Full Circle (S06E22)

Col. Jack O'Neill is riding the elevator at Stargate Command when Dr. Daniel Jackson, who had, nearly a year earlier, ascended to a higher plane of existence, suddenly appears and asks for help. Jackson informs O'Neill that the Goa'uld system lord Anubis is about to obtain the Eye of Ra. Because Anubis possesses the other five Eyes, the legends say that when he acquires this one he'll be all-powerful. O'Neill wonders why Daniel, as an ascended being, can't do anything to prevent this, but Daniel responds with the noninterference rhetoric he's explained to O'Neill before. He adds that Oma, the higher being who helped him ascend, is already on thin ice for helping others to do so. So if Daniel did try to interfere with events, Oma would have to stop him. O'Neill tells Gen. Hammond and the SG-1 team that Anubis plans to wipe out the planet Abydos to find the Eye of Ra, which probably is hidden in a secret chamber in Ra's old pyramid fortress. When Gen. Hammond asks O'Neill how he came by this intel, O'Neill risks sounding crazy and tells them about seeing Daniel. Teal'c then confesses that he has seen Daniel, too. Hammond sends SG-1 to Abydos, where Skaara and his warriors are waiting and ready. Apparently, Daniel visited Skaara, as well, and assured him that he and his people would be protected. SG-1 searches Ra's pyramid but cannot find the Eye. Meanwhile, Anubis' troops arrive and attack the Abydonian warriors led by Teal'c. O'Neill, fed up with Daniel's noninterference rule, demands that Daniel appear. Daniel does so, and after some very brief salutations and an introduction to his successor, Jonas Quinn, they and Maj. Carter leave to find the secret chamber where the Eye might be. Teal'c and his party fall back to the pyramid to guard the gate room. Skaara and O'Neill join them. The Jaffa storm the room and initiate a firefight, during which Skaara is critically wounded. Unable to hold the room, he and O'Neill join Carter and Jonas in the catacombs, where they and Daniel (who has since vanished) have found the chamber.

Carter explains that Daniel had found a tablet saying that the beings who'd ascended him were actually the Ancients themselves — the creators of the stargates. The Ancients originally were human, but when a plague swept across the galaxy their people either learned to Ascend or they died. Carter and Jonas find the Eye. The Jaffa burst in, and the Goa'uld leader, Her'ak, approaches SG-1 and demands the Eye. O'Neill refuses and declares that he has attached C-4 explosive to the artifact; he threatens to blow everyone up if SG-1 doesn't get clear access to the stargate. Her'ak confers with Anubis. The system lord, on his ship, has been having a confrontation with Daniel — who has finally decided to cross the line and use his power to help humanity. Meanwhile, Skaara cannot hold on anymore. He dies — and then he starts to glow ... and Ascend. Daniel returns and tells SG-1 stunning news: Anubis is an Ancient, as well — sort of. Anubis had died and Ascended — but the Ancients hadn't wanted him. Now he is stranded between human existence and ascension, which explains his mastery of the Ancients' technology. Daniel instructs O'Neill to turn over the Eye to Anubis, whose ship is surrounded by rival Goa'uld motherships commanded by Anubis' nemesis system lord Yu. Daniel had made a deal with Anubis: He will tell the other system lords that Anubis does not have the Eye and is no special threat. Anubis, in return, will take the Eye and leave Abydos alone. Daniel also tells SG-1 that the real prize is the tablet he'd found, which will lead SG-1 to the lost city of the Ancients and all their powerful secrets. Daniel also promises to make sure Anubis keeps his word. Up above, Anubis uses the Eye to power his superweapon and make the other Goa'uld ships retreat — and then he breaks his promise to Daniel and destroys Abydos. Daniel begins to fight Anubis, but is suddenly swept away in a bright light. SG-1 barely gets through the stargate in time. Later, when SG-1 returns to Abydos, they are surprised to see the pyramid still standing and the people celebrating — including Skaara! Then O'Neill's hand passes through his friend, and he realizes Skaara and all his people have Ascended. Before they vanish, Skaara tells O'Neill that an Ancient named Oma had done this. O'Neill surmises she probably was also responsible for getting Daniel off Anubis' ship. But Anubis has become all-powerful. What now? (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM))