Vala Mal Doran

<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Stargate SG-1 Character
Vala Mal Doran

Status	Alive
Gender	Female
Species	Human
Origin	unknown
Portrayed by	Claudia Black
First Appearance	"Prometheus Unbound"
Profession	Con Artist member of SG-1
Relatives	Adria (daughter) Adria (Stepmother) Jacek (father)
Special Features	Former host of Qetesh

Vala Mal Doran is a fictional character on the TV series Stargate SG-1. Vala is played by Claudia Black known for her work on the series Farscape. Vala's original appearance in the episode "Prometheus Unbound" led to additional appearances in SG-1's ninth season. Vala became a regular character in the show's tenth season.

Spoiler Warning: Plot details and/or information about the ending follow. If you wish to enjoy the work first, stop reading here and return at another time.

1 History
2 Character
3 Memorable Quotes
4 External Links

History

Vala is a space-pirate, thief, and trader, in weapons and other profitable goods, notorious for using her sex appeal to manipulate. Her criminal career likely began after the Tok'ra removed the Goa'uld Qetesh from her body. Qetesh once ruled Vala's world as a god. According to Vala, the Tok'ra encouraged her people to rebel against her and she was tortured and beaten. The Tok'ra rescued her, removed the goa'uld, and nursed her back to health, freeing Vala to take up her new life of crime. Vala profited from the opportunities for exploitation and wealth that came about as a result of the Goa'uld's fall from power.

Vala's first appearance in the series was in the episode "Prometheus Unbound". Vala, dressed as a Kull Warrior, hijacked the Earth ship Prometheus in an attempt to trade it to the Lucian Alliance for weapons-grade naquadah. Fortunately, Daniel Jackson was able to stop her and regain control of the ship but Vala managed to escape. Daniel and Vala had great chemistry which Vala had no problem exploiting.

Season 9

Several months later, Vala contacted the SGC regarding a tablet written in the language of the Ancients that she needed Daniel's help to translate. The tablet indicated the presence of buried treasure somewhere on Earth. Vala ensured Daniel's cooporation on her treasure hunt by linking them together with a pair of Kor mak bracelets. The bracelets were designed for prisoner transport and any separation of more than one hundred feet between the wearers results in the death of both.

The tablet led to the discovery of Avalon hidden beneath Glastonbury Tor, in England. There, after a series of trials, they discovered the treasure and an Ancient communication device designed to contact the Ancients' home galaxy. Vala and Daniel used the device and their minds were transported to another planet where they found themselves inside the bodies of local couple Harrid and Sallis. The planet was not the advanced Ancient society they expected, but a medieval-level culture who worshipped gods they called The Ori. The Ori are ascended beings who once inhabited the galaxy and now force humans to worship them as gods. Vala and Daniel's presence alerted them to the presence of humans in the Milky Way and they became determined to convert all humans to Origin with death as the only alternative.

In the episode"Beachhead", Vala and SG-1 traveled aboard the Prometheus to a planet where a Prior had created a force field around an open stargate. SG-1's attempt to destroy the gate with a nuclear weapon only gave the field more strength to expand and the Ori sent through components for the formation of a supergate connecting the Ori galaxy to the Milky Way. In order to prevent the gate from forming, Vala showed quick thinking and independence, transported from the Prometheus to a nearby Tel'tak and lodged it in the spot for final gate component, preventing the gate from being completed. Vala narrowly escaped by using the ship's ring transporter. The nearest receiving transporter turned out to be in the Ori Galaxy, and Vala's matter stream was drawn into the collapsing singularity.

In the Ori galaxy, Vala found herself in the town of Ver Isca in the care of Tomin a lame villager who helped her recover. She soon discovered she was pregnant and the two married. Tomin was convinced the child was his but Vala was unaware of how she came to be pregnant but suspected the Ori were the cause.

When a Prior healed Tomin's leg, he joined the military determined to convert or kill all those who opposed the Ori. Vala discovered two heretics in the village who told her about a plan to disable the Ori ships being built to travel to the Milky Way. The plan failed, but Denya and Seevis, two of the heretics, provided a communication device that enabled her to contact Daniel in the Milky Way, taking over his body to inform the SGC of the Ori's plans. The communication was interrupted by Tomin who killed Vala's friends, but she managed to convince him to spare her life, telling him she'd been coerced.

