“Bloodlines" sees SG-1 return to Chulak in order to help Teal’c rescue his son from bonding with a Goa’uld larva and bring said larva back to the CIA for study. Mission priorities are in that order. This is the first time we meet talc’s family and the recurring character of Bra’tac, talc’s mentor. The episode deals primarily with the weight of Teal’c’s sacrifice in betraying the Goa’uld, but there are other subtle moments for the other main characters. After a failed experiment to safely remove Tral’c’s symbiote so it can be studied, he suggests a mission to Chulak to steal a symbiote that has not yet been bonded with a Jaffa. Hammond nixes the idea. Jack agrees because of the risks, but notes his refusal appears to have unusually bothered the otherwise stoic Teal’c. teal’c confides in jack that he abandoned his family in order to join SG-1. His son is about to come of age when he will be bonded with a symbiote. Teal’c does not want his son, Rya’c, to become a slave to the Goa’uld. Jack empathizes, though Charlie is not invoked. Hammond eventually relents.
On Chulak, SG-1 discovers the teal’c family home has been burned down. According to Bra’tac, who greets teal’c warmly, his family have become outcasts due to his betrayal. They now live in a primitive, budget saving village . Jack, enhancing the paternal protection notion, orders sam and Daniel back to the stargate while he joins Teal’c and Bra’tac in rescuing Rya’c from bonding.
Teal’c interrupts the bonding ceremony. His wife, Drey’auc, is none too happy. Not only have the family’s fortunes dropped, but Rya’c has contracted scarlet fever. Only a larva could save him. Jack suggests taking him to earth for treatment. Rya’c takes a turn for the worse on the journey back, forcing Teal’c to give his symbiote to his son even though it will cost him his life.
Meanwhile, Sam and Daniel watch as a group of priests arrive through the stargate with a container full of larva for the temple. They follow in order to steal one of the larva. They capture on of the little buggers, but afterwards, Daniel has a crisis of conscience. He wants to destroy then tire container so the larva cannot enslave anyone. Sam says it would be immoral. To kill them would make him no better than the Goa’uld. Daniel seems convinced for the briefest of moments, then opens fire, killing all the larva. The personal pain of losing his wife to a larva motivated him to do so. Sam says nothing about his act. Presumably, ashe understands.
The two meet up with the others in time to offer up the symbiote they took to Teal’c before he expires. He says goodbye to his family, whom he orders to say he kidnapped them against their will, and bra’tac, who helps SG-1 make it to the stargate. Through his actions, Bra’tac establishes himself as an ally for the future.
‘Bloodlines” is a fine example of Stargate SG-1’s strengths, that is to say character driven, rather than plot driven stories. If I have any complaints about the episode, it is that Sam does not get a moment to shine. Teal’c, jack, and Daniel’s actions are motivated by emotional connections to family. Sam is just along for the ride. In fact, there are only two proactive bits for her. One is when she reaches into the tank to grab a larva. It is played for laughs. The other is her appeal to the better side of Daniel’s nature to not kill the larva. She is ignored, and says nothing at any point later over her concerns being dismissed. This even though the next scene with Rya’c’s life being saved by a larva demonstrates they can have a possible benefit. I understand sam is going to become a much stronger, more interesting character, but she is really trampled on in the early going.
She is still about about nine layers of awesome, though. she is not the main emphasis of “Bloodlines,’ so I cannot hold her treatment to harshly against the rest of the episode. Rating; *** (out of 5)
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