Piecing together the spoilers for The Scourge

[Lord You]

Here is what we know.

It was originally called The Blight. A blight is a disease that causes wilting and dying in plants. However, the thing which was called the blight wasn't, so the episode was renamed The Scourge. A scourge is the source of widespread devastation or suffering from disease or war - the term is also closely linked with punishment. That would fit nicely with the plague in The Fourth Horseman, so I assume this continues or is related with that storyline.

The story is very different from Ripple Effect, which is features a confusing plot involving Carter, a sorely-missed character, and lots of SFX. Therefore I speculate that The Scourge has few SFX (i.e. a money saver) and a relatively simple or cheap storyline.

It deals with Daniel and a Chinese ambassador. Note that the plague in The Fourth Horseman was blamed on influenza. Many strains of that disease are first found in China. Assuming the two episodes are related, I guess that the plague started in China and the Communist Government is not happy with the USA or the SGC because they indirectly caused it (via first contact with the Oreos).

It also is called the off-world ambassador storyline. Does the ambassador come to earth, or is it the other way around? How does the Chinese ambassador work in? Is the off-world ambassador a B-plot, or is it related to the "off world missing piece to the puzzle" to the Ori plague in The Fourth Horseman?

Robert Picardo's character (from the N.I.D.?) may get some action. Perhaps the N.I.D. and the Chinese government try to take over the SGC because of the bad first contact by the Oreos ;-) and their subsquent plague released to the Earth's population?

Any other speculation?

[ShadowMaat]

There's an ep called The Scourge? That's funny. That was my name for the unknowable and undefeatable (really, this time) enemy who destroyed everything in its path, be it Goa'uld, Human, Asgard, Replicator or an entire planet.

But I'm guessing it's probably the plague. *sigh* More's the pity.

[TheCorpulent1]

I have a feeling the plague will be the last straw and the SGC will come under more influence from the foreign countries who know of its existence. The fact that the SGC's activities were the source of a plague that affected the entire world is bound to create a political nightmare for the president, and we know from "Lost City" that Hayes is willing to compromise some of the SGC's integrity for political reasons (like appointing a civilian as its commander, for example). I've heard another spoiler that the SGC eventually comes under the supervision of an international council type of thing, so maybe that's where "The Scourge" leads.

[Jeff O'Connor]

Actually, 'The Scourge' has an affect on me as well. It's the name for a race of creatures created through the lifeblood of an Immortal, whose bodies once housed Humans but after death were revived with said lifeblood and forced into eternal suffering -- until, of course, 'retribution' in death by another -- on a game I work with, a roleplaying game filled with intense storylines, or rather, at least, I try to keep them intense.

Obviously, this is neither here nor there, but I, personally, found it interesting nonetheless. Hehe.

But yes, at any rate, back on track, here, I feel as though this episode will be like 'Ex Deus Machina' in that a great bit of it will be on Earth. Yet somehow, that feels a tad aloof -- was it... I think it was... correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't it Joe Mallozzi himself who said there was only going to be one story this year completely Earth-based and it'd be so rare that fans will likely go... 'Oh, hey, this is on Earth. Hey, that's cool, different.'

At least, I seem to recall his saying something like that not too long ago. But then, even so, even if that's the case, I don't really see it because it seems the mid-season two-parter will be mostly Earth-based, too, so, oh well. Maybe I'm just grasping at straws relentlessly and then also pointlessly.

Either way, episodes which deal with repercussions are usually good IMO, so I look forward to this from what I've heard.

[TheCorpulent1]

"The Scourge" seems to be a pretty widely used name, actually. When I think of the name, my mind automatically goes to the two Marvel Comics vigilantes who went about killing off third-tier villains, thus earning the name "the Scourge of the Underworld."

[ShadowMaat]

My Scourge is cooler than your Scourge.

I'm almost positive it'll be better than SG-1's, too.

[Jeff O'Connor]

My Scourge is cooler than your Scourge.

[TheCorpulent1]

My Scourge is cooler than your Scourge.

Maybe, but my Scourge totally looks cooler than your Scourge:
http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/n/nomad3.jpg

[NakedJehutyV2]

could it be that the ori were responsible for the plague that nearly killed the alterans?

[LaCroix]

If I may. You are talking about Sg1 right? At first glance the premise of this episode sounds a bit like Crusade by JMS.