I was a little down on the last episode for being a bit
formulaic and a bit to reminiscent of Air Part 3. In hindsight, i
guess it was an alright standalone episode. Maybe my expectations were
a bit too high, but I love Stargate and always am wanting more and
better episodes. I really wasn't quite as down on the episode as it
might have seemed, but i want more from this show. I don't think
that's too much to ask. I also have to say, with a name like Earth,
I'm a little scared of what this episode has to offer me.
So here's what i was thinking while watching Episode 7 for the second time:
+ Episode starts with TJ touching Young's head
tenderly. Ummm what?! Holy crap. Young saying, "You're so
beautiful. I never meant to hurt you." They're kissing OMG!!...oh
it's a dream. Very interesting. That's the way to start a non
adventurous episode. I'm in, Episode 7, let's see what you got.
- I noticed on the wall Homeworld Command. I must
have missed that before. It's not the SGC (Stargate Command) anymore.
Please don't keep trying to distance yourself from SG-1, SGU, I have
fond memories there.
- Richard Dean Anderson pulling Young into his
office and telling him Carter saved my ass all the time, but let us
decide what's best for you. OK, I'm always excited to see RDA again,
but the RDA I remember was a little more fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants
maverick than the RDA I'm seeing here. It's alright, I guess, if the
issue of him becoming a corporate pansy is brought up, but i hope that
isn't just the standard RDA now.
+ I like how Young stood up to RDA though. Damn
straight! Don't settle for this crap of him pulling rank. Do what you
know to be right, Young!
+ Interesting side story here with Ming Na being
bribed to get the plan of Homeworld Command put into action. She has
pull with the people on the Destiny. I can see why having her on your
side would be a good idea.
+ "I'm not entirely convinced Rush wants to come
home." Still an interesting idea. I hope more happens with this than
just him set up as Young's antagonist, but I like the idea of it.
+ So Homeworld Command's plan is to use a star to power the Gate to the levels needed to dial home in much the same way that the star recharged the Destiny's power supply. Interesting idea. It sounds reasonable enough.
- Rush is a dick. Him saying "Just choose who you
want to believe." Ok, I understand that he feels unappreciated and
superior to everyone, but he should be able to realize that saying
Believe me doesn't carry as much weight as, I don't know, how about a
reason why? Or at least the reason you think it will be happen.
There's no need to be a dick just to be a dick, dick.
+ Young, Eli, and Chloe use the communication stones
(ugh) to go back to earth. Now don't get me wrong, I think the
communication stones are the worst thing about SGU, but I also think
that Eli and Chloe are two of the most underdeveloped of the main
characters and welcome a chance to flesh out their stories.
+ Telford assuming command as soon as he arrives on
the Destiny. Clearly there's been some tension there between the two.
This open defiance could lead to an interesting confrontation, and
hopefully some fisticuffs.
+ Eli saying Live it up while you can. I can assure
you that in his situation, most people I know would take full advantage
of having a brand new body to run around in. This could be interesting.
+ After taking command, Telford proceeds to throw
Greer in the slammer. Whoa. Now there's two people that should give
his face a punch. I guess he deserves to be locked up? We still don't
know why though.
- Ming-Na giving in to the political pressure and
trying to convince the weary travelers to jump at this opportunity to
return home. Take a page out of Young's book and grow a spine.
+ The plan is explained a little more thoroughly.
The Destiny's power reserves will be drained by firing off the weapons
which will direct it to a star to recharge. Hmmm. Yeah, it makes
sense to me I guess.
+ Eli visits his mom, but decides that he can't tell
her about his situation i.e. He's wearing someone else's face. I can
understand this. His mother seems a bit fragile, and he isn't the most
comfortable with what's happening. Overall, I think these scenes were
rather well handled. It would be very cool to look into your life from
the outside in this way.
- Chloe visits her mother, and unlike Eli, she tells
her what is happening and who she is. They spend some time crying over
Chloe's father the Senator. I don't know what it was about this
scene. I didn't hate it, it just came off a little flat to me.
