Line #45 Recap/StargateSG1S9E4TheTiesThatBind


1	->''"Look, we can point fingers all we want, but the fact is we're stuck together. So like it or not, we're just gonna have to learn to get along."''
2	-->'''-- Vala Mal Doran'''
3
4	After Daniel and Vala discover that they're still linked together despite having [[Recap/StargateSG1S9E3Origin removed the]] ''[[Recap/StargateSG1S9E3Origin kor mak]]'' [[Recap/StargateSG1S9E3Origin bracelets]], they decide to get some answers from Arlos Kadawam, the man she stole the bracelets from in the first place. Unfortunately, Arlos wants something in exchange for the information, and the team end up cutting a series of increasingly difficult deals with various people Vala has conned over the years.
5
6	First appearance of the [[SpacePirates Lucian Alliance]].
7	----
8	!!"The Ties That Bind" provides examples of the following tropes:
9	* AffectionatePickpocket: Vala asks Daniel for a parting hug before she leaves at the beginning of the episode in order to steal back the artifact he's just confiscated from her.
10	* BadassLongcoat: Mitchell, Daniel and Teal'c all wear long duster-style coats while posing as traders.
11	* BaitAndSwitchComment: When Daniel is seeing Vala off during the opening scene:
12	-->'''Vala:''' Came to see me off. That's sweet.
13	-->'''Daniel:''' Well, we've been through a lot together and I just wanted to come here myself and make sure you were... thoroughly searched.
14	* BeleagueredAssistant: Walter trying to make sure Landry keeps on top of his paperwork.
15	* BlatantLies: Played with. Though she doesn't literally lie, Vala gets mad at Daniel for assuming she obtained the bracelets by dishonest means...when she'd stolen them and had already told him that.
16	* BumblingHenchmenDuo: Tenat and Jup, the two incompetent smugglers Vala tried to sell the ''Prometheus'' to in her [[Recap/StargateSG1S8E12PrometheusUnbound first appearance]].
17	* CargoCult: One of the team's stops includes a monastery where the worshippers pay their respects to faulty power coil that Vala supplied, claiming it was an object of religious significance.
18	* ChainOfDeals: The basic premise of the episode has the team cutting a series of deals with people Vala has conned over the years in order to find out how to sever the residual link between her and Daniel.
19	* ChekhovsGun: Caius states that he needs his ship back because of a series of custom modifications that he made to it, which come in handy when the team has to escape from Lucian Alliance.
20	* CompensatingForSomething: Vala suggests that the reason the Chairman of the Appropriations Board is so eager to build more ships is because he's compensating for an "insufficient manhood". Landry is not amused.
21	* ConfessionDeferred: {{Inverted}}. Vala tries to make Dr. Jackson believe that she acquired the kor mak bracelets through legal means. She forgot she's already told him she stole them.
22	-->'''Dr. Jackson''': He's the guy you stole the bracelets from, right?\
23	'''Vala''': How dare you assume that I acquired those bracelets through anything but honest means! I may have a less-than-perfect reputation -\
24	'''Dr. Jackson''': You ''told'' me you stole them!\
25	'''Vala''': I did?\
26	'''Dr. Jackson''': Yes!
27	* ContinuityNod:
28	** Tenat and Jup still have a grudge against Daniel and Vala after the events of [[Recap/StargateSG1S8E12PrometheusUnbound "Prometheus Unbound"]].
29	** Daniel complains that if it wasn't for Vala he would be [[Recap/StargateSG1S9E1AvalonPart1 in the Pegasus galaxy by now]].
30	* DangerousPhlebotinumInteraction: Dr. Lee speculates that the lingering bond between Daniel and Vala even after they've removed the bracelets could be due to an interaction with the [[Recap/StargateSG1S9E2AvalonPart2 Ancient communication device]].
31	* FetchQuest: The entire premise of the episode.
32	* GunpointBanter: Mitchell chatting to Jup about football while they're pointing guns at each other.
33	-->'''Mitchell:''' So who you liking in the NFL this year? You kinda strike me as a Raiders fan.
34	* HauledBeforeASenateSubCommittee: Landry, Teal'c, Daniel and Vala are brought before the Senate Appropriations Committee to try and justify keeping the program at its current level of operation due to plans to slash their budget by 70%.
35	* HeroOfAnotherStory: "Hero" may be a stretch- but it's implied that one of the guys in the ChainOfDeals (the one who wants the obsolete power coil back) needs the item for his ''own'' chain of deals.
