Cor-Ai
Stargate SG1 Cor-Ai
In the first season we got to know Teal'c reasonably well at least certain aspects of his history, in Cor-Ai we get confirmation that when under the command of the System Lord Apophis Teal'c committed what we would consider war crimes against civilians but tempered in this case with context. On the world of Cartago (P3X-1279) the team exit the gate into a small market, there are no people in the immediate vicinity but there is evidence that there had been not long before. They venture into one of the few permanent structures which is styled along the lines of a meeting place and are confronted by low tech armed natives. SG1 and the natives of Cartago both take a step back and weapons are lowered until Hanno ( David McNally ) the young man leading the group spots Teal'c and reacts in a rather bad way, he accuses Teal'c of murdering his father and secures him for the Cor-Ai.
The Cor-Ai it seems is some sort of tribunal to determine the punishment for a crime, it is not a trial and is certainly organised in a way that is confusing to Jack especially but it is civilised and while SG1 are free to go Teal'c will stay. Of course we know Teal'c as an honourable man and when he remembers his last visit to this world and the events that unfolded Teal'c believes he has to stay and face judgement for his actions.
Nothing seems to be going well even General Hammond has to read Jack the riot act when he refuses to offer a military response to "rescue" Teal'c pointing out that Teal'c would have done terrible things for Apophis and ultimately there are limits to what the Airforce will do for well not one of their own. As luck would have it the Jaffa of Apophis choose this time to pay a visit and Teal'c gets an opportunity to put his words aside and demonstrate his current belief but defending the local population but will that be enough to save his life?
Cor-Ai is perhaps a missed opportunity, the story telling style has been well trodden not only in the scifi genre but in many genres and while the method of solving the immediate issue varies there was never any doubt of the outcome. Maybe in a more modern production a major character could be killed off in the first season but a lot less likely in this era. A good performance by David as Hanno and you've got to admit a well presented offering from Christopher Judge who often does not get to do much.
My thanks to Brad for joining me this week to discuss this episode of Stargate SG1 and our next show should be the episode Enigma although with Stargate Origins wrapping up we may do a discussion on that instead, time will tell. Ratings and reviews or just plain feedback is always welcome and you can find us on Facebook, Google+, Tumble and Twitter so don't be shy.
