Stargate Universe 1.13 “Faith” Recap

Ok, I might be the only person who was conflicted by last night’s SGU episode, “Faith”. Conflicted in a sense of 1) trying to figure out why the people were drawn to this planet, 2) why the mystery of the obelisk wasn’t solved, and 3) how many people actually stayed behind to basically die a lonely death. I am getting ahead of myself, but is there anyone else out there who understands my incertitude, please let me know?

Destiny, We Have A Problem…

While Scott, TJ and Camile lament about daily life on the Destiny, Rush has Brody and Park work on repairing the damaged shuttle. Young and Rush discuss repairing the morale of the survivors on the Destiny, when the ship drops out of FTL into what seems to be empty space, according to the ship’s readings and the fact that the Stargate doesn’t begin the dialing sequence . But there is a star in the middle of the area and according to Rush, it’s not on the Destiny’s star charts, therefore it’s not supposed to be there. Dun, Dun, DUN!!!!

While everyone gossips about the “glitch” in the Destiny’s systems, Scott acts cold towards Chloe, but wonders why TJ looks… sick. Stick with one female, Scott, and not attempt to screw the entire ship.

Rush figures out that the star’s gravity is what brought the Destiny out of FTL. He also deducts that after plotting a course around the star, the Destiny should be back on course, away from the star’s gravitational pull after a month or so. Rush then reveals that there happens to be a planet the size of Earth in shuttle distance. The planet could even be considered a secondary Earth, because it matches it in almost every way.

Eli, Volker, and Rush later discuss the origin of the planet, which Eli thinks appeared out of nowhere and has to be a baby planet. Volker points out that the planet is 200 million years old and if it is a fresh planet then it should still be molten rock. Rush stills mutters that its existence is impossible.

A small crew consisting of TJ, Scott, Greer, and Dr. Caine venture to the planet and find that it has edible water, plants, and fruits. After reporting back to the Destiny, Scott finds TJ staring into the lake, which reminds her of home. On their way back, the team marvels about the near perfection of the planet when they come across a beacon/statue in the middle of nowhere. In other words, they might not be alone.

After returning back to the ship with schematics of the obelisk on the planet, Rush deduces that the aliens who built the monument also built the planet AND the star! Talk about being freaking advanced! Rush carries on that the star had to have been made after the Ancients’ gate seeding ships passed by, which explains why the Destiny didn’t have it on the star chart. After this marvelous revelation, Rush suggests that since the Destiny will be in orbit around the star for a month, it would be best to send a team to the planet to collect food, medicine, and water from the surface. The only set back to this expedition is that whoever decides to go, will have to stay there for that month’s time, since the shuttle will be out of range from the ship. Young agrees with Rush’s assessment and I see that they are taking this “cooperation” thing pretty seriously. Eli raises the “But what if/about…?” question of the week and the others explain to him the benefits of the idea. Everyone is cooperating, Eli, so don’t rock the boat.

Camile later asks TJ about her decision to go to the planet, because while Camile wouldn’t mind going herself, she is worried about Rush’s calculations being wrong and wonders if TJ thinks so, as well. Oh, so now you want to ask TJ advice on trusting Rush, Camile?

Young gives Scott a list of orders as the expedition party boards the shuttle, but when Scott sees Chloe is going, he nearly has a hissy fit. TJ is one of the last to board and after some lingering eye moments between her and Col. Young, it is apparent that she wants to tell him something. Or that she should be telling him something. Hmmmm….

Ship Life vs. Planet Life

As soon as the group lands on the planet, there are some issues that quickly emerge: Greer makes a grunt help a civilian dig a latrine after said grunt commanded the civilian to do it himself, Scott still gives Chloe the cold shoulder, and TJ’s ‘sickness’ starts to get to her.

On the ship, Eli and Camile discuss the plausibility of the planet being created by aliens. Eli thinks that the planet popped out of nowhere and wonders who actually did create it if it wasn’t the aliens. On the planet, Scott bonds with Caine over the same inquiry, except that Caine is all zen and religious with his assessment, feeling as if it’s a miracle from God that the planet was found. Caine later shares this belief with TJ, Chloe and a scientist, suggesting that maybe the entire Icarus and Destiny incidents were predestined for them to find the planet. The scientist calls bull crap, but Chloe and TJ are all ears.

Back on the ship, Young checks in on Park and Brody and the status of the broken shuttle, which can only fly left now. Wow. Rush asks for permission to strengthen the Destiny’s shields and Young agrees, throwing together a team for the task. WOW! I don’t know about you, but this “cooperation” is scaring me a bit, but might actually work.

Camile ponders to Eli that she has a bad feeling about the expedition. Eli expresses his reluctance of letting the people go onto the planet, but Camil clarifies her feelings as being the opposite, that they should’ve went as well. Um… What?

And so begins the month long montage that displays life on the two different settings.

– The remaining grunts and civilians search the ship for more supplies.

– Scott and Chloe slowly, but surely, mend their relationship.

– Volker takes notes on the obelisk.

– The people on the ship are bored with card games, while the people on the planet have fun playing soccer.

– TJ finds solace in a waterfall she finds.

You can see where this is going, can you?

Later, Chloe overhears TJ puking and after some prodding, TJ lets Chloe in on her secret: She’s pregnant. Wow. TJ announces that insemination occurred before they left for Icarus Base, which puts TJ at about 3 1/2 months, and she wants Chloe to be the only one to know for now. She also remarks that the planet is helping with the morning sickness, especially the fresh air and water. When Chloe asks TJ about the father, the scene jumps to what Col. Young is doing. Obvious paternity test much?

