Divide and Conquer

This is Stargate SG1 For the First Time! From the creators of Babylon 5 For the First Time, Jeff Akin is watching this iconic show for the first time while Brent Allen, who has seen it at least 47 times, is watching for the first time for those sci-fi messages that hold a mirror up to society or show us how to be better human beings.

Divide and Conquer - Season 4, Episode 5

Visit https://www.patreon.com/badnerds for more!

This show is produced in association with the Akin Collective, Mulberry Entertainment, and Framed Games. Find out how you can support the show and get great bonus content like access to notes, a Discord server, unedited reaction videos, and more: https://www.patreon.com/babylon5first

Special Thanks to all who support our show through Patreon, including: 
Executive Producers:
Addryc
Andrew
Anthony Powell
Becky Sparks
Calinicus
Colin 3of5
Colin Blair
Daniel Alves
David
Deb L.
Dundradal
Fabio Kasecker
Jack Kitchen
James Okeefe
Jeffrey Hayes
Jesse Piedfort
kat
Katerina Kalinevich
Kenny A Karyadi
Krystle Wright
Martin Svendsen
Matt Ion
Mattie Garcia
Mitsy Marcella
Mr Krosis
Neil Moore
Nia is framed
Paul Walcher
Peter Schuller
Rob Bent
Ron H
Sarah L
Scott Helsby
Snatcher42
Starfury 5470
Stuart98
Suzanne Egg
Texas Anla'Shok
Tom Occhipinti
TrekkieTreyTheTrekker

Producers:
David Blau
Guy Kovel
John Koniges 

Follow us:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/badnerdsftft/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/badnerds.bsky.social
https://www.babylon5first.com/
Visit https://www.patreon.com/badnerds to join the Patreon for full, unedited videos and an incredible community.

Christopher Judge intro bumper for Bad Nerds

Royal Highness!

OH HEY! It’s you! You found us! We are so glad you’re here.  You don’t have to...

Listen on: Apple Podcasts  

Chapters

• 31:01 [Ad] Royal Highness!
• 31:54 (Cont.) Divide and Conquer

Transcript

[0:12] Welcome to Stargate SG-1 for the first time. Still not a Star Trek podcast. My name is Jeff Akin, and I'm watching Stargate SG-1 for the first time. And I'm Brent Allen, and I'm also watching Stargate SG-1. But I'm watching for the 47th time. However, for the very first time, I am specifically watching this series, looking for those messages, those morals, those things that it's trying to teach us. How is it holding up a mirror to society and showing us just how ugly or beautiful we really are? Is it giving us hope that things could be better in the future? Or is it just teaching us how to be better human beings to one another? I'm going to find out if it has any of those things in this, the fifth episode of the fourth season, Divide and Conquer.

[0:56] My prediction was a pretty generic and weak one. And I basically reached into my bag of tropes and I said, go to a planet when there's war and I don't know, they're going to divide and conquer. So, I mean, those generic predictions are pretty good at getting close to a close to an accurate one. You know, I will tell you, reaching into a bag of tropes will not often lead you wrong in any sci-fi series. And Stargate is certainly included in that. Well, we'll find out in just a moment what this episode really was about. But before we get there, as Jeff said, this is the fifth episode of season four, Divide and Conquer. Jeff, the original air date, July 28th in the year 2000. This is a Martin Wood joint. So we'll be checking out. We'll be looking for him. I believe in this one, Jeff, we start seeing him piled up with Sergeant Siler, the stunt coordinator slash dude with a big old wrench who fixes everything. I think this is where we start seeing him paired up with him. I could be wrong. We'll find out the fifth or sixth time you've guessed. So, you know, eventually that'll land.

[2:04] Just listen you just keep throwing it out there eventually it hits right only got to hit once only got to hit once uh jeff have you noticed we've had a new cast member for the last two episodes we have we have we have freya slash anise oh yeah yeah uh have you recognized her do you recognize the actress i do not she's a cast member she's a such like a guest star well Yeah, we're going to talk about that right now. Her name is Vanessa Angel. You've seen her in a handful of things out there. You know, she's definitely got that that pretty girl face. Now, they introduced her into the series. And you're going to love this particular story as a means to combat. I'm reading this word for word out of the wiki or something like that, because I love how it just says it.

[2:58] A niece as a character a niece and freya was introduced as a means to combat the ratings climb achieved by star trek voyagers introduction of sexy female cast member seven of nine played by jerry ryan just a couple of years earlier wow so basically they looked over there and went they added a hot chick let's add a hot chick and they went and got, Vanessa Angel. Now, Peter DeLuise, the guy who would go on to later explain that after they doubt this is she's in two episodes. Spoiler alert. She's in today's episode.

