The Odyssey has been hijacked by the Lucian Alliance and one of its leaders Anateo (Rudolf Martin). To get it back, Mitchell (Ben Browder) and the team are going to have to go undercover and join a Company of Thieves.

First airing on 15 September, 2006, this episode was written by Alan McCullough.

Carter (Amanda Tapping) is aboard Odyssey when it’s grabbed, the ship having been tricked into a hidden mind field. And to prove that the baddies mean business, they execute Colonel Emerson (Matthew Glave) in front of her.

With a beaten up ship, Mitchell, Vala (Claudia Black), Teal’c (Christopher Judge) and Daniel (Michael Shanks) go after Sam, the Odyssey and her crew. But you know it won’t go easily. Carter has problems with Anateo, Daniel and Vala are betrayed and ambushed, and Teal’c and Mitchell are going to have to figure out how to do things on their own.

Using tech and tricks that have been established by the series (there are no surprises or twists here) Mitchell’s undercover ploy works solidly, and the episode entertains.

There are lots of great moments and character bits throughout the episode and we see how well the characters work on their own, and together. It also shows what the characters are willing to do for each other, the sacrifices they are willing to make to carry out their mission.

It’s a lot of fun, and we touch in on a number of things we’ve seen and heard before.

The Quest: Part 1 is the mid-season finale. With no surprise here, it was written by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, who have written the bulk of the mythology episodes for these later seasons. It debuted on 22 September, 2006.

There is lots going on this time. Daniel continues his search for Merlin’s weapon, the sangraal. Daniel has an idea about where it may be, something that is aided by a dream Vala had.

So off goes SG-1 when they figure out the gate address. But things are going to get complicated very fast, as they find themselves having to work with both Ba’al (Cliff Simon) and Adria (Morena Baccarin).

And they are going to have to deal with an actual dragon(!?).

There are tricks and turns, mazes and quests. And of course, as things play out, we realize that the dragon that has been talked about throughout the episode will, in fact, be the To Be Continued moment of the finale.

It’s fun and entertaining. It’s like seeing what would happen if you combine the fantasy genre with the science fiction genre. It works pretty well. It ties in with the overall Ori arc, but it doesn’t have the same impact as previous finales, or the previously establisheed mid-season break. It’s a little silly.

But it’s still fun.