"I just got word: the Russians have gone to a state of full military preparedness. As of this moment, we're at Defcon 1."
— Brig. Gen. Jack O'Neill
Former Vice President Kinsey warns O'Neill that the Trust intends to turn the Russians against the SGC and offers his help in taking them down; however, he is captured during the attempt. Daniel is sent to Russia to try and smooth things over, but the situation becomes a whole lot worse with the revelation that the Goa'uld have infiltrated the Trust and intend to turn the US and Russia against each other in the hopes of instigating an all-out nuclear war.
Last appearance of Robert Kinsey.
"Full Alert" provides examples of the following tropes:
- Apple of Discord: The Goa'uld hatch a plot to get the US and Russia to wipe each other out.
- Asshole Victim: Nobody seems particularly saddened by the revelation that Kinsey has been made into a host.
- Batman Gambit: While investigating Kiselev, Carter discovers the Trust already had a pre-existing connection to the General via his Chief of Staff. In other words, the Goa'uld never needed Kinsey to get at Kiselev (who almost certainly has been a Host all this time). Carter realizes this was the real purpose of turning Kinsey into a Host: To be a Red Herring to dangle in front of Moscow. With the former/corrupt VP now a Goa'uld, Moscow would conclude the American Government had also been compromised. With attention focused on the United States and tensions escalating, Moscow wouldn't realize they'd actually been compromised first until it was too late.
- Bilingual Backfire: When Captain Voronkova asks Daniel how his Russian is, he responds (in fluent Russian) that he doesn't get much opportunity to practice, but he gets by. Voronkova replies that they should probably stick to English, which quickly wipes the smug look off his face.
- Call-Back: Daniel expertly goads Goa'uld Kinsey into letting details slip by prodding his ego, a tactic Teal'c recommended all the way back in season 2's "In the Line of Duty".
- Covert Distress Code: Discussed when the team have Kinsey wear a wire to his meeting with the Trust.Carter: In the event that something does go wrong, I'd suggest that we come up with pre-established signal. Preferably a code word that'll let us know you're in trouble.Kinsey: How about something simple, like "help"?Carter: How about something a little less obvious, like "red"?
- Defcon 5: Used correctly, with the situation escalating from Defcon 3 to Defcon 1 over the course of the episode and each progression treated with the appropriate gravity.
- Dispense with the Pleasantries: When Kinsey breaks into O'Neill's house at the beginning of the episode. O'Neill gives him three minutes to cut the crap and say why he's really there before he shoots him for breaking and entering.
- Eating the Eye Candy: Implied by Voronkov's reaction to Daniel and being pleased he's not the drab, pasty middle-aged academic she was expecting.
- Evil Is Petty: Once Daniel deduces the Goa'uld possessing the Trust's aren't aligned with Ba'al, he deduces this is their motive: One last crack at revenge for all the trouble Earth's caused them over the last decade. Daniel thinks it's just underscores how pathetic the System Lords have become.Daniel: Gotta hand it to you, though, your territories are falling one by one, your troops are in full retreat and you still find the time to come destroy little old us.
- Foreshadowing: Kinsey notes early in the episode that the Trust's attitude and policies have changed in the wake of the events of "Endgame". They're now no longer content to work within the shadows, but are making bold power grabs in broad daylight. It's an early clue the entire organization's been compromised by the Goa'uld.
- Foreign Cuss Word: Voronkova drops a few Russian curses.
- Healing Factor: The Goa'uld's long-established healing abilities end up being a major plot point (see Spotting the Thread).
- I'll Never Tell You What I'm Telling You!: Daniel goads the Goa'ulded Kinsey into this, though the interrogation is interrupted before he can reveal everything.Kinsey: You are the one who is pathetic. You will die never knowing our true purpose.Daniel: So there is a hidden agenda. Making progress now, aren't we?
- Impostor-Exposing Test: The Russians take a blood sample from Daniel after having him arrested to confirm whether or not he's a Goa'uld.
- The Infiltration: It's revealed that the Goa'uld have infiltrated the Trust.
- Karmic Transformation: Of a sort. The Trust, thinking they had a better way to fight the Goa'uld than the SGC, had been using their ship to launch gas attacks on Goa'uld planets (not caring how many Jaffa or Tok'ra they killed in the process) until the SGC forced them to flee into the wider galaxy. At some point they were captured and taken as hosts, and have gone from a Knight Templar organization fighting the Goa'uld on Earth's behalf to a Goa'uld dominated organization infiltrating Earth on the System Lords' behalf.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: This exchange:Kinsey: You wanna take down the Trust. I can help you.O'Neill: I'm sorry, I must have missed an episode. I thought you guys were working together.
- Let's You and Him Fight: Attempted by the Goa'uld. By infecting key members of the American and Russian governments, they hope to trigger a nuclear war on Earth—presumably to stop us from interfering in offworld affairs and possibly to gain access to the Ancient weapon in the aftermath.
- Mutually Assured Destruction: The Goa'uld are banking on the fact that neither the Americans nor the Russians will be able to win a full-scale war in the hopes of provoking them into wiping each other out completely.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: After Daniel has himself and Kinsey beamed up to the Prometheus from Russian headquarters, the Goa'uld points out that he's only given the Russians more reason to suspect that they're working together.
- Samus Is a Girl: Downplayed; after being told that he'll be meeting with Chekov's right-hand man, Daniel arrives in Russia looking for a Captain Voronkov, only to have his assumptions corrected by Captain Voronkova. She replies that for her part she was expecting a "drab, pasty-faced, middle-aged academic", so they're both pleasantly surprised.
- Spotting the Thread: Carter realizes that the Russian General Kiselev is a Goa'uld after coming across a recent picture of him making a speech without wearing his glasses. Chekov notes that the general is Blind Without 'Em due to his advanced glaucoma and couldn't have gotten corrective surgery, so there's no way he'd be able to read from his notes without them on unless he had a symbiote to correct his vision.
- Shout-Out Theme Naming: The leaders of the Trust are named Mr. Kent, Mr. Wayne and Mr. Parker after the civilian identities of Superman, Batman and Spider-Man.
- The Stakeout: Carter and Daniel stake out Kinsey's meeting with the Trust at the beginning of the episode.
- Taking You with Me: Part of the Evil Is Petty motive. Daniel and Voronkova deduce that if the other System Lords are going to fall and die at Ba'al's hands, they're determined to try to take Earth down with them.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: While the team are working with Kinsey.
- Understatement: Voronkova warns Daniel that he may not receive the warmest welcome from Kiselev; seconds later, he's being arrested by armed guards and bundled into a truck.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Kinsey insists that no matter what O'Neill may have thought of his methods in the past, he was only ever acting with the best interests of the American people in mind. O'Neill doesn't seem particularly convinced and instead posits that Kinsey is just scared and vindictive, hoping to take down the Trust as retaliation for dumping him in the past.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The eventual fate of Kinsey and the Goa'uld possessing him is never really revealed, as it's not made entirely clear whether he's still on board the Trust's al'kesh when it's destroyed. He's last shown grabbing Osiris' hand device several minutes before the ship explodes, which would give him plenty of time to use it to beam out, but isn't explicitly shown escaping.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Kinsey claims that the Trust ditched him as soon as he lost his position as Vice President and admits to being concerned that they might try to have him killed off.