[3:37] After just a few episodes of reviewing the ratings, they determined that not just not just the ratings for these episodes, but the series as a whole. They're like actually we have pretty good ratings we don't need this so this is going to be her final appearance oh my goodness yeah it's i just have to say it's pretty wild because i never i never saw her as eye candy who oh vanessa angel or jerry a niece i mean the the character, like so her outfits were a little weird right like they're pretty revealing for sure yeah but i always thought it was just like because she seemed to say really intelligent things and she really represented the Tok'ra like in a valid way so I just thought it was like she's going to wear this outfit so but it makes sense you know the Jerry Ryan thing but they were literally trying to solve a problem that, didn't exist didn't exist yeah yeah they're like actually our ratings are fine we don't need this let's get rid of it sucks for the for her for vanessa angel she's like hey i got this character this is what oh shoot all right thanks yeah you're bringing me you're bringing me in because you saw it work over there a couple of years ago and you're trying to oh well fine also by the way vanessa angel did audition for the role of seven of nine over on voyager oh she obviously didn't get it so you know once again vanessa angels like damn you jerry ryan so close so close.

[5:01] Well with that jeff it is time to go watch today's episode divide and conquer hey if you guys out there are just joining us for the very first time because every episode is somebody's first time first of all welcome you're amazing you're awesome and thanks for joining us here at stargate sg1 for the first time what's about to happen is is jeff and i are going to watch this episode right now If you're hanging out with us on YouTube, stick around because you're going to catch the reaction video. And if you want that full, unedited reaction, head over to our Patreon page, patreon.com slash bad nerds. If you're listening to us on a podcasting app, you're about to gate into the future. We're going to be waiting for you there where I'm going to share my first time reactions. Brent will share the sci-fi messages that he digs out of this one. So, Brent, let's sit down and let's divide and conquer.

[6:01] Tuesday doesn't work for the president. The High Council of the Tokar is making his first journey to Earth to sign an official treaty that outlines our new alliance in the fight against the Goa'uld. What could possibly be more important than that? Keeping that treaty a secret from the general population of our planet. Wednesday, how's Wednesday? State of the Union at this time. What does it all be fine? You may go. Colonel O'Neill, Dr. Jackson, Major Graham, Captain Blasdell. I represent Supreme High Counselor Persis. Please. Forgive me for being late. It's an honor to meet you. Look out! Oh! Dude, he got zatted and nothing happened. Nothing? Flapsed right through it. Is that Jim Carrey? Stop. Stop. Stop.

[7:12] I like how it got all the rocks and everything, but no... He's under the control of something else, clearly. Well, so do you recognize that little hand device? Uh-uh. Do you remember way back when we watched Jolinar's, no, not Jolinar, In the Line of Duty, when we first met Jolinar, when she took over Sam, that was what the little assassin dude had. Okay. The Ashran or something like that? Oh, my God. How do you remember that name? I don't know. I just remember things. Major Graham was a Zaytark. A Zaytark. the victim of gold mind control technology it is likely that if the goal knew major graham was going to be here to meet the high counselor then they know about the treaty some it is true that any of your personnel who may have encountered the gold in the last two months may have fallen victim the problem is zaytac programming is virtually impossible to detect that is not true your method is unproven it worked on one previous occasion even that is in question it is all we have right now excuse me do we or do we not have a xanax detector.

[8:17] All outstanding sg teams are being recalled for screening and placed on a 24-hour watch i would like knowing what we learned last week that most of the tokra were born right they were they were born from the the queen ajira um any loss is a really big deal right and so this and then knowing this has happened a couple more times like this is almost a Like a subtle war of attrition that the Gould are playing against the Tok'ra at this point. To begin with the remaining members of Major Graham's team, there was obviously opportunity to program him on a recent mission. This way. Major Carter. You know, knowing now that she was brought in as like a kind of a seven of nine foil, like I could, her outfit, everything. I can't take her serious now. Like, knowing that has undercut her character. You think so? Yeah.

[9:20] Stare at... Stare at the tree. as completely and truthfully as possible. Describe for me your recent mission to P6Y325. Well, it seemed to be a routine meet and greet, at least at first. Lysarians were a fairly primitive... people. So it's a lie detector. It's even more. It can detect whether a person is being truthful, even if they're not aware they are lying. So it reads the subconscious and compares it to the conscious memory. It was originally created to verify information retrieved through the torture of captured Go-Hoo. That thing on her forehead looks like a Toker memory recall device. Yes, a modified version. It is able to decipher whether the memory being recalled by the subject is true or false. So it indicates a Zetar because the Gould used false memories to cover the program? That is an Aneesia's theory, yes. Can you identify the Zaytark's mission? Unfortunately, no. It will only tell us if a person is a Zaytark, not what he's programmed to do. I like all of this exposition they're giving us to convince us that stuff works. Yeah. It could mean the lieutenant just reiterated something out of order. Lieutenant, please repeat the last sequence, and remember to be specific about every detail, even your feelings at the time. Okay, I really don't know exactly what happened. There wasn't much time to stand around. We booked for the Stargate, but the clearing was filled with Jafar. SG-15 was already under fire. It felt like they were coming at us from all sides.