Season 10

In the season ten opener "Flesh and Blood" Vala returned to the Milky Way on board an Ori ship and witnessed the destruction of the Jaffa and Earth ships that were congregated before the supergate to fight the Ori. She went into labor and delivered a baby girl who, within the space of a few hours, grew into a toddler and then a young girl. She named her Adria after her wicked stepmother. Adria is the embodiment of all the knowledge and power the Ori were able to put into a human body. She is the means by which the Ori will be able to act in the Milky Way without breaking the rules of non interference laid down by other ascended beings.

During the Ori onslaught, Daniel managed to survive the destruction of the Korolev by using the ship's ring transporters to transport to a nearby Ori vessel, the same vessel Vala is traveling on. The two attempted to take Adria but were interrupted by a Prior. They were transported aboard the Odyssey before they could be killed.

Vala joined SG-1 initially as a probationary member but later became a full fledged, trust worthy member of the team. She came to accept that she would have to kill Adria and proved she would have tried in "Dominion". Adria held off all attempts to stop her as she tried and successfully ascended.

Stargate: The Ark of Truth

In the followup film, Vala and SG-1 managed to convince Tomin of the truth regarding the Ori. Along with Tomin they went on a mission to the Ori galaxy to find an Ancient artifact, The Ark of Truth capable of forcing other Ori follows to come to Tomin's realization. Along with Tomin and Daniel she was captured and taken to the Ori city where she encountered Adria. Adria had assumed all the power of the Ori and informed Vala of her plans to destroy the Ancients.

With the help of Morgan le Fay, Vala witnessed the code necessary to activate the artifact.Though she was unable to memorize the complete sequence, she was able givven Daniel a headstart in figuring out the code which opened the Ark and spread the truth to Ori worshipers throughout the galaxy. Adria's power was eroded enable Morgan le Fay to face her in battle.

Following their success in defeating the Ori and their religion Vala returned to Earth. Though Tomin felt obliged to ask her to return home with him, she decided that her place was on Earth.

Character

Vala is a survivor. She has her own sense of morality that at its core is not nearly as selfish as she appears to be on the surface. While she does think of herself and profit first, she is concerned about others, particularly those she sees as vulnerable. Vala is well known for using sex to get her way and her cheating, manipulating ways have made her a few enemies.

In "Prometheus Unbound", Vala and Daniel form a connection that continues throughout the series. She is attracted to him, but Daniel rebuffs her advances, not only because he finds her frustrating, but because he believes she's dishonest in her intentions and her reasons. Daniel believes Vala uses her sexuality as a means of self-defense allowing her to maintain emotional distance. Vala appeared offended by Daniel's character analysis but in typical fashion she made light of the whole matter.

Little is known of her life before becoming a host to Quetesh. She makes references to her father with whom she had a difficult relationship and a stepmother, Adria, whom she did not like. She was engaged to be married before she became a host.

After being freed of Quetesh, Vala continued to pretend to be the goa'uld on the planet designated P8X-412, where they believed Quetesh to be their god. She accepted the worship of the locals and the wealth that came with the position. She pretended to be Quetesh once again, on SG-1's first visit to the planet, but when it was revealed she was not a god, she was put on trial for her crimes.

In the episode "Morpheus", it becomes clear that Vala has grown as a character. She genuinely cares what others think of her. While she made no apologies for her past, she was hurt to know that her past as a liar and a thief would cause others to look down on her or prevent her from from being someone considered trustworthy and valuable. She managed to prove herself trustworthy when she turned down an opportunity to spy on the SGC on behalf of the IOA. The offer was a test and Vala passed. As a result, she was granted a position on SG-1 as a probationary member of the SGC.

In the episode "Memento Mori", Vala was abducted by members of The Trust who attempted to access Quetesh's memories. Vala lost her memory in the process. She took a job as a waitress in a diner, unsure of whom to trust. Being without her memories made her vulnerable and scared, but she was eventually convinced to trust Daniel. She eventually regained her memories and was granted official membership on SG-1.

Vala's relationship with Daniel has always been playful and she has made several sexual advances toward him that he always rebuffed. When the two became trapped in a time dilation field on board Odyssey for several months, she made more serious advances causing Daniel to lash out at her, upset that she would take their interactions so casually given that they work together and telling her that they were all wrong for each other. Vala was incredibly hurt but Daniel realized that she wanted him in earnest and the two struck up a relationship that lasted for several decades on board the vessel. When Carter eventually solved their problem and managed to reverse time, all was reset and the two went back to being friends unaware of the years they spent together. Teal'c, the only one to recall the years, refused to tell them how things turned out.