After hearing that this week’s episode of SGU was going to feature a backstory for Greer, one of my favorite characters on the show, I felt that it was going to be a great hour of SGU on the scale of last week’s “Human”. Now after watching it, I should smack myself for not following my own rules on the Hype Machine. Was the episode terrible? Hell no. Was it as good as “Human”? Not quite. Was I satisfied with what I learned about Greer? Yep, just wanted more of it. Instead, what started out as two story lines (the Destiny looking for the offworld team and the offworld team themselves) turned into four, maybe five. In short, there was a lot going on, but not enough on Greer, who got the ‘spotlight’ treatment this week. In the end, it was damn good episode. I’m through yakking for now. Time for the recap!
Where We Last Left Off…
The Destineers are in the process of trying to find a way back to the stranded offworld team of Greer, Scott, Eli and Chloe, but encounter a power malfunction throughout the ship. Before this power malfunction, TJ talks with Vanessa James about her mission to rescue the offworld team. Vanessa knows that Col. Young ordered TJ to talk to her, but TJ says it was on the docket anyway.
Meanwhile, the offworld crew are still looking for a way out the tunnels. Eli is having a mini panic attack, spouting rants about how they will be out of range to reach the Destiny. Chloe and Scott beg for Eli to calm down and to keep moving.
On the Ship…
Rush, Brody, and Riley figure that the ship cut the power on its own, which means that they are locked out of several key systems. The power eventually comes back on, but Brody and Dr. Rush discover an important detail that can affect their rescue attempts. The map shows that after the next drop from FTL, the Destiny will leave the current galaxy, cutting off chances of ever rescuing the offworld team. In short, this next FTL is crucial.
Also, TJ ponders telling Col. Young about her pregnancy and him being the father. Dr. Park suggests that TJ tell him immediately, but there always seems to be something hindering that conversation from taking place. Dr. Rush gives Col. Young the bad news and they devise a plan, which consists of them doing the exact same thing Eli suggested that they do. Dr. Rush takes Vanessa James and others with him to search, while TJ calls Col. Young for a private talk, where she finally tells him that she is pregnant and that it’s his. Col. Young is amazed, but vows to make it work.
On the Planet…
The crew stops for a break in the tunnels, which is where Eli calmly lays down the plan of how they might can catch up with the Destiny. He explains that they can connect the Stargates until they get to a destination that is in range of the Destiny where they can dial the gate to the ship. It’s like searching for a wi-fi feed, basically. The only problem is that they don’t know which way to go in terms of planet hopping. Their powwow is cut short by the appearance of another bulldog spider.
Eli also finds out that the Kino they lost (and got them in the mess that they are in now) managed to find an exit. Now they just have to reach the Kino. Eli later wishes that the caves had maps that showed them where they were ala the “You Are Here” maps in malls. Chloe has been monitoring drawings on the walls, but realizes after close inspection that, lo and behold, the drawings are maps telling them where they are located in the maze. Wow. Greer goes to check this theory, but since the blast from the C4 has the entire structure unstable, there is another cave in. This time, Greer is blocked from Scott, Eli, and Chloe. They can’t get any answer from him.
The caverns continue to buckle and Scott has to make the painful decision to leave his comrade behind. Bad move on so many levels.
A Child Called “Ronald”
Greer awakes to the horrifying sound of silence and immediately panics. Remember last week when we caught a glimpse of his past? Well, it wasn’t just some random image.
Greer flashes back to his childhood, then known as Ronald, when his dad locked him in a closet. You can hear his mother asking Ronald’s dad to let him out, but the father says that “the boy has to learn.” Learn what? Claustrophobia? Later, we see Ronald’s father, who is obviously a drunken loser, making Ronald build a wall out of bricks… only to cruelly knock them down when he is finished. So not liking Greer Sr.
Ronald later talks with his mother about how much he hates his father, despite his mother saying Greer Sr. wasn’t always like this and that they got to take care of him. Ronald feels as if they should run far away from Greer Sr. and never look back.
