Overall Rating: 7.3
This would be a par episode if not for the interesting character developments involving Rush.
Plot Synopsis:
Destiny is on its' last legs. Literally. The ship has no back-ups for any of its' key systems after the battle with the Cylons...er...drones..yes, that's it. (heh) Rush desperately wants to continue the mission on Destiny, but Young - having sized up the odds of survival and taken recommendations from around the crew, concludes that they should try Eli's bold plan to dial Earth while Destiny is refueling inside a star. Rush thinks the risk of subspace techobabble explosions is great enough to call the idea "genius, but impossible." So, of course, they take this plan to the SGC where the eggheads conclude that the math is sound and Young gets a "go" to get him people home before the ship falls apart. Crestfallen, Rush asks Young for one favor - he wants to stay behind and he wants Young to give the crew a chance to choose to stay with him. He needs 12 people in all to keep the ship flying. Young chooses to give Rush the chance to make his pitch and even offers his own support (he'll stay behind too if they get 10 volunteers).
Surprisingly, though everyone is all abuzz about the prospect of going home, Rush makes his pitch and, over the roars of cowardice of Colonel Telford, he gets his volunteers - including Chloe, Eli, Greer (that one even surprised me, considering how much Greer doesn't like Rush), and Volker. But, while the rest of the crew is preparing to go home, Destiny intercepts a distress call from...Dr. Rush! It seems subspace technobabble explosions have indeed caused Rush to go back into the past along with the rest of Destiny in the attempt to dial the ninth chevron, and, after getting medical treatment, Rush explains that the mission was a total failure. Everyone except Telford died passing through the wormhole because it was too unstable despite Rush's best efforts. The connection not only sends Destiny into the past...it also cripples her and causes her orbit around the star to decay to the point that it will eventually fall into the sun.
Rush #2 does, however, convince the rest of the team to go over to the failing Destiny #2 and salvage as much of the technology as they can. They grab back-up power cells, plants, medical supplies, weapons, scientific equipment, food, back-up/spare parts for key systems that haven't been destroyed, etc. During the slash-and-grab, however, Telford decides to confront Rush #2, saying no one buys his story about heroically holding open the gate. In the ensuing argument, Rush accidentally knocks Telford into a power conduit, electrocuting him into a fine piece of human jerky. So disturbed by these events is Rush that he refuses to come back with rest of Destiny's crew while the ship explodes around him. Instead, he goes to the ancient control chair and, after chatting about how he has nothing left to lose with Rush #1, he sits and is consumed the same way that we saw at the end of season one - just before Destiny #2 falls into the star.
The Telford that got back to Earth is now trapped on the other side having only the ancient stones to stay involved with the crew. Rush now has the supplies he needs to continue the mission. But somehow, this experience has left him less than enthusiastic about that mission - at least for now.
The Skinny:
Temporal paradoxes hurt my brain and are overdone in sci fi, but this one at least serves a few key functions. First, it sets up a budding feud between the hot-headed Telford (who I've never liked) and Rush (who I've also never liked, but who seems to be slowly learning how to socialize again). Earth-bound Telford is going to get word of Destiny's Telford's death and assume that Rush killed him, just like he assumed that Rush was responsible for the failure of the first attempt to get home. And you know what...although I don't think this is the case, there is still at least the CHANCE that Rush is obsessed enough with his mission that he deliberately sent Destiny back in time, killed its' crew and set it up to be re-taken so that we'd have back-ups again and the mission could continue. The fact that I'm wondering about that makes the show interesting going forward.
As well, the experience may change the way that Rush perceives the balance between accomplishing Destiny's mission and safeguarding lives. I'm not quite sure why Rush seemed so affected by seeing his duplicate commit suicide in the ancient chair...possibly from guilt over what he might have done (he doesn't seem to believe his own counterpart's story, which is quite a statement), or possibly because seeing himself in that light was like looking in a "mirror of truth"...revealing how this mission obsession ultimately ends (it didn't seem like a positive ending). Maybe he'll second guess his own desperate desire to know the face of God (or as he views it...the makings of the universe).
It wasn't all that original a story, but the Rush angles keep getting more and more interesting...and leave me wanting more, which is a good thing.
Writing: 7.0
A 6.0 action plot (done before!) gets a lift from some good characterization of both Telford and Rush.
Acting: 9.0
Carlyle and Ferreira had their A games working this week...the rest of the cast did a solid supporting job.
Message: 6.0
The message is not yet clear...the score reflects my uncertainty about what is to become of Rush.
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