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Plot
Ba'al is missing, but finally the Jaffa are free after millennia of slavery under false Gods. Teal'c and Bra'tac are knighted Bloodkin by the new Free Jaffa Nation, the highest honour that can be bestowed on a Jaffa, at the Temple of Dakara. When the Jaffa bow to them in respect, Bra'tac makes them stand, for he declares that no Jaffa shall ever bow before another person, and furthermore, never again bow before a false god.

With the Replicators destroyed and the Goa'uld defeated, the SGC is a little more peaceful. Somewhere out there, Anubis remains, but they can ignore that for now. However, perhaps because it's too peaceful, O'Neill refuses to accept that Daniel Jackson is dead, not wanting to be "tricked" as last time, when Daniel managed to Ascend and then come back to life much later. However, they all know that Daniel was on RepliCarter's ship when it was destroyed, which gives him zero chance of being alive.

And as we know from the previous episode, Daniel was indeed killed. However, the visions of Oma Desala which RepliCarter forged for Daniel may not have been as empty as they seemed - for Daniel finds himself in a strange ethereal diner, a cafe, full of people, where the waitress is Oma Desala. This place seems to be some kind of strange Ascended metaphor.

Daniel seats himself and talks to Oma. She explains that she has once again given him the choice to Ascend and live, or die. If he Ascends, he must accept that he can never help his friends again (as that's against the rules). If he leaves the diner, he dies. It is a difficult choice for Daniel. He knows that last time he couldn't resist breaking the rules.

The diner is full of other Ascended Ancients, none of whom will talk to Daniel because that's beneath them. One other man, however, a large, fat man, seems to be arguing with Oma. Daniel talks to this man, who talks back, calling himself Jim. The man seems some kind of rebel who doesn't take too much notice of the pedantic rules of the others. Jim is reading a newspaper called The Ascended Times which details happenings in the mortal world. It describes that Anubis is tricking the new Free Jaffa Nation so that he can take back Dakara. If Anubis captures Dakara, the whole galaxy could be destroyed, as Anubis wishes to use the Dakara Superweapon to kill all life in the galaxy. Daniel knows that he must help his friends out before it’s too late, but can't work out how he can do it. He screams at the others, but they do not even turn.

The Free Jaffa Nation attacks a decoy of Kull Warriors and weakens its hold on Dakara. Against warnings, they do not destroy the Dakara Superweapon. Now Anubis attacks Dakara and takes it back. It is now only a small matter of time before he destroys the entire galaxy.

In the meantime, things are too much for Sam. Her father, Jacob Carter, and Selmak die, and she ends her relationship with Pete after the things her father said about how she could still be happy. He was obviously referring to Jack.

Back in the Ascended Diner, Oma explains that she has gotten in trouble before for helping people like Daniel Ascend, and she has been punished. There are deep-seated rules in the Ascended universe that not even she would dare to break. There seems to be something sinister about Oma's connection with Jim, whatever it is.

At the last moment, Daniel works it out. Anubis is half-Ascended, and it was Oma that helped him Ascend. Anubis had tricked her into thinking he was not evil, and as a punishment for breaking the rules, the others didn't totally de-Ascend Anubis, but gave him his current power, the ability to destroy the galaxy and vent his evil. And the final piece of the puzzle clicks in place - Jim is Anubis - Anubis' chosen manifested form in his half-protrusion into the Ascended realm.

Back on Earth, the gate dials, and they can't stop it. Anubis has dialed every gate in the galaxy and prepares to unleash the superweapon. O'Neill, Teal'c and Carter can do nothing but wait for their fate. O'Neill begins the SGC's autodestruct sequence. It looks like it's the end.

However, back in the Ascended realm, Daniel has persuaded Oma. She must take responsibility for the mistake she made which has caused Anubis to be able to unleash so much evil, and she will not allow him to commit this greatest evil now. She stands up to fight Anubis, and all of the other ancients turn in surprise. Anubis laughs, saying that she cannot possibly defeat him, both of them being equally matched. Oma knows this, but also knows that so long as she is fighting him then he'll have to fight back, taking him out of the cosmos and locking him into an eternal ethereal battle with her. The two of them collide and disappear in a flurry of light, locked in eternal combat. Anubis is gone from the universe forever.

