Zero Hour (Stargate SG-1) - Plot

Plot

The episode takes place over the course of five days, counting down to an at first unrevealed event named "Zero Hour". Five days to Zero Hour, General O'Neill is introduced to his new administrative aide, Mark Gilmor, who makes a suspicious phone call. Meanwhile, O'Neill's new position as a general is twofold. He needs to decide decorations for an upcoming official visit, and prepare SG-1 for its next offworld trip. A quickly growing alien plant and the arrival of two brawly Amrans, possible trade partners from another world, lead O'Neill to write a letter to General Hammond, his predecessor.

At four days to Zero Hour, the alien plant has grown to cover many areas of the base. After SG-1 go missing on their off-world mission, a Goa'uld named Ba'al contacts Stargate Command and suggests an exchange of the captured SG-1 against Camulus, another Goa'uld who requested asylum on Earth several episodes before. With the help of Camulus, a potent power source is found and brought back to Stargate Command, only to find it tainted by Camulus (powering it up could result in the destruction of the Solar system). With the SGC suffering from a temporary electricity failure caused by the alien plants, Ba'al's renewed contacting only results in O'Neill's mocking. Exhausted by sleep deprivation two days to Zero Hour, O'Neill finishes his letter to General Hammond to inform him of his resignation.

Although Camulus leaves Earth, Ba'al does not send back SG-1. When all SG teams announce their trust and support for the general, SG-1 dial the Stargate from offworld, revealing that they were never captured by Ba'al but instead were trapped in a secret base. After their safe return, O'Neill attests new SG-1 leader Samantha Carter's positive leadership skills. It is revealed that the ZPM Camulus was given to supposedly kill Ba'al (which Ba'al would use to destroy Earth) was actually the dead one from Antarctica. Zero Hour makes up the last minutes of the episode. The President is about to arrive, and Gilmor announces that his special assignment, initiated by the President's order, will end the next day. Gilmor expresses his respect, and as they leave to greet the President, the camera zooms in on the letter on O'Neill's desk, with the last words, "Never mind".