SGU First Timer: ‘Intervention’ and ‘Aftermath’

What happens when a long-time Stargate fan finally watches SGU for the very first time? Join Sara Kehoe on the adventure and see Stargate Universe through fresh eyes!

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Sarah’s first time watch of Stargate Universe is back for Season Two! If you haven’t been following along with her journey, catch up here. You also shouldn’t miss her discussion of SGU and the SGU First Timer column on the GateWorld Podcast.

As the Destiny crew begins their second season the ship has been invaded. In the wake of the first season’s cliffhanger the Lucian Alliance are struggling for control of the Ancient vessel in a distant galaxy, and after a one-way trip through the Stargate some of them may be here to stay.

And, as Sarah starts her first watch of the season premiere, there are plenty of bodies on the floor …

INTERVENTION

In true Stargate fashion, we’re jumping right back into the middle of the story.

Our Not-Dead list includes Matthew Scott, Ronald Greer, and Chloe Armstrong. T.J. may be dead. Colonel Young is ready to kick all the asses.

Varro, now in charge of the Alliance forces, is just as cold and calculating as Young. He uses some of the civilians in order to use the communication stones to bring a medical team to the Destiny. He thinks that it doesn’t matter what they report to the S.G.C., since there is nothing they can do — a valid point. My question is, how did the S.G.C. know to have a team a medics at the stones to switch with?

Add to the Not-Dead list: Colonel Telford. His fate was a giant question mark as Season One faded to black.

Dead List: Kiva, the Lucian Alliance commander.

Meanwhile Nicholas Rush is hatching evil plans, Scott and Greer are playing ninja in the shadows, and while the Destiny crew are banding together the Alliance is having its own little mutiny.

During all of this, T.J. is having a death-bed dream of being back on Planet Eden (“Faith”), with her baby, alive and healthy. The aliens that built Planet Eden are willing to let T.J.’s baby stay … but she must go back to the Destiny. I’m guessing this is her mind helping her deal with the baby dying? I don’t think it’s supposed to be real.

Hardcore Alliance member Dannic is super crazy, willing to die — and to take his own crew with him in order to keep control of the ship. When Ginn shot him and assumed control, I have to say that it felt like a bit of an easy out. Ginn agrees with Telford, and now everyone is rescued. As a second season opener and the resolution of a two-parter, Ginn just shooting Dannic and handing control back to Young’s people felt anticlimactic.

Oh! New theory on the Planet Eden survivors who want to take the baby: Are they ascended? Is Robert her Oma?

Speaking of lingering questions here: How is Chloe now magically healed? Surely the Smurfs have something to do with it. I’ll bet the Mitchell family macaron recipe on it.

AFTERMATH

Rush is having nightmares and instead of sleeping, leading him to meander the ship all night. His dead wife appears to him, as his conscience, and rats him out: Rush has finally unlocked the ship’s master code. He can control the Destiny. And that rat bastard isn’t gonna tell.

I can’t quite grasp what the hell Rush is constantly up to. What does he gain by keeping so much secret? All it ever does is bite him in the ass, but he keeps trying to do it all himself anyway.

Ginn, representing the Lucians, gives us some Alliance backstory and explains how the Alliance kidnaps children and forces them to join them. They burn crops so only they have food to provide to the people, and they dictate what is taught in schools on those planets they control. Not everyone on board who came as part of the Alliance incursion was part of the Alliance willingly.

This is a welcome bit of exposition. It explains how easily she turned on Dannic, and brings some much-needed texture to the otherwise standard-issue bad guy group.

Even though Telford has come back to our side he is still playing double agent and pretending to be a P.O.W., so he is being confined with the rest of the Alliance. Young is still acting cold and distant. It could be his way of dealing with the baby’s death, but it doesn’t seem to be that far outside his usual demeanor.

I find it interesting, as well as frustrating, how slowly some of these characters learn. Rush and Young are no further along as people than they were in episode one. On the other hand I feel like we’ve seen Eli, Scott, Chloe, and especially Greer grow as they deal with the challenges that life aboard the Destiny has thrown at them.

I must admit, I got a little giddy when Franklin showed up! It makes me wonder if Rush seeing Gloria is just the Destiny‘s way of communicating with him. And when the form of Gloria wasn’t working, it tried using Franklin instead to get through to Rush. I’m still convinced that after Franklin poof’ed in the chair (“Sabotage”) he became part of the Destiny. We’ve seen Asgard technology upload someone’s consciousness before (“Descent”); maybe the Ancients had an even more advanced way to do it.

Scott crash-landing the ship because of Rush’s inability to tell someone the whole story, or admit he missed something, is just infuriating. But I like it.

Ha! Rush confirmed my “Gloria and Franklin are manifestations of the Destiny” theory!

Stranded on the planet that Rush stupidly sent them to, it was a little obvious the gate was buried. I keep having to remind myself, when things get predictable, that in SGU the real story is in the characters, not the adventure.

Yes, we’re worried about whether the away team will make it back to the Destiny. But what we’re really watching is T.J. dealing with what’s happened to her baby, Rush struggle with being Rush (and the ego that comes with that), and Young and Camille continuing to wrangle for command of the ship — only now with Telford tossing his wrench into the mix.

I confess that it was hard to dredge up emotions for Riley. I feel like the show tried to play up some emotion in it … but really he just served as a reason for T.J. to tell someone what happened. (His non-religious stance was a nice contrast to Scott, whom we know is religious.)

Also: I find it really … serial-killer-y of Young to kill Riley with his hands. It was a surprising choice from the writer’s room.

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In the Next Installment: Ready to meet some very alien aliens? The Ursini arrive in “Awakening!” Then Chloe begins her descent into darkness in “Pathogen.”

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Read more about “Intervention” and “Aftermath” in GateWorld’s SGU episode guide.

The guys at GateWorld discuss both episodes on the GateWorld Podcast.

Sara is watching through Stargate Universe for the first time! We’d love to read your comments below … but please don’t spoil future events for her.