Origin brings us deeper into the new mythology of the series as Daniel (Michael Shanks) and Vala (Claudia Black) travel with the Prior (Mark Houghton).

Written by Robert C. Cooper, this episode was first broadcast on 29 July, 2005.

The pair encounter the Doci (Julian Sands) who speaks for the Ori. Daniel begins to piece together that the Ori are the Alterans, who we know as the Ancients. They ascended, but for some reason, the same restrictions put on the Ascended don’t seem to apply to the Ori. And the Ori are fashioning themselves as gods, and beginning to spread through the galaxy with their horrifying religion.

Back at Stargate Command, Landry (Beau Bridges), Teal’c (Christopher Judge) and Cameron (Ben Browder) try to sort out the political issues plaguing the Jaffa. And that leads to a bit of a confab, with the arrival of Gerak (Louis Gossett Jr.!).

How much do you bet, that this storyline may meet and connect with the Ori storyline?

They are also waiting for Dr. Lam (Lexa Doig) to figure out what is going on with Daniel’s and Vala’s bodies.

Cameron takes SG-12 to investigate reports of what sounds like an Ori Prior using a stargate to begin to spread their Word, and perform their miracles.

Their spirits remain in other bodies, far across the galaxy in Ori controlled space, and they are just starting to realize what manner of threat the Ori pose. They are about to lead a crusade against anyone who doesn’t believe in them. And these folks have the conviction of their beliefs, terrifyingly so.

It’s not subtle, but it’s definitely a commentary on religious beliefs.

Oh and hey! O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) makes an appearance!

The Ties That Bind picks up shortly after the events of the three-part opener with the revelation that the bracelets that bound Vala and Daniel still connect them, despite having been removed.

It was written by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie and debuted on 5 August, 2005. And it has Wallace Shawn as a guest star! Vala, Cameron and Daniel set out on an adventure that was all caused by Vala’s thieving and conning. It’s a little goofy. It makes for a light-hearted adventure, which is a bit of a respite after the mythology heavy trio of episodes that opened the season.

It’s all about clearing Vala’s past so that she doesn’t come on fulltime to the series as a crook, but more of a charming and sexy rogue who can’t always be trusted.

There’s a couple of sly nods to Farscape, and lots of banter. It’s not the sharpest and best of what Mallozzi and Mullie have previously given us. But it works. In fact, it feels more like a Farscape episode than it does a Stargate one, but it’s still a fairly enjoyable episode.

I love the way Vala plays her games, and the playfulness between her and Daniel is fun. And it’s interesting to see that play out, as well as Landry, Daniel and Teal’c arguing for the continued existence of the Stargate program. The government think they should focus on the Atlantis Expedition instead.

But of course, there are threats out there that the government isn’t ready for, a point Vala makes, however inappropriately.

But not strong enough to come on the heels of the opening trio. Still, the series is working nicely at rebooting itself within its own timeline, and showing, quite competently that the series will be fine, following the departure of Anderson.