09-10: The Fourth Horseman (I)

[Anissa T]

EPISODE NUMBER - 910
ORIGINAL U.S. AIR DATE - 09.16.05
SYNDICATION AIR DATE - 01.15.07
WRITTEN BY - Damian Kindler
DIRECTED BY - Andy Mikita
GUEST STARRING - Cameron Bright (Orlin), Don S. Davis (General Hammond), Tony Amendola (Bra'tac), Gary Jones (Sergeant Harriman), Bill Dow (Dr. Lee), Panou (Lieutenant Fischer), Ty Olsson (Colonel Barnes), Julian Sands (Doci), Lexa Doig (Dr. Lam), Louis Gossett Jr. (Gerak), Greg Anderson (Prior #1), Gardiner Millar (Yat'Yir), Simone Bailly (Ka'lel), Jeff Judge (Aron), Dawn Chubai (News Reporter), Dagmar Midcap (News Reporter), Thomas Milburn Jr. (Hazmat Officer)

Earth is infected with a deadly Ori plague, prompting an ally from SG-1's past to come to their aide. Gerak proposes that the Free Jaffa follow the Ori religion.


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I liked this one too!

I think the actor they picked to play Orland was perfect. I think he did such a great job for being such a young actor. That had to be hard acting next to such an experienced actress.

I was suprised though, if Orland had (or chose) to take human form, how it was that he was able to just "show up".

I was wondering though, why so many people outside the compound got infected, but not so many inside the compound considering how they keep in closer contact with each other as the compound is only so big.

Also, was it me or did Tony Armendola (Bra'tac)look better (almost younger) than he normally does? Maybe it's because I haven't seen him in a while.

I was also suprised that Garek (spp??) was willing to go the way of the Ori so quickly.

One more thing, did General Hammond retire?

[cb49747]

I also liked this one. The reason I liked this one so much is that, and I'm almost afraid to say it, is that I believed in the Ori.

Now I know they are bad because Daniel told me they were, but other than killing non believers They seemed like truly saviors. I could not understand why people would not follow them, as they were the way to acension. They had great powers and seemed to treat you nicely, at least if you believe in them they do.

I understood that there had to be a catch because they were evil, however the show never led on what that catch would be. At least until this episode. With the catch being that they did not help you ascend. and their power was derived from the peoples belief.

[Anissa T]

Do you ever wonder why the writers poke so much at religion?

I do believe in God, but I'm always tickled at how they poke at "religion".

Also, I'm a bit confused. Are the actual Ori already ascended? If not, why don't they just ascend? I'm a bit confused about that.

[cb49747]

I believe the Ori work for these people who have allready ascended. The ascended beings have changed the dna of humans to make them more advanced (the ori). The ascended people get there great power from people who believe in them, hence they would never help anyone else ascend as it would be one more person grabing the belief power.

[Colonel Carter]

What I want to know is why was General Hammond wearing a suit and tie and not a dress uniform. Even if he was retired, wouldn't he wear his military dress uniform when addressing a bunch of Air Force personnel? I assumed that even retired generals carried their rank.

I also thought that the kid did an excellent job portraying the character we met several seasons ago. But I'm annoyed by the cliff hanger in wondering what will happen to the poor guy. He also doesn't get out much if he still has such a crush on Sam.


I was suprised though, if Orland had (or chose) to take human form, how it was that he was able to just "show up".
Because he was already in the room in his ascended form. So he was already there when he became human. It seems to me he chose to become human, like he did before, and when you choose that you arrive wherever you like, unlike Daniel who was forced out.

It did seem weird to me too that Garek accepted the Ori so quickly. I think they rushed that plotline a little too much because it just didn't make sense, I thought.


I also liked this one. The reason I liked this one so much is that, and I'm almost afraid to say it, is that I believed in the Ori.
Okay, CB, this is fiction, make-believe, it's not real. The Ori were created by a human being's imagination. They are not real. 8o


Now I know they are bad because Daniel told me they were, but other than killing non believers They seemed like truly saviors. I could not understand why people would not follow them, as they were the way to acension. They had great powers and seemed to treat you nicely, at least if you believe in them they do.
Forget the fact that they look like the Walking Dead, which in itself makes them look extremely villinous. They also resemble the evil Emperor from Star Wars. One sight of them and I'd have turned and run away.


Do you ever wonder why the writers poke so much at religion?
As long as they poke at false religions, I don't mind. For the past eight seasons they've been poking at mythology which is fine. Now with the Ori I get the impression that is is symbolic to these muslim terrorists or jihadists, which I think is great to make the villans in a tv show based on them.


Also, I'm a bit confused. Are the actual Ori already ascended? If not, why don't they just ascend? I'm a bit confused about that.
The Ori are the ascended beings, like the Ancients are ascended beings. The Ori are the ones these missionaries serve and worship and are spreading the word of. That's why the missionaries are always saying, "hallowed be the Ori." The Ori are their gods.

From what I got in the episode, the Ori and the Ancients (now called something Ahrens?) were the same people. The Ancients are not originally from earth, like we've always thought in the past when the show said that the Ancients were the first evolution of our kind on earth. The Ancients and the Ori were the same race of people from another galaxy, the galaxy in which the Ori are from and are sending their missionaries from.

The Ancients were interested in science whereas the Ori were interested in their religion with extremeness. As a result, the Ancients with their interest in science, left their galaxy and came to ours.

Now the reason why the Ori want people to worship them is because when someone worships them, they are in some supernatural sense, giving up their souls to the Ori and this makes the Ori more powerful. This is the reason why the Ancients have laws forbidding interaction with humans and other races in our galaxy. They fear people giving up their souls and adding to the power of the Ancients. After all, these Ancients appeared to abhor what the Ori were, their beliefs and all of that, so they don't want anything like that.

Although I thought we've seen people who do worship the Ancients. I don't know.

My one point of confusion is trying to understand how the Ancients came down with the disease that would have wiped them all out if not for ascension. Did the Ori somehow do that to them? That part confuses me.

Now the missionaries are called Priors. These Priors serve the Ori and spread their message that all who believe in them will one day ascend with the help of the Ori. What Orlin told Sam was that this was all a lie because basically the Ori are power-hungry and they become more powerful from the more people they have worshiping them and they're not about to share that power with these little people who worship them. When they die, their deaths are "meaningless." Orlin honestly believes that the Priors are deceived and do not understand that they won't one day ascend like they have been promised. It is his desire to educate the Priors in the truth about their false gods.

It was a lot of information to take in for one episode.

It seems that the plague they are experiencing is what wiped out the Ancients.

If the disease is airborn, why isn't everyone at the SGC sick, especially Cameron and Daniel since they walked right past the guy at the beginning - right? Close enough I would think to catch it.

I'm also confused by Garek's transformation. I don't think he willfully chose to become a Prior. He still had all these doubts, he didn't want to kill those among his people who didn't believe. He didn't know what was going on. The Ori took over his body it seems against his will. If you ask me, that's the scariest thing about the Ori. What if some time SG-1 found an Ori and they transported them all back to the same place and the Ori came into them against their will?

[Anissa T]

If the disease is airborn, why isn't everyone at the SGC sick, especially Cameron and Daniel since they walked right past the guy at the beginning - right? Close enough I would think to catch it.

That's exactly what I was wondering.

I'm not convinced they changed Garek against his will. If it were that easy, they would just do that to everyone. However, I will admit, I'm thoroughly confused as to his quick give in to the Ori or the counsels willingness as well. I mean, throughout all the previous seasons they conveyed how staunch the Jaffa have been in their beliefs.