[10:50] Don't stop! Keep moving! She's doing a really good job. He and Sergeant Lewis were pinned down. That thousand-yard stare, giving the whole narrative. Like, this is a really good PTSD to send. How did you feel? Are you kidding? I was scared out of my mind. Are you certain you shot the Jaffa? Positive. I shot the Jaffa, but I did not shoot the go-out. There you go. I shot the Jaffa.

[11:33] That's a hit song, Jeff. Right? One of our many.

[11:37] You think so? There is a procedure we could try. Is it safe? It is experimented at best. General, do you want to remind you what happened the last time we trusted this woman? You are referring to my symbiote, Anise, Colonel, and I would not suggest this if I thought there was a better alternative. What's the worst case scenario? The procedure actually damages the portion of the brain that has been affected by the Zetok technology. Lieutenant Astra could lose more than just her false memory. How much more? Won't be clear until after the procedure. I hate the idea of sitting here deciding the fate of one of our officers, but what choice do we have? General, the security of this base cannot be compromised. Furthermore, when her programming is triggered, she will inevitably become self-destructive. Let's give Lieutenant Astor the choice. There you go. That's it right there. That's right, Jack. Some choice. But you at least give them the dignity and the respect of doing that. Something's going to happen anyway. Right. Tell her what's up and let her choose what happens to her. I have to admit I'm a little scared. Actually, that's not true. I'm terrified. I understand. Please try to stay calm. I swear I'm shocked at Tafaa. Major Graham returned with Captain Blasdale and Sergeant Lewis. You said you were surrounded. Jaffa were everywhere. Six other SG team members died that night. Yet you and your team managed to get through the Stargate unharmed. I thought we were just that good. I am going to begin. Freya's not very nice.

[13:03] There's a lot of similarities to Seven of Nine as a character when you understand that now, you know? It hurts. Stop! Please! Stop! Stop the procedure. Yeah, Tok'ra.

[13:28] Showing that she is that good. Bester's been in her head, dude. Yep. The Bester! She's got a gun. She's firing. I'm going to put myself wide out in the open and scream her name. Hey! You! Right here! No! It's like four seconds she's holding up before she blasted. Somebody could have bum-rushed her. Yeah. Yeah. But, you know, drama, Jeff. Exactly. And as a gun. I mean, you don't necessarily want to run at that. Both SF suffered serious injuries, but they're going to be okay. The gold programming must have an embedded fail-safe that prevents it from being tampered with. Good, Colonel. Now let's move to your mission on PX-9757. Um, I went after the Maquita. It's just a really weird mechanism. Don't move! Clip show, right? We got ourselves a clip show, but added stuff with the SG-15 thing from before. After that. But she's just interrogating them. A lot of questions about this machine, too. When I realized Carter wasn't with me, I stopped.

[14:41] You couldn't get through the shield again. No. The force shield disappeared and we ran. Sounds easy, but I wouldn't say that. Are you sure you're telling me everything? Why is she being a jerk? I tried to go for the naquity. I don't forget that, leave it! But Colonel O'Neal ordered me to leave it. That's everything. Yeah. Are you disappointed it didn't pop something? I'm not serious.

[15:16] I'm not serious. They're all going to pop positive because it's flawed this whole thing is like, i don't know if she's on purpose or not but like this whole thing is a sham you think so we still don't know anything about the targets involved in the event that we do proceed i'm forwarding she might think she's doing the right thing yes sir both colonel o'neill and major carter martus got it down this is not proven thank you mr president they've certainly done a good job of setting up that conflict and planting that seed haven't they, give a second huh us retested apparently I'm one of those Zark things too I'm that can't be I know David Warner's although we were both unconscious at the same time apparently, sir I got it Jeff it's at least possible I'm Jack and you're Sam.

