Niriti

[Anissa T]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v53/CassieK1/795v.gif


This forum is to discuss all things Niriti.

http://www.gateworld.net/omnipedia/characters/graphics/nirrti.jpg
Played by Jacqueline Samuda
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v53/CassieK1/System%20Lords%20Symbols/NirrtiSymbol.jpg

[Robin K]

What a twisted witch, eh? Seeking to create the perfect human host, there isn't anything Nirrti (spelling taken from the official ultimate guide) won't try.

Nirrti was responsible for the destruction of the Hankan people, leaving one survivor...a little girl named Cassandra. Of course, leaving that little girl had been part of the Goa'uld's plans...after all, Cassie was a living bomb.

She was one of the Goa'uld who showed up to discuss the Protected Planets Treaty, and that's when we learn that she was a rogue among her own kind. She tried to set Teal'c up for the attack on Cronus...and that little event revealed that Major Samantha Carter could operate a healing device. As much as it irked them to do so, Sam was given the order to save the snake's life...and probably raised the price on the heads of SG-1 significantly by embarrassing the snakes. Cronus took Nirrti through the 'gate to what we assume is Goa'uld prison. She apparently didn't remain there very long! (Maybe she was just given parole?)

Nirrti showed up when called by the SGC in order to save Cassie's life...and I think Janet Fraiser showed remarkable restraint in not killing her. I know that Jack wanted to do so...but he also displayed a bit of pride in telling her that the Tau'ri kept their word. A bit of taunting there...telling Nirrti that the Tau'ri were better than the Goa'uld.

Now, with all of the System Lords that were falling dead as a result of run-ins with SG-1, you'd think she'd have bought a clue and took off for galaxies far, far away. She didn't. When SG-1 stumbled across another of her bizarre experimental planets, well, she got exactly what was coming to her.

Nirrti is the only female Goa'uld we really get a chance to know. (Osiris was male, just inhabiting the female body of Sarah Gardner.)

[yukitoyu22]

We kind of got to know Hathor?


Nirrti was evil, but I really didn't like her very much. I think, however, it was more of the costumes they gave her than anything else. I just didn't like what she was wearing (even for a Goa'uld). I kind of found it distracting. However, it did point out that fact that that woman is BUILT. She could kick your *** for sure.

[Robin K]

To be honest, I never paid much attention to what she was wearing (couldn't tell you she wore!). The actress was terrific, she was able to convey that cold, calculating evil that this particular Goa'uld truly was...the things she did in her search for the perfect host made her a rogue among her own kind. We're talking Goa'uld here, so that's saying something.

Hathor was just a typical, egotistical Goa'uld...almost two-dimensional. There was never any motivation for her...the actress was good, I just think that the writers could have done more with the part than they did. I wasn't fond of her (not just for what she did to Daniel), but because she seemed almost like a comic book character. Hathor was in two episodes, but I don't feel as a viewer that she was more than just the "Goa'uld of the week". The BEST Goa'uld have been the ones we've seen various facets of...one of the scenes that sticks in my mind about Nirrti is when she was leaving the SGC after removing correcting Cassie's DNA. She was totally surprised that she was being allowed to leave. Jack was his usual snarky self...but he managed to let her know that even 'lowly Tau'ri' were better than she, because she openly admitted she never would have kept her word. The fact that she even responded to the request for her presence was interesting. She was motivated at that point by curiosity, not any kindness. She also got a taste of just how determined the Tau'ri could be, and I think she realized that Janet would have killed her without blinking an eye. Of the few female Goa'uld we see, Nirrti has to be my favorite Goa'uld.

[Wraithicator]

(Osiris was male, just inhabiting the female body of Sarah Gardner.)

Well, like Martouf/Lantash said in the episode "The Tok'ra", the symbiote has no gender, it takes on the gender of the host. So Osiris (when inside Sarah Gardner) was female...I think. Wierd, anyways.
I HATED Nirrti. I enjoyed episodes with her because they were usually good stories, but her character annoyed me. And like yukitoyu22 said about her being built, she was almost as muscular as Teal'c...creepy. But the character was pulled off really well.
I just love bringing back dead threads...:)

[Robin K]

I just love bringing back dead threads...:)

LOL! That's okay, I enjoy revisiting them!

Actually, the first time we meet Selmak, it's mentioned that she'd always had female hosts, because she considered herself female. So had Jolinar. The writers sort of screwed up their own canon later on with the impression that the symbiotes were 'genderless'. That 'genderless' thing is especially glaring as a mistake when you take into consideration the fact that there are brooder queens.

I find it amusing that so many people seem to get hung up on the fact that Nirrti was in such good physical shape...remember, she was looking for the PERFECT host, and a Goa'uld in that pursuit is looking for perfection as viewed by a Goa'uld, not what would earn her a spread in Playboy.

Here's a bit about Nirrti...

"Destruction". An Indian goddess of destruction and death. She is said to live in the south (which is regarded as the land of the dead). Her husband and masculine aspect is Nirrta. In later Hinduism, Nirrti herself becomes a male dikpala god of terrifying aspect.

Let's consider now that in the show, all of our 'god-myths' were/are based on the Goa'uld who 'adopted' the names and attributes of the first gods created by prehistoric man, before the Goa'uld arrived on Earth. The myths of these gods were written by the people who actually witnessed what the Goa'uld did. Thus, Nirrti was portrayed as a strong female god.

An overly feminine Nirrti just wouldn't cause the same type of terror...and to be honest, it was refreshing for me, as a woman, to see the part played by a woman who wasn't just T&A for the show (not that JS isn't a beautiful woman, she is!) and played in such a powerful way...rather than the simpering, use-the-big-strong-man-to-get-what-you-want way.

Jacqueline Samuda (http://www.jacquelinesamuda.com/) <------ about the actress

I suppose it's just best to say that this is just another of those topics where opinions will vary widely!

[Wraithicator]

Selmak considered herself female...and then inhabited Jacob. Odd.

[Wraithicator]

Although under the circumstances, I understand her rationale.

[Robin K]

Under the circumstances, she had no choice...not if she wasn't going to pull a "Goa'uld" and just take a host. I always thought that Selmak 'remained' with Jacob because they had developed a friendship, and that having a Tau'ri as a host was a way to try to understand that sometimes annoying SG-1...*grin* I also think that Jacob amused her...and gave her a new way to look at the universe.

[Angelica Constantine]

Under the circumstances, she had no choice...not if she wasn't going to pull a "Goa'uld" and just take a host. I always thought that Selmak 'remained' with Jacob because they had developed a friendship, and that having a Tau'ri as a host was a way to try to understand that sometimes annoying SG-1...*grin* I also think that Jacob amused her...and gave her a new way to look at the universe.

That is exactly right Robin.
Because it was mentioned (in the show) that if the symbiont did not like the new host they would die. That was their choice.

So, yes in essence she, Selmak, did have a choice...its was just lucky she liked Jacob. :wink: