Grace (Stargate SG 1)

Plot

The Prometheus is traveling back to Earth with a Hyperspace engine from an Al'kesh. Every couple of hours, the Prometheus has to jump out of hyperspace to cool down the Al'kesh hyperspace engine. The Prometheus comes near a nebula that Samantha Carter thinks doesn't conform to nebulae she has previously studied. When they jump out of hyperspace, the Prometheus is attacked by an unknown vessel. They can't jump into hyperspace because the engines need to cool down. The Prometheus is chased into a gas cloud by the alien ship. Samantha Carter is knocked out when she tries to convert power from auxiliary to the hyperspace engine to make a small hyperspace jump into the cloud. When she wakes up, all the crew members other than her have disappeared. She alone must get herself and them to safety. She has visions of a little girl running around the ship, playing with bubbles and of her friends, who vocalize her worries and theories about her predicament. Teal'c at one point grabs Carter by the arm and warns her that if she falls asleep she will die.

The hallucination of Daniel Jackson frankly confesses that he is unreal but he is present because there is something she has overlooked. The hallucination of Teal'c warns her that this whole scenario could be a result of the hostile alien species mind-probing, with a view to her inadvertently surrendering information about the Prometheus' engine technology. Daniel then reappears and tells her that the 'nebula' may be a living being which is why she and the alien ship are stuck inside.

The hallucinations of Jacob Carter and of Jack O'Neill serve as a means by which Carter confronts her personal life and her relationships (in particular when talking to 'Jack', her feelings for him). 'Jack' tells her he will always be there for her, no matter what.

After an encounter with the small girl who is playing with bubbles Carter hits on a solution. She engages the hyperspace engines with only a fraction of the usual amount of power. This has the effect of rendering the ship partially intangible.

She contacts the alien ship and offers them the solution to escaping the nebula in exchange for the return of the crew and safe passage. After a confused crew are beamed back in to the Prometheus, Carter creates a hyperspace bubble large enough to encompass both the Prometheus and the alien ship and they both exit the nebula safely. The aliens keep their end of the bargain and jet away. Carter relieves herself of duty and is escorted to the infirmary for massive concussion.

Reception

According to the DVD commentary for Inauguration, Grace received the highest ratings of any television show on the Sci-Fi network, including all previous Stargate episodes. Amanda Tapping won a Leo Award in the category "Dramatic Series: Best Lead Performance - Female" for this episode.