TV review by Kevin Carr, co-host of The Idiot Boxers
Show: Stargate Universe
Airs: Syfy, Fridays, 9pm
Episode: “Incursion: Part 2,” Season One Finale
Episode synopsis: The Lucian Alliance has captured the gate room of Destiny and taken several crew members hostage. Colonel Young vows to rescue everyone, but Kiva (Rhona Mitra) has her own plans to take over the ship. Meanwhile, Eli and Chloe are trapped in an unexplored part of the ship while the crew of Destiny discovers a threat coming from the nearby binary star.
Major developments: Kiva gets greater control of Destiny while Colonel Young faces more dissent from Camile, who serves as the civilian negotiator. Kiva shows she means business by shooting one of the Destiny crew members. Hostage negotiations begin, but they break down when power fluctuations make Kiva suspect Young is trying to sabotage them. It turns out there is a nearby neutron star and pulsar orbiting each other, resulting in massive EM blasts that can destroy the ship. In an attempt to save Destiny, Young turns over control to Kiva to access the shield array in order to recalibrate them so Dr. Rush has enough time to fix the hyperdrive.
What rocked: There were some decent action moments in this episode. To be honest, I thought Rhona Mitra was pretty badass, and I welcome more of her on the Destiny. That ship could certainly use a strong leader because it doesn’t have that in anyone – Young, Rush or Camile. At least this storyline gives an external (now internal) threat to the Destiny crew so they don’t spend the episode bickering with each other.
Oh, and Chloe looks like she might die, which is always a welcome sight for me. I can’t stand her.
What sucked: Unfortunately, this episode was awesomely unnecessary. We end up in basically the same place we were at the end, with the Lucian Alliance bearing down on the crew of Destiny. Honestly, last week’s episode could have been the season finale.
Overall, this first season of Stargate Universe has been a real dud. I really don’t like any of the characters. Even Eli, who happens to be the new Rodney McKay, is a big douche, and it was shown so much in this episode. He has Chloe practically dying in his arms, she tells him that he’s a great friend (with the subtext that she still won’t sleep with him), then he kisses her… on the cheek! I swear, him accidentally sticking his finger in her bullet wound is the closest he’s ever going to come to getting in her pants… or inside her, for that matter.
Final thoughts: I’ve lost faith in the crew of Destiny, and that fate was sealed when Young didn’t vent the gate room in the last episode. Even General O’Neill gave him a good tongue lashing for that. Sadly, even if the Destiny gang makes it through the season premiere mostly unscathed, I can’t say they’ll be worth watching. Let’s hope that Kiva becomes a staple in the cast ‘cause she seems to be the only one that ship with any balls… and a fantastic set of boobs as well.
What’s next: Nothing until October, when the second season returns to Syfy.
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