8.12 "Prometheus Unbound" Episode Guide
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Précis
General Hammond and the crew of the Prometheus are stranded on a failing al'kesh when the mysterious alien rebel Vala steals the Prometheus…and Daniel Jackson. Daniel and Vala battle for control of the ship, but will Daniel be swayed by Vala's claims to need Prometheus to help her embattled people who are facing annihilation by Ba'al?
Guide | Transcript
SciFi.com Official Summary
With the Atlantis team unheard from since they left, a mission has been greenlighted to take the starship Prometheus to the Pegasus Galaxy. Daniel Jackson wants in. General O'Neill says no; Daniel is too valuable to risk. But O'Neill's decision is overridden by the mission commander—none other than General Hammond, former leader of Stargate Command and now head of Homeworld Security.
Hammond needs someone who can speak and translate Ancient and feels that no one is more qualified for this mission than Daniel. Hammond has assigned himself to lead this mission, having sat on the sidelines for so long as he sent many people out into the unknown, many of whom never came back. Owing to the dangerous nature of this mission, the Prometheus takes off with only a skeleton crew: SG-3, commanded by Col. Reynolds; a flight crew; and several scientists, including one Dr. Lindsey Novak.
While in hyperspace, the Prometheus receives a distress call from 50 light-years away (20 minutes' flight time) from what sounds like a human female. Daniel suggests they check it out. Upon arrival, they find two Goa'uld vessels adrift, a cargo ship and an Al'kesh. The scenario looks suspicious; a human distress call from a Goa'uld ship? Reynolds and SG-3 ring over. They find four dead Jaffa. Suddenly the ring transporter is activated: A Goa'uld super-soldier leaves the Al'kesh and boards the Prometheus. Hammond and the crew are overpowered by the super-soldier, transported onto the Al'kesh and stranded as the Prometheus goes into hyperspace—with Daniel still aboard.
Tied up on the bridge of the Prometheus, Daniel tries to communicate with the super-soldier, who removes her helmet to reveal herself as a beautiful woman, named Vala. Getting right to the point, she demands the access code to the Prometheus' hyperdrive.
Daniel frees himself, dukes it out with Vala and throws her in the brig. He wants her to tell him how to access the navigational controls, to which she has rewritten the access codes. Vala refuses; Prometheus is going to her homeworld whether Daniel likes it or not.
She explains that 10 years ago, a Tok'ra incited a rebellion on her planet against the ruling Goa'uld, who was captured alive, tortured and beaten for days. Vala was the host of that Goa'uld. The Tok'ra took pity on her, removed her symbiote and nursed her back to health. It wasn't long before another Goa'uld, the System Lord named Camulus, showed up. Vala's people escaped to a nearby moon, but it didn't have a stargate. Vala intends to use the Prometheus to transport her people off the moon to another world.
The Prometheus lands on a planet, but it is not Vala's moon. There, Daniel meets two nonhuman beings who have a case of weapons-grade Naquadah to trade for the Prometheus. He realizes that there are no stranded people. These aliens are Vala's customers.
Suddenly, a fleet of Al'kesh arrives and fire on their position. Daniel zats the aliens and runs back on to the Prometheus. He frees Vala to help him navigate the ship. They fight a losing battle as their shields collapse and their weapons become depleted. Then, without warning, one Al'kesh destroys another! It is being controlled by Hammond and his crew. Dr. Novak has made the abandoned Al'kesh operational and tracked the Prometheus. Hammond destroys another Al'kesh and the other attackers flee.
With the Prometheus' hull damaged, the trip to Pegasus must be postponed. Hammond decides to take the Prometheus and the Al'kesh—manned by SG-3—back to Earth. Before they can get underway, Vala escapes, rings over to the Al'kesh, rings SG-3 back to the Prometheus, then races off into hyperspace.
"She's good," quips the shell-shocked Daniel.
Cast
- Richard Dean Anderson as Brig. Gen. Jack O'Neill
- Amanda Tapping as Lt. Col. Samantha Carter
- Christopher Judge as Teal'c
- and Michael Shanks as Dr. Daniel Jackson
Guest Stars
- Don S. Davis as Gen. George Hammond
- Claudia Black as Vala
- Eric Breker as Col. Reynolds
- Gary Jones as Sgt. Walter Harriman
- Ellie Harvie as Dr. Lindsey Novak
- Morris Chapdelaine as Tenat
- Christopher Pearce as Bosworth
- Geoff Redknap as Alien
- Dan Payne as Super Soldier
Production
- Written by Damian Kindler
- Directed by Andy Mikita
Related Articles
Keywords
- Al'kesh
- Ancients
- Atlantis Expedition Team
- Atlantis in the Pegasus Galaxy
- Ba'al
- Camulus
- Cargo Ship
- Goa'uld
- Homeworld Security
- Naquadah
- Prometheus
- Prometheus Crew
- SG-3
- Super Soldier
- Symbiote
- Tok'ra
Other
- Season Eight Episode Guides
- Episode Guides
- Transcripts
- 8.12 "Prometheus Unbound" Transcript
- Previous: 8.11 "Gemini" Episode Guide
- Next: 8.13 "It's Good To Be King" Episode Guide
Related Links
Official
Fan
- Solutions On-Site Forum: Season Eight Discussion Board
- Solutions LJ Companion Site
- Stargatefan Season Eight (Episode Guides, Transcripts, Multimedia, Missing Scenes)
- SG-1Web: Nitpicker's NetGuide Season Eight
- Stargate Screencaps: Season Eight
--DeeKayP 19:12, 22 Dec 2004 (PST)