[16:14] You are probably not happy to see me well if you're not here to tell me it's all a big mistake i might be a little glum i have come to apologize it's sort of our fault you are a zaytark maybe a little more in ease than me i knew that she's gonna be a zaytark that's how they get her off the show the experiment with the armbands was the reason you went on the mission to destroy apophis's new ship this is her program hey listen keep a secret by being the secret and telling the secret carter and i They aren't really... Zaytarks? Zaytarks. I do not believe that is possible. Is there something else? I had not thanked you for saving my life on Vorash when you saved me for a second time during the situation with Lieutenant Astor. Exactly how is she going to thank me, Jeff? I don't think I'd have done it for anyone. Oh, hey-o! There you go. Hey, he's got a girl back on that one planet over there that we keep forgetting about. Yeah, so he's like, whoa, whoa. Consent's a two-way street lady. What you doing? I originally came from a planet where the people were not afraid to show their affection for someone. When we wanted to, Lama Sham... Excuse me? I believe you call it... Something else. Something else. Anise, my symbiote, is far more interested in Dr. Jackson on an intellectual level, but she would have to suffer.

[17:33] Look, there's so many reasons why this is wrong. 100% hold on. Weird. 100% on an 18 or over website that some states can no longer access. There's a version of this episode where Anise and Freya and Daniel and Jack Loma Chen. 100%. I ain't looking it up, but I'm positive that things out there. Please make sure you say that when we get to the audio portion of this for the podcast. That's hilarious. Wrong. Did I mention wrong? Is it because I share my body with Anise? For starters... Do you not find me attractive? Oh, you're...

[18:15] I could blow here any minute if i were the target your zeta programming would have triggered long ago this is not the best choice of words there no good no is there someone else to whom you are loyal yes that's not really the point here is it i sensed you have been made uncomfortable by my offer no there's a few well yeah i had heard that the humans of earth had many inhibitions and stigmas surrounding intimacy. Yes. Usually just the Americans. There's also a matter of timing. I am still quite hopeful we will find a way to help both you and Major Carter. Then maybe you should be out doing that. What do you think? Wait, where is Carter? She's locked up somewhere. Once again, I find myself feeling the need to apologize. Don't you lock up people together? We're adults. Isn't that the rule? I will make an effort to learn more about your customers I think they'll let him stay in their rooms. I will not make you so uncomfortable again. Yes. Very good idea. Thank you. Man, he would have been standing out there the whole time. Right?

[19:15] Jack would have walked out and he would have turned around and looked at him and gone. The president is still uncomfortable with the phrase for the common interest of the Topra and the humans of Earth. I'm recommending in pursuit of freedom for all individuals. I have been reviewing my notes on prior incidents with Zatarks, and I'm concerned that we are endangering Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill by keeping them confined. Why? In at least one case, I think the Zatark lost control when it became evident that they could no longer achieve their objective. So by keeping them confined, they won't be able to fulfill their programming and they will become self-destructive. Why hasn't that happened yet? The triggering event hasn't occurred yet. However, if that passes... The meeting between the High Counselor and the President. What if we postpone? That could have some effect. There's sure a lot of ifs. If the program part of their minds believes they are no longer able to fulfill the goal. So, what do we do? I've come to present an option to you. Not what Freya tried on Lieutenant Astor. She thinks that the procedure failed because she stopped before it was finished. Because Astor went crazy. Maybe what she tried on Colonel Neal. Freya thinks that the failsaid protecting the Zatar programming can be overcome if the procedure is given a fair chance to work. What's the rush? Freya has seen prior evidence that suggests if Zaytok is prevented from achieving their objective. And? If your objective is to target the president. You're saying I would try and kill myself? Yes. We got that in the last scene. Two days, right? Thank you.

[20:30] I guess we wait and see or you could go through with the procedure which could cause me to lose my mind anyway just like aster did yes or the procedure could work and i could still end up with serious brain damage yes yes i know not only do i not want to risk losing what you still carry of jolinar but i've grown quite fond of you as well so oh gee oh it's all based on assumptions right i mean we don't know that the president yes it is we don't even know if i'll lose my mind because the summit's going on and i'm stuck in here and we don't know for sure that you will suffer any ill effects from the procedure and we don't know that aster was a thing and that thing didn't just cause her to go all wild like you don't know anything you should just retitle this episode from divide and conquer to yeah we don't know crap we don't know there's a chance you could call it fafo around and find out or not we can be sure they won't threaten the president but how do we keep them from harming themselves during the summit we plan to sedate them and put them in restraints later and for the rest of their lives the only way we can be absolutely sure you won't try and hurt yourself no choice president is due to arrive in less than an hour i've seen this one this is where they wake up 50 or 100 years in the future.

[21:53] Whole new crew there. Uh-huh. Come to say your goodbyes? If there's anything that you require of you. Another option? There is still time to try the procedure. I came to draw an apophis seal on your forehead when you fall asleep. You said if you could have done a proper autopsy on Aster, you might have been able to solve this thing. It would have provided much more information. Do it. What? Hey, I've done the drugged out strapped to bed thing. And if what happened to Lieutenant Aster happens to you? maybe it'll help her her brain's worth a lot more than mine it's a great thing with jack he always sees almost always sees the bigger picture and he's done and put himself out there he's on his way down now why is he doing this he said he'd rather take the risk instead of being put to sleep indefinitely but after it happens he thinks anise can use what she would learn to save you, do you like my new hair you haven't said anything about my hair had the headband and the like bangs over it did you see sam please i have to do this, they literally have a red carpet rolled out on the ramp and daniel just had to show id jack's going through the procedure and they're sedating sam while wearing a tie Receiving token IDC. Open the Irish.

