"I just wish my first trip to Atlantis wasn't under such desperate circumstances."
— Dr. Daniel Jackson
The team, minus Teal'c, travels to the Pegasus galaxy in search of information on the location of Merlin's weapon. As Daniel and Vala look for clues in the Atlantis database, Mitchell and Carter team up with McKay to put the Ori supergate out of commission using a black hole.
Last appearance of Dr. Elizabeth Weir (at least on ''SG-1").
"The Pegasus Project" provides examples of the following tropes:
- Achilles' Heel:
- Rodney's citrus allergy, as always. Gets played for laughs with the reveal that Sheppard carries a lemon with him as an anti-Rodney Good Luck Charm.
- The Wraith Hive's systems are just as affected by proximity to the Black Hole as the Odyssey. Rodney realizes this will also include their jamming systems and that they can beam nukes onto the ship at will (a tactic which the Atlantis Expedition hasn't been able to use against the Wraith in more than a year at this point).
- Actor Allusion: Mitchell suggests using a Spaceship Slingshot Stunt to escape the Wraith ship. The other science fiction series Ben Browder starred in, Farscape, featured his character performing the same maneuver in the pilot episode.
- Another reference to Farscape comes when Vala tells Mitchell off for making Earth cultural references she doesn’t understand, mirroring their respective actor’s characters on the other show, where Crichton made regular Earth pop cultural references that confused the rest of the alien crew.
- Adaptational Heroism: This version of Morgan, who differs from her traditional villainous depiction in the Arthurian legends. That being said, Morgan admits there is truth to the legends and she was Merlin's greatest rival before changing her mind and siding with him.
- Ambiguous Situation: Morgan Le Fay's ultimate fate after the other Ascended Ancients yank her back to their plane of existence. This won't be resolved until The Ark of Truth, which confirms she's been cast out.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Vala keeps getting distracted by the various sights Atlantis has to offer until Daniel takes her by the arm and steers her in the right direction.
- Bittersweet Ending: With the aid of the Atlantis Expedition, SG-1 successfully manages to cut off the Ori Crusade's access to the Supergate and destroy one of their unstoppable ships (with the added bonus of taking out a Wraith Hive in the bargain). But by punishing Morgan Le Fay, the Others have confirmed once and for all they will not intervene in the Ori Crusade despite the existential threat their cousins pose. From this point forward, SG-1 and their allies are on their own.
- Blunt Metaphors Trauma: Twice lampshaded by Vala:Mitchell: (about Daniel finally getting to go to Atlantis) Trust me, like a kid who was up all night on Christmas Eve.Vala: I thought we imposed a moratorium on cultural references I wouldn't understand.
- Later:
McKay: (about the size difference between a normal gate and the supergate) It'd be like putting together a Saint Bernard and a Chihuahua.Vala: And the problem with that would be...?McKay: Well obviously it's a question of... Oh, I see. You're, um, mocking me, aren't you?Vala: What? No, I'm not from Earth. I honestly didn't get the reference. - Broken Pedestal: Daniel's personal opinion of the Others had already hit rock bottom after the revelations of "Threads" and their passive, intentional enabling of Anubis to punish Oma Desala. But that opinion ends up dropping below rock bottom here once Daniel realizes that despite the existential threat the Ori pose to them, the Others still will not intervene and assist the lower planes against their cousins. In fact, the Others are so committed to their non-interference policy that they would rather punish those few like Morgan who understand exactly what's at stake and who're trying to covertly and overtly assist the lower planes.
- Call-Back: McKay informs Mitchell that he's actually seeing the accretion disk, not the black hole itself; O'Neill made a similar comment all the way back in "Singularity".
- Continuity Nod:
- Vala states that only two of Daniel's failed attempts to get to Atlantis were her fault, referencing the events of "Prometheus Unbound" and "Avalon, Part 1".
- Carter, Mitchell and McKay cause the supergate wormhole to "jump" from the Ori galaxy to the Pegasus galaxy using a similar technique to that employed by the SGC to disconnect from the black hole in "A Matter of Time".
