Season 1 Episode 6 – Cold Lazarus

By Jess

Brief Summary:

SG-1 finds a planet with lots of blue crystals that are all shattered and smashed. Daniel finds a whole one, and they bring it back with them to study. At some point, Jack is “attacked” by one of the crystals, which takes the form of Jack and follows them back to Earth through the Gate. This CrystalJack explores the depths of the real Jack’s inner pain, specifically resulting from the death of his son, Charlie. It turns out that the crystals are a race of alien energy that was once attacked by the goa’uld. They mistook Jack (and SG-1 I guess) for the goa’uld since they look just like them. The crystal wanted to try to heal Jack’s pain, but did not realize that he could not bring his son back to him. Jack and ex-wife Sara have a short, albeit slightly tearful reunion, complete with the crystal being who has now assumed the form of Charlie. An amusing subplot finds Teal’c learning about Earth ways, especially things like MTV.

The S/D Point of View:

Okay, this episode is full of very nice Sam/Daniel interaction, if only platonic. It is where my Science Twins moniker for them comes from. Firstly, while on the planet, SG-1 splits up and Sam and Daniel go off together, searching for a whole crystal.

After they get back, Sam finds CrystalJack in the locker room, looking at a bunch of stuff (mostly pictures) in a cigar box kept by the real Jack. CrystalJack is quiet, serious, and not like our Jack at all. After he leaves, Daniel is taken by surprise and notes that “Jack seems very focused” to an amused Sam. She tells him that she didn’t know Jack was married. Daniel then informs her of the death of Jack’s son. He leaves the room and Sam somehow catches up with him, talking to him as they head down to the lab. Daniel tells Sam that Jack doesn’t really talk much about his personal life. Before getting a look at the crystal, Daniel tells Sam how Charlie died. The two look at the crystal and notice the difference in texture. They are very very close to each other in this scene. Sam says it looks like it was melted by a blast, and thinks she’s seen one like that before.

Sam and Daniel run to find Teal’c, needing his staff weapon. Poor Teal’c is getting a taste of Earth from TV. When Sam and Daniel tell him that they need his help, he remarks “Your world is a strange place.” Daniel: "So’s yours." The expression on his face is too cute!

The Science Twins are quite naughty here – not in the way you’d think (or hope), but they get Teal’c to blast the crystal with his staff, and it turns out that they went about it in a very underhanded way. When Teal’c asks if they got permission for him to fire his staff weapon, the two Twins fail at trying to appear innocent. Sam: "Oh, Yeah!" Daniel: "Absolutely!"

Daniel shows yet again just how cute he is when he’s startled by something inside the crystal taking shape and ending up appearing like his face. He jumps back and exclaims, “Whoa! C-Captain Doctor, Teal’c!” The cute “Captain Doctor” moniker comes into use again, and it’s enough to make one wonder if it’s become Daniel’s pet name for Sam. ;) Sam shows concern for him and asks if he’s all right.

Daniel and Sam show some great teamwork in this episode. It’s great to see them working together for much of the episode.

Sam/Daniel moment count: 6

Shippiness factor: 5