This is another very good episode with long-term consequences on the storyline, since the Nox will occasionally pop up again. It also starts to develop another more philosophical aspect of the Stargate series (one that will evolve into the whole Ascension theme).
The episode begins with business as usual, with SG1 attempting to get something useful for the SG program to show for once (making the program "productive" enough to justify its cost and risks will be a major issue throughout the series). Then Apophis gets involved, much to everyone's delight. We get to discover another interesting piece of Goa'uld technology, and we meet the Nox, who are a sort of blend between a dryad and an Ewok --if you can picture that. (And as a side note: did Armin Shimerman EVER get to act on a "normal" show?) This is where the plot gets original and meaningful. The Nox look so very simple and vulnerable, that SG1, good guys that they are, take it upon themselves to protect them willy-nilly, rather patronizingly. See, they just *assume* that they know better because to them, power only lies in weapons and technology. This is where the show introduces one of its core tenets: that being civilised means abolishing violence --but that you had better be able to defend yourself when you get to that point.
So the final revelation about the Nox's real abilities is both a very interesting twist and a very important lesson for the Stargate universe, more significant in a way than any weapon or alien thingummy that SG1 might have brought back. I really wish the show hadn't forgotten about the Nox somewhere around season 5, because they're probably the closest thing there is to Ascension in the Milky Way.
The episode begins with business as usual, with SG1 attempting to get something useful for the SG program to show for once (making the program "productive" enough to justify its cost and risks will be a major issue throughout the series). Then Apophis gets involved, much to everyone's delight. We get to discover another interesting piece of Goa'uld technology, and we meet the Nox, who are a sort of blend between a dryad and an Ewok --if you can picture that. (And as a side note: did Armin Shimerman EVER get to act on a "normal" show?) This is where the plot gets original and meaningful. The Nox look so very simple and vulnerable, that SG1, good guys that they are, take it upon themselves to protect them willy-nilly, rather patronizingly. See, they just *assume* that they know better because to them, power only lies in weapons and technology. This is where the show introduces one of its core tenets: that being civilised means abolishing violence --but that you had better be able to defend yourself when you get to that point.
So the final revelation about the Nox's real abilities is both a very interesting twist and a very important lesson for the Stargate universe, more significant in a way than any weapon or alien thingummy that SG1 might have brought back. I really wish the show hadn't forgotten about the Nox somewhere around season 5, because they're probably the closest thing there is to Ascension in the Milky Way.