Speaking of Col. Young, he and Rush overlook what looks like the body of a robot that the team found on the ship. Young wants it to be up and operational immediately and the geek inside me trembles with glee at the prospect of a robot walking around the ship further down the line. Rush reluctantly relents, despite having other things on his plate.

On the planet, Scott and Chloe talk about returning to the ship, but Chloe probably has taken a sip of Caine’s Kool-Aid, because she starts repeating the good scientist’s ideals. The chat is cut short when Chloe notices that the obelisk is shooting a beam of light into the night sky. Is it phoning the original inhabitants to come home?

Should We Stay or Should We Go?

Scott reports back to the Destiny about the obelisk’s beam and Young orders them back to ship, since they are now back in shuttle range. As Scott makes this announcement to the camp, you can see that some people are not ready to go, namely TJ and Chloe. When TJ later returns after make a difficult decision, Scott demands to know why she isn’t helping breakdown camp, despite warnings from Chloe to back off. TJ makes her decision to stay behind known and this sets off a huge debate on the pros and cons of such a decision. Scott reminds everyone about the aliens possible return and the fact that they would need shelter for the harsh winter months. Caine interjects that if the aliens are as advanced as they think they are then the aliens will get them back home and that they wouldn’t need to build a shelter. Somebody deck this idiot, please and thank you. It is in the midst of arguing that TJ reveals that she is pregnant and doesn’t want to raise her kid on the Destiny. I can see why, but still…

On the Destiny, Camile, Vanessa James, and Eli talk about the food that is coming back to the ship, when Camile notices that Rush’s demeanor is bleak. Camile asks if his calculations proved correct, but Rush is sad that he won’t be able to investigate the planet’s properties to see how it exists in the first place. That’s the Rush I have come to know! Meanwhile, Park and Brody have gotten the dilapidated shuttle to turn right, left, up and down, but it still have problems with the propulsion, which Brody thinks is not in the cards for the shuttle ever again. Young gets Scott’s report about the eleven or so people who want to stay behind on the planet and he’s not happy about it, especially when Scott adds TJ and himself to that list. Holy Change of Heart, Batman!

The Trifecta of Deplorable Leaders have a meeting about the situation at hand; and while all of them agree that the impending loss of TJ and Scott could set them back, their methods of trying to retain them on board vary. Rush wants to forcefully bring them back to the ship (guns and all), Camile wants the people to make their own decisions, and Young mainly wants TJ back on board, but doesn’t say why. He later has a small argument with Rush about letting the people stay behind, because Young is going to leave the damaged shuttle with those who want to stay. The only set back is that if the people try to evacuate then they will be S.O.L. due to the shuttle’s inability to sustain extraction from the planet.

In the shuttle on the planet, TJ and Scott have a heart to heart over TJ and Col. Young’s relationship. Scott also vows to look over TJ and her baby. Eli informs Scott of Col. Young’s arrival and TJ pales. When Young arrives, he gives the camp a speech about leaving the damaged shuttle behind under one condition: all military personnel return with him or they will all be brought back to the ship with force. Caine interjects and goes on the “we were meant to come here” spiel and I just want Greer to shoot him already. The line is eventually split again between civilians and grunts, with only TJ and Scott still standing with the civilians. Volker and a couple of scientists move over to the grunts/Col. Young’s side. But with a few strategically picked words from Col. Young, TJ relents and rejoins the grunts. Next we see the grunts plus the couple of scientists board the Destiny along with TJ, Scott, and Chloe, who Eli is glad to see, even though she doesn’t return the sentiment.

Conclusion

While twiddling chess pieces out of wood, Rush comments to Young about his predictions of the Destiny going back into FTL coming true. Young apologizes for Rush not getting to meet any aliens to discuss the mysteries of the universe with, which takes Rush by surprise. Young then leaves Rush with the hint of having a chess game later. In the corridor, Scott chases down Young to explain his reasoning for staying behind, but Young doesn’t want to hear it. Scott then asks the colonel what if all of them were meant to stay on the planet, but Young comments that he can’t even fathom trying to answer that question and no one else can.

While the crew feasts on the newfound replenishment of food, TJ sits alone, crying, thinking about if she made a mistake by coming back. TJ, I am disappointed in you.

From Inside The Airlock…

– OK, I might be slammed for this, but I felt that those who wanted to/did stay on the planet were incredibly stupid. Let me explain. Suspect Zero aka Dr. Caine was going by a hunch told to him by Rush, who can’t really be trusted when it comes to intel (which cab b spin in his favor, as they learned last week). The notion that the aliens would help the survivors get home was not only a foolhardy idea, but a pontifically egotistical one, as well. What would they have done if the aliens said no? Attack them? Force them to help? Plus, wouldn’t they have broken some type of code with SGC about bringing unknown alien cultures to Earth’s doorstep? Like Young said, they gave up. There isn’t any other way to package it, no matter how good “we were meant to come here” looks wrapped around an ideological bow.

– As for the other people who stayed behind, I wonder if they decided to stay when they realized that they would have a doctor (of sorts) in TJ and a skilled person trained in weapons? When the group lost both to Young’s rhetoric, I would have followed them back onto the ship without missing a beat. I don’t think anyone else who stayed can fix a broken leg, or has any sort of medical or combat training, so the safest bet is to follow the person who does. I’m just saying.

– I personally can’t see how TJ could’ve possibly raised the baby on the planet. I know there have been plenty of other cases on various sci-fi shows where I could be proven wrong, but I couldn’t see it working for her.

– The dynamic between the three so-called leaders this week was a more diplomatic one, but how long will it last? Or have the two factions finally learned the meaning of living together and dying alone?

A very good debatable episode, and I can’t wait to hear what you all have to say. Let em rip!