Stargate Universe 2.04 “Pathogen” Recap

Last night’s SGU was pretty damn… sporadic in some areas. What lacked in cohesion, made up in seed planting for future conflicts. And who doesn’t love a nicely planted garden of potential story lines?

Where Am I?

Eli walks into the Console Room and finds Chloe standing over a console. When he calls her name, Chloe snaps out of a daze, claiming she had no clue of how she got there. Uh, huh.

Eli brings up this incident, along with other recent Chloe strangeness, to an already freaked out Lt. Scott who has no answers to give him, because Scott has already tried to find some on his own. Next, Eli starts to discuss the rapid healing of Chloe’s gunshot wound, but is interrupted by Col. Young, who has bad news from home. Eli’s mother, who is HIV positive, is deathly sick at home and he needs to use the communication stones to visit her. Damn…

Distant Loved Ones

Rush is visited by Gloria and Dr. Franklin again as he tries to run the ship from the bridge. His latest project involves manipulating the countdown clock, which forces Franklin to ask Rush what is his intentions/reasoning behind his actions. Rush answers that the control of the ship is integral to the mission at hand. Does he mean the mission to get them back home or the mission that he thinks the Ancients has planned for them? Either way, Franklin/Gloria thinks its ludicrous for Rush to be working on controlling the ship without a crew. It doesn’t help that Rush’s actions are alienating his scientists as well, as he brings the Destiny out of FTL and ignoring Brody and Park’s queries to why that is happening.

Eli gets debriefed by Mrs. Wallace’s doctor on how she has refused to take her medicine, due to a bout with depression, which she is still fighting. Oh, and remember that Eli hasn’t told his mother about his whereabouts, and hides behind the bodies he uses to visit her. When Eli tries to convey that he misses her and wants he to do better, Mrs. Wallace responds that if Eli really felt that way, then why isn’t he there? Aww.

Meanwhile, Camile comes home, as well, but something is amiss with Sharon. Camile is worried. Back on the ship, Scott tries to communicate with Chloe after sex, but she cuts him off, asking to be just held. Later, Sgt. Greer voices his displeasure of Col. Young releasing the Lucian Alliance, who will each have their own escort while on the ship. Scott enters the room to announce that Chloe has gone missing. Uh oh…

There’s Something About Chloe

Simeon enters the mess hall with his escort and whispers something jacked up to Park, which causes a chain reaction from a lot of people. While Volker demands for Simeon to apologize to Park, the Lucian Alliance member isn’t prepared for Greer to appear out of nowhere and deal with his ass. After mouthing off some more, Simeon is thrown back in the brig per Greer’s orders. That’s what you get for messing with his woman. Wait. Is Greer claiming Park now as his own? Anyway, Greer informs everyone of Chloe’s disappearance and Col. Young’s request to form teams to look for her. It doesn’t take long for Vanessa James to find Chloe in a storage room trying to break into a supply case. What the hell?

Meanwhile, Col. Young goes to see Simeon, who apologizes profusely. What the hell happened here? Drastic change from last week, no? On the bridge, “Gloria” warns Rush that lack of sleep will make him sloppy. To prove her point, just ask Telford and Riley.

Camile witnesses a changed person in Sharon, who loses her temper after she misplaces her keys. Could this outburst have anything to do with their situation or Sharon’s way of dealing with said situation, which is complicated with Camile being there now? Hmm… Back at the hospital, Eli visits Mrs. Wallace and slowly reveals his true whereabouts and the Stargate program through using ET, their favorite science fiction movie, as a springboard. Mrs. Wallace’s reaction is priceless, but the aftermath is heartbreaking as she doesn’t believe a word Eli says and asks him to leave immediately.

As TJ looks over Chloe, Col. Young asks her about her blackouts, which Chloe can’t explain. Later, Scott looks through Chloe’s things and finds her diary, which she has been writing in a lot lately. What he finds within the pages is alien symbols, which Scott and Rush remember being from the crashed alien ship they found on the planet Rush was stranded on. After some deliberations, Rush suggests Chloe could’ve been affected by the aliens on a cellular level to be some sort of spy. Young immediately wants Chloe to be put in quarantine to ensure the safety of the crew, but Rush thinks they should monitor Chloe’s actions to learn what the deal is. Young accepts, but wants an escort with her at all times.

