"If you can see it, you can shoot it."
— Jacob Carter
Tensions build between the Tok'ra and the free Jaffa on the alpha site, causing them to blame each other when members of each party are mysteriously murdered. The team attempt to keep the peace, but realize that they may have a bigger problem when it turns out there is an invisible enemy in their midst.
Tropes:
- Awesome, but Impractical: As a last ditch attempt to locate the Ashrak, O'Neill tells everyone to duck and then does a 360 degree sweep of the camp with a machine gun. It looks really cool but is completely ineffective at hitting the Ashrak, presumably because he could have just ducked as well.
- Chekhov's Gun:
- The za'tarc detector brought through the gate by the Tok'ra at the beginning of the episode is later used to try and weed out the saboteur.
- Carter rigs the naquadah generator to emit an EM field that renders the Ashrak visible.
- Chekhov's Skill: Bra'tac and Teal'c are both able to sense the approach of the Ashrak despite its invisibility, after they were shown training blindfolded in "Threshold".
- Continuity Nod:
- The free Jaffa are now stationed at the Alpha Site following the attack on their previous base by Lord Yu.
- Carter mentions that the za'tarc detector has been known to give false positives before.
- Jacob reminds O'Neill that despite his distaste for the Tok'ra, he would be dead if he hadn't been implanted with a symbiote, and admits that the same is true for him.
- Fraiser and Teal'c discuss the last time they encountered an Ashrak, when one tried to kill Carter while she was a host to Jolinar.
- Conveniently Timed Attack from Behind: Bra'tac reappears at the end of the episode to take out the Ashrak from behind, just as it's about to overpower O'Neill and Malek.
- Darkest Hour: According to Jacob during his conversation with Jack, the Tok'ra feel they and their allies are on the cusp of this (if it hasn't already arrived). The Tok'ra were decimated by Anubis' attack on Revanna last year — and as the episode opens, they just got their asses kicked by his forces again. The Jaffa Rebellion likewise isn't rolling along as merrily and effectively as Teal'c and Bra'tac had hoped. The Tau'ri are still in the game, but they've lost Daniel Jackson and are ultimately one single world against the totality of the Goa'uld. Meanwhile, Anubis is continuing to make inroads in the Galaxy and he still enjoys a massive technological advantage over all parties.
- Divide and Conquer: O'Neill references the trope by name, as the Ashrak exploits the already tense relationship between the Tok'ra and the Jaffa by covertly murdering members of each party in an attempt to turn them against each other.
- Due to the Dead: The Tok'ra hold a funeral for their deceased at the beginning of the episode, causing one of them to come to blows with a Jaffa for disrespecting the ceremony.
- Everyone Has Standards: According to Jacob, even Selmak was absolutely sickened by what fellow Tok'ra Kanan did to Jack (forcibly taking control of his body) during the events of "Abyss".
- Expospeak Gag: To disrupt the Ashrak's invisibility cloak, Carter has to set up a device that will hit it with an electromagnetic pulse from 400-700nm. 400-700nm is otherwise known as the visible light spectrum. She's just shining a light on him.
- Fire-Forged Friends: A very tentative truce is reached between the different factions by the end of the episode.
- Going Critical: The Ashrak first attempts to destroy the site by rigging a naquadah reactor to overload.
- I Owe You My Life: Malek states that he owes Bra'tac his life twice over at the end of the episode.
- Invisibility Cloak: The Ashrak uses one, similar to the system used by Nirrti.
- Layman's Terms:Carter: Sir, the invisibility field must operate...
O'Neill: Are you about to tell me that you can make the invisible guy visible?
Carter: Yes, sir.
O'Neill: That's all I need. - Mexican Standoff: At one point all of the Jaffa and all of the Tok'ra pull their weapons on each other and stand in two lines, facing each other down as O'Neill tries to defuse the situation.
- Must Have Caffeine: When Carter's briefing O'Neill on the sabotaged generator, O'Neill's initially irritated that Carter's hitting him with Technobabble before he's even had his first cup of coffee.
- Omnidisciplinary Scientist: Fraiser plays the role of forensic pathologist; somewhat justified since the site is on lockdown and she's presumably the only one there with a medical degree.
- One-Man Army: The Ashrak is explicitly described as such; Teal'c recalls an incident in which one Ashrak was able to wipe out an entire base, and thanks to his cloaking device the Ashrak manages to ragdoll a whole bunch of the airmen, Jaffa, and Tok'ra guarding the stargate in a Foe-Tossing Charge. He even takes several staff blasts to finally bring down, whereas a single direct hit is usually enough to do even a Goa'uld in.
- Only Sane Man: Jacob/Selmak for the Tok'ra and Bra'tac for the Jaffa, to the point where O'Neill specifically asks them both to use their influence in trying to keep the peace between the two sides.
- Out of Focus: Jonas only appears for a brief scene at the SGC.
- P.O.V. Cam: Happens a few times from the Ashrak's perspective.
- Rousing Speech: Bra'tac gives a fairly epic one at the end of the episode, to signify the new alliance between the Jaffa and the Tok'ra.
- Shout-Out: The episode contains several references to the movie Predator, with an invisible assailant moving through the forest and picking off the characters one by one, and the distorted POV shots from the Ashrak's perspective. The Ashrak's armor is also somewhat similar to that worn by the Predator, and Jacob's "if you can see it, you can shoot it" line is a reference to the famous "if it bleeds we can kill it" from the movie.
- Sworn Brothers: Bra'tac gives a speech at the end where he states that, by having fought and shed blood together against shared enemies, they have become as brothers and must no longer turn against each other.Bra'tac: This single blade did what we could not. It has brought us together. This blade has spilled the blood of Jaffa, of the Tok'ra... and of the Tau'ri. By the hand of our common enemy, it has made us brothers. Together we have ensured it will never spill our blood again.
- We ARE Struggling Together: The Tok'ra and the Jaffa are incredibly distrustful of each other to begin with, despite the fact that both are committed to the fight against the Goa'uld. Jacob states that from the Tok'ra perspective this is because most of their casualties have been at the hands of Jaffa serving enemy Goa'uld, while the Jaffa struggle to see the difference between the Tok'ra and the Goa'uld.
- We Used to Be Friends: A variation with O'Neill and the Tok'ra. While Jack still likes and (more or less) trusts Jacob/Selmak, his opinion of the Tok'ra and long-strained working relationship with them has been irrevocably soured and tainted because of Kanan's actions.
