SGU S01E13 Human

Spoiler Danger: Through the Roof … I cannot believe how utterly, absurdly FANTASTIC this episode was. It’s really hard to describe how great the episode was. I watched it as I was miserably hung over on Sunday, and even through my hung over stupor, I was still utterly absorbed in and excited by “Human”. The episode pretty much goes like this: Rush sits in the Ancient chair on the Destiny, and while in it, he relives the events that preceded the death of his wife while looking for the answers the chair holds. Additionally, the team still aboard Destiny discovers a planet upon which several of them are left behind. Terry and I spent a lot of time talking about the rest of the crew, so I’d like to take my review time here to really talk about Rush’s parts in this episode. For a long time, well, since the show started, I’ve been curious as to Rush’s motivations, what makes his character tick. It’s one of my favorite parts about any TV show, movie, book, etc. I love the character development, and Rush’s moment has been a long time in coming. In previous episodes, we’ve seen little flashes of of his past – a picture here, a comment there. Yet, even after 13 episodes, we’d never really gotten a good look at his character. “Human” gives us that first opportunity, and it’s not one that the writers squandered. Everything about Rush’s flashback worked for me. The writing was fantastic; the acting was even better. The violin pieces were fantastic. Thanks to @amyfo and @naddycat on Twitter for educating me – the piece that played is “Vissi d’Arte” from Puccini’s Tosca. That music worked really well for me, as it was the same music that we heard Rush listening to in the episode “Air” and it really sounds like something that you’d hear in his head. My compliments to the folks who decided to use this music for the show. The camera work was fantastic in this episode, as was the lighting. Together, they really gave me the feeling of being in this dream world. The bright lights dulled out all but the most important detail. Together with the camera work, they really amplified the tension and the pain between Rush and his wife. All the elements of this episode really worked well to create one of the most powerful episodes of television that I’ve seen in a long time. The pain we felt from Rush as he struggled to solve the puzzle he was given all while reliving the most painful memory from his past, that pain was real. This was due in large part to the phenomenal acting talent of Robert Carlyle, and it goes to further show what I’ve been saying about SGU since the beginning – this show is as amazing as it is because they have the best cast of actors working for them. This show spoils me rotten, because as much as I like other shows on TV, none of them can compare, in terms of acting, to what I see every week on SGU. The last scene of the flashback in particular was epic. As the episode went along, we were told that they had modified the chair to target a specific memory of the user. The user would live through the memory, and, in the process, the memory could be lost. It seemed to me that Rush had the ability to choose the memory he would live through, and he chose this one. My thought on this is that he could A) see his wife, Gloria, again by living through the memory, and B) if the memory was lost to him, he would be rid of that painful stage of his life. Then we see him live through this, and it seemed to me that he made some corrections for past mistakes. We learn that he was away working on the Icarus Project straight through his wife’s ordeal, only coming to her side as she lay on her deathbed. In this version, however, he chooses to stay by her side. Now before everybody freaks out, I realize that he was utterly absorbed in his work for most of the time he spent “with” her, yet even the fact that he made that effort to be in her vicinity speaks volumes. As the episode goes on, we see a lot of pain. We see Gloria’s pain very clearly – and I’d like to take a moment to note that Louise Lombard did a really wonderful job portraying this pain. We also get to see Rush’s pain. While it is not obvious, it is there, and because of Carlyle’s acting abilities, there are times where it is quite difficult to watch sometimes (and I mean that in a good way). All the buildup leads to a climactic scene that I believe will stick with me long past the time I post this review.  Many times have I commented upon the acting in this show, but there are just these moments when the actors really just outdo themselves. This was one such moment. This is a moment that I won’t spoil; I don’t think I could adequately describe it in words. You simply must watch it for yourself. Anyhoo, that’s it for me today. If you want to hear more about the non-Rush parts of the episode, head on over and check out Terry and I rambling about it on our highly kick-ass, grade A podcast. It’ll be time well spent, promise! Until next week, may you find time for those you love.