As a long time "Stargate" fan, I have been less than impressed with the first half of the freshman season of "Stargate: Universe."It left me wondering why "Stargate: Atlantis" was cancelled when we were getting into some of its best stories and episodes. But, I kept watching, waiting for the moment when the show finally captures me. And that moment finally happened in "Space", the first episode of the second half.
One thing that "Stargate: Universe" has not lacked in is acting. With high profile actors like Ming Na, Robert Carlyle, and Lou Diamond Phillips, along with plenty of cameos by Stargate veterans Michael Shanks, Amanda Tapping and Richard Dean Anderson, the acting has been fabulous. It's the story and intensity levels that having been leaving me blank. Though there have been a few episodes with shining character moments, the story did not get exciting until "Space".
Within the first five minutes of this episode, is the introduction to a new story arch. Colonel Young uses the communication stones so he can report to his superiors on Earth...the only thing is, its not someone on Earth that he exchanges minds with. Suddenly, we find ourselves on an unfamiliar ship and then BAM...Hello, aliens. Finally, the writers understand that we like HOLY CRAP moments before the title credits.
In the aftermath of seeing this alien (which is very different looking from any other aliens that have been on Stargate), many people on the ship suspect that Colonel Young is losing it. After leaving Dr. Rush stranded on a planet left for dead in "Justice", he has become slightly unstable. But, when an alien ship arrives beside the Destiny before the second commercial break, the crew realizes with a terrifying clarity, Colonel Young wasn't imagining it at all. With the arrival of this ship, the audience can finally put together that its these people/things, whoever they are, are who we saw at the end of "Air Part 3" detaching from the Destiny in one of their smaller ships.
Now the audience, along with the crew realize the aliens may have be keeping tabs on them all along. And the fact that they have access to ancient technology, being able to interfere with the communication stones and sending them a message that simply says "Surrender", is not at all comforting. And finally, we have our first space battle on "Stargate: Universe," which does not disappoint. Having not perfected the weapons system on Destiny yet, and having only one shuttle with limited weapons power, the outlook of the battle is foreboding. It also gives a couple really great character moments between Eli and Colonel Young. In the absence of Dr. Rush, Colonel Young relies on Eli to be his main scientist. However, Eli has been working with ancient technology for as long as they have been on the Destiny and has nowhere near the capacity of understanding of the Destiny that Dr. Rush had. Which leads to Eli telling Colonel Young this very thing: "Maybe you should have thought of that before you got rid of Rush."
However, the alien ship backs off after they are able to take a prisoner, Chloe, which begins at the third commercial break. Now, they have only one way to rescue her: Colonel Young uses the communication stones again. But it's not Chloe that he finds, but Dr. Rush. Rescuing him from what looks like a science lab, Rush is able to rescue Chloe and get them of the ship before the alien ship retreats into FTL (Faster Than Light).
Now, with Dr. Rush back in business, Colonel Young has to worry about the truth of his disappearance getting out. However, with Rush being the one that tried to frame Colonel Young for murder in "Justice", Rush and Young decide on a truce. But, knowing, or rather not knowing Rush, I find that highly unlikely. Which in one of the last scenes of the episodes, we find true.
Rush meets with Wray in the greenhouse, and it is revealed they have been in cahoots all along to get rid of Colonel Young. It was Young that was supposed to get stranded on that planet, not Rush. But with him back, they can start again. And with the arrival of the aliens, this will lead to either an advantage or disadvantage to Rush's plan. He deducts that the aliens don't want their death, but rather, the Destiny.
With the lovely montage at the end of the episode, something that has become a regular occurance on Stargate: Universe, we see Eli showing Kino footage to Colonel Young of Wray and a few others debating how to get the military out of the way so a civilian can run the ship. And with Rush being Wray's secret weapon...
...There's no knowing what will happen next.
I'm extremely happy that the writers have finally realized how to structure a character driven show. This is definitely the finest episode so far in the series.
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