Things with the Ori have a huge escalation, when the Jaffa use a weapon that wipes out all ten thousand Ori followers in one shot. Bra’tac (Tony Amendola) brings the news of it to Landry (Beau Bridges) while SG-1 aboard the Odyssey investigates the planet.

And Stargate Command is going to find themselves right in the middle of this burgeoning war.

Counterstrike was written by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, and it debuted on 25 August, 2006.

Vala’s (Claudia Black) daughter has grown into Adria (Morena Baccarin) and is the voice of the Ori.

Mitchell (Ben Browder), Carter (Amanda Tapping), Teal’c (Christopher Judge), Daniel (Michael Shanks) and Vala see an opportunity to grab one of the Ori spacecraft that were under construction on the now empty planet. But they have a Plan B in case they can’t take it with them.

But surprise! Adria is on the ship too! And she’s possibly more dangerous than the Ori Priors.

Things are complicated even more when the Jaffa arrive on the Ori ship to claim it. They capture Mitchell and Teal’c, so Carter, Vala and Daniel have to figure out a way to deal with them, as well as the ship before the Ori return.

Landry meanwhile, goes on a diplomatic mission to the Jaffa homeworld to try and figure things out. Landry and Bra’tac meet with Se’tak (the wonderful character actor David Andrews!). That doesn’t go well.

Lines are definitely being drawn.

While there are action beats throughout the episode, this is an episode being driven by dialogue, and overarching narratives that are driving us towards the end of the series. Sure it’s a number of episodes away, but it’s still on its way.

Memento Mori brings back the Trust, and they seem focused on Vala this time. Written by Mallozzi and Mullie, this episode was first broadcast on 8 September, 2006.

Vala is kidnapped by the Trust, they believe that she knows where a treasure is hidden. But an accident has caused her to lose her memory, and she’s working in a diner (?).

We slip back to just prior to the diner sequence, to see that Daniel and Vala are having a thank you dinner (Vala confused it for a date) where she got grabbed by The Trust. The team attempts to rescue her, but an electric blast through the hookup she has on while they were questioning her, causes her memory to short out. Vala is out and wandering the streets.

Daniel and the team are working to find her, but this is very much a Vala story. It lets Black have some fun as Vala’s inherent characteristics continue to shine through, but she’s also lost and confused.

When Mitchell catches up to her, he’s injured rescuing her, and tries to convince her of the truth.

It’s hard not to adore Black. She’s just so vulnerable and kick ass at the same time. And things work out in the end, including Vala officially joining the team.

It’s not the same show as when it started, but it’s still fun!