Previous: 1.13 Fire and Water

It's hard to talk about Hathor without talking about rape. That is what happens to Daniel in this episode and it is clumsily brushed off in canon with Daniel's sheepish, "A lot of that [DNA] will probably be mine," and Jack's wholly inadequate and inappropriate, "Ew."

BUT THANK GOD FOR FANFIC. Because for several days after watching the episode, I read about fifteen different takes of Daniel getting acknowledgement and support concerning what happened to him. Instead of talking about the episode this week, I need to talk about fandom and why it's so important to this series.

The wonderful thing about Stargate has always been the way it tackles serious and often uncomfortable issues. It doesn't shy away from the tough stuff, but also, as a result of it being a television show that has to appeal to marketers, being produced in the late 90s, and, yeah, being mostly created and controlled by men, they often either miss the mark for nuance or fail at the dismount, by which I mean the repercussions of some of the events. Like rape, or deaths of recurring characters, or a lot of things involving minorities of any kind.

But surrounding the series is an amazing fandom that fleshes out and explores all the weaknesses of the series. It fills in the gaps between episodes, it deals with the mental health of the main characters, it connects to their grief and healing, and by God, it explores the topics left poked but gently prodded by the series.

It was no surprise to me the number of fics I found related to "Hathor." In pursuing this project it's become clear to me how much of the early SG-1 fic has been lost—stories weren't archived on AO3, other archives have slowly folded, and even painstakingly kept rec lists can have dead links. But damn, were there still a lot of "Hathor" fics. And I truly think that's because we all saw the need for episode tags. What happened to Daniel was pretty obvious and if the fanfic writers didn't explore it—didn't help Daniel—there was no way we could buy him being okay in the next episode.

Fandom is great for additional content, for expanding the universe and adding color commentary, but it also often provides an important level of context and nuance that is essential for anyone who wants to get obsessive. Fandom, thank you and I love you.

PS This episode is so, so uncomfortable.


A few last notes of significance:

• I love when we get to remember that Daniel is a disgraced academic. Warms my heart every time. (That sounds sarcastic, but I swear, it is my happy place.)


• I'm now assuming that Hathor walked to Colorado Springs from Mexico because that image is funny.


• This is the first incursion of the SGC. Also, the concept of Goa'uld queens is first introduced here.


• I have so many questions about how the Jaffa creation process works. We don't keep our immune systems in our stomachs. Where do those organs go? How else has Jack's body changed in the handful of seconds it took to create "the womb"?

Quote of the Week:

Daniel: Hathor was the Egyptian goddess of fertility, inebriety and music.
Jack: Sex, drugs and rock and roll?
Daniel: In a manner of speaking, yes.

Episode Stats
Planetary Tally: at the end of the episode, Hathor escapes to Chulak
Series Total: 13

In Fashion: Sam wears the green flight suit in the beginning of the episode while everyone else is in green BDUs; when Sam and Teal'c gear up to retake the base, they wear jungle camo

Brain Washed: all the men on the base except for Teal'c fall prey to Hathor's super pheromones which bring them under her control; a massive dose will make them utterly docile
Daniel: Series Total: 2
Jack: Series Total: 4

With All Due Respect: Sam dishes some respect to Hammond when all the men appear to be mind whammied by Hathor
Series Total: 11


Next up: 1.15 Singularity