Stargate: The Ark of Truth (spoilers)

[sheryden]

Okay, I actually got a little misty when that familiar theme music started to play. I miss having this show on every Friday.

In any case, I just finished the movie, and it was incredibly satisfying! Here are my thoughts:

At the beginning, we learn that the Alterans made a weapon called the Ark of Truth millions of years ago. The weapon is basically a device that can brainwash whoever opens it. The Alterans programmed the device with the truth about who the Ori really are in the hopes that if people learned the truth about the Ori, they would no longer follow them.

But some of the Alterans disagreed with using the device, because it robbed people of their free will. Consequently, they buried the weapon and left the galaxy.

Flash forward to present day, where we learn that Daniel apparently still has fragments of Merlin's memories, and they are revealing bits and pieces about the Ark of Truth through visions.

Daniel is deliciously Daniel in this movie. When we first see him, he's digging around in the ruins of Dakara, looking for the Ark of Truth. He's dirty, has smudges all over his face, and is bickering with Vala. He finds what he believes to be the Ark, so he and Teal'c drag it out. Vala wants to open it, but Daniel is hesitant.

Just then, a bunch of Ori soldiers show up led by Vala's husband, Tomin. Cam and Sam try to hold them off, but they wind up being driven back and find themselves trapped with Daniel, Teal'c, and Vala. Tomin tells them to surrender, and Vala convinces the others that if they do, Tomin and his men might open the Ark and realize that the Ori aren't gods.

About this time, that creepy Prior from Seasons 9 and 10 (the one who almost burned Daniel and Vala alive) shows up. Daniel tricks him into ordering the men to open up the Ark. They do, and it turns out to be a fake. That gives the anti-Prior device enough time to sap the Prior of his power, and Cam kills him in front of Tomin. That's enough to convince Tomin that the Ori are false gods, and he surrenders to SG-1.

Once they get back to the SGC, Landry introduces Cam to Marrick, the IOA guy who has replaced Woolsey. He's a typical asshat, and he and Cam clash right away.

Landry puts Cam temporarily in charge of The Odyssey. Cam's like, "Does that mean I have to sit in the chair?" He totally doesn't want the job. Anyway, the plan is to take The Odyssey back to the Ori galaxy, because Daniel has had another vision, and he thinks the Ark is there.

There's a great scene on The Odyssey where Teal'c goes to talk to Tomin, who is filled with self-loathing because of all the thing he did while serving the Ori. Teal'c tells him that he'll never forgive himself, and he has to accept that. They talk for a while about guilt. It's a poignant scene and reveals a lot about how Teal'c feels about himself and his past with the Goa'uld.

Oh, and Marks is on The Odyssey, and they give him loads to do!

Anyway, once they're in the Ori galaxy, they learn that the Ori are sending new ships through the Supergate to the Milky Way galaxy. They also learn the location of the Ark, though, and Cam orders the ship to go to the planet where it is hidden. Meanwhile, Marrick gets all up in Cam's face and tells him to turn the ship around and destroy the Supergate. I loved Cam here, because he got right back in Marrick's face and is like, "Then replace me! Replace me! You have the authority!" Marrick backs down, and Cam and the team (and Tomin) beam down to the planet.

What happens next had my skin crawling. Marrick decided to turn on the Asgard core, which would alert the Ori ships to their location. But on top of that, he's programmed the Asgard core to make something--a Replicator. Eek! And it's immune to the anti-Replicator weapon. So Cam and Sam go back to handle that, and Daniel and the others stay on the planet.

They finally find the Ark, but they get ambushed by Ori soldiers. Teal'c gets shot and left for dead (silly Ori!), but the others get taken to that city where the Prior took Daniel and Vala when they first met the Ori.

Once they get them to the city, the Ori start torturing Daniel and Tomin. Vala is taken off separately, and who should appear? Adria. It turns out Adria, who is now Ascended, has taken all the power left behind when the Ori were destroyed in Season 10. Plus, she's a power-hungry brat who wants to kill the Ancients and have all the power in the universe for herself.

They shift back to the SGC, and we get a Colonel Reynolds sighting! An Ori Prior shows up and starts huffing and puffing about how the Earth is doomed if they don't convert to the Ori. Landry is all, "If we're going to hell, you're coming with us." I love Landry.

Meanwhile, back on The Odyssey, Cam, Sam, and Marks are trying to stop the Replicators from taking over the ship. Marrick, the IOA guy gets taken over by Replicators and becomes a kind of Replicator Cyborg. He beats the crap out of Cam, who is trying to set explosives to blow up the Queen. Eventually, they find the code to stop the Replicators, but Cam almost gets killed in the process.

On the planet, Teal'c wakes up and finds everyone gone. He makes his way to the city and collapses, presumably near death. An Ascended being shows up and heals him, and Teal'c sneaks into the city.

Meanwhile, Daniel is in his cell, having been tortured by the Ori. Merlin shows up and tries to comfort him, but Daniel has realized that it isn't Merlin at all. It's Morgan Le Fay, and she's been giving him the visions. Daniel starts crying and begs her to help, but she says she's helped all she can and that Adria is too strong for her. She tells him that if they open the Ark and one Prior sees the truth, it'll be enough to turn all the Priors (because they're connected). She disappears, and Teal'c shows up to bust Daniel out.

Vala manages to get a key and make it to Tomin. He's hurt, because he's been tortured, but then Daniel and Teal'c show up, and everyone summons their strength to fight the Ori. There's also a scene where Vala is touching Tomin, and Daniel comes in behind them. When Vala hears his voice, she yanks her hand away from Tomin. Kind of makes my inner Daniel/Vala radar go beep beep beep.

They go and have a confrontation with Adria, and she throws everyone around the room. Daniel figures out how to turn on the Ark, and opens it. The head Prior is in the room, and he sees the truth about the Ori. This makes all the Ori in the galaxy stop fighting. Adria's power is diminished, and Morgan Le Fay shows up and kicks her ass.

Later, after they're back at the SGC, they open the Ark in front of the Prior who threatened Landry, and that makes all the Ori in the Milky Way galaxy stop.

The way everything turns out, Tomin is going to become the leader of the Ori now, and Vala, though she still seems to care about him, decides to stay with SG-1. Cam is in the infirmary, and he's really beaten up. Sam comes to see him and brings him some macaroons that she baked. Then, she kisses him on the cheek and leaves. Daniel is then show talking to Landry about the Ark of Truth. Apparently, it was taken to Area 51 for study. Daniel is worried that it could become a weapon if the wrong person learns how to reprogram it.

Then, after Cam is healed, SG-1 heads off on a new mission!

I totally think we're going to see the Ark of Truth again, either in another movie or on SGA.