[23:19] Daniel just had to show. These guys forgot their pants. Welcome to Earth. We got some nice knees. Does this dude look like Shakar? Indeed it is. Like not exactly but like he has that that look that vibe to him from the profile looks like that creepy seventh heaven dad guy that we don't talk about anymore but we're talking about during this time so you know sorry sam's going to sleep tilk's like if you turn i will kill you gently quickly, Right. I was most impressed by the revisions you made to the treaty. The critic goes to Dr. Jackson. It's an inspiring document. I only hope both parties can live up to it. Dr. Jackson? Yes. Yes, of course. Sir, Air Force One has just landed. It will take 15 minutes for the president's motorcade to arrive. If you'll excuse me, I'll meet him at the surface and then be back soon. One won't see the president. This will all happen before he shows up. Keep teasing us, like getting closer and closer to actually seeing the president.

[24:37] Sir, there's no time. There's no time. We may have to increase the dose. Yeah. C4's gonna go. You have to get out of here. Now! The machine is wrong. You don't understand. We lied. We didn't even know we'd lie. Please. If you are ready, we will begin. Let her talk. Let her talk.

[25:10] Stop! Mm-mm. Don't want to do the painful thing. Jeff, what were they lying about that they didn't even know they were lying about? Passing out at the same time, no? Carter? What's up? Could we have a moment alone, please? We're not Zaytarks. How do you know? The machine thinks that we have false memories, but we don't. We were lying. I wasn't lying. Okay, you left something out. No, I didn't. Sir, when you wouldn't leave me, are you sure there wasn't something else that you're not admitting? What are you talking about? This is not the way I wanted this to come up. Something neither one else can admit, given our working relationship, our military ranks. Oh, that. Oh, that. Sir, we weren't telling the whole truth. And that's why the machine thinks the memories are... Retest him. And let me watch. You gotta hear what he says. Mr. President. General, please do serious. Good to see you, sir. Here's the president. Major Carter was trapped behind the four-sheel. That's right.

[26:19] Sir, there's no time. There's time for this. There were sounds. You did everything you could. Yes. You couldn't save her. No. But you still could have saved yourself. I guess. Sir? I know! Now! What happened next? Sir, just go! Now! What were you feeling? Like someone who was about to die. That was staring into the eyes of the woman I loved. Say it, Jack.

[27:11] I didn't leave because I'd have rather died myself than lose Carter. Why? Because I care about her. A lot more than I'm supposed to. Please don't tell the general about this, right? You are not a Zaytark. Do me, do me. I hate the guy. I don't know. Thank you. None of this has to leave this room. Broke you that? Yes, sir. Alright, so if they're not Zaytarks, then they're no threat to the president. Oh, I have some questions for him. Every SGC personnel has been tested. Even the High Counselor and his personal guard were tested on Vorash before they came. Hey, what about you? You ever been tested on that thing? I have not been in any situations where I would be vulnerable to the go-old Zaytark technology. What about Martoof? Oh, no. Oh, Martoof's going to kill her. No, I don't like this. I don't like this. I like Martoof.

[28:30] No, he's got the hand buzzer. Martoof, can I? Talk to you inside for a second. Supreme High Counselor, versus of the token and introduce the president of the United States of America. Hey, there you go. You see his face. Oh, it doesn't even phase him. That has me buffered for a second. Dude, adrenaline's a hell of a drug, isn't it? Right. I got to just walk in like a boss. Hold your fire! He's literally just like, I'll just move a little bit here. I got this. Stop him. Stop him. Come on. How? He's going to watch?

[29:24] Thank you. Jeez. Yoink. We're all clear. Is the president all right? He's okay. But I'm afraid this man isn't the president. The real president is still waiting for our signal in Air Force One. There you go. I can't be absolutely sure. I see. You let me come through, but you got a whole thing. I promise you his death will ultimately prove to be a noble sacrifice.

[29:57] Oh marcy look finally we get blood on the right finally only took 18 bullets to the chest right, that's a touching end yeah i've honestly forgot that's how that one ended all right jeff you have just divided you have just conquered we've just finished this episode take us through it you have just watched this one for the very first time what are your reactions to it the wrong tokra died uh i love now wait a minute are you saying that only because i told you this is vanessa angel's final episode what you told me about vanessa angel and the character i think skewed everything for me about this episode probably knowing it was her last one i was expecting her to die i expected her to be the bad guy even if she wasn't intentionally like as she's putting all this stuff together my theory was that she was the zaytark and part of her programming was to set this thing up to basically blame all the key players of being zaytarks and then had this whole device it didn't activate them but just you.

