SGU S01E12 Divided

Spoiler Potential: High Whoa! “Divided” rocked my world. I’m not quite sure how the writers do it, but every episode of this show gets a little bit better. “Divided” brought my love of the show to whole new levels, and it continues to show why SGU is the best damn show on TV. For starters, I’d like to say that the song played for Chloe’s dream sequence is called “Welcome to Destiny” by Brand New. That song was absolutely perfect for that moment, much as the Flogging Molly song was earlier in the season. The show’s producers really know how to fit the music to the mood of the show. It’s hard to summarize the show, because there’s a lot of things that happen in it. Rush and Chloe have begun having dreams in regards to their time aboard the alien vessel. Due to these dreams, supposedly, Rush determines that the aliens found them because there is an alien vessel latched to the outside of the Destiny, which allows the alien critters to track them. This begins a mission undertaken by Young and Scott to destroy the vessel using the shuttle. And then the proverbial shit hits the fan, as the civilians, led by Rush and Wray decide its time to take over the ship. The results of their attempted coup are startling, and very nearly lead to the deaths of a couple crew members. However, it is what happens next that really make the episode great. The coup creates a standoff between the military and the civilians. The consequences of that standoff and its resolution are really things you need to experience for yourself. So, if you haven’t seen the episode yet, do so now!! There is a nagging point I want to address now before I continue raving about how awesome this episode was. First, they explained the interruption of the communication stones caused by the aliens, which mostly worked for me. Yet, even knowing how the interference was caused, how could Young be certain that activating the comm stones again would result in them contacting earth rather than the alien ship again? What differentiated the events of last episode from the ones of this episode? Anyway, gripe aside, this episode was fantastic. The first 20 minutes had me on the edge of my seat even the third and fourth time I watched it. The pacing of this part of the episode was perfect, and the slow build of the music as the tension ramped up was absurdly well done. As event unfold both on the ship and outside the ship, I’m left once again to compliment the cast for their incredible acting prowess. In this episode in particular, we got some great moments with Scott, Eli, and Young. Even better was the confrontation between Chloe and TJ. As an added bonus, we got some great one-liners from Greer, who is quickly becoming a character I like a lot. Best line of the show: “They’re fine. I went easy on ‘em.” Thank you, Greer! The acting in this show, as I have said time and time again, is utterly top notch, and that doesn’t happen all too often on TV. I feel so spoiled watching this show sometimes. One thing that’s really intriguing to me here is the rift that Young’s actions have created between Chloe and both Scott and Eli. His actions against both Rush and herself have caused her to align herself with Rush, which has, of course, raised some issues with the two guys that love her. I’ve mentioned a few times, I’m curious as to the lengths Scott would go for Chloe, but now there’s a new dimension to that curiosity. Now I also want to know how Scott’s loyalty to Young will impact Chloe and how far she will stretch for him. So, the coup is brought down, and with it we also see what appears to be the final battle between the Destiny and fishy alien things. I find myself hoping that we see more of the little critters, as I think there are some interesting areas for the writers to explore with them. That being said, the writers are far smarter than I am, and I have little doubt that if they decide that this is the last we see of the fish-men, I won’t miss them for long. Philosophically speaking, this episode raised a few really good points. The coup was staged for many reasons (including one particularly impressive Rush bombshell), but the most interesting among them was the desire to have the civilians have ultimate authority on board the ship. In governments around the world, the military is under the authority of a civilian power. In fact, we as a people tend to regard military-run countries poorly. And yet, I can’t help but side with Young here. There’s always been this part of me that appreciates the need for a leader rather than a council or the sort. Especially in a situation like the crew is in aboard the Destiny, it seems prudent to have a leader who can make decisions quickly and execute them decisively, especially in crisis situations. While part of me is interested to see the formation of a government aboard the destiny, that other half of me feels that more will get accomplished in terms of safeguarding the people on the ship and also in terms of getting them home with the military remaining in control of things. I feel like Rush, ultimately, will have to step down from his position in command, because his motives are forever going to be questioned after the events of “Justice” but I think the folks aboard the Destiny would ultimately be better served by deferring to the expertise of the military. Of course, that’s just my opinion. It will be interesting to see how events actually unfold. I come away from every episode of SGU very excited and with a very high level of expectation for the shows that follow. Every week, especially in the last couple of weeks, SGU proves that it can live up to my admittedly high expectations. Suffice it to say that after “Divided” I am more excited for SGU than I have been at any point previously in the season. I spend a good deal of time both thinking about SGU and waiting with great anticipation ready to jump back on board. Like I said last week, Fridays just never get here fast enough. Here’s to a nice long week of waiting. Welcome to Destiny, indeed.