"Ladies and gentlemen, there is life beyond our world. There are aliens out there, and they have a technology far beyond ours, and they have been intervening in our existence for quite some time. I have proof. And I am giving the governments of all the nations that are aware of this 24 hours to reveal the truth... or I'm gonna do it for them."
— Alec Colson
The team is sent to investigate when Alec Colson, a wealthy industrialist and acquaintance of Carter's, threatens to go public with proof of the existence of aliens. Carter tries to convince him that the world isn't ready to know the truth, but the Trust is willing to take more radical measures in silencing Colson.
"Covenant" provides examples of the following tropes:
- Actor Allusion: The only character that Colson is introduced to at the Alpha Site is Captain Sheffield.
- Blatant Lies: Colson calls out the team over the terrible "meteor shower" cover story for Anubis's attack on Earth.
- Broken Masquerade: Carter eventually persuades O'Neill that they have nothing to lose by telling Colson the truth since he's threatening to go public anyway, and she takes him on a tour of the Alpha Site to try and convince him to keep quiet.
- Continuity Nod:
- Much of Colson's evidence is from the attack on Earth in "Lost City".
- Julia Donovan follows Colson's story and conducts an interview with Carter, while Daniel mentions getting several missed calls from Emmett Bregman.
- Daniel points out that this wouldn't be the first time an Asgard has been hanging out on Earth without Thor being aware of it.
- The new Alpha Site is built inside a mountain much like the SGC after the last one was destroyed.
- Carter tells Colson that they recently witnessed the revelation of the Stargate on another planet trigger a world war in an attempt to dissuade him from going public.
- Carter tells Colson about the shadowy group of business tycoons who financed the rogue NID, then going by "the Committee," now "the Trust."
- Cool Car: Carter drives a red Mustang convertible when she and Daniel initially go to meet with Colson.
- Determinator: Colson makes it clear that it doesn't matter what anybody says to him; he will stop at nothing to reveal the truth. Even an attempted assassination doesn't slow him down.Colson: I won't be stopped, Sam. I promise you, one way or another, the world is gonna learn the truth.
- Driven to Suicide: Colson's business partner and best friend Brian Vogler ends up killing himself after the Trust blackmail him into cooking the books at Colson Industries to discredit Colson. After his death, Carter finds Colson deliberating overshooting himself, but she manages to talk him down.
- Empty Shell: The "Asgard" that Colson brings out on live TV is one of these, since it's just a cloned body with no consciousness inside.
- Exact Words:Colson: Problem with a guy like me, there's no place on Earth I can hide.Carter: Who's talking about Earth?
- Expy: As a progressive British aeronautics' tycoon (who was almost brought down by financial shenanigans) Alec Coulson is pretty much Sir Richard Branson.
- The Idealist: Colson starts out as this, believing that revealing the existence of the Stargate would serve to bring the people of Earth together. He does seem to lose some of his idealism by the end of the episode, however, after he gets set up and Vogler kills himself.
- Ignorance Is Bliss: Discussed when Carter tries to persuade Colson that the general population is better off not knowing that Earth is constantly under threat of destruction.Colson: Oh, right. The old "if you had cancer" argument. Would you want to know you're gonna die, or would you rather live out your final days in blissful ignorance?
- Just Following Orders: Carter's justification for publicly discrediting Colson, not that it makes her feel any better about it.
- Killed to Uphold the Masquerade: The Trust attempt to have Colson assassinated by sabotaging his private aircraft, forcing it to make an emergency landing.
- Metaphorically True: When Carter goes on TV to discredit Colson's "proof", he remarks that she doesn't actually lie once.
- Riddle for the Ages: When Brian is discovered dead, it is believed that he killed himself to avoid further blackmail from the Trust. However, this was after Carter had promised that he and his family would be protected, raising the question of whether Brain actually killed himself. Or if the Trust discovered what Carter was up to and had Brian murdered.
- Tempting Fate: When Vogler first tries to stop Colson from going public with his evidence, his flippant response is "what are they going to do? Have me killed?" Shortly afterwards, somebody tries to do just that.
- Unwitting Pawn: Colson accuses Carter of being one as he suspects the Air Force of being behind the attempt on his life.Colson: Don't worry, Sam, I don't believe for a second you were in on it. If it was our government, I'm sure you were just a pawn.Carter: That doesn't make me feel any better.
- Wham Shot: Colson unveiling what appears to be live Asgard during his press conference.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: At the end of the episode, Carter secures permission for Colson to go into hiding offworld to escape jail time; it's implied he accepts her offer, but it's never made clear one way or the other what becomes of him.
- The World Is Not Ready: Carter invokes this to try and convince Colson that revealing the Stargate to the public would be a bad idea. Vogler also references the trope verbatim at one point.
