Some Stargate SG-1 episodes ask big questions. “Cor-ai” demands answers — and accountability.

This episode puts Teal’c on trial for crimes he committed while serving the Goa’uld — and refuses to let anyone, including the audience, look away. What unfolds is a story about responsibility, redemption, and whether justice can exist inside systems shaped by violence and power.

In this first part of my Cor-ai review, I focus heavily on Teal’c’s redemption arc — why it moved me so deeply when I first watched it, and why it still does. At the same time, I wrestle openly with the episode’s deeply uncomfortable ableist narrative that treats a disabled character’s death as a “mercy.” That moment stopped me cold — and I couldn’t let it pass without unpacking why it matters, and why, in my eyes, it causes real harm.

This is a heavy, emotionally charged episode. I question the writing, examine the moral shortcuts the story takes, and talk about why intention doesn’t erase impact. But I also honor what Cor-ai does well: showing multiple perspectives and allowing Teal’c to face his past with dignity rather than denial.

This is one of those reviews where I go deep, stay fully engaged, and invite you to sit with the discomfort alongside me.

👉 Where do you land on Teal’c’s redemption? What does accountability look like to you here? And how did you respond to the episode’s framing of disability, worth, and whose lives are treated as expendable?

🎵 credit goes to "Emotional Mess" by Amy Lynn & the Honey Men