As “Human” got underway this week, I was all set to turn against it. A Rush flashback? And he’s a crazy scientist? What the heck is all this? Ahh, but patience is a virtue. Hanging around revealed what was really going on, and brought some much needed progress where the chair and control of the ship are concerned.
What really sold me was Rush cutting off Daniel (Michael Shanks) and explaining that it’s all already happened. He was living through this memory again while searching for what he needed in Destiny’s data. So nothing that he did actually mattered to his surroundings. That’s a cool twist. And it goes a long way to explain the Kaczynskian bunker he was holed up in. As a bonus, even though this wasn’t technically a Rush flashback, it did offer up a peek at how he came to be part of Icarus.
It also went a long ways in explaining why Rush is the way he is. Perhaps more importantly, it offered up the possibility that some of that behavior could be changing. The optimistic Rush we saw at the end was at least a hint at the idea that, along with the clue he needed to start cracking the ship’s systems, this all might have been part of a long overdue healing process for Rush.
The dreams also brought to light my biggest issue with the episode. No, not the insistence at pointing the camera into a sunlit window and blowing out the screen. Although, yeah, that just annoys the crap out of me. The real issue came with another admission Rush made to Daniel: Eli is the genius he’ll never be. I don’t think that’s a secret to anyone, especially Young. So…. Why the hell do you let GeniusA off the ship when GeniusB might be on his way to brain death in the chair?
That issue aside, the away mission was good. I like the idea of stumbling upon this mysterious world full of ruins. And the fact that Chloe is stepping up to offer some sort of skill to the mission. I even like the fact that the fab 4 got left behind. Because I totally didn’t expect that. It does point to Rush’s search for the key to Destiny being closer to days than years, and that’s good too. We’ve had 14 episodes of riding the crazy train. It’s time to put that threat to rest and give the crew a little control over the ship so the real adventure can begin.
Clacked by Brett Love 
on Apr 24, 2010 @ 00:18 EST5EDT
Yep, had that same problem with sending the genius to an unknown planet, and with a chuckle no less. “Oh get on outta here, you crazy kids!” *sigh*
I was a little bugged and surprised at how they’re able to keep so optimistic and nobody really seemed to be panicking at the fact that four people were left behind to basically die in a cave.
I did like the clever way of showing us Rush’s past, though.
*POST AUTHOR*
I can see some cause for optimism given where the journey began. They’ve gone from running out of air and water to reasonably comfortable living, even if the future is uncertain. The “OMG, we’re all gonna die” has been spent and now they’re falling into a groove and slowly making progress. That said, I do agree about the reaction to four people being left behind. Especially those four people. They cut across all lines within the crew.
And the stupidity returns in full force this week. I found out that last week’s somewhat competent outing was due to it being pitched by a freelancer (does this often happen in other shows’ first seasons?) and not originating within the usual writers’ room.
But Eli and Chloe really wanted to go to the planet, with big, puppy-dog eyes. Wasn’t the whole point of the mutiny that Young had no business telling people to do what was best for the group as a whole if they would rather go off and do something stupid or foolish if they wanted to?
No one really reacted to abandoning the four because emotional reactions are always muted on this show. Or everyone knows that they’ll be back soon, just like Rush, because all four of them are regulars.
Rush’s memory construct twist was intellectually cool, but it compromised the emotional investment of all the scenes from his past. We got the broad strokes of these events, but don’t know exactly what occurred because Rush is acting differently this time, which causes the echoes of the other people to do and say different things as well. Add to that Rush, his wife, and Dr. Daniel Jackson all breaking the fourth wall to speak directly about the mind probe (even on her deathbed) and remind us that none of it was real, and it became impossible to care about any of it. I had a surfeit of goodwill toward the show left over from last week, as well, but the writers blew through that in about twenty-two minutes (that was when I started checking the clock again).
*POST AUTHOR*
Thanks for the link Ryan. That’s very interesting. I didn’t mind the changes to Rush’s memory, and those that were in it, because I had already inferred much of it anyway. And I enjoyed the twist of the Destiny puzzle much more than I would have enjoyed seeing all of that replayed.
Yeah, it was pretty easy to guess Rush’s backstory in the pilot, and the preview for this episode kind of spoiled the twist. The only new things we really learned were that Gloria was not in the Stargate Program and that she died of natural causes (I had thought the point of Rush’s ninth chevron obsession was either getting her back or Ascending to find her again). My problem was that at several points I was on the verge of actually feeling something for Rush in the “flashbacks,” then he or someone else would say something to break the suspension of disbelief, and I’d be thrown back into the present aboard Destiny.
Someone please correct me if I’m wrong…
Didn’t they discover early on that if something (say, an arm) was in the event horizon when the countdown hit zero…a failsafe would prevent the ship from jumping to FTL?
Or did that happen once and someone said “hmmm…I guess that kinda reduces the feeling of impending doom every time the counter gets close…we better pretend it never happened”
Maybe I’m remembering it wrong.
You’re not wrong. The problem is that the Stargate will connect for a maximum of 38 minutes (under normal relativistic circumstances).
They can’t stay at one planet indefinitely, and whatever’s trapped in the event horizon will be gone.
Granted…they can keep an active wormhole open for 38 minutes. But they are out of FTL for 6 hours.
They must have connected and disconnected from the planet a number of times in that 6 hours.
My point is if they have 10 minutes left on the 6 hour limit and are about to jump back into FTL, why did they not open a new and fresh connection to the planet (38 minutes worth) and give themselves more time to try to get their team off the planet.
**unless the ship will jump to FTL as soon as that 38 minutes is up and the gate closes…you can get a lot done in 38 minutes :o)
As far as I can tell, that would have worked in this instance to give them another 38 minutes to try to stop the ship, or for the away team to keep looking for another exit out of the tunnels. That’s why we knew introducing the solution in the earlier episode was a bad idea, because in every future countdown scenario for the rest of the series, you have to either waste time for someone to say why that won’t work, or the characters look stupid for not even thinking to do it after it worked the first time.
This episode had a few good nuggets, but I agree with the criticisms too. Still, I’m happy to be watching than not.
great episode, and I really liked the visual style of the flashback. Made me think of some BSG episodes. There was a visual daring, a willingness to experiment with cameras that I’d like to see in Caprica more…anyway, it was great to get some insight into Rush. Even though he’s irked by Eli having stumbled across the answer to a question he’d been working on for years, he should relax, Eli is no genius. Clever, talented, with potential, yes, and a great character that I enjoy watching in the show, but he’s not a genius. Rush is closer to that lofty height than Eli. If Eli was a genius, he’d have figured out how to take control of Destiny by the second episode.