Then two miracles occur. The Dakara Superweapon shuts down, and the autodestruct at the SGC freezes itself and shuts off. The Stargate's wormhole closes. It's over.

Back in the briefing room, they can't understand what's happened. Anubis just disappeared. Teal'c and Bra'tac tell Sam and Jack that the Kull Warriors the Free Jaffa Nation were fighting suddenly became confused, as if their master were no longer there to tell them what to do. Anubis' forces are destroyed, leaving the team wondering whether it was Daniel's work and thinking that he might have ascended again.

At that moment, they hear his voice in the other room. Jack goes to inspect and finds him naked (as before). He gives him a flag to cover himself up. All is right after all.

SG-1 celebrates by going fishing at Jack's cottage, with Sam stating they should have done it years ago.

Subsequent Airings

 * The episode originally aired as a 63-minute piece, but an edited 45-minute version exists for syndication. When the season was initially released on DVD, the release contained the shortened 45-minute version. Due to complaints, MGM offered a rebate, whereby people could send the proof of purchase with the shortened episode to receive a DVD with the original episode. When the season was re-released in the slimline cases, it contained the full 63-minute episode. The Season 8 Region 2 boxsets also contain the full 63-minute episode.
 * Neither version has a commentary featured on any of the Season 8 Box sets.
 * The 45-minute version omits the following:
 * The "Previously on Stargate SG-1..." that is present in the 63-minute version.
 * The opening scene between Ba'al and the decaying Anubis where he says Ba'al has betrayed him.
 * The scene when Daniel first enters the diner, along with Oma explaining where exactly Daniel was and how he got there.
 * The entire scene of knighting Bra'tac and Teal'c on Dakara - nothing is mentioned of Jaffa freedom save they have control of the weapon.
 * Some bantering between Pete and Sam when they walk down the corridors of the SGC and the bantering between Sam, Pete and Jacob.
 * All scenes of Bra'tac and Teal'c on a ship.
 * Jack waking up with Kerry in his bed.
 * Daniel trying to talk to the other Ancients in the diner.
 * The phone call from Pete, the florist scene and driving to the new house.
 * Sam waiting in the car outside Jack's house.

Series continuity

 * Several times, both Sam and Jacob refer to Jacob's near-death in "The Tok'ra", in SG-1's second season, as being four years ago. Either only four years have passed between the second and eighth seasons, or this is an error, and should be six years.

The Newspaper

 * In the paper that Daniel is reading part of a headline which reads: 'Wraith on the way to Atlantis' can be seen, along with a screenshot of the Atlantis Deep Space Scanner display from the Stargate Atlantis episode "The Brotherhood", showing the trio of hive ships that assaulted the city in the Atlantis episode "The Siege".
 * Other paper headlines include:
 * Jackson still undecided
 * Astral Diner to be given infinite status.
 * Yoga NOT the path to enlightenment.
 * Ethereal Awareness Seminar to be held in Talnak Quadrant.
 * Edge of Universe Discovered.
 * Anubis plans to retake Dakara
 * Exclusive information on his quest to destroy all life in the Milky Way galaxy
 * He's back again and he's badder than ever
 * Consciousness superhighway to go through
 * Cognitive work slated to begin [after] completion of precognitive testing
 * Gondolthian nebula
 * Secret plan revealed
 * Anubis' dastardly plan to regain Ancient weapon of destruction
 * Memoirs Laundry
 * Family of Four Drowns in Transcendental Waterfall

Guest stars

 * George Dzundza is the newest actor to play Anubis. Previous portrayals include:
 * David Palffy in "Revelations", "Redemption, Part 1", "Full Circle", "Fallen", "Homecoming", "Evolution, Part 2" and "Lost City",
 * By Michael Shanks, Gavin Hood, Holly Ferguson, Amanda Tapping and Richard Dean Anderson in "Lockdown."
 * By Dean Aylesworth in "Reckoning, Part 1",
 * By Rik Kiviaho in "Reckoning, Part 1" and this episode.

Trivia

 * The Restaurant Shown at the beginning of threads is identical (and possibly the same set) to the waffle house shown in the hit series Dead Like Me.