Corridor of Equations

Eli confides in Camile about Mrs. Wallace’s illness and how he blames himself for her growing detachment from life since he’s gone. Back on the Destiny, Dr. Rush takes Chloe to a secret corridor where he’s been working on a ton of equations that are as long as a neighborhood block. More secrets, Rush? He asks Chloe if she remembers anything she sees on the wall, but she says she doesn’t. He asks her to look again at a particular equation on the board, which Chloe looks at and solves it without blinking. Rush is amazed. So am I. After Rush returns Chloe to Scott’s care, she reveals Rush’s equation room to Scott, but not that she solved the problem in the blink of an eye.

Rush is on the Bridge when the Destiny jumps out of FTL, which I think he caused, but unintentionally. Brody spots this again and after not being able to reach Rush, he calls Col. Young, who is non too pleased. After deflecting questions of his whereabouts, Rush takes Young, Brody, and Park to the Equation Room, where he throws Chloe under the bus as being the cause of the ship’s sudden FTL drops. He does reveal that for Chloe to have solved that hard problem, then she has to be monitoring the make of the ship.

On Earth, Camile returns home to find a somewhat oddly subdued Sharon, who has made dinner and is knocking back wine bottles like a wino at a wine tasting party. After being visited by TJ, Varro confronts Simeon about his behavior, telling the brute to knock it off. Simeon reveals that the information they have been telling are lies anyway and when the Destiny crew realizes it, they will have the upper hand. Varro then flips the script on Simeon by revealing that the only person “talking” is Simeon himself, because the other Lucian Alliance members are seriously trying to blend in. Simeon declares he won’t sell out, but Varro warns him that he better fall in line or get left behind.

Scott watches over Chloe, but when he answers a knock at her door, Greer and more soldiers stand behind it, ready to take Chloe away. Wow….

“I’m So Proud of You”

While walking the ship with an escort, Simeon is stopped by Greer, who decides to pick on him. Simeon calls Greer’s bluff, but Greer stands his ground, sending Simeon on his way.

Camile talks with Sharon about what her deal is and it appears Sharon just misses the physical Camile is all. Wait. That’s it? Moving on…

Eli returns to Mrs. Wallace’s bedside to make one last plea to his mother to get better. She still feel that she has nothing to live for with Eli gone. Frustrated, Eli contacts Camile, who comes up with a bold ass plan, which involves having Mrs. Wallace use the communication stones to see Eli and his accomplishments. She’s blown away and tells her son how proud of him she is.

While monitoring Chloe on a Kino, TJ warns Young that he can’t keep Chloe in there for long. Later, Dr. Rush contacts Young with a way to cure Chloe. Hmmm…

So Not Over…

That plan? Have Chloe sit in the Ancient Repository of Knowledge chair to kill the alien in her and maintain her human side. What. The. Frak?!

Of course, Eli and Scott are against this idea, but TJ thinks it’s sound. Young eventually caves in since it’s their only option at the moment. They do the procedure, which Rush declares a success.

Back on Earth, Sharon visits Mrs. Wallace in the hospital after Camile and Eli suggested that the two be there for each other to help deal with their loved ones being lost in space. On the ship, Eli and Camile bond as well. Aww…

Rush returns to Chloe’s quarters to talk to her in private. She asks Rush if she is really “cured.” He admits that she’s not. Later on the bridge, “Gloria” asks Rush if Chloe can help with controlling the bridge, which he smugly declares if Chloe wants to retain her freedom then she better do as he says and keep her mouth shut. “Gloria” then asks if Chloe can even be trusted. Rush is stumped on that question. As he should be.

From Brody’s Distillery

– Well, while I didn’t care much for the pacing of the episode, the scene with Mrs. Wallace getting to see her son was a nice distraction from the chaos going on in this week’s SGU installment. It was the only thing that got a positive emotional response out of me. The negative response is Rush hands down. The crew of the Destiny are pawns on a chessboard to him now. It’s a bit sickening, don’t you agree?

– Greer and Simeon. Both are not going to make things any better for either of their factions, which is sad, because the Destiny doesn’t need any senseless violence at this point in time. Focus needs to be on the issue with Chloe and the impending Lucian Alliance attack on Earth, not bruised egos.

– Speaking of the damn Lucian Alliance’s planned attack on Earth, I sure wish like hell that we could see SGC command deal with that impending hell that’s about to descend on them. Maybe a web series, SyFy?

See you guys next week!