Using story threads laid down in the episode In the Line of Duty and Secrets, The Tok’ra expands the Stargate universe once again, and introduces new characters, allies and threats?

The Tok’ra Part 1 was written by one of the showrunners, Jonathan Glassner, and it debuted on 2 October, 1998.

When Captain Carter (Amanda Tapping) has a vision caused by her blending with a goa’uld during In the Line of Duty, she asks General Hammond (Don S. Davis) to send SG-1 to the coordinates she saw in her dream. O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) is dubious, but the team suits up.

And on arriving, find themselves captured by goa’uld. These goa’uld are the Tok’ra! Overtures are made, but when Yosuuf (Sarah Douglas) asks one of them to join with a goa’uld whose host body is dying, none of the team are keen to do that.

Carter gets a chance to chat with Martouf (JR Bourne), her goa’uld had a romantic relationship with him, and she feels a connection to him. The Tok’ra council, headed by Yosuuf and Cordesh (Winston Rekert), refuse to let them go, as they feel that the people of Earth can’t be trusted yet.

When Colonel Makepeace (Steve Makaj) arrives with news that Carter’s father, Jacob (Carmen Argenziano) has taken a turn for the worse, the Tok’ra decide to keep both SG teams until they deem it safe for them to be released.

This plunges us right into a To Be Continued!

Part 2 was also written by Glassner and first aired on 11 October, 1998.

As Carter and O’Neill return to Earth to present the idea of Jacob joining the Tok’ra to cure his cancer, and solidify the alliance, the Tok’ra learn that the goa’uld are on their way to destroy their base.

There’s a leak.

Jacob, dubious at first, agrees to go, and is wowed by the reveal of what his daughter truly does, and what the future with the Tok’ra could mean for them.

It’s fun seeing how he and Selmack’s (Joy Coghill) previous host feel one another out.

Through it all, O’Neill begins to suspect that Cordesh is working for the goa’uld system lords, but when Cordesh kills himself, there may be a goa’uld threat hiding in the Tok’ra.

The spy is found, Jacob joins with Selmack, and becomes a full-fledged member of the Tok’ra, and Earth’s ambassador among them, and their liaison with the SGC. That means Jacob/Selmack will be back, and that’s a good thing, as I quite like Argenziano’s performance.

This is a fantastic two-parter and doesn’t seem to have any slow moments at all, each scene advances the plot and/or the character arcs. It’s damned enjoyable.

This puts us just over the halfway mark for the season, and it’s still going incredibly strong. I am absolutely loving every moment I am spending with SG-1 and the members of the SGC. Let’s see where they take us next.