[31:08] Know fired him up and made him go wild so they'd either kill themselves or get killed but no she's she's dead on apparently like a whole lot of ifs a whole lot of like i don't knows like so so much of this episode was based on stuff that just doesn't doesn't add up for me one time there's this thing that happened we believe that maybe this thing and then they have this magical machine that can tell if you're lying even if you don't know you're lying so it just knows like the verifiable true truth yeah.

[31:47] Like, what if I sit there and I say, I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God. And it's like, no, you're lying. You don't know you're lying. But like, does the machine know that? Like, how much of this thing does it know? And so I just kept waiting in the whole thing for the test to get ripped apart. There's something wrong with the test. There's something wrong with the activation. But no, at the end, they totally validated it. hey we got false positives because we weren't telling the whole truth now i've taken some flack from you and from other people for not being all hooray for jack and sam yeah but this was really good i really liked the way they did this yeah it they they're taking their time uh with it it came out like they both resisted it because they know the whole thing and i even like the way that he said it, you know, his line was, I care about her a lot more than I'm supposed to. It's a great line. Yeah. Great line. Yeah. Love that part of the episode. Hey, by the way, if I can just, if I can point this out, just being on the other side.

[32:58] Yes, I gave you a lot of flack. A lot of it was very tongue in cheek because I was very aware that my feelings for Jack and Sam, even in the early episodes, are incredibly colored by episodes like this one. Right. That I've already seen that you have not seen. I'm aware of that.

[33:19] I'm acutely aware of that, having just gone through Babylon 5 and really relatively not too long ago, having gone through Star Trek with Matt and many of the same situations. I can color earlier interactions and episodes based on where I know and other episodes that happen later on down the road that first time watchers just don't get. Yeah, didn't see it. But the way they did this, I buy it and I'm excited about it. And I think the way they did it also means it can lay low.

[33:51] This isn't one of those reveals where, oh, now they got to be a couple. And this is the thing. They can totally shove this to the side for as long as they want, really, forever. Or they can pop it up and play with it. It was really, this was really cool and really well done. A lot more well done than when Freya came in and just laid it on Jack. Like hey super i'm super into you and i'm just gonna kiss you and i want to do all this other stuff i mean i'm way into you anise my uh my symbiote she's into daniel uh you know but me i'm into you which makes me believe that there is a 100 chance somewhere out there on one of 18 and over websites that some states don't have access to anymore but one of those sites there's a scene there isn't there's a version of this episode divide and conquer where daniel jack freya and anise oh they're all doing some low machin.

[34:53] I'm not looking it up not but if you happen to good on you, Good on you. A little ghouled love, a little Tok'ra love. There you go. I think one of the big things out of this is now Zatarks are a thing, apparently. Yeah. So we have like the Cylons in the Battlestar Galactica that was around this time, shortly after. We've got the Founders, the Changelings in Deep Space Nine. We've got that hidden unknown threat and not really a clear, easy way of testing for them. Right. Another thing they get to kind of set aside and pull out when they want to. It'll probably be later in the season or some point. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, that Zatar thing. Like, that's a thing. I am curious how they all get that little Ashran killer device thing. Like, they implant the thing in them. But how do they slip them the little device? They hide it somewhere in their person. Right.

[35:52] I got this watch from your dad. Right. Put it the only place I could. Two last thoughts. One writing, one real world. In the writing here, Jack, Jack's a freaking hero. Yeah. Like, for real. So I can disconnectivate in me. Same thing that happened to Aster can happen to me, and I can, you know, start going... Attacking everybody and then killing myself yeah that can totally happen if i do that will it help sam hey it could all right let's do it like he just is he he's such a smart ass all the time but the thing i love about him consistently is his ego never gets in the way rarely gets in the way and never like in these big moments he just sees that bigger picture and is that you know and understands that him sacrificing is probably the right thing to do and he's not afraid to do it, on that i had another one other thought on the whole uh freya going in and trying to with him he couldn't name drop lara like she's like is there anybody else who's like well.

[36:55] I get they couldn't because like they're steering towards the whole jack and sam thing but i want my lara back like that was that was a good relationship, i want to highlight the actor who played lieutenant astor oh yeah i don't know her name, but in her scene so a portion of this show was a clip show that was not a clip show and then another portion was a clip show that was a clip show but Lieutenant Astor was leading us through the part that wasn't because it was a thing that happened in the past we never got to see SG-15 on the ground fighting a bunch of Jaffa and she had this thousand yard stare going the way she was just factually narrating out what happened it was such a great portrayal of PTSD SD.

