NEW!: SGU 2:8 - Malice

Overall Rating: 9.7

WOW!! Three brilliant episodes in a row for the once flagging franchise...this one the best of the lot despite being centered around the show's ultimate anti-hero. A wonderful...haunting depiction of cold blooded malice as contrary to the normal grieving process.



Plot Synopsis:

Simeon - the most dangerous remaining member of the Lucian Alliance - breaks loose by killing the two marines who were guarding him, finds and murders Ginn (REALLY?? DAMN IT!!!!) and, because she was linked to Amanda Perry via the ancient stones, Perry as well. In one shot, he seriously pisses off Eli AND Rush. He then shoots his way to the gate room, takes a hostage and gates away to a barren wasteland desert planet. He leaves her at the gate with an explosive tied to her back which Rush is barely able to pry loose and throw out of range before it detonates. That delay gives Simeon a chance to take cover in the rocky desert where he then spends the next full day taunting the Destiny crew who have chased him there to retrieve him and setting multiple traps to wound several of them.

During this manhunt (they're ordered to keep him alive because he might have intelligence they can use to thwart a Lucian Alliance attack on Earth), Rush displays the kind of powerful emotions that we're very unaccustomed to seeing from the usually steely cold lead scientist. He mourns the death of Perry, rages at Greer and Scott for wanting to take Simeon alive, and eventually uses the distraction caused by Greer getting shot in the shoulder to break away from the team and hunt for Simeon solo. The rest of the team manages to gate back to Destiny before the ship gets out of range, but Rush is left behind. He eventually does catch up to Simeon and comes up with an incredibly ingenious way to take him down...he uses C4 to scare a pack of dinosaur-like creatures into a stampede that trample Simeon into submission. Now unarmed, Simeon tries to bargain for his life with the information he claims to possess, and Rush responds by calmly taking aim and blasting a hole in Simeon's forehead! Holy cow!!

Meanwhile, back on Destiny, Eli is chomping at the bit to "help out on the planet" (by which he likely means to kill Simeon) but Young denies him permission to go to the planet, saying in no uncertain terms that killing a man, no matter the reason, no matter how much he might deserve it, will change Eli forever, and that the ship needs him to be the good and decent man he is (remember, Young was forced to kill one of his own soldiers so that he wouldn't die alone a few episodes ago). Eli backs down, and at this point, allows himself a moment of grief. Young, meanwhile gets the idea to find Chloe and take her to the bridge. They want her to find a way to stop the countdown clock...everyone is very worried about allowing her access to ship systems with alien DNA altering her mind, but Young decides to gamble and, in a fit of uncontrolled alien genius, she manages to turn Destiny around and take them back to the planet to retrieve Rush. Rush claims he knew Eli would find a way to come back for him, but we all know this is untrue. He didn't care about the consequences of staying behind...he had to have his revenge and, with Perry dead, a big part of him probably welcomed the doom he was bringing on himself. However, with the ship returned to the planet, Rush is taken back aboard - clearly not the better for his cold blooded murder.

The Skinny:

Now that I see what they were building toward in that whole dark, slow-paced first season, I could not be more excited about the direction of this franchise. The bottom line complaint I had about Stargate before this franchise launched was that the writers suffered from a lack of ambition to tell stories that covered the full range of human emotions. I've called them cowards in the past for refusing to get too serious when opportunities for good drama arose. They are not AT ALL being cowardly here, I'm happy to report. In this episode, they depict the utter desolation that is Rush's soul with a chilling tale of cold-blooded malice that lands incredibly effectively on its' own...but they took it a step further in brilliance by showing the ALTERNATIVE. Yes, that alternative is the show's moral center - Eli.

Eli had just as much reason to want to go off and blow a hole in Simeon's head. He was just falling for Ginn...it was his first chance at a healthy relationship post-Chloe-rejection and she was senselessly killed by a brutal warlord. And he rightfully was shown having all those same impulses as Rush. He wanted to go to the planet and hunt Simeon down like any normal person would. But Young - taking his leadership far more seriously of late - stops him here and gently reminds him of the kind of man he is. Eli backs down and returns to the path most likely to leave his soul intact. Rush has made a life of doubting the existence of any particular reason to have a conscience...Eli's a good kid trying to do the right thing. That point/counterpoint is going to be very fun to watch over the next few seasons and it's used perfectly here. Rush, in killing Simeon in cold blood, takes one further step away from any chance at happiness. His quest - to unlock the mysteries of the universe - will have no meaning if he ever solves it. He'll have nothing but useless knowledge. Eli stayed true to himself with a little help from his very good commander and maybe, someday, he'll find a way to be happy again despite his loss.

On a personal note - DAMN YOU GATE WRITERS!!! Stop toying with the emotions of the geeky fanboys who watch your show...it's so not fair!! *ehem* Sorry about that. :) Oh...one other comment - Greer is AWESOME. I loved the moment when Rush walked away from the group and Greer said, "Young may have forgiven Rush, but I never will." Pure, concentrated awesome in a can.

Writing: 10.0

The important juxtaposition of Eli and Rush is used brilliantly to highlight just how empty and without hope Rush is right now. The various interactions - particularly between Greer and Rush, Simeon and Rush, and Young and Eli - were very well written this week. The plot was edge-of-your-seat engaging...and the conclusion downright scary.

Acting: 10.0

Everyone who had significant screen time...EVERYONE...was impressive here...Justin Louis, Jamil Walker Smith, Elyse Levesque, David Blue...but especially Robert Carlyle. His portrayal of the naked, despairing nature of revenge killing, the grief that motivates such acts...it's all emmy-worthy genius. Wow!

Message: 9.0

I can think of a hundred action movies where we are allowed to revel in the "satisfaction" of vigilantism. We're all cheering "kill him...a bullet between the eyes!! Come on!!" I know I was doing that during this episode, because holy crap is Simeon a scary dude who can't be allowed back onto Destiny where he can do more damage! But we are not allowed to revel in Simeon's death. We shouldn't be. That killing is a symptom of Rush's seriously bad spiritual health, no matter how much we might think the guy deserved his fate. He's the enemy in a war, and on the battlefield, I have no qualms with killing him, but the way Rush actually did it...there has to be a line drawn and the writers drew it well. This was not seen as a celebratory event...this was a bleak moment for Rush. Their command of morality is tremendous.