History Recap / StargateSG1S3E15Pretense

* SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale: Somehow every ion cannon protecting the hemisphere of the planet our hero’s are on is in walking distance of the city. Even though the opening shot shows the ion cannon blasts coming from positions hundreds or thousands of kilometres apart. As a planetary defence network would have to be.

** It should be noted that Lya is cringing or in a ThousandYardStare between when the attack on the Tollans start and when the battle is over, strongly implying that this edged very close to her MoralEventHorizon and a heavy dose of IDidWhatIHadToDo (since being an ActualPacifist meant letting all the Tollan die, which the Nox also do not approve of).

* CourtroomAntic: The Triad descends into this at times, mostly as a result of Zipacna's SmugSnake tendencies rubbing Jack and Daniel the wrong way.

* FashionVictimVillain: All of the Goa'uld could qualify as this, but Zipacna is easily the worst of the lot.

** It should be noted that Lya is cringing or in a ThousandYardStare between when the attack on the Tollans start and when the battle is over, strongly implying that this edged very close to her MoralEventHorizon and a heavy dose of IDidWhatIHadTo (since being an ActualPacifist meant letting all the Tollan die, which the Nox also do not approve of).

-->'''Lya:''' Yes, it is.

* TheRightOfASuperiorSpecies: Zipacna insists that the Goa'uld have a right to use humans as hosts because they are fundamentally superior, drawing a comparison with humans hunting and fishing animals. Daniel counters this by arguing that the only reason the Goa'uld are superior is that they stole their knowledge and technology from other races, including humanity.

[[Recap/StargateSG1S1E16Enigma Narim]] visits earth to inform the team that Klorel has crashed his ship on the new Tollan homeworld, and a trial is now to take place to decide whether he should be allowed to maintain possession of his host body or whether it should be given back to Skaara. O'Neill and Daniel agree to act as Skaara's representatives while Klorel is represented by his fellow Goa'uld Zipacna, but Carter and Teal'c soon come to suspect that Zipacna is using the Triad as a cover for his true motives -- launching an attack against Tollana.

** Narim sends Schrodinger, the cat that Carter gave to him on his [[Recap/StargateSG1S1E16Enigma first appearance]], through the earth stargate ahead of himself so the SGC know that they're not under attack.

* HigherTechSpecies: The Tollan are far more technologically advanced than earth and even the Goa'uld; unfortunately, this has made them overconfident and blind to their weaknesses.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Zipacna actually makes some legally valid, if not morally distasteful, points in his argument. Goa'uld physiology does require them to take an other lifeform as a host; being parasitic is a biological fact that the Goa'uld have no control over. If they remove Klorel from Skaara, he has to be put in another host in order to live. He's also technically right that the human host of a Goa'uld is still alive and aware, so leaving Klorel in Skaara means they will both continue to live. Of course he glosses over the whole AndIMustScream aspect of being a host.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Zipacna is right when he points out that Goa'uld physiology requires them to take an other lifeform as a host - being parasitic is a biological fact beyond their control - and that any unfortunate Human taken as a Goa'uld host is still alive and self-aware. He glosses over the whole AndIMustScream aspect of being a host, though.