The Other Side

"The Other Side" is the second episode of the fourth season of Stargate SG-1.

Synopsis
The Eurondans, who have an ancestral history with the Tau'ri, contact Earth and request their assistance to win a generations-long war. However, the lack of intel about their "enemy" and their shady behavior arouses a lot of suspicion from Dr. Daniel Jackson.

Plot
The Stargate Command technical team examining the logs of the Stargate, which has activated three times in the last hour, each time with small impacts on the Iris. Studying the information recorded during the activations, they detect an extremely slow radio message. For the first time in the history of the SGC, humans from another planet calling themselves the Eurondan "call home"; dialing the Earth's Stargate without first being contacted by the Tau'ri. Asking for help from the SGC, claiming that they are under attack from an unstoppable and unspeakable enemy.

SG-1 arrives and initially assists. Using a Eurondan device Colonel Jack O'Neill shoots down an unmanned reconnaissance drone. This allows the Eurondans to demonstrate their advanced technology; their aircraft are remotely controlled by a neural interface and their underground base is protected by an energy shield, powered by nuclear fusion reactors. However, the reactors are fueled by heavy water, of which the Eurondans have no more supplies. As a result, their defenses are breaking down. Despite imminent defeat, the Eurondans are unwilling to use the Stargate to find a new home because a large majority of their people are trapped in suspended animation and would believe that they've fought the war for nothing if they abandon it.

The SG-1 team is impressed by Eurondan military technology, with Major Samantha Carter commenting to Major General George S. Hammond that the Eurondans are "at least a hundred years ahead of us, maybe more." The Eurondan leader, Alar offers to provide knowledge of all their technology in exchange for a continuous supply of heavy water. For the first time, it appears that the SGC has finally found an advanced culture willing to offer them the means to defeat the Goa'uld. However, Dr. Daniel Jackson is skeptical of the Eurondans, concerned that the arrangement has been conducted without any knowledge of the Eurondan's enemy or why the war started. The Eurondans themselves refuse to disclose any information and are apparently disturbed by discussing the enemy and their decadent ways. However, O'Neill is authorized to negotiate on behalf of Earth and requests, then orders, Daniel Jackson to keep his objections to himself so as not to jeopardize their alliance. Back at the SGC, Hammond reminds Jackson that Apophis is alive and in a position to wipe the human race off the face of the Earth, but agrees with the idea that they need to know more about the Eurondans' war.

If SG-1 initially notice the fact that the Eurondans are all of the white race group, they do not comment on it. However, Alar, makes several objections to the presence of Teal'c because he is "not of their kind". O'Neill eventually suspects that this is not because he is a Jaffa, but because he is non-white. He prompts Daniel to investigate the nature of the war, and of the enemy the Eurondans are fighting. He also discovers that the population preserved in suspended animation comprises identical white Nordic-looking individuals. Jackson learns that the enemies, which are so feared and reviled, are known as Breeders. It is later revealed that the Breeders are called this because they had no respect for "genetic purity", breeding without care or plan. Carter notices pipes extending from the bottom of the facility to the surface (which did not make sense because of the poisoned atmosphere) and realizes that to build a bunker of such size and depth would have required many years of planning and construction before this supposed "war" began. Alar replies stating the war was "inevitable."

The Eurondans are all from the same phenotype, populating their race through planned breeding and even through cloning, ensuring the continuance and purity of their people. It was, in fact, they who had originally started the current war, poisoning the atmosphere in an attempt to kill off those who would not submit to their eugenicist beliefs on reproduction. Unwilling to support attempted genocide, SG-1 commandeers many of the remote fighters used by the Eurondans, escorting Breeder bombers and attacking the shielded bunker which housed the command center and technology of the Eurondans. SG-1 leaves the facility as it begins to fall apart due to the Breeders' heavy bombing, warning the Eurondans not to follow.

Alar frantically offers to teach Earth all he knows in exchange for safe passage through the gate. O'Neill simply turns away, stepping through the gate, and then orders the iris closed behind him. A slight impact is registered on the iris moments later. Hammond guesses that SG-1 was unsuccessful in obtaining Eurondan technology.

Notable Quotes
O'Neill: Carter?

Carter: Colonel, Sir, this is fifth incoming wormhole in last hour and a half.

O'Neill: OK, I'm two hours early. When did you get here?

Carter: I haven't left yet.

O'Neill: Didn't I order you to get a life?

''(O'Neill, Teal'c and Jackson are about to travel to Euronda) '' O'Neill: You've got that look.

Teal'c: To which look are you referring, O'Neill?

Jackson: The one that says, "I have misgivings about this mission, but deep down I know we're doing the right thing?"

O'Neill: No, the other one.

Jackson: Oh.

(O'Neill is about to pilot one of the autofighters.)

O'Neill: Does this thing take quarters?

(Teal'c and O'Neill discussing Alar)

O'Neill: So what's your impression of Alar?

Teal'c: He is concealing something.

O'Neill: Like what?

Teal'c: I am unsure, he is concealing it.

Jackson: Their world is in flames and we're giving them gasoline!

Teal'c: We are in fact giving them water.

Jackson: I was speaking metaphorically.

O'Neill: Well, stop it! It's not fair to Teal'c.

Hammond: I take it Col that you were unable to procure any of the Eurondan technologies.

O'Neill: That's correct sir.

Hammond: I'm sorry to hear that.

O'Neill: Don't be.

In other languages

 * French: L’Autre Côté (The Other Side)
 * Italian: L'Altra Faccia (The Other Side)
 * Spanish: El Otro Lado (The Other Side)
 * Czech: Druhá Strana (The Other Side)
 * Hungarian: A másik oldal (The Other Side)