An elderly alien scientist on the brink of death tricks Daniel into switching bodies with him so that he can have a second chance at life. The rest of the team attempts to find a way to reverse the problem, but O'Neill and Teal'c wind up inadvertently swapping bodies too. Hilarity Ensues.
"Holiday" provides examples of the following tropes:
- Entitled Bastard: Ma'chello believes that he has earned the right to steal Daniel's body because humanity owes him for his sacrifices in the fight against the Goa'uld.
- Exact Words: Ma'chello states that he has rigged the machine so that the body swap can't be reversed, but that doesn't prevent people from swapping again. Carter realizes this, and has everyone play musical chairs with each other's bodies until they're all back where they should be.
- Fish out of Water: Ma'chello-as-Daniel is clearly unfamiliar with the way things work on Earth.
- "Freaky Friday" Flip: The whole premise of the episode; Daniel is initially tricked into swapping bodies with Ma'chello, and then O'Neill and Teal'c swap by accident while trying to transport the device. Then at the end of the episode O'Neill and Daniel also briefly switch, as do Teal'c and Ma'chello, as everybody gets sorted back into the correct bodies.
- Grand Theft Me: The reason Ma'chello orchestrates the switch in the first place is so that he can use Daniel's body to live a second life after devoting his first to the war against the Goa'uld.
- The Hedonist: Ma'chello-as-Daniel seems to want nothing more than to enjoy the finer pleasures of life.
- He Who Fights Monsters: Ma'chello became this over his long lifetime of fighting the Goa'uld, to the point where he was willing so steal someone's body (just like the Goa'uld do) because he felt he was owed it. Daniel eventually talks him down by pointing out that this makes him not so different from the Goa'uld.
- How Dare You Die on Me!: Carter says something along these lines to Daniel when he slips into a coma while stuck in Ma'chello's body.
- Mad Scientist: Ma'chello.
- My Sister Is Off-Limits: Variation in that Daniel doesn't actually have a sister, but says that he wouldn't let Jack date her if he did.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Daniel points out that in stealing another person's body, Ma'chello has essentially become one of the creatures he dedicated his life to fighting.Daniel: You're a Goa'uld, Ma'chello. I'm nothing but a host to you.
- Now Do It Again, Backwards: Averted. This is brought up as one of the initial suggestions as to how to get Daniel back in his own body, but Ma'chello states that he specifically designed the machine to prevent the process from being reversed.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: When the team first encounters Ma'chello, he puts on a convincing display of being utterly senile in his old age. Then he tricks Daniel into grabbing the other end of a mind-swapping machine, and is immediately shown to be in his full faculties in Daniel's body. Daniel likewise has no trouble thinking straight while in Ma'chello's body, so there doesn't seem to be any physical neurological issues there.
- Out-of-Character Alert: Carter doesn't even need to explain to Hammond what happened when O'Neill and Teal'c come back through the gate and immediately start spouting each other's catchphrases.Teal'c-as-O'Neill: It did not go well, General Hammond.O'Neill-as-Teal'c: Ya think?
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: Fred attributes Machello-as-Daniel's unusual behavior to him being one of these. In a sense he's not entirely wrong.
- Ship Tease: Possibly; there's a weird moment between Carter and Daniel while he's on the brink of death in the infirmary:Carter: Come on, Daniel. They've found the guy, they're bringing him in. You have to wake up. [She takes his hand.] Daniel. You can't die on me now.Daniel: It's nice to know you don't just like me for my looks.
- Something Only They Would Say: Used to prove that Daniel is who he says he is when he first wakes up after switching bodies with Ma'chello.O'Neill: Okay, describe for me the dress your sister wore when I took her out last Saturday.Daniel: I don't have a sister, Jack. And if I did, I wouldn't let you near her.[O'Neill and Carter exchange a look as if to say "that's him."]
- Title Drop:Ma'chello: Thank you for my holiday.
- What Is One Man's Life In Comparison?: Ma'chello tries to bargain with Carter and Hammond for his freedom by offering technology and knowledge that could be used against the Goa'uld, encouraging them to think of Daniel as a casualty of war whose death would be a fair trade for the thousands of lives that could be saved. They don't buy it.
