Cimmeria is under attack by the Goa'uld Heru'ur since SG-1 destroyed the Goa'uld killing device the last time they visited. SG-1 attempts to help, and meet Thor for the first time. He appears to be unable to do anything.
Just as SG-1 meets their darkest hour (this episode), the Beliskner and Thor show up and promptly proceed to beam the entire Jaffa army and their pyramids off Cimmeria.
First appearance of Thor.
"Thor's Chariot" provides examples of the following tropes:
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: This exchange at the beginning of the episode, when each member of the team steps forward to convince Hammond that they have a responsibility to help the Cimmerians:Teal'c: The destruction of the hammer device to save my life may have caused this. If so, I am responsible.O'Neill: General, I gave the order.Daniel: And I fired the staff at the machine.Carter: And I... was there.
- Bald of Evil: Heru'ur, who is both very bald and mentioned to have a reputation for extreme ruthlessness even among the system lords.
- Bus Crash: Kendra was killed by the Horus Guards, offscreen.
- The Cavalry: Thor showing up in the Beliskner at the end and making short work of Heru'ur's forces.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: When Thor shows up and obliterates the Jaffa garrison, troops and structures all, just with his ship's transporters. Did an acceptable job of making the fandom wonder what the Asgard were capable of if you pissed them off enough for them to actually shoot at you.
- First-Contact Math: SG-1 finds a puzzle the Asgard had left the Cimmerians to see if they were advanced enough to get alien technology. The puzzle is a circle, square, and triangle on one wall, and a series of pictographs on the another wall. Daniel eventually remembers the pictographs can be words, or the numbers 3, 14, 15, 9. Carter notes that those number make up pi. As that's an Earth term, they have to demonstrate that they understand the concept of pi by drawing a radius on the circle.
- The Grays: The Asgard are revealed to be the inspiration behind depictions of the Roswell grays on earth.
- Killed Offscreen: Kendra, who played a fairly major role in "Thor's Hammer" is revealed to have been killed at some point in the interim.
- Malaproper:Teal'c: Things will not calm down, Daniel Jackson. They will, in fact, calm up.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: By destroying Thor's hammer in the prequel episode, SG-1 left Cimmeria vulnerable to Goa'uld attack, allowing for the invasion of Heru'ur's forces.
- Ominous Floating Spaceship: Inverted. The Asgard flagship Beliskner appears and performs a Gunship Rescue against Heru'ur.
- Only Smart People May Pass/Only the Knowledgable May Pass/Only the Worthy May Pass: The tests in the Hall of Thor's Might combines all three. The first test requires bravery and selflessness (worthiness), which Daniel displays in helping Gairwin cross a narrow beam over a seemingly bottomless pit, while the second test requires both a knowledge of Norse runes and an understanding of basic math, which Carter and Daniel are able to figure out the answer to together by combing their respective areas of expertise.
- Proud Warrior Race Guy: Olaf.
- Sequel Episode: To "Thor's Hammer".
- This Is Not a Floor: Inverted; the first test in the Hall of Thor's Might involves crossing what seems to be a narrow ledge over a deep chasm, but when Daniel and Gairwin fall off they land unharmed on the perfectly level floor, revealing the whole thing to have been an illusion.
- To the Pain: When Heru'ur is about to torture Olaf with the hand device.Olaf: Thor taught us to have no fear of death.Heru'ur: And what did he teach you about pain?
- Touched by Vorlons: It's revealed that Carter is able to operate Goa'uld technology as a result of her possession by Jolinar. She seems more freaked out by this than anything else. Maybe because she seems more proficient with the ribbon device than the healing device.
- Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Heru'ur beats a hasty retreat through the stargate when Thor shows up at the end.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Daniel mentions that he has a problem with heights when faced with Thor's first test. This is never mentioned again.
- Writers Cannot Do Math: After Carter and Jackson figure out that the symbols in the Test of Worthiness represent pi, they draw a line halfway across a circle to indicate its radius, thus showing they understand basic math. Trouble is, pi is the ratio of circumference to diameter, not radius. The line should have been drawn all the way across the circle.
- You Are Not Ready: This is apparently Thor's opinion of humanity, though this would be steadily subverted in later episodes.
