SGU S01E11 Space

Spoiler Potential: High “Space” marks the first new SGU episode we’ve seen in about 4 months. It was a long wait, but after a very intense hour of television, I can say it was definitely worth that wait. SGU came back with a vengeance, giving us what may be the best episode we’ve seen to date. “Space” came out of the gate firing and never quite let up. They are quick to show us the effects of “Justice” on the crew – they are divided into two groups, the people that believe Young’s version of the story versus the crew members who think he intentionally abandoned Rush. Interestingly, it seems to be Wray who leads the dissenters. This is interesting because earlier in the show, she said that she wasn’t sure which side (Young or Rush) to take; she noted that both Young and Rush had valid ideas for saving the people on board the ship. Now she is assuming a leadership role, clearly on the side of Rush. Even though in “Justice” she seemed to realize she wasn’t cut out for a leadership role of that sort, she seems to be angling herself to take that position back. The show really steps it up when we are introduced to our first SGU alien race. Young activates the communication stones and ends up aboard a strange vessel in the body of an alien. This leads to an encounter with the alien race that further leads to a pretty damn nifty space battle between the Destiny and this alien vessel. This is the first time SGU has shown real ties to its roots, and they pull it off wonderfully. Throughout our Hiatus Project chats and my own personal blogging, I have said that the character development from the first 10 episodes would pay off as things started to go crazy in the back half of the season. I think we saw the first bits of that payoff in “Space”. Certain things, like Young’s decision to fire on the alien spacecraft, Scott’s valiant rescue attempt, and Wray’s developing interest in power would have come off as cheesy and probably a bit lame had they happened earlier in the season. We’ve had ten episodes to get to know these characters, however, and because of that, these shifts in their personalities carry weight and seem more real that they would have otherwise. The episode has a couple of minor flubs, as Terry and I discuss in our podcast, and there are several things that I would like to have an explanation for in the coming episodes – such as how the aliens intercepted the communication via the comm. stones (whether intentionally or otherwise). However, on the whole, I enjoyed the episode thoroughly. As we start digging into the second half of the season, I am eagerly anticipating getting many of my questions answered as well as seeing how the characters continue to develop, especially now that the show is starting to define a threat for the crew. Friday nights can’t come fast enough.