Morpheus

"Morpheus" is the second episode of the tenth season of Stargate SG-1.

Synopsis
After six more worlds fell to the Ori, Dr. Daniel Jackson discovers the location of Vagonbrei to search for the Sangraal, and SG-1 heads there, only to find the planet deserted. Meanwhile, Vala Mal Doran has to pass a psychological evaluation in order to join Stargate Command.

Plot
After learning that the Ori have successfully invaded six more planets, SG-1 goes off-world to find an Ancient weapon that Dr. Daniel Jackson believes is the key to defeating the Ori. SG-1 and Red Team led by Dr. Reimer travel through the gate and discover a village in which all the inhabitants died of a mysterious illness. What is more curious is the fact that most of them seemed to have died in their beds.

But before they can decipher what the cause of this is, they themselves are infected by the plague they come to know as "the curse of Morgan Le Fay," which is really a parasite that feeds on melatonin and serotonin. They discover that this induces the urge to sleep, and once the brain falls into its dormant sleep state, the parasite feeds even more and becomes larger and larger until the infected person suffers a fatal stroke. Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell and Teal'c set out to find any sort of cure or treatment for the disease that might exist in the natural environment of the planet, while Jackson and Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter continue to search for evidence of the weapon that Merlin created to fight the Ori. All are simultaneously fighting a desperate battle to stay awake.

Meanwhile on Earth, Vala Mal Doran attempts to cram for her psychiatric evaluation which she worries will be incredibly difficult, even though Major General Henry Landry assures her it will be very simple. When she finally does take the examination, she is so nervous that she attempts to fake the exam and as a result makes a fool of herself, much to the genuine surprise and bewilderment of the examiner. As Vala continues to worry about her future, she is visited by Richard Woolsey who offers to ensure she passes her evaluation if she agrees to act as a spy by keeping the International Oversight Advisory informed of confidential goings-on at Stargate Command.

On Vagonbrei, Teal'c and Mitchell trek through a cave to search for any animal that might have developed a resistance to the disease. They find one in the form of a strange lizard. The pair chase it even though they are both on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion. Back at the village, Lt. Bernie Ackerman dies in his sleep, while Dr. Reimer succumbs of a heart attack due to an overdose of amphetamines and other energy boosting drugs that they are using to stay awake.

Despite all of their efforts Carter and Jackson nearly nod off several times and begin to rely on each other to stay awake. Several hours of hazy exhaustion pass, until a medical team sent to rescue them arrives and seals them in quarantine containers. Carter attempts to tell them of their condition but is too exhausted to speak. Both know that they will probably not be able to resist the urge to sleep any longer.

In the cave Mitchell and Teal'c finally catch up with the lizard, and Teal'c tackles it and catches it in a bag. At this point though Mitchell collapses and is unable to get up, despite many attempts of aid by Teal'c. Teal'c is forced to leave him behind and makes his way up to the entrance of the cave, whereupon he too collapses. The medical team that "helped" Carter and Jackson arrives though, and it’s at this point that they figure out that the lizard must be a part of a treatment.

The episode shifts back to Earth, where all of the team members seem to be perfectly fine. They talk about how the medical teams were able to synthesize a cure from the lizard and they have spent many hours sleeping - and how Carter and Jackson were able to discover the next clue to the location of Merlin's weapon - Atlantis. They are then informed that there is a situation in the gate room - and upon going there quickly learn that it is Vala, who is demanding that they dial the gate to wherever she wants to go. At this point Landry informs Vala that she really passed the test and that Woolsey's offer was part of it. The episode ends with everyone satisfied (although Woolsey is a bit miffed about Vala's sexual accusation against him), and the team preparing to go to Atlantis for the first time.

Notable Quotes
Jackson: (runs towards the rest of SG-1,with a book in his hand and yells) I Got it. Got it. Uh, I made the connection. Sir Gawain to Gwalchmei. Culhwch and Olwen. Verus Gen Bree.

Carter: (turns to Mitchell) And you say I'm hard to understand.

Jackson: (gesticulates) Oh, it's a Vagonbrei. One of the planets Arthur's knights went to in their quest for the Holy Grail. I got the gate address.

Vala: (reading) You are in a desert. You see a tortoise that's lying on his back in the hot sun. You recognise his plight, but do nothing to help. Why?' ... Hmn. Why...? Ah: 'Because... you are also... a tortoise...'

Goofs

 * When Dr. Reimer falls dead of an alleged heart attack Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter and Dr. Daniel Jackson administer a heart Defibrillator on him. The heart defibrillator does not restart the human heart as if often depicted on television. Rather, it is designed to treat harmful cardiac rhythms by shocking the heart to stop and reboot itself into a normal rhythm, as it were. Judging by the repeated feeling of Reimer's neck by Jackson and the proclamation of death we can assume that Reimer had no pulse. The only treatment for a stopped heart involves drugs not available to SG-1 off world and advanced medical knowledge.

In other languages

 * French: Dans les bras de Morphée (In the Arms of Morpheus)
 * Italian: Morpheus (Morpheus)
 * Spanish: Morfeo (Morpheus)
 * Czech: Morpheus
 * German: In Morpheus' Armen (In Morpheus' Arms)