FAN REVIEWS: 'Incursion, Part 2' (120)

[GateWorld]

STARGATE UNIVERSE - SEASON ONE

INCURSION, PART 2

EPISODE NUMBER - 120

While Colonel Young and Kiva continue to grapple over control of the ship, a pulsar threatens everyone on board with deadly radiation.

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[jelgate]

If I could describe Incursion Part II in one word it would be speechless. I am totally speechless on the events that unfolded in this episode. Most specifically the ending but we are getting ahead of ourselves. The whole point of season finales in to leave your audience in suspense and just begging for more come the next season of the show. And count me as one of those people. I thought it was a worthy end to this season and all that SGU has brought us. The only downside is that I have to wait until October 5th to see how it plays out. But let’s get started on my last review for awhile.

Greer as a medic, it’s hilarious. I mean seriously the last thing you would see is Greer having the right mindset to conduct medical first aid. But besides that it was completely predictable. You knew the two would raise gun as they made a tradeoff. I kind of saw it coming and given the nature of TV I pretty much knew Young would fail miserably in whatever he was trying to do when he gave those medical supplies to Kiva. Speaking of Kiva she sure is cold. Just walking into the gateroom and shooting that soldier because she was angry. I have said it before and I will say it again you have to be a cold person to show absolutely no emotion when you kill someone like that. Its mind blowing.

The scenes with TJ caring with medical aid to wounded of the Lucian Alliance and soldier kind of dragged on. I understand the point of showing a kind and compassionate TJ and showing her trying to help those live on but it got a little dull after awhile. It seemed to serve no purpose but to prolong the episode and to show that one Lucian Alliance showing compassion to TJ. But you don’t need so many scenes to show that

Now I’m a Nuclear Medicine major at my university so I know what Brody said about the gamma radiation being so deadly to humans. He was so accurate about how gamma radiation is related to X-rays but it’s a TV show so I’ll let it slide. But I don’t know how accurate the part about the binary pulsar emitting that type of radiation is. I’ll have to consult my physics advisor on this. Anyway if that’s true it’s a pretty ingenious way to up the ante of the episode if you will. Not only do we have two groups fighting for control of Destiny but we also have a piece of “space matter” that wants to kill us. It makes it more dire and makes Kiva more cold and interesting

I have to credit to Wray on this one. I’m one the first to call her annoying and other things I’m not allowed to say here. But I take credit for the courage it took what she did arranging the prisoner exchange and going in there full well Kiva wouldn’t keep her end of the bargain. We all knew that was going to happen. Enough watching of SG1 has shown that the villain never is far to us. But making one of the prisoners exchanged a dead corpse is just plain sick and disgusting. That why I love it.

We should break for a second to talk about Eli and Chloe. Okay granted I’m not a huge shipper when it comes to these things. I tend to take it or leave it when it comes to these things because in the past Stargate series the writers have shown to me that writing ships is not their specialty. But I thought it was a shocker among other things. First of all at first I thought this would be Chloe whining about having no friends again like in Earth and I really did feel like seeing that again. However I was pleased to see her acknowledge that Eli is really a friend and not that dreaded friend zone girls sometimes put guys in. You people know who you are. But what really shocked me more then anything was that Chloe knew all along that Eli had a crush on her all along. I sure haters are probably going to bring out names for this but I think it shows a tender moments between the two in it really tries to show despite all this friction that there is a part of her that cares about Eli. Just a lot different then how she cares about Scott.

Okay now we can return to the action. This is Universe at its best. This show comes with a realistic solution for a problem (i.e. the pulsar) without coming up with something so out there it makes no sense. I’m looking at you Atlantis. The notion of collapsing the shield area to get more energy to engage the FTL drive makes so much logical sense that I applaud Mallozzi for making it sound good. But as always there has to be difficulty in arranging this plan. I was a little baffled that Wray (and Young) agreed to so much in exchange to be let over to correct the pulsar. Yes they had little time and yes Rush/Telford had a plan to gain control of the ship again its still quite a risk to make to give up so much. It’s like playing with fire. Speaking of Telford that scene where Kiva comes behind him when he is transferring command back to Rush and they both kill each other. That was quite intense but I guess that’s the point of season finale as I said before. Everyone needs to be put in jeopardy including your big recurring actors.

I know I said you want to be suspenseful and have you audience begging for more at the cliffhangers of season finales but that is too much. I’m just jaw dropping at everything is going on. We have a Lucian Alliance soldier shoot up the room leaving TJ for dead. We have Chloe passed out from what I can only guess is internal bleeding. We have Eli rushing to an airlock to save Scott and Greer who are about to die from a pulsar on the hull. And then the biggest draw dropping is the enraged Lucian Alliance 2IC gathering up all the military personnel including Young and is about to shoot them. Rush seems to be the only safe one in his console chair. I think it’s just cruel to make us this suspenseful for 3 months.

[Rachel500]

It’s something of a tradition that season finales have to be big on action, dramatic and leave every character in imminent peril of dying. Incursion Part 2 does achieve two of three of these: it’s dramatic and it leaves the fate of its major characters hanging in the balance for fans to angst over -- at least until they read Mallozzi’s blog and figure out who has reported in for the season 2 production. However, it’s not really big on action and what action there is seems horrendously understated.

Let’s talk about the action, or rather what action. The beginning exchange of the medical supplies with Young planning to use the exchange to begin his retaking of the ship has the potential for action but ultimately nothing very much happens apart from some mutual gun pointing. It’s dramatic but there is no action. The prisoner exchange is equally as dramatic and equally lacking in action. There is some real action in the scene towards the end when one man attempts to take out the Alliance in the infirmary but it’s too fast and blurry, and over in a heartbeat. The same happens when Kiva and Telford pull guns on each other; the moment is over so fast (and the cut to commercial so quick) that there’s barely any time to register what has happened. Possibly the best balanced moment of action is the one where Eli and Chloe almost end up being sucked out of Destiny and into space (and no, I didn’t mean it that way -- I like the characters). And I will acknowledge that the ending with the various running figures of Eli, Scott and Greer does mean the show gets some action in the dying seconds... but it’s all just too little, too late.

I think the problem really stems from the fact that this is the episode after the main action -- the invasion of Destiny -- has occurred. We’re in aftermath mode rather than thick-of-action type stuff. It may have been different if there had actually been a plot involving a serious attempt by Young and co to retake the ship by force the way they did when the civilians staged their coup, but that isn’t what we have here. What we have is a perfectly decent attempt to realistically portray the push-pull of negotiations, feint and parry, between the warring parties as they wrangle over control.

In the absence of action though what this finale is filled with is drama. There are some lovely moments which seethe with tension particularly the stand-offs with Kiva and Greer, Kiva and Wray, and Kiva and TJ. The latter is just brilliantly executed by Rhona