"If you immediately know that the candlelight is fire, then the meal was cooked a long time ago."
— The monk
The team is given reason to believe that Apophis is actively searching for the Harcesis child when Bra'tac arrives with news of an attack on Chulak. With Bra'tac's help, they are able to determine a likely address for Kheb and race to find the boy before Apophis does, but once they arrive at their destination Daniel becomes engrossed by the teachings of an enigmatic monk who appears to possess mystical powers.
First appearance of Oma Desala.
"Maternal Instinct" provides examples of the following tropes:
- Agent Scully: Daniel chastises Carter for her flat-out refusal to believe he could have suddenly gained psychic powers, asking whether there isn't a part of her that wants to believe they could be capable of something more. Of course, she turns out to be right.
- Almighty Janitor: O'Neill flippantly refers to the monk guarding the temple at Kheb as such.Daniel: The monk is just someone who's taken up a sort of curatorship.O'Neill: Kind of a janitor?Daniel: More of a guide.O'Neill: An usher?
- Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: The monk ascends at the end of the episode after he is shot by one of Apophis's Jaffa; this episode also contains the series' first reference to the concept of ascension.
- Bolt of Divine Retribution: Oma deals with Apophis's forces by blasting them with bolts of lightning from the sky.
- Death Is Cheap: O'Neill lampshades Apophis's refusal to stay dead when Bra'tac reveals that he survived the destruction of Netu.O'Neill: Someone has got to teach that guy how to die.
- Empty Piles of Clothing: Happens when the monk ascends, due to his body transforming into a glowing ball of energy.
- Energy Being: Oma Desala is one, and the monk becomes one upon ascension.
- Enlightenment Superpowers: Subverted; Daniel thinks he's getting these under the monk's guidance, and "demonstrates" his newfound abilities to the others by summoning fire and levitating O'Neill's gun into the air, but at the end of the episode he realizes that it was Oma who had the power all along and he wasn't actually doing any of it.
- Foreshadowing: A ton for Daniel's eventual ascension, as well as the concept of ascension in general, which would become much more central to the plot from around season 5 onwards.Daniel: [to Oma] I'll see both of you again someday, right?
- A really subtle example in the episode as well. Bra'tac is told he can't seek ascension while he carries a Goauld. This foreshadows the fact that Oma ascended Anubis and has paid the price for that act and simply will not help another symbiote do so.
- He Who Fights Monsters: The monk warns Daniel that although he doesn't carry evil inside of him in the same literal sense that the Jaffa do, he still has his own burdens to let go of, most notably his hatred of the Goa'uld.
- Hidden Depths: Bra'tac reveals a surprising spirituality; besides Daniel, he is the most open to the teachings of the monk and interested in the idea of ascension, and he displays a deep reverence towards Kheb in general.
- Holy Ground: The temple at Kheb is explicitly described as such:Daniel: Something about this place says we all shouldn't rush in there waving guns around.Bra'tac: He is right. This is sacred ground.
- I Gave My Word: Daniel cites the promise he made to Sha're as the reason he wants to find the Harcesis child, though the monk questions whether he isn't more interested in using the child's knowledge to destroy the Goa'uld.
- I Surrender, Suckers: A variation occurs where Daniel urges the rest of the team to put down their weapons and "surrender" so that Oma can step in and annihilate Apophis's forces.
- Innocuously Important Episode: While continuing the Harcesis and Apophis storylines, this episode also introduces Oma Desala and the concept of Ascension. While Oma will only have two more appearances in the series, she'll end up being crucial to the entire Anubis era of the Goa'uld Myth Arc. Ascension will likewise gradually become more crucial to second half of SG-1 and have varying repercussions for Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe.
- Internal Reveal: Bra'tac and the SGC both finally learn what the audience has known since "The Devil You Know": That Apophis survived and has taken command of Sokar's domain and forces.
- Joker Immunity: Apohpis as always. O'Neill is especially livid this time that Apophis still isn't dead even after blowing up an entire planet.
- Koan: The monk seems to speak almost entirely in these, including the most famous one that would eventually become something of a Running Gag:Monk: Because it is so clear, it takes a longer time to realize it. If you immediately know that the candlelight is fire, then the meal was cooked a long time ago.Daniel: Right. Um, I, uh... I have no idea what you're talking about.
- Messiah Creep: This episode marks the point at which this aspect of Daniel's character first starts to come to the fore.
- Mother Nature: The literal meaning of "Oma Desala".
- Nothing Left to Do but Die: Bra'tac seems to feel this way when he hits a bit of a Despair Event Horizon after his latest protégé is killed, and when it emerges that they really have found Kheb he tells Teal'c that he is contemplating taking the path to the afterlife. However, he changes his mind after a talk with the monk makes him realize that he is not yet ready to die, and he leaves the temple with a renewed sense of purpose in his mission.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: A plot point. Apophis laying waste to his former throne world and slaughtering scores of his previously loyal followers is extreme even for him. Bra'tac outright says he's never seen or heard of a Goa'uld turning on those who carried their own kind like this. Furthermore, Apophis could have just nuked Chulak from orbit, but didn't. His armies instead swept across its surface, leading Bra'tac to deduce there had to be another purpose to the invasion. Daniel and Teal'c realize Apophis was actually searching for the Harcesis child.
- Power of Trust: The monk instructs Daniel to "trust in Oma". Daniel also invokes this himself at the end of the episode, as he's trying to convince the others to put down their weapons in the face of what looks to be certain defeat.Daniel: Jack, if you are ever gonna trust me on anything, now is the time.
- Scarily Competent Tracker: Bra'tac proves himself to be one:Bra'tac: When they all met back up again, there was a struggle, then they went into the forest. Each print is spread wide. They were running.O'Neill:...He's good.Teal'c: Extremely.
- Status Quo Is God: Daniel intends to take Sha're's son back to earth with him but has a change of heart when he realizes the child will be much safer with Oma, leaving him free to continue on the team without the responsibilities of caring for an infant.
- We Have Reserves: Bra'tac reports that Apophis has attacked Chulak, proving that he is willing to massacre his own loyal followers rather than bothering to search out the few dissenters among their ranks.
- Weather Manipulation: Oma destroys Apophis's forces by summoning lightning with which to attack them.