- In a cross-continuity example with Atlantis, McKay thanks Carter for "being there for him" during the events of "Grace Under Pressure". Which is itself a reference to "Grace", in which Carter had a similar experience.
- In another cross-continuity example, the Wraith Hives are still employing the jamming codes they'd developed for countering Asgard beaming technology the year before.
- One of the planets that the Ancient database shows to Daniel and Vala is Proclarush Taonas.
- Conveniently Precise Translation: Discussed. After Morgan Le Fay in her hologram-guise gives Daniel and Vala the exact names they've been looking for, Daniel immediately gets suspicious. Languages change over time, so how could the Atlantis database know exactly what they were looking for. It's a big hint they're not actually talking to a hologram.
- Crossover: Between SG-1 and Atlantis. In particular, it's a textbook case of a perfectly-executed TV crossover. It does not impact the then-ongoing Atlantis narrative (apart from the destruction of a Wraith Hive) and it is not necessary for Atlantis viewers to watch it to enjoy their show. But, for the Atlantis viewers, half the fun is also watching the Expedition interacting with their SG-1 counterparts and seeing their corner of the Stargate Verse contribute to the larger fight happening back home.
- Doomed Moral Victor: After being hinted at back in "The Return, Part 1", this episode explicitly confirms this is the official stance of the Others in the face of the Ori Crusade. They would rather die than interfere and become just like their wayward cousins.
- Dragged Off to Hell: More or less with Morgan, as the Others intervene to yank her back to their plane of existence once she finally crosses the line.
- Exact Words: Daniel uses this to trip Morgan Le Fay up into revealing herself after realizing that she's not a hologram.Daniel: You chose your words very carefully when you said the first "human" to set foot in this city. What about "ascended being"?
- Foreshadowing: Morgan states that her orders from on high were to observe Merlin and, if necessary, to stop him. The wording of those orders ends up being crucial to "The Quest, Part 2" and the revelation that Morgan exploited Loophole Abuse to keep Merlin alive.
- Funny Background Event: As Daniel and Weir are walking through the Atlantis base near the beginning of the episode, Vala can be seen behind them taking an object from Zelenka's workstation, only for him to chase after her and confiscate it again.
- Good Luck Charm: Again, a variation with the lemon Sheppard carries around just to screw with Rodney.
- His Name Is...: Morgan is dragged away by the other Ancients just as she's about to tell Daniel something important about Merlin's weapon. What exactly she was trying to tell them won't be revealed until "The Quest, Part II".
- Leitmotif: As part of the Stargate Atlantis crossover, Joel Goldsmith's score includes the spinoff's themes for the Expedition and the Ancients.
- If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him!: A variation. The Others are so traumatized by the Ori and what they did to the Alterans that they fear intervening in the lower planes will make them no better or different than their cousins. While a frustrated Daniel understands their position, he also rightly points out that such ethics and nobility are ultimately meaningless in the face of the existential threat the Ori pose to both them and the lower planes.
- Loophole Abuse:
- The ascended Ancient Morgan Le Fay poses as a hologram in order to give Daniel and Vala the information they're looking for without directly breaking the non-interference clause. Ironically, she states that if they hadn't called her out on her ruse, she might have been able to be of more assistance.
- This is also the basis for Carter's 'Dial in from Pegasus' plan. The Ori Supergate's OS won't allow non-Ori to dial out (Carter states the Asgard tried this and failed). But, the OS was designed to dial in from another galaxy. So, Carter's hope is dialing in from Pegasus and bouncing the connection will allow them to bypass the OS and successfully tie up the Supergate indefinitely.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: By Spotting the Thread and exposing Morgan, Daniel ends up forcing the Others to intervene against Morgan, thereby depriving them of a potential ally.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Thanks to the Wraith detecting the nuclear bombs detonated by Odyssey, an Ori ship was destroyed, and the Ori were blocked from sending ships through the Supergate ( at least until "The Shroud").
