Some Stargate SG-1 episodes push the story forward. “Hathor” mostly trips over itself — and in doing so, reveals just how early the show still was in figuring out what it wanted to be.

Often labeled one of Season 1’s weaker episodes, “Hathor” introduces the first Goa’uld queen in a way that raises more questions than it answers. Sexual coercion is treated as a plot device, male assault is ignored outright, and the women who ultimately save the day are repeatedly sidelined or diminished. Female competence is present — and even essential — but then softened, contained, or overshadowed, as if the story isn’t quite comfortable letting it stand on its own. What’s meant to feel provocative or playful instead highlights how shaky the show’s early instincts were — especially in what it chooses to dwell on, and what it rushes past without comment.

In this review, we talk about how the episode reflects ’90s assumptions and where early Stargate storytelling stumbles in ways the series later learns to avoid. We also dig into the Ancient Egyptian pantheon and what a 5,000-year-old civilization can still teach us — including how its laws, social structures, and freedoms were, in some respects, more advanced than many people assume, even by today’s standards.

It’s worth saying: this is not a critique of the actress playing Hathor. The discomfort of this episode doesn’t come from her performance, but from how the story treats violation as something to gloss over, rather than moments that deserve pause, weight, or reflection.

And yet despite all of that, the familiar Stargate magic still peeks through: character banter, team dynamics, and moments of genuine connection that hint at the show it will become — even when the episode itself falters.

👉 How does “Hathor” land for you now — uncomfortable, frustrating, oddly funny, or all of the above? Let’s talk.

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