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SGU has returned on SyFy after its winter hiatus, and blogger Kell Harker gives her verdict on the eleventh episode (WARNING: contains spoilers!)
1.11 “Space”
Written by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie
Directed by Andy Mikita
THE ONE WHERE The people on board Destiny encounter some unfriendly, non-latex wearing aliens.
VERDICT With the exception of “Time”, this is the best episode of the series so far. I did honestly miss the show while it was on its hiatus, and “Space” didn’t let me down one bit: it was full of surprises, action, and – thank goodness – bona fide aliens.
Right away the episode begins with a shocker when the communication stones malfunction sending Col Young’s consciousness on board an alien ship. It’s so refreshing to see on a Stargate show aliens that don’t resemble humans in any way. And having them be telepathic made them even more otherworldly and curious. We do learn that they have interest in the ship as well as in people on board, but their actual intentions still remain a bit mysterious. Have they been keeping Destiny under surveillance this whole time? Do they mean everyone on Destiny harm or do they just want the ship? One thing is for sure: these aliens are obviously not as friendly or benevolent as the Asgard. The series has definitely become more intense now that there is a constant alien threat.
I was also a bit worried when Rush was marooned on the barren planet that he would be missing from the show for a few episodes, but in another surprise he turns up as a captive on the mothership. Phew! That was a close one. Hopefully Robert Carlyle will remain in the series for a long, long time.
The interaction between Young and Rush remains tense and entertaining to watch so it was great to see that duo back again. And in an uncharacteristic move, Col Young is willing to sacrifice Chloe in order to kill Dr Rush when he gives the order to blow up the alien mothership. But with his leadership role on Destiny, hopefully Young doesn’t let his conflict with Rush make him into the villain of the show. Whether hero or villain, Young is becoming for me just as engaging to watch as Rush. It’s this great character development that is making me anticipate the next episode.
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE BLUE KIND We’re introduced to some pretty intimidating-looking, telepathic, non-humanoid beings. Heh – they kinda resemble a mix between a District 9 “prawn” and a Navi from Avatar .
MYSTERY SOLVED The pod that was seen detaching from Destiny in “Air, Part 3” has been a hot topic on the Stargate Universe fan forums and it’s finally revealed that it’s a pod belonging to the mothership of the aliens seen in this episode.
NITPICK When Chloe suggests that the hydroponic tomatoes she was eating tasted gross (she made an “yuk!” face) I wasn’t convinced. Anyone who has eaten hydroponic tomatoes would agree that they taste better and are even more nutritious than tomatoes that are grown using traditional methods.
BATTLEGATE The zooming camera work of the space fight between Destiny and the aliens was like watching a battle scene from BSG , except a little less cool because there was no Starbuck. However it was still a treat to have so much action in this one after so many soap opera-ish, ho-hum episodes in first half of the series.
BEST LINE Eli: “Hey, first real space battle over here!”
