Readers, please note - I missed an episode of SGU at some point and was running a week behind without realizing it. SGU 2.6 will get reviewed this weekend.
Overall Rating: 9.0
The first ever Stargate Univese feature and an outstanding episode on many fronts, not the least of which being that the writers finally - FINALLY!! - gave this damned ship an actual purpose worth fighting for...they finally gave the entire existance of this franchise real meaning. It's. About. Damned. Time.
Plot Synopsis:
The Stargate Wiki already has a nice plot summary here - very quick on the draw...I'm impressed!
The Skinny:
Dr. Rush is a real piece of work. He adjusts instantly on the fly to better his chances of surviving and sticking around to study his great scientific puzzle. He goes from outright challenging Young to trying to make peace for the good of the crew to staging a coup with the civilian leadership to hiding the truth about the power he's gained over Destiny to telling all when Young backs him into a corner. What a manipulative little bastard! LOL On the bright side, the crew finally caught him at his biggest lie and now they've got command of the ship...and hey...guess what...there's a reaso this ship is out here! And there's a reason blue-skinned aliens are chasing them down! And a reason the Lucian Alliance wanted a piece of the action! And it's a pretty cool reason! A code woven into the very fabric of the big bang? Well now that's something worth sticking around to study...I'd say so!
In other news, Destiny encounters a broken down old vessel and does a bit of exploring, only to realize that the ship was abandoned for a reason...the action plot is merely there to force Rush's secret out into the open, but it's entertaining for sure. And on a side note, the aggressive members of the Lucian Alliance are circling around Ginn - a scientist who is enjoying her new company (and telling Lucian Alliance secrets to Earth)...she's being bullied and threatened at every turn and defended by Greer (who continues to be concentrated awesome in a can) and her new love interest...Eli?? Well now, that's a bit of a twist. But it comes in handy. The woman Dr. Rush trusts - a mind of equal potency to his own (and a guest from last season - Dr. Perry) - comes aboard Destiny in Ginn's body and she and Rush very nearly rape Ginn's body via the ancient stones but Eli interrupts and then sternly tells Ginn that, with these ancient stones it's easy to forget that you're in someone else's body. I think they're gettin' it folks!!
So now, Rush has lost control once again - his crimes lay bare...no one will ever trust him again (if they're smart)...so he's decided to cooperate (because he thinks if he works with Young, maybe he can protect his intellectual investment in the mission). But he's going to have to overcome a lot of anger amongst his crewmates. And Young - who had been seriously questioning his ability to lead this mission - gets infused with a new sense of purpose beyond simply surviving and getting his people home. No one necessarily gets everything they want, but they might have gotten what they need. Time will tell.
Writing: 8.5
The interplay between Young and Rush gets more interesting all the time. As does the threat of violence between members of the former Lucian Alliance strike force. The action plot is strictly a useful tool to keep the interpersonal dymanics moving (and seems a bit pointless - they go over there...find nothing of value...and barely make it back alive...awesome), but that's the only flaw here.
Acting: 9.5
Justin Louis and Robert Carlyle were the stars of this one...but on the whole it was very well acted. I particularly enjoyed the guest work done by Ginn and moments involving David Blue.
Message: 9.0
Several things to like here.
1) We need to see more of the rgulars take a stand against selfishly using host bodies as a means to your own pleasure. I was glad to see Eli express his disgust at seeing Ginn nearly raped by Dr. Rush.
2) I'm glad they did not turn Dr. Rush into the hero here. His secret didn't come out on good terms...he continues to be a manipulative, dangerous bastard with a talent for survival. After all the things he's done to personally harm/kill his fellow crewmates, endanger the lives of everyone else etc. all because of his own selfish desires...he does not deserve to be made itno a good guy. He's got to realize the error of his ways before I'll accept that.
3) The REAL mission the Ancients were on when they launched Destiny is a heck of a lot more interesting than I imagined possible. It goes to why we're all science fiction fans (or scientists, for that matter). NOW I'm invested in the long-running story...they should have done this a long time ago.
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