[37:42] It was understated it wasn't mentioned it wasn't a part of the story it's just because that's that's life right for them it's not a thing they necessarily have to shine a light on it's just hey this is what we go through all the time and she did such a great subtle job where i don't i i think that someone not if someone was just watching this through a lens of hey i'm just gonna watch some tv whatever that would just look like a soldier who's talking about you know something that went down but you know we watch this with a little more of an analytical lens and it's really popped out to me like that was an incredible incredible portrayal of ptsd we got a tracking board we do have a tracking board and i know that you want to add something on this one i do i very much do did we count it i don't think we've counted this one yet we haven't yet do you count it i don't think so okay i don't think so yet because what we got what we got That was so what we're talking about here is we're going to count Sam's boyfriends.

[38:42] Yeah, there's a lot of people who haven't been boyfriend girlfriend who are just like, I really care about you more than I more than I'm supposed to. Like that doesn't necessarily mean boyfriend. Like I think we can do the math and see that it will, but it doesn't. Yeah, I don't think so. Yes, it's on TV. You think you think they'll go for it? They can't not do it. Like it's it's well, you know, I say that. And at the same time, there's like the Janeway Chakotay stuff out there where I am a fan of them not having gone there. And I know that's a bone of contention, but you don't always have to hook people up. You just don't have to do it.

[39:20] Looking at you, Seven and Rafi. For real looking at you detmer and awusha con yeah why sorry very happy for the two of you i have no or the four of you no idea how or why that happened looking at you wharf indiana, hey for two episodes we're just gonna have this thing come looking at you chakotay and seven yeah i'm just naming all this i'm just naming all the star trek crap yeah it just because this is still not a star trek podcast it's not at all at all but what it is brent is a podcast where we watch stargate sg1 through a specific lens one in which you try to find those sci-fi messages that star trek often has but so do other series did you find any of those sci-fi messages in divide and conquer you know this is one of those episodes that there's.

[40:17] There's stuff along the surface that you can just walk along and glean and sure we could count that but that's not the kind of messages that we're really talking about here um we always say i guess part of the litmus test of of messages is how intentional is message seem you know and i think we have to put that as a caveat just how much does it seem you and i don't really know.

[40:43] You know there was a lot of times jeff there was a lot of times we're like we're doing babble on fire like yeah there's this out there but i just don't think that's what jms meant and then like, every single comment is like no you're wrong that's exactly what he meant he said so right here yeah here's a quote yeah they pull the reference and quote it's like oh well okay that's wrong there you go um.

[41:06] But in looking at this, most everything here was just driving plot, driving plot, driving plot, driving plot, not necessarily, hey, let's hold up a mirror to society. Not necessarily, let's give us hope for a better future. Not even necessarily, let's show us how we can be better human beings to one another. This was an episode that ultimately came back to Jack and Sam admitting some sort of feeling for each other and recognizing the inappropriateness of it all at the same time. That being said, I do have one thing that I would like to point out, and it is simply this. And this is the one that Brent's gleaning from the entire thing. And I think it sums up the entire episode. Don't assume because, Jeff, you know what happens when you assume? Oh, gee, Brent, what does happen? You make an ass out of you and me. And that's exactly what happened here with Anise and Freya. She made a whole lot of assumptions, made a big old ass out of everybody. That being said, I get to rate this on a scale of zero to seven chevrons. How strong is the message? Well, that particular message actually, I think, is fairly replete all the way through. But I don't think that's necessarily what the writers of the show were going for. They were just trying to show. You know what?

[42:32] Knowing that and i never knew this before this moment jeff before doing this episode tonight that she was brought in kind of as a counterpoint to seven of nine yeah i'm never going to be able to see her as anything but from now on which is really a shame because she's almost exactly like seven of nine she bucks authority she's super smart she's seemingly devoid of emotion she is full of herself, but I'll say she has a way more revealing costume than Jerry Ryan ever did. Oh my gosh. That was, I mean, she was way more. She was almost dressed.

[43:12] I mean, I could almost see things underneath her costume. Like, yeah, it was it was and I'm not, you know, red blooded cishet male here. I'm not complaining, just like acknowledging that it was there and not and not even in the slightest bit necessary. No no not at all not at all um but hey good for vanessa angel yeah you got it flaunt it baby you got it flaunt it and you got it so right um anyway like if i looked like that i would be wearing much less on this on this podcast than i am now oh my jeff i'm talking so much star trek here why was william shatner's shirt off in every episode of star trek you look great just you looked great that's right anyway uh jeff i mean what is there really to give is zero too low of a of a number of chevrons to give this particular episode maybe one maybe half maybe yeah like i'm gonna go between zero and one i'm not even gonna land on a specific number it just it's just there you know So, yeah.