While Greer flashes back, he digs himself out of the rubble and makes his way out of the cavern, trying to reach the others. As he runs to catch up, Scott debates on leaving the planet and thinks they should stay put, but Eli stresses that they need to take the chance before it’s too late. They dial the gate and go through and Greer misses them by almost a yard.
Back in Greer’s past, Ronald looks over Greer Sr.’s Purple Heart and photos with his war buddies. Greer Sr. storms into Ronald’s room, trashes the memorable items and violently grabs his son. A while later, Greer Sr. drives Ronald to a shady area (I’m talking dope dealers, prostitutes and the like). He makes Ronald get out the car and leaves him there. WHAT?!!? Ronald finally makes it back home, but the house is on fire. Ronald goes in and saves his mom, but there is an small explosion before he can go back for Greer Sr.
In the present, Greer has made a small camp, complete with fire and a pallet. He also has company as well in the form of hallucinations of Greer Sr. and an army comrade of Greer Sr.’s. Greer’s father claims that Greer should have left him to burn. We then jump back to when Ronald is now a young Greer looking after his father, who is now in the hospital. The army comrade rants about government cover-ups involving their illness, which provokes Greer Sr. to lunge from his bed and attack his former bud, while Greer watches in fear before restraining his father.
In the present, Greer listens as the Greer Sr. hallucination tells him that the others “abandoned” him, that they don’t care and that in the end, all that is left is himself. Wow. Explanation accepted. In the past, Greer tells his mom that he has enlisted in the Marines, because he wants to be somebody, like his father did. His mother doesn’t seem thrilled about it, but Greer has made up his mind. It sorta seems as if he has made peace with Greer Sr.’s illness and the hell it brought. Sorta.
You Go This Way…
Dr. Rush and team have come across their tenth planet, but no signs of the crew. Vanessa James offers to split up since they only
have an hour and half left before FTL.
Meanwhile, the trio of Eli, Chloe and Scott make it to the next planet, but evacuate immediately when Cloverfield’s alien cousin comes out the mist and attacks. Next they end up on a sandstorm planet, but when they get ready to jump to the next planet, they lose the Kino due to the planet being toxic and there for can’t retrieve the Kino. Scott volunteers to head to the next planet and if it is safe, he will call them through. The third planet ends up being a habitable winter wonderland where Eli discovers that they have been going farther from Destiny than to it. How do they know this? The next planet is the one where Col. Young left Dr. Rush behind. They debate on going to that planet since Dr. Rush said that’s where the aliens picked him up, but Eli says that the crashed ship may have a map just like the one on Destiny. They decide to take another risk…
The trio enters the alien ship and tap into the ship’s manifest. With the help of Chloe, who unknowingly knew what to look for, they end up finding a map, but they also realize that they must haul ass, because the Destiny is about to jump into FTL soon.
…While We Stay Here
Vanessa James and crew end up finding Greer and they bring him back to the ship. Col. Young asks how did they split up and Greer answers that they thought he was dead and left, otherwise they would all still be together. Vanessa James asks if they had heard anything from Dr. Rush’s team, which Col. Young says negative.
Eli, Chloe, and Scott make it to a planet where they are near the Destiny and began dialing. Aboard the Destiny, the gate starts dialing within five minutes to FTL and when it stabilizes… Rush and his crew walks through, blocking the call from Eli, Chloe and Scott. The trio dials again, but the gate times out once more… and it’s too late.
The Destiny jumps into FTL, stranding trio for what could be forever.
SWEET MOTHER OF GOD!!!!!!
Greer walks to his room while being pestered by Riley, who wants Greer to tell his experiences on the Kino to keep up Eli’s tradition. Greer gives Riley one look, which Riley gets and leaves. Greer then sits in his room and stares into empty space.
Wow…
From Inside The Airlock
– A lot of developments last night, but there were two that took precedence over everything else: Greer’s backstory and the marooning of Eli, Chloe, and Scott.