36	* HumanizingTears: Subverted and lampshaded by Vala when Daniel rejects her offer of sex and delivers a fairly cutting analysis of her character. She starts crying and talking about her DarkAndTroubledPast, and Daniel is genuinely remorseful until he realizes halfway through his apology that she's putting it on.
37	-->'''Daniel:''' Are you ''messin''' with me?
38	-->'''Vala:''' Is it working?
39	-->'''Daniel:''' Get out. Go.
40	* IgnoreTheFanservice: Daniel's response to finding a scantily-clad Vala in his bed is to order her out of his room so he can sleep.
41	* ImStandingRightHere: When Dr. Lee is trying to figure out a way to sever the link between Daniel and Vala:
42	-->'''Vala:''' This is a waste of time.
43	-->'''Daniel:''' Shut up.
44	-->'''Vala:''' It's not like I wanted this to happen. Anyway, I'm being realistic, he has no idea what he's doing.
45	-->'''Lee:''' I'm standing ''right'' here.
46	* KickedUpstairs: Referenced when Landry threatens to promote Walter so that he can go to meetings in his place.
47	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: The Pentagon wants to shift focus from the SGC, which has effectively wrapped up the Goa'uld and Replicator threats, and put more emphasis on the Atlantis expedition which promises much better return on investment. The chairman at the hearing sarcastically points out that this new Ori threat has conveniently come out of nowhere just as the SGC is becoming irrelevant.
48	* LikeAnOldMarriedCouple: Most of the interaction between Daniel and Vala, who are well and truly sick of being stuck with each other by this point.
49	* MayDecemberRomance: Vala's apparent past relationship with Arlos, the old man she stole the bracelets from, though she was using him in order to steal said bracelets.
50	* NoHonorAmongThieves: Jup claims that Mitchell can trust him and Tenat to uphold their end of the bargain as they have a reputation to uphold, only for Tenat to reveal to Daniel and Vala that they plan to screw him over. Fortunately, the team expected this, and came prepared.
51	* ObstructiveBureaucrat: The Senate Appropriations Committee only seem to be interested in funding the Atlantis project and the development of new ships and refuse to take the Ori threat seriously after eight years of fighting the Goa'uld.
52	* ReadyForLovemaking: Vala tries to seduce Daniel by waiting in his bed and throwing back the covers when he enters the room to reveal her skimpy pink nightwear.
53	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Daniel gives one to Vala after rejecting her advances.
54	-->'''Daniel:''' I know what you're doing, with the whole "sexual" thing, it's a defense mechanism.
55	-->'''Vala:''' Really?
56	-->'''Daniel:''' Yeah. You live a solitary existence, you move from place to place, you never form any lasting relationships, you use sex as a weapon to prevent yourself from forming any real emotional bonds.
57	* ShaggyDogStory: After the team succeed in completing a series of ever-more dangerous deals to get the necklace that Vala stole back to Arlos, he reveals that he has no idea how to sever the link between Daniel and Vala, but he suspects it will eventually fade by itself.
58	* SpacePirates: The Lucian Alliance, who Vala describes as a "coalition of former smugglers and mercenaries who've banded together to take advantage of the power vacuum left by the demise of the Goa'uld".
59	* StockFootage: The EstablishingShot for Arlos Kadawam's homeworld is recycled from "[[Recap/StargateSG1S1E4TheBrocaDivide The Broca Divide]]". Similarly, Inago's planet is established with a stock shot from "[[Recap/StargateSG1S2E5Need Need]]".
60	* TooMuchInformation: Arlos describing his torrid love affair with Vala to Daniel and Mitchell.
61	-->'''Arlos:''' I remember it like it was yesterday. Some nights, we would steal away from the city, strip off our clothing and bathe in the springs of our garden. We would chase one another across the mossy hills and then... lie naked under Edora's moons and Vala would--
62	-->'''Mitchell:''' Okay! That's great, thanks. We got the picture. The very vivid, very disturbing picture.
63	* VolleyingInsults:
64	-->'''Inago:''' Vala. You cowardly, back-stabbing, sorry excuse for a woman. How have you been?
65	-->'''Vala:''' Inago. You filthy, double-talking slug. Nice to see you too.
66	* YankTheDogsChain: It looks like Daniel might finally be about to catch a break when Vala leaves without complication at the beginning of the episode, but obviously it's not going to be that easy.
67	* YouRemindMeOfX: Teal'c states that Mitchell sometimes reminds him of O'Neill. Mitchell replies that he's going to take that as a compliment; Teal'c doesn't seem so sure.

Context Recap / StargateSG1S9E4TheTiesThatBind