[44:24] Now, I want to remind folks out there that these ratings are, one, incredibly subjective. They're also pulled out of the air right here in this moment because we don't pre-prescribe these or think about these ahead of time. We're doing it here live. Also, they really don't talk about the quality of the episode. They're just talking about the message itself. But Jeff is. The task falls to you, my friend, to rank this episode where we talk about the quality of this episode. How good was this episode? How much would you like to, you know, watch this episode again? So that being said, you get to place this one on our 100% completely accurate and definitive ranking of season four of Stargate SG1. Our current top four. This is going to round out the top five. So from here on out, we'll have a top five, Jeff. Current top four the first episode number one episode of the whole season so far the premiere episode of small victories the second one is upgrades the one where we met a niece uh third one was crossroads our episode from last week and the fourth one was the one with odo more star trek uh jeff where do you slot in divide and conquer i hate this episode with a deep-seated passion only because Martoof died. Oh, yeah. Number 22. Yeah.

[45:42] I hate that they killed Martoof. This episode did some really cool things, and it did it in really unique ways. Like, honestly, the way they killed Martoof, I hate it. It makes sense, though, and it just really took this whole, like... You'll raise the stakes of the whole thing and made us care. So there's that.

[46:00] They turn it. They turn them into the men sharing candidate. Yeah, that's that's what this episode was. Yeah, totally. Yeah. And it was I mean, it was it was well done. A lot in this episode was well done. What really hurt this episode for me was just the premise of maybe if this one time sort of kind of and then it just works in the hand wavy way that they kind of took in there. It's just the way it is. it's just how just don't worry about it too much it got ridiculous and then at the end when she gets to not get tested just because she's like yeah they never had chance you know to implant me so you don't need to test me it's not me really we're just gonna buy that all the more reason to test you exactly i mean i had her pegged as the bad guy the whole time and yeah so i i did not not like this episode i liked it it did a lot of things really really well but the through line and the premise the glue that held it together was not good or strong i'm going to make this our number five wow all right number five we'll find out you know how strong how how much strength the uh jack and sam stuff has because it will that'll have strength as we get to other episodes and see what happens. You know, Jeff, a lot of times we get an episode that really ranks towards the bottom.

[47:21] But there's that one piece of it that makes it important, that kind of mitigates a lot of that, and a lot of times people will be like, how could you put it so low because it's so important for this other thing over here? And I'm not saying that the Jack and Same stuff is important. You just brought it up of like it could be a thing. And just because that exists in an episode So it does not necessarily push the ranking up higher. Well, Jeff, with that, that's going to put a button on divide and conquer next week. Next week, Jeff. The episode is titled Window of Opportunity. Go ahead and give us a guess. What do you think Window of Opportunity might possibly could be about? Window of Opportunity. Is it time for an episode of the week? Like I said last time, I'm going to reach into my bag of tropes once again. Window of Opportunity.

[48:12] Tilk. Tilk's going to get captured and he's going to be locked down super tight. Like, and the team's going to, I know a part of Sokar's crew is going to somehow capture Tilk. It's going to be locked away really tight. And then it's basically going to be a heist episode, putting a plan together, watching, you know, the past and finding that one little window of opportunity they could possibly have to extract and save Tilk. Oh, Jeff, you're such a good guesser. I cannot wait, cannot wait for you to watch this episode. It's very fair of you. It's very, but it is going to have to wait until next time. And we'll see exactly what happens right here next time on Stargate SG one for the first time, still not a Star Trek podcast. Hey, thank you guys so much for joining us. Please don't forget to subscribe wherever you're finding the show, YouTube, a Patreon audio pod catcher. If it's anywhere else, please let us know because it shouldn't be able to anywhere else. Also, please don't forget to leave us a rating and rating. Review wherever that's available, particularly on Apple Podcasts. That just helps other people know that, hey, it's a fun show. You guys should also check it out. And please, please, please, the best way you can help us out is by sharing this show with someone that you know who loves Stargate SG-1 or someone like my buddy Jeff over there needs to get into Stargate for the very first time. So with that, my name's Brent. That's Jeff. We're going to get out of here. We're saying.

[49:41] Yes, Jeff. What's up? were were we both out last week like the video kind of skipped a little bit where were we both out during that, Yeah, I think so.

[49:56] Dude, we might be Zaytarks. We need to get Vanessa Angel here, like, right now. Right now. And get her to run some tests, maybe a little Lomachan and some other tests. Right now. Indeed.

[50:57] I feel like that was like the most sexist thing for me to say, indeed it did say for crying for crying out loud for the record the note says for crying out loud not indeed.