– Greer’s backstory kind of unveiled what the chip that is on that man’s shoulder. While he had a hellish childhood, it was all because of the crazed mind of his father, who was a drunken cancer (?) patient hellbent on terrorizing his family. Now I am debating between two things involving Greer Senior’s extreme teachings to his son on looking out for number one, because no one else will. Could they have been brought on by his cancer induced illusions or was this something of his own accord? Either way, it rubbed off on Greer something fierce and I wonder if he will let it continue to dominate is persona or will he let the past go?
– How in GOD’S NAME will Eli, Chloe, and Scott make it back to the Destiny? I hope that whatever they come up with won’t be a cheap copout or something of equal idiocy. I think that they should play it out for maybe another episode or two before presenting us with a solution. I think there are some people out there who would rather that the trio stayed stranded for good. On the other hand, Chloe proved to be pretty damn smart tonight. Could it have anything to do with the aliens tampering with her?
– So Col. Young is a father. I was expecting him to blow his brains out when TJ told him. Why? This piece of news adds another notch on his “I have screwed up” belt, but who knows? This might make him use his brain more…
That’s all I have for now. Sorry again for the late recap, but last night’s wave of storms have ruined my entire weekend. Sooooo pissed about that and not being able to give you your SGU fix. Please rant. I would love to hear it.
Follow Us
I enjoyed this episode very much as well. Nice recap!Just fyi, though, Greer is in the Marines.
Thank you, Morjana! Correcting now! :D
How they get back? Early on in "Sabotage", one of the FTL drives goes kaboom, the ships drops out of FTL and it's still in range of the gate on that planet. The trio dials in and all is well…until the blue aliens show up.
I hope people will start to like the show more, I think its a little slow but still great. And I wonder how Greer (one of my favorite's) feels about Scott, Chloe, and Eli does he hate them for leaving him behind or sorry that they are the ones who got left behind?Good Recap by the way.
Dude, is that a spoiler? If it is then 1) some people might be pissed at you, 2) where did you see the episode, and 3) that is kind of a cop out solution… Kind of.
I, too, have that same question, Meganess. While I most definitely believe that he's in the middle of those sentiments, I pray that he's on the latter, because that would mean that he eventually doesn't let his father's views dictate his own life.
Looking at the talents of those who are stranded – I'm guessing that Eli might fix the crashed ship with the help of Chloe and then Scott flies the ship to rendez-vous with Destiny? no?
Yes I pray he is on the latter, because at the very end when Riley wanted to continue using the kino as Eli would want it, he simply turns around and stares at him until Riley just leaves. Greer shuts the door and sits on his bead exhaling quickly. I found it hard to read his emotion because I don't know if its a sigh of relief because he actualy got out or is he thinking about the "three" that got left behind, or that he had to relive those harsh memories.
"…who was a drunken cancer (?) patient…" Probably a reference to Agent Orange. It fits with the reference by the other vet to depleted uranium supposedly not being dangerous. Otherwise, I agree, the shows are better this half than the first.
I think the episode Lost was much better than the episode Human!Okay so Eli dreamed up a plan to use the Stargates to "catch up" with Destiny. I get that plan. But I do not understand the retrieval plan that people on Destiny used. Destiny dropped out of FTL and the retrieval team gated to a planet. Once on the planet, why did they use the same strategy that Eli came up with [hopping from planet to planet]? Why not just directly dial the planet that Greer was still stuck on?I must admit I was somewhat surprised that Chloe, Eli, and Scott ended up on the same planet that Dr. Rush was left behind on and was kidnapped from by the blue aliens. It was even more shocking that Chloe was able to read or understand the blue alien language in the ship's database. Uh, something is just not right about Chloe's new ability. Does Dr. Rush have the same ability or a different ability?It should be very interesting to watch Chloe over the next few episodes. As far as I am concerned that stranded ship from the blue aliens and Chloe are both traps. After seeing the detailed alien database and Chloe’s ability, I am so convinced that Chloe is the equivalent of a sleeper agent and I am even more convinced now that she has a tracking device in her or something the equivalent to a tracking device in her. I am going to pay very close attention to the reaction and actions of Chloe and Dr. Rush when the blue aliens show up. I don't think the ship is having power malfunctions. I think Destiny is preparing for a massive jump and a very fast trip to the next galaxy. First, I believe someone mentioned the ship was fully re-fueled. Second, the last time there was an "alleged" power malfunction on Destiny and the crew was locked out of several key systems, it turned out the ship was preparing to fly into the sun to re-fuel. From Inside The Airlock {what is Inside The Airlock?}Chloe, Eli, and Scott stranded does pose an interesting problem. However, if I remember correctly, on the Kino pad, there was a very large blue dot that represented, I guess, the last planet in the current galaxy. Destiny was represented as a red ship and was second on the list. My guess is that Chloe, Eli, and Scott can gate to that planet and do one of two things [1] dial Destiny and Destiny will stop and they get aboard the ship; or [2] they gate to the next planet in the new galaxy and then dial Destiny.
