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!

A year and a third into SGU‘s run, fans finally learned the secret of Destiny‘s original mission (… or at least the first bit of it). Why did the Ancients set this unmanned vessel off into the depths of space hundreds of thousands of years ago? What was it all for?

That’s where Sara has finally arrived in her first trip through Stargate Universe! Let’s watch along with her …

THE GREATER GOOD

Simeon (Robert Knepper) is tired of playing nice with Destiny‘s people.

We’ve run across a war-damaged abandoned ship, sending Colonel Young and Dr. Rush over to investigate. It looks like we may be in for another appearance of the emaciated ninja turtles.

And, of course, things go horribly wrong within a few minutes when the abandoned ship powers up with Young and Rush on board! Rush is finally forced to admit he’s been fracking with the system controls on the Destiny. And he admits even further that people other than him can do what he’s been doing all along.

In order to solve two problems with one (communication) stone, Ginn of the Lucian Alliance is sent to Earth and Dr. Amanda Perry comes back to help with the systems. Simeon, the Alliance’s slimeball supreme, tries to threaten Ginn for getting chummy with Eli. But Camille smoothly pushes him aside, without telling him what Ginn is about to do — namely, tell Homeworld Command everything she knows about the Lucian Alliance plot to attack Earth.

When Simeon later bumps into Amanda in Ginn’s body and finds out what’s happened, MSgt. Greer pops up out of nowhere like the thorn in Simeon’s side he is to remind slimeball who’s in charge. I can’t help but grin. Greer is on to the guy, and doing what he can to keep him in line.

“That … is the mission.” Rush (Robert Carlyle) has a reckoning with Colonel Young.

And Rush, of course, is still keeping petty secrets: he directs Amanda to the bridge of Destiny (which nobody else knows about) and talks her through controlling the ship to fix the problem. Because he’s an ass. But the crew is smarter than he ever gives them credit for, and Eli figures out the secret Rush passed along to Amanda.

Young (who is on board the alien ship, alone with Rush) overhears Eli’s freak-out when he makes it to the bridge. On behalf of the entire crew of the Destiny, Young pummels Rush for being such an arrogant jerk.

Only after a solid beating does Rush admit everything: he has total control of the ship, and he has taken it upon himself to follow the original mission of the Destiny. What is that mystery mission? To find the intelligent origin of the cosmic background radiation left over from the Big Bang.

Of course, now that we have control of the Destiny, I’m sure it won’t be as easy as turning the ship around and heading home …

MALICE

Simeon gates to a desert planet and leaves Lisa Park (Jennifer Spence) with a bomb on her back.

Guys, Simeon killed Mandy in Ginn’s body! Now he goes on a killing spree taking down military personnel before taking the gate room, in order to make his escape. Nicholas Rush finds Amanda dead, and goes full vengeful boyfriend ready to kill Simeon.

Ginn is evidently dead too (since they were connected by the stones). Even Eli asks for a gun.

But, as it turns out, we need Simeon captured alive because he has vital info on the Alliance’s plans to attack Earth.

This episode plays out like a one-hour alien movie. There are probably more explosions in this one episode then we’ve seen the last season and a half. Rush, Scott, Greer, and James are running around on a desert planet. Meanwhile, Eli is struggling over working at what he’s good at (Math Boy!) or joining Rush in committing murder.

Rush is on a rampage, tracking Simeon through the desert … to a bloody end.

Meanwhile Chloe is struggling with knowing she can help, but not knowing what she’s doing to help under the influence of her alien infection. She’s slowly becoming a Smurf … but she can be smurfing helping if they just give her a smurfing chance!

But then again, she may smurf it up because she doesn’t have the control she thinks she has.

In the end, Rush pulls a Rush — killing Simeon Mufasa-style via stampede followed by a bullet to the head. It was a fast solution to a nasty problem.

I honestly would have loved to see this play out in a two-parter. It’s my favorite of the season so far. This one was strong in storytelling and performances.

In the Next Installment: A group of lost crew members return to Destiny in “Visitation.” Then, the ship stumbles into the middle of a long-dead war in the mid-season finale, “Resurgence.”

Read more about “The Greater Good” and “Malice” 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.