Carbon Costume

Clueless, coy, and unrequitedly obsessed with Dr. Daniel Jackson, Vala Mal-Doran (Claudia Black) is a newer addition to the cast of Stargate: SG-1. She was first introduced as a guest character during the episode “Prometheus Unbound,” where she and poor Daniel were confined on a spacecraft together. The team continues to encounter Vala throughout the coming months until it’s clear that they (the team and Vala, not Daniel — stop it, Vala) are quite inseparable and belong together forever. Prior to her appointment to SG-1, Vala made names for herself as both the host of the Goauld queen Qetesh, and a fair to middling con artist.

In early appearances, Vala sported a single streak of white in her hair. Eventually, this went away, but Vala continued to style her hair in pigtails or with childish hairclips — a reminder of Vala’s penchant for shiny things.