Earth", 4.21 "Double Jeopardy", 7.07 "Enemy Mine", 7.10 "Birthright", 8.05 "Icon") not to mention two alternate versions of people he knows well in our reality but who had never met him (1.20 "There But For the Grace of God", 3.06 "Point of View"). He's also very good at recognizing when apparent friends are not what they seem (4.02 "The Other Side").

Moral Centre

His understanding of right and wrong have made him the moral center of his team, reminding them when the military solution is not always the key to the proper end, and finding alternatives to problems that seem to have no positive solution (4.09 "Scorched Earth"). In order to ensure the right course of action is followed and completely uncaring of personal consequences, he does not hesitate to question or defy any authority figure on world, off world, or at times members of his own team. Neither does he hesitate to throw himself into the breach, risking his life, and at times - giving it. He seems unconcerned with his own life when the lives of others hang in the balance, and willingly places himself in danger in order to search for answers to impossible questions.

The Many Deaths Of Daniel

On more than one occasion, he has offered up his own life to save others, and has actually died several times, although fortunately for us so far it hasn't proven to be a permanent condition:

• On the first mission to Abydos, he stepped in the way of a staff blast meant for Col. O'Neill, and was killed. Ra subsequently placed him in his sarcophagus and revived him (Stargate, the Movie).

• Killed by a Jaffa staff blast while trying to capture Apophis, he was revived by the Nox (1.07 "The Nox").

• Dealt a mortal wound by a Jaffa while aboard Klorel's ship bound for the destruction of Earth; after urging Jack to leave him behind and proceed with the mission, Daniel managed to drag his dying body to Klorel's sarcophagus and heal himself, returning to Earth through the Stargate (2.01 "The Serpent's Lair Part 2").

• Crushed by a rock slide, Daniel was placed in the sarcophagus of Pyrus the god-slayer. He was also consequently coaxed into using it repeatedly while healthy, and became addicted to its effects (2.05 "Need").

• After Ma'chello switched bodies with him, Daniel slipped into a coma and very nearly died in the old man's body before his eloquent plea for his own rights reminded the bitter alien he had become what he most despised and persuaded him to relinquish Daniel's body to him (2.17 "Holiday").

• After visiting a Goa'uld pleasure planet, Daniel became physically addicted to the machine that controlled the light room. Back on Earth and suffering from withdrawal, he almost committed suicide, but was coaxed off his balcony by Col. O'Neill and taken to the base infirmary. His condition deteriorated until he fell into a coma and flat lined, but returning him to the planet revived him. The condition was reversed with a gradual turning down of the machine (4.18 "The Light").

• Daniel's final heroic action saved the people of Kelowna and his teammates, but resulted in his body being flooded with a massive dose of naquadria radiation. Headed for death, he was visited by alien entity, Oma Desala, and given the option of ascension. She guided him through the process, and his body vanished in a fountain of radiant energy, taking him to a higher plane of existence (5.21 "Meridian").

• Although it doesn't count as an official 'death' because he didn't actually die after being subdued by Nem, the rest of SG-1 were implanted with false memories and returned to Earth believing Daniel had in fact been killed on the mission. All of the members of SG-1 were deeply distressed by his death, and disturbing flashbacks caused them to start questioning their memories until Carter, after submitting to hypnotic regression, recalled the events on Nem's planet as they had actually occurred. They returned to Oannes to happily discover their friend was very much alive (1.13 "Fire and Water").

Loss, Grief And Failure

Daniel tends to be very hard on himself — to remember his failures more than his successes. When faced with the chance to ascend, he admitted he felt his life had been a failure, and that his actions had led to Sha're's suffering and death. Only after Oma reminded him that his intentions had always been good was he able to believe he was worthy of ascension (5.21 "Meridian").

He appears embarrassed when receiving praise, as if he doesn't like to be the center of positive attention (7.04 "Orpheus", 7.07 "Enemy Mine"). At the same time, since his return from ascension, he seems to have come to terms with his life, to believe that finally he has found his place in the world (7.04 "Orpheus").

When it comes to grief and personal loss, Daniel often keeps his feelings to himself, though there is no question he feels losses deeply. In his dream of Sha're's death, he was reluctant to discuss his grief with his teammates and tried to keep from crying in front of them. Rather than turn to them for comfort, he decided to leave the SGC (3.10 "Forever In A Day").

After witnessing the death of his friend and doctor, Janet Fraiser, Daniel again sought no comfort, grieving quietly and alone in the room where she had tried to save him from radiation poisoning. Yet he turned his grief into concern for Janet's legacy, in the end insisting that the video of her death be made available to the documentarians. He overcame his own sorrow to help Airman Wells deal with his feelings of guilt over Janet's death, and he was there to help welcome Wells' daughter Janet into the world, again honoring Janet's life and what she meant to him. In all those events we never saw him seek comfort from anyone, though we hope it was given at some point (7.18 "Heroes Part 2").

Reverence For Life

Daniel was duplicated on P3X-989 (Altair), along with the rest of his team. Initially the doubles were forced to remain there, because the station where they were housed provided them with continuous power. If they left, their power supply would steadily diminish over a period of a few hours (1.18 "Tin Man"). However, the artificial Carter created a portable power supply which would allow them up to 48 hours away from Altair, and they subsequently began going out on "missions." The Jackson android was destroyed on Juna (P3X-729) by order of Cronus (4.21 "Double Jeopardy"). The rest of the Altair team was also destroyed.

This android encounter did not change Daniel's inherent respect for life in all its various forms. When SG-1 discovered the android Reese, he immediately related to her as if she were a human being. Her childlike innocence both charmed and alarmed him when he discovered that she was the creator of the Replicators, but he strove valiantly to create a sense of trust between them in order to get her to shut her "toys" down before they destroyed his planet. This consequently led to deeply painful angst between himself and Jack when the colonel shot Reese to prevent a take-over of the base and the planet by her Replicator bodyguards/army (5.19 "Menace").

A 'Problem' With Heights

In Thor's Hall Of Might, undergoing a trial of bravery involving scaling a narrow beam across a bottomless abyss, Daniel confessed to having a 'problem' with heights (2.06 "Thor's Chariot"), but it is unclear whether he was joking or has an actual fear of heights. He seemed to have no problem scaling the over 22 feet high crate containing the Stargate in the DC warehouse in 1969 (S2-21,"1969"). He also maintained an eighth floor apartment in Colorado Springs and definitely did not seem to experience vertigo or otherwise react when he realised his was standing on the wrong side of the balcony's protective railing about to do something horrible before Jack arrived (4.18 "The Light").

Biography Articles

• Daniel Jackson Biography Home And Links
• The Stargate Movie
• Academic Credentials And Skills
• Characteristics And Motivations
• Family And Relationships
• Civilian Consultant To The U.S. Air Force
• Injuries Received
• Expressions
• Favorites
• Hobbies
• Key Episodes in Daniel's Character Arc