The Curse

The Curse is the thirteenth episode of the fourth season of Stargate SG-1.

Plot
Dr. Daniel Jackson happens to see in a newspaper that his archaeology professor, Dr. David Jordan, has died in a lab explosion. He attends the funeral, where he is reunited with colleagues whom he knew before he began speaking about his 'wild theories' concerning the Egyptian gods. Dr. Steven Rayner is not pleased to see Dr. Jackson because of Dr. Jackson's theories. Dr. Sarah Gardner, with whom Daniel had a relationship before he entered the Stargate program, is happy to see him.

Gardner shows Jackson the artifacts from the Stewart expedition, which are rumoured to be cursed. Sarah realizes a gold amulet is missing. Jackson goes to the storage area of the museum, where he finds an Egyptian burial jar which Dr. Jordan had been forbidden to open by the Egyptian government. Jackson calls Major Carter to inform her that the canopic jar has Egyptian hieroglyphs and Goa'uld symbols on it. Jackson brings the jar to the SGC. Jackson calls Teal'c, fishing in Minnesota with O'Neill, for translation of the line "banished to oblivion."

Jackson explains to General Hammond and Major Carter that the jar is related to the myth of the mother of the Egyptian gods, Isis, who was thrown into the Nile along with Osiris by Seth. Furthermore, the record of the expedition which found the jars records two jars having been found. Jackson returns to Chicago in search of the other jar. Rayner tells Daniel that the Osiris jar was destroyed in the explosion of the lab and denies knowledge of the missing amulet.

Samantha Carter performs an MRI on the canopic jar of Isis, and finds inside it a Goa'uld symbiote. Dr. Janet Fraiser removes the symbiote from its jar. It is dead, but in perfect condition. The jar was meant to keep the symbiote alive indefinitely, but when the jar's seal broke, it died.

On Dr. Jordan's computer, Gardner finds an email he received on the night of his death which reveals that the carbon dating analysis on the missing gold amulet proves it to be about 10,000 years old. Dr. Gardner realizes that Dr. Jackson's theories have been right all along. Gardner also realizes that the results of the test were sent to Dr. Rayner.

Jackson tells Gardner that he believes Dr. Rayner stole the amulet and killed Jordan, the curator, and the technician who performed analysis on amulet. Jackson returns to the SGC to inform the team that Steven Rayner has been possessed by the Goa'uld Osiris, and is in possession of a gold amulet which could be Goa'uld. Carter, Jackson, and Dr. Fraiser head to temple near Cairo, Egypt to find Rayner. At the temple, Rayner uses amulet to remove Goa'uld hand device from the wall, but he is attacked by Gardner, who is possessed by Goa'uld Osiris. When Sam, Daniel, and Fraiser enter, she attacks them also. She raises a pyramidal spacecraft and escapes via the rings after threatening to one day return.

Notable Quotes
O'Neill: It's going to be me, Teal'c, and the great outdoors. That means no cell phones, no fax machines, not another living soul for miles. We'll be unavailable, inaccessible. Hammond: Incommunicado. O'Neill: Minnesota, sir. Hammond: I stand corrected.