A recon unit return from an undercover mission on a planet which is being visited by a Prior of the Ori, the men soon become ill and reveal one of them was touched by the Prior during a religious service and in hindsight it was easy to see the Ori knew who they were and used them to carry a plague back to Earth to decimate the heart of the potential resistance in the Milky Way. As Sam investigates the possibility of developing an anti-prior weapon based on the knowledge they gained from the scans of Khalek back on Dakara a Prior is working his magic on Gerak who is embracing the concept of enlightenment which is worrying Bra’tac and Teal’c. Orlin returns to the corporeal world as a young boy, his explanation being the younger brain would be more adept at retaining the knowledge required to cure the plague but it’s a one way trip, for Sam and her world he is willing to sacrifice everything. Gerak is showing some resistance to the demands of the Prior but is then taken to Celestis and when he returns it seems the Ori now have a key player for the invasion of the galaxy.
The Fourth Horseman Part 1 is an excellent episode in it’s own right let alone the first half of a two parter, with a restricted tv budget and resources the producers manage to convey the potential disaster of a global pandemic and the galaxy wide ramifications as the Jaffa nation could become a de facto army for the Ori. It’s almost brutal watching Gerak a man driven by the desire for power see the Ori as both a means to an end but also maybe some sort of personal fulfillment in the spiritual sense, you do believe that he believes in their message despite knowing what the Ori are willing to do to anyone that does not bow down to them. There is hope of course, Sam and Dr Lee have come up with a way to disrupt the energy being channeled to and by a Prior but it has to be tested so a visit to the Sodan is called for and they may not be an easy challenge in itself.
The return of Orlin was a bit of a surprise and his new look took some getting use too, there was some logic behind it but as we learned in the commentary the idea was to have Sean Patrick Flanery return as the character but he was unavailable and the writers earned their money with young Orlin and making it work with the acting talents of Cameron playing a big part. Oh and lets not forget the return of the late Don S. Davis as General Hammond who filled in at the last minute when General Jumper was unable to film his cameo, it was great to see Don who appears again in part 2.
Thank you everyone for the feedback on last weeks show and continued support via Facebook, Google+ and especially Twitter. There’s a little news and birthdays included in this weeks show and next week we return to Atlantis for the first part of their two parter “The Lost Boys” which sees the return of a season 1 regular. This weeks promo is for the excellent Tuning Into Scifi TV and as always feel free to get in touch with us for any reason, we’re all family within the shadow of the gate.
Promo…
Links…
- The Fourth Horseman Part 1 IMDB
- The Fourth Horseman Part 1 Wiki
- Cameron Bright
- Don S. Davis
- Bill Dow
- Panou
- Ty Olsson
- Julian Sands
- Louis Gossett Jr.
- Gary Jones
- Tony Amendola
- Andy Mikita
Mentions…
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