"Today will henceforth be known as the day the blood of the Tok'ra ran free, and their rebellion ended for good."
— Osiris
Daniel is still undercover at the summit of the System Lords, but decides to hold off on the assassination in order to gather more information after learning that Osiris is representing a long-absent Goa'uld named Anubis. Meanwhile, the rest of the team remain trapped in the Tok'ra tunnels with a severely wounded Lt. Elliot as Zipacna continues his bombardment.
"Last Stand" provides examples of the following tropes:
- All for Nothing: Zigzagged with Daniel and Jacob's mission. While they are unable to execute the mass-assassination of the System Lords (due to Anubis' return and the danger of the ensuing power vacuum), they do at least gather valuable intel.
- Art Evolution: The special effects for Tok'ra tunnels has significantly advanced since we first saw it in their first proper episode.
- Bizarrchitecture: O'Neill and Teal'c use crystals to change the shape of the Tok'ra tunnels that the team is trapped in, enabling them to make their escape.
- Blatant Lies: Osiris claims that exile taught Anubis humility and respect for the power of the System Lords. Yu outright calls bullshit, irritated that Osiris takes him for a fool.
- Can't Kill You, Still Need You: This is what stops Daniel and Jacob from deploying the toxin after they learn about Anubis. Killing off the entire Goa'uld leadership will just make it easier to Anubis to sweep in and fill the vacuum (and the unwanted prospect of a single all-powerful System Lord is ironically exactly the reason why the Tok'ra hadn't attempted this kind of strike before).
- Coming in Hot: Jacob crashes his cargo ship into the surface of the planet after it's shot by one of Zipacna's Death Gliders on the way to "rescue" the rest of the team.Jacob: Hang on, Danny, we're going in... This is gonna be rough!
- Continuity Nod: When Jacob asks how exactly Daniel plans to fly Yu's cargo ship, Daniel responds that he's flown a mothership before, how hard can this be?
- Data Crystal: Anubis is after the crystal containing the poison formula.
- Defeat Means Respect: Ba'al seems to have a certain amount of grudging respect for Anubis's power, despite the fact that so far he's been using that power to undermine the other System Lords.
- Distress Call: Carter sends up an SOS from the surface of the planet so that Jacob and Daniel will know there are still survivors and hopefully stage a rescue.
- Downer Ending: The episode ends with Elliot/Lantash left behind so that the others can make their escape, slowly dying as the sound of the approaching Jaffa platoon grows closer and closer.
- The Dragon: Osiris acts as this on behalf of Anubis, representing his interests at the summit.
- Dying Declaration of Love: An unusual example where Lantash tells Carter via Elliot that he and Martouf really did love her as her own person, not just for her memories of Jolinar.
- Escape Pod: Daniel makes his escape from Yu's cargo ship in one after his plan to take Osiris alive backfires spectacularly.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Selmak reveals that Anubis was cast out by the rest of the System Lords long ago for crimes that were considered heinous even by Goa'uld standards.
- Evil Power Vacuum: Daniel specifically cites this as the reason he ditches the plan to wipe out the System Lords, as it would create a vacuum for Anubis to rise to power unchallenged. Selmak agrees.
- Heroic BSoD: Elliot briefly has one when he's stuck in the Tok'ra tunnels with Carter, who more or less tells him to snap out of it.Elliot: What a joke.Carter: What?Elliot: I... I can't believe I'm actually gonna die on my first mission.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Minor example. Yu more or less concedes to Osiris that the Tau'ri have become a legitimate threat. But they also can't do anything about them without risking the Goa'uld's Treaty with the Asgard — a Treaty which Yu ironically helped negotiate 2 years earlier and supported (as it benefited his domain and interests at the time).
- Horrifying the Horror: The System Lords are established as the most powerful, and the most terrible of the Goa'uld. Their utter panic upon learning Anubis has returned is used to show how much worse he really is.
- "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Daniel tries to get through to Sarah as Osiris is attempting to kill him. It doesn't really work, though it does confuse Osiris long enough for Yu to attack her, since Daniel is still disguised as Yu's servant.
- Join or Die: Inverted; Osiris pushes the other System Lords to let Anubis rejoin them, or put themselves at his mercy.