+ Telford pushing Rush and others to get the
necessary repairs done. They didn't hold. Riley was injured. Telford
blames Rush, but at least Rush was vindicated. I like the tension.
Telford decides to proceed anyway. That's Telford for you.
+ Chloe called Eli to hang out. I could see this.
I thought it felt a touch contrived for a split second, but then she's
in such a precarious situation being unable to tell any of her friends
that I could totally see her wanting an outlet and someone to talk to,
which is Eli's niche for her.
- Young went to see his wife. Oh boy. I'm not
going to say much more about this. I've said it before. This is my
least favorite interaction of this show. Please please end it.
+ Back to Chloe and Eli in the bar. The band they
are watching is terrible. Eli is getting some action. I can dig that
he is happy about that. I felt good for him, like he was on a short
vacation. Chloe's friends really were pretty douchey. They seemed a
bit cliched and one dimensional, which almost ruined the scene for me,
but it wasn't really about them so I can let it go. Another thing, I
think Chloe was a hypocrite for complaining about her ex boyfriend
being with someone else when she was knocking booties with Scott on the
Destiny. pfft.
+ Best moment of the episode. Young has made up
with his wife and they are enjoying a little afternoon delight. The
ship drops out of FTL severing the communication stone connection...and
Telford is back in his own body with Young's wife on top of him. BAM!
Holy crap. How incredibly awkward! I thought this was a good way to
break up the trip home a little bit, but I didn't expect to see that
coming.
+ Eli helping out Chloe by driving her home. It
resonated when Chloe said "Why do you enjoy this body? Doesn't it
bother you that she didn't really want you?" Definitely a valid
perspective and Eli thought about and came down off of his high a
little. I think this was one of the most grounded and least ridiculous
conversations that they have had. Especially when Eli imagines them
making out...and then is just there for her to lean on. Classic Eli.
+ Back on the ship says "Lot's of people play the
lottery, just not with their lives." Good line for the situation and
well delivered.
+ The Destiny is flying into the sun, recharging
it's reserves. Getting ready to dial home...lots of rumbling and
shaking...lightning arcing from the Gate...overflow capacitors are
filling up...shield is failing...they need to abort the experiment.
- The three from Homeworld Command cut and run to sever the connection with the stones and return home. Chickens.
+ Rush reveals that he orchestrated the failure to get rid of the outsiders because he knew that it was too dangerous to try and actually dial. Again maybe he's right and saved their lives...or maybe he doesn't want to go home. Either way, I'm glad he dealt with Telford and his gang.
+ Real glad to see Young take charge and tell Earth what's up and when he will and will not attempt to do things. He does have some balls. Again though I wasn't happy with RDA backing Telford for leaving the Destiny. He said that they might as well save those three lives. The RDA I know would have stuck with it until the end. What happened to you O'neill??
+ Young gives a motivational speech. Good for him. Maybe they will cut him some slack. I like his character. He's a good guy without being as corny as say Scott Bakula was in Quantum Leap (which I also love immensely but can acknowledge its corniness). Eli played a little more Eli at this point again by watching Scott and Chloe holding hands and not saying anything. Inappropriate time, I understand, but you had better say something at some point.
+ End of the episode shocker. Telford shows up and
Young's wife's house. BAM again! What a dirty backstabber. He
certainly has no love lost for Young, but that's over the line.
All in all, I'm not sure how I felt about this episode. I feared the worst when I realized that it was called Earth and they would be using the communication stones to "travel" home. I thought it was fairly well handled though. We got a little fleshing out of a couple over used and under developed character, we had some rather heated Telford / Young tension, and we had a couple of bombs where Telford is a douchebag and is seemingly trying to get with Young's wife. I would certainly like to see some more adventure in the series as a whole, but for a character driven exposition filled episode, I thought this was rather well done. I'm still waiting for this show to break out and really make me happy, but this episode was good enough to keep me around. It was slow, for sure, but it wasn't bad.
Any thoughts or comments? Do you agree or disagree with anything i have written? Please let me know.