- Outside-Context Problem: The Wraith are this for SG-1 in this episode (or at least for Carter and Mitchell aboard the Odyssey). While the SGC has obviously known about the Wraith since the Expedition re-established contact with Earth, SG-1 itself has never encountered them personally until this episode. This makes Rodney's presence invaluable due to his own experience and expertise with the Hives.
- Poor Communication Kills. Downplayed non-lethal example, but Sam confides to Vala (and presumably all of SG-1) that they might actually need Rodney's help with the Stargate Jump calculations. However, Sam apparently did not tell Vala about her longtime history of Teeth-Clenched Teamwork with Rodney or that this admission should remain private; the last thing Sam wanted was to feed Rodney's ego. So Vala accidentally reveals this during their briefing with the Expedition, Rodney's left smug, and Sam's left irritated.
- Properly Paranoid: Once they realize they're dealing with the Morgan Le Fay, Daniel immediately becomes suspicious about the Gate addresses she provided during her earlier deception. After all, in the Arthurian legends, Morgan was Merlin's greatest and most bitter rival. So Daniel's understandably worried they've been handed a poisoned chalice and that Morgan is playing her own games. Even when Morgan explains her history with Merlin and how it relates to the Ori, Daniel's still skeptical. Morgan did all in her power to oppose Merlin, then she suddenly and abruptly she changes her mind and agrees with him? However, Daniel does ultimately come to believe Morgan's sincere because of the risk she's taking, and knowing first hand the danger of bucking the authority of the Others. Subsequent events in "The Quest" will confirm Daniel's instincts were right and Morgan was on the level.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Daniel gives a very bitter one to Morgan — and by extension, the other ascended Ancients — after realizing that she still won't help them.Daniel: I believe you. I do. I mean, I understand the fine line you have to walk. I realize the risk you're taking just showing yourself. But I'm sorry, I want more. You can pass that on to your friends as well. Yeah, I know you're listening, because I am getting sick of hidden clues and cryptic messages. And Merlin was right that the Ori are a threat. But not only to us "lowers," not only to the billions of humans throughout this galaxy, but to your own existence. Because when this war is over, and every soul that's left alive is praying to the Ori, feeding their need to be worshipped, you know who they're gonna come for next. I won't pretend to know what that war will look like, or in what battlefield it will take place, but then, I won't be alive to see it.
- Required Spinoff Crossover: The episode takes place in the Pegasus Galaxy and features several characters from Atlantis, most notably McKay and Weir, who were both originally SG-1 characters. This also makes this episode the first and only appearance of John Sheppard, Radek Zelenka, Chuck, and Atlantis itself outside of the spinoff show.
- While the Wraith had been mentioned on SG-1 (after the Expedition re-establishes contact with the SGC), this also remains their first and only appearance outside of Stargate Atlantis (not unlike how "Critical Mass" served as the first and only appearance of the Goa'uld outside of SG-1).
- Reverse Psychology: Mitchell attempts to use this on McKay to make him get his act together, noting that he's not acting much like the miracle-worker he's heard so many stories about. When that doesn't work, he threatens him with a lemon instead.
- The Rival: As in Arthurian mythology, the Stargate Morgan and Merlin were fierce rivals. This is actually why Daniel's initially suspicious of her help, as he's worried she's playing games and has handed them a poisoned chalice.
- Scenery Porn: Daniel and Vala take the opportunity to admire the view from one of Atlantis's balconies, and the entire team marvel at the city as they approach in the Odyssey at the beginning of the episode.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Having just been cleared to join SG-1 in the previous episode, Vala's still struggling with the team dynamics (not to mention understanding Earth popular culture and references).
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Between Carter and McKay, just for a change.
- Time Dilation: The crew of the Odyssey experience this as they get closer to the black hole.
- Unrealistic Black Hole: The Odyssey flies into the accretion disk and does a Spaceship Slingshot Stunt around the gravity well to escape the Wraith ship pursuing them.
- Writing Lines: Vala jokingly suggests that this could be Morgan Le Fay's punishment after she's pulled away by the Others.Vala: Maybe she'll just get a slap on the wrist. Or be forced to write "I will not interfere in the affairs of humans again" ten thousand times.Daniel: Yeah, I doubt that.
