Line #28 Recap/StargateSG1S1E19ThereButForTheGraceOfGod


1	On what appears to be a routine recon mission, Daniel touches an artifact known as the Quantum Mirror and ends up in an alternate universe version where he never joined the Stargate Program, Sam is a civilian, Teal'c is still Apophis' First Prime since alternate!SG-1 never went to Chulak, Jack is a giant [[JerkAss douchebag]] who obviously didn't undergo the character development he went through in ''Film/{{Stargate}}'', Abydos and eventually Chulak are destroyed, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking the 'SGC' is the 'SGA']].
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3	Alternate!SGA is promptly invaded and destroyed by the Goa'uld, the alternate versions of SG-1 all die, and due to their sacrifice Daniel makes it back to his reality with vital information: [[CliffHanger Apophis is planning an invasion of Earth]].
4	----
5	!!"There But For The Grace Of God" provides examples of the following tropes:
6	* AlternateUniverse: The episode to introduce the concept, which would be at revisited several points throughout the series' run.
7	* BittersweetEnding: The alternate universe falls to the domination of the Goa'uld, but Daniel is able to escape with the information that could prevent his reality from suffering the same fate. Also the SGA self destruct has likely destroyed the landed mothership, putting a significant dent in the forces invading alternate Earth. Not that it’s likely to make much difference.
8	* ChekhovsGun: The grenade from Daniel's pack, which alt!Carter uses to blow up herself and several Jaffa.
9	* {{Cliffhanger}}: It's revealed that Apophis is about to launch a full-scale attack against Earth.
10	* DeadAlternateCounterpart: Daniel (reasonably) assumes that his alternate counterpart must be dead, as his last known location was recently bombed by the Goa'uld. By the end of the episode, the alternate versions of all the other major characters have joined him.
11	* DisconnectedByDeath: The SGA are in contact with Air Force One until the plane is downed by a Goa'uld mothership.
12	* ExpendableAlternateUniverse: Daniel manages to convince the alternate universe characters to help him get home; they all end up dying as a result, and it's reasonable to assume that Earth is destroyed. Though to his credit, Daniel offered to return through the mirror with reinforcements from his own reality, and only suggests the more selfish alternative because the invasion has already reached a point where nothing this version of his friends can do would make much difference.
13	* FaceDeathWithDignity: Almost all of the alternate main characters do this. Particularly alternate Teal’c as he stands calmly in the Gateroom whilst the auto destruct counts down to zero.
14	* FacingTheBulletsOneLiner:
15	-->'''Alt!Carter:''' Oh yeah, I also wish to blow us all to hell.
16	* FlingALightIntoTheFuture: Two of them.
17	** The unknown alien race that sent the 'beware the destroyer' message and provided the location for the invasion's staging point.
18	** Daniel manages to convince alternate O'Neill, Carter, and Langford that, while their universe's battle with the Goa'uld is lost, they can still help save his reality from suffering the same fate. The remaining SGA personnel sacrifice themselves to allow him to return to his reality with a warning about the coming invasion.
19	* HeroicSacrifice: The alternate O'Neill, Carter, Hammond and Catherine Langford ''each'' get one in order to buy Daniel enough time to get back to his own reality.
20	* ISurrenderSuckers: Alt!Carter pulls this when she's cornered by the Jaffa, telling them she has valuable information she can share before pulling out a grenade and suicide-bombing them all.
21	* InnocuouslyImportantEpisode: While obviously setting the table for the Season Finale, this episode also contributes two important additions to the ''Stargate'' lore moving forward:
22	** It introduces the concept of parallel realities to the franchise, something that ''SG-1'' and later ''Atlantis'' will later revisit over the course of their runs.
23	** The 38 Minute Time Limit is formally introduced, establishing that active Stargates can only maintain an artificial Wormhole for 38 minutes before shutting down. This will remain a crucial plot point for countless episodes of both ''SG-1'' and the later spinoff shows.
24	* LastStand: The defense of Cheyenne Mountain becomes this, as there is no hope of escape for those trapped inside. Only Daniel makes it out alive and even then he gets shot on the way out.
25	* NarrowAnnihilationEscape: Daniel is able to dial and get back to the planet where he found the quantum mirror, just after he is shot [non-fatally] by Alt!Teal'c, as the base self-destruct is counting down the final 10 seconds.
26	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Alt!O'Neill is unable to convince Teal'c to switch sides as he had previously sent a bomb to Chulak, killing Teal'c's wife Drey'auc and son Rya'c.
27	* NukeEm: The above-mentioned nuking of Chulak, ordered by alt!O'Neill in the hopes of making a dent in Apophis' forces, despite Daniel's protests that the Jaffa have been enslaved.
28	* OminousFloatingSpaceship: The mothership hovering over Cheyenne Mountain. Until it lands.
29	* OminousMessageFromTheFuture: More like "ominous message from an alternate reality"; Daniel is able to bring back a warning from an alien civilization previously wiped out by the Goa'uld which simply states "beware the destroyers" followed by a gate address.
30	* OrbitalBombardment: Apophis' chosen method of attack.
31	* SelfDestructMechanism: The base self-destruct for the SGA, the alternate SGC, reaches zero seconds after Daniel escapes through the gate, killing alternate!Teal'c and everyone else who happened to still be alive on the base.
32	* ShipTease: The alternate O'Neill and Carter are engaged.
33	* ShoutOut: The scene where the Jaffa gain entry to the SGA by blowing through the blast door and battling the defenders is a clear reference to the Stormtroopers boarding Princess Leia’s ship in [[Franchise/StarWars Star Wars]] [[Film/ANewHope episode four]] complete with alternate Teal’c playing the role of Darth Vader with his dramatic entry once the firefight was over.
34	* TakingYouWithMe: Alt!Carter using a grenade to take down several Jaffa, along with herself.
35	* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: In revenge for the nuking of Chulak, alternate Teal'c kills alternate O'Neill by shooting him at point-blank range with a Goa'uld staff ''cannon'' (the same as mounted on Death Gliders, and previously used within the episode to break through ''blast doors'').
36	* TrustPassword: Daniel pulls this on alternate!O'Neill using the death of his son. Earlier in the episode, he accidentally does the same thing with Catherine, when he makes a passing reference to her long-lost-fiancé Ernest Littlefield in the middle of a rant.

Context Recap / StargateSG1S1E19ThereButForTheGraceOfGod