"I think you'll find many things have changed since my return."
— Anubis
Still reeling from the recent loss of Daniel, the remaining members of the team are called back into action when Thor is taken prisoner by Osiris.
First onscreen appearance of Anubis. Last episode prior to the Channel Hop from Showtime to the Sci-Fi Channel (later known as Syfy).
"Revelations" provides examples of the following tropes:
- Agony Beam: Osiris uses the hand device on Carter.
- Badass in Distress: Thor is taken prisoner by Osiris — though this may be considered something of a subversion, as Thor is only badass so long as he has his advanced technology to back him up.
- To be fair, after Anubis implanted the device into Thor's brain to try to download his knowledge into ship's computer, Thor still resisted and even interacted with the computer to help O'Neill and Teal'C escape their prison and save Thor himself.
- Bizarre Alien Reproduction: The Asgard, resorting to cloning after having been unable to sexually reproduce for almost 1000 years.O'Neill: A thousand years?Heimdall: It's not something we usually discuss with other races.O'Neill: [Beat] This I understand.
- Brain Uploading: It's revealed that the Asgard survive by uploading their consciousness into a new clone body every so often, allowing them to maintain the same identity over hundreds of years. Anubis also uploads Thor's consciousness to the ship's systems in order to access his knowledge.
- The Cavalry: Three Asgard ships show up at the end, forcing Anubis to abandon his pursuit of the heroes.
- Cliffhanger: Averted. This was the very first Season of SG-1 to not end on one. The show wouldn't do another Season Finale cliffhanger until Season Nine.
- Clone Degeneration: Heimdall reveals that this has happened over centuries of Asgard cloning, with each copy getting further and further away from the original. This is demonstrated when Carter sees the ancestral Asgard frozen in stasis, which is much more humanoid in appearance than the tiny, misshapen Grays that are the current Asgard.
- Continuity Nod:
- It's mentioned that the Asgard have been studying the android Reese in the hopes of finding a means of battling the replicators.
- The team are still using the cargo ship that Jacob and Daniel crashed into Revanna in "Last Stand".
- Dying Race: The Asgard are revealed to be one, as they have no means of sexual reproduction and each successive clone degenerates further.
- Elaborate Underground Base: Heimdall's laboratory is several hundred feet underground, as the surface of the planet is totally inhospitable.
- The Faceless: Anubis is shown to have nothing but a blank void where his face should be beneath his Black Cloak.
- A Father to His Men: Hammond attempts to comfort Carter when he finds her crying in Daniel's office at the beginning of the episode, telling her a story about how he lost his best friend in 'Nam.
- Faux Affably Evil: Osiris towards Thor, when he's strapped to the torture table.Osiris: I apologize for the accommodations, but we weren't expecting company.
- Forgotten Fallen Friend: Discussed in-universe. Carter is angry with O'Neill for what she views as his attempting to brush off Daniel's death like it's no big deal, but it's heavily implied that this is a coping mechanism on his part; moreover, O'Neill was able to gain a degree of closure through his last conversation with Daniel that was never really afforded to Carter or Teal'c, so it makes a certain amount of sense that he would be more at peace with the situation than either of them. The trope itself is also thoroughly averted throughout the episode, with everyone from Heimdall to Osiris inquiring as to Daniel's whereabouts.
- Hologram: Carter projects a hologram of herself onto Osiris's ship in order to distract some guards and then guide O'Neill and Teal'c at several points.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Anubis decides to retreat rather than find out if his new shield tech can withstand the onslaught from three next-gen Asgard starships.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: This is the first season finale that doesn't end on a cliffhanger. As Anubis's mothership retreats, Jack comments "That's it?"
- Lensman Arms Race: The Goa'uld, or at least Anubis and his followers, now have access to weapons and defenses capable of overpowering the Asgard, rendering the Protected Planets Treaty more or less useless.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: As the team is preparing to leave the base at the end of the episode, they are met with a strong breeze that seemingly comes from nowhere. Teal'c suggests a ventilation malfunction, but O'Neill's smile and the accompanying music strongly implies that it's Daniel looking in on them from the beyond.
- Mind Probe: Anubis inserts an absolutely lethal-looking spiky metal ball into Thor's brain in order to transfer his knowledge into the ship's systems.
- Mission Control: Carter stays in Heimdall's lab while O'Neill and Teal'c board Osiris's ship to disable the shields and extract Thor, using the ship's schematics to guide them.
- Mundane Solution: Carter begins telling O'Neill and Teal'c that they need to remove one of the control crystals in order to disable the ship's shields, but gets zatted by Osiris before she can tell them which one to remove. Teal'c wonders if they should pull them all out. In response, O'Neill grabs a staff weapon from a fallen Jaffa and simply shoots the whole lot.
- No Body Left Behind: Discussed; Carter laments the fact that they didn't even have a memorial service for Daniel due to this trope, feeling unable to gain closure as a result. Hammond tries to give her a pep talk by telling her about an old war buddy of his who was captured on enemy territory but whose body was never recovered.
- No Seat Belts: Lampshaded once again as the team's cargo ship encounters heavy turbulence when descending through the planet's atmosphere. Teal'c is piloting and Carter is seated in the co-pilot's seat, leaving O'Neill clinging on for dear life behind them.O'Neill: You know, we should really consider putting another chair back here. When you think about it, it'd be much safer, wouldn't it?
- Pre Asskicking Oneliner: Osiris gets one before destroying Thor's ship in the opening scene.Osiris: Our days of bowing to the Asgard are finally over.
- Precision F-Strike: Carter delivers an angry and emotional "Go to Hell!" after Osiris accuses her of lying that Daniel was dead.
- "Ray of Hope" Ending: Things are looking pretty bleak with Anubis having proven himself to be a serious threat even to the Asgard, but the team takes their first step towards moving on after the loss of one of their own, and it's implied that Daniel is still "around" in some capacity.
- True Companions: Explicitly spelled out by Carter in a particularly heartfelt speech:Carter: We were a team, Teal'c. No one can even begin to understand what we went through together. What we mean to each other. So maybe Daniel has achieved something of great cosmic significance, I don't know. And to be honest with you, right now I don't really care. I'd rather have him back.Teal'c: (fighting back tears) As would I.
- We Have Reserves: Osiris orders one of her Jaffa to redirect coolant from the engine room into the ship's corridors in order to flush out O'Neill and Teal'c, despite the fact that it will kill the Jaffa inside the engine room.Jaffa: Shall I evacuate the engine room?Osiris: The intruders may be monitoring our communications. We cannot afford to give them a warning.Jaffa: But the engines will overheat and the entire compartment will be flooded with radiation. Many Jaffa will die.Osiris: (insincerely) And they will be greatly honored in the afterlife.
- We Need a Distraction: O'Neill and Teal'c are about to be cornered by a Jaffa patrol, so Carter appears as a hologram to distract them long enough for the other two to take them all out.