- Killed Off for Real: Elliot and Lantash.
- Lie to the Beholder: Daniel is able to use the Reol venom on Osiris at the beginning of the episode, causing her to see him as Yu's slave.
- Loophole Abuse: Osiris claims that Anubis can attack Earth without fear of retaliation from the Asgard, since he isn't officially one of the System Lords and has been "dead" for thousands of years, making him exempt from the treaty.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": The System Lords freak the hell out when they learn that their mysterious attacker is Anubis. Yu sounds legitimately terrified.
- Mauve Shirt:
- Lt. Elliot is killed off in his third appearance.
- Most of the Tok'ra as well. The episode goes out of its way to have previously seen Tok'ra with names prominently seen in the episode. With the exception of Jacob/Selmak, they all die, and many of the other unseen Tok'ra are never referenced again in the TV show.
- Monstrous Cannibalism: The System Lords are shown feasting on live Goa'uld symbiotes.
- No Seat Belts: Lampshaded after Jacob and Daniel make their crash landing and get knocked around the cockpit:Daniel: You'd think a race advanced enough to fly around in spaceships would be smart enough to have seatbelts, huh?
- Noodle Incident: Whatever it was Anubis did that even the other Goa'uld were appalled by (and which got him cast out).
- Poor Communication Kills: Daniel is not happy upon learning the Tok'ra always expected the Goa'uld were going to kill their own Lo'taurs at the end of the Summit — and Jacob didn't tell him until now. Jacob/Selmak justifiably point out Daniel was going to kill them all with the toxin as the Summit began, so there was no reason to bring it up. Daniel then acidly reminds him they're not doing that plan anymore and he kinda needed to know this.
- Only Sane Man: Yu is the sole surviving System Lord from Anubis's era. As such, he knows better than any of the younger Goa'uld just how dangerous Anubis is and why letting him rejoin the ranks of System Lords is a very bad idea.
- Slouch of Villainy: Osiris spends most of the episode draped over a throne whilst looking contemptuously at the other System Lords.
- Sole Survivor: A variation. Again, Yu's the last System Lord from Anubis's era still standing.
- Taking You with Me: Since they're both dying anyway, Elliot/Lantash ask the team to leave them with the symbiote poison and leave them behind so that they can release it and take out Zipacna's forces along with themselves once Jacob and Teal'c are out of the danger zone.
- Villain Has a Point: When an angry Yu tells Osiris the System Lords don't need Anubis, Osiris points out how badly the Goa'uld status quo has deteriorated in the last half a decade. There is previously unseen dissent and disbelief in the ranks of the Jaffa, the Tok'ra are more emboldened than ever, and the Tau'ri have become an undeniable, legitimate threat. Tellingly, Yu has no counterargument for the first two points (and concedes the third by admitting the Goa'uld can't do anything about the Tau'ri due to their Treaty with the Asgard).
- We Do the Impossible: Invoked by Carter, though it's clear that she's just trying to put a brave face on things for Elliot.Elliot: Come on, Major. Even if this symbiote can fix what's wrong with me, we're never getting out of here.Carter: Sure we are. You've read our mission files: we go through the gate, get into trouble, we get out of it, we go home.Elliot: Tell that to Major Mansfield.
- What Is One Man's Life In Comparison?: Jacob gives a speech to this effect when Daniel hesitates over using the poison and killing Sarah along with the Goa'uld, reminding him of what's at stake and insisting that the bigger picture is more important than any one person's life. It becomes moot, however, once they find out what Anubis is planning and decide to hold off on using the poison anyway.
- Xanatos Speed Chess: Daniel winds up playing this as the situation at the Goa'uld summit gets ever more complicated. First of all he has to use the Reol venom on Osiris to prevent her from blowing his cover, then he decides against releasing the poison in favor of listening to the proceedings and finding out as much as possible about Anubis's plans. Then when he begins to suspect that the System Lords intend to kill their slaves at the end of the summit, Jacob offers to extract him, but Daniel comes up with a new plan to steal Yu's cargo ship and take Osiris alive. Unfortunately, Yu catches him in the act after another slave tips him off, but he still manages to make his getaway in one of the escape pods as Yu and Osiris duke it out between them.