Well,preppy2.Remember Eli's circle map? Destiny was (as I understand it)too far ahead so they were out of range of the planet which Greer was stuck on.I am not too surprised by Chloe's "ability", after all she and Rush were having nightmares about when the aliens captured them. By the way, do they still have nightmares? or was that solved when they got rid of the tracking device? But if it was the tracking device then why did Chloe have them too? Either a writer's mistake or food for the next episodes… Or could it just be the aftermath of being connected to an aliens mind? But was it really a good idea to go to the alien ship? It's not like Rush pressed a big red button that said: EMERGENCY BEACON! PRESS THIS IF YOU WANT TO GET CAPTURED BY BLUE ALIENS AND DUMPED INTO A VAT OF WATER! Not likely. I am quite convinced that we haven't seen the last of the aliens and that Chloe and/or Rush are going to get wet again before the season is through.And by the way, I agree that the airlock is the safest place on the ship. (Hence "inside the airlock" section)I have ABSOLUTELY no idea how they are going to get out of this one. And I thought flying into the sun was complicated!the stuff about "the space between galaxy's" was really interesting. (even though I didn't quite get it)I'll just have to major in astronomy when I get into college. :)So long from Germany!
And NO thank's for revealing that before I watched the Episode!Angrily and Dissapointedly , from Germany, SPOILER!
I have been really busy lately, so I was a little bit slow to respond. Greetings from California!! You are in Germany?? Are you an English speaking person in Germany or a German speaking person in Germany? Is Stargate Universe in English or German? You stated: By the way, do they still have nightmares? or was that solved when they got rid of the tracking device? But if it was the tracking device then why did Chloe have them too? I am not so sure if they are still having nightmares. It was never confirmed whether Chloe had a tracking device. Dr. Rush just stated that Chloe did not have any surgical marks. In my opinion, because Chloe does not have surgical scares does not mean she was NOT implanted with a tracking device. Or could it just be the aftermath of being connected to an aliens mind? My view is that the nightmares were caused by communication devices placed on the forehead / temple area OR the connection with the aliens OR both the communication devices and contact with the aliens. But was it really a good idea to go to the alien ship? It's not like Rush pressed a big red button that said: EMERGENCY BEACON! PRESS THIS IF YOU WANT TO GET CAPTURED BY BLUE ALIENS AND DUMPED INTO A VAT OF WATER! I thought it was strange to go back to the alien ship, but desperate people do desperate things. Unless the gates in the database were labeled, I am still not really sure how getting a map from an alien ship would allow you to pick the correct gate or gates to meet the ship. I have ABSOLUTELY no idea how they are going to get out of this one. And I thought flying into the sun was complicated! Strange you should mention it. During the first season, it was either the History Channel or the Discovery Channel that had a two hour long show about “STARS”, their elements, and how they are born and die. Then last week there was another show about the formation of the Universe. After watching the first shows, things are clearer. the stuff about "the space between galaxy's" was really interesting. (even though I didn't quite get it) What did you not understand? I'll just have to major in astronomy when I get into college. :)I took an astronomy class in Senior Year of high school and in college. I think the topic on Stargate was still more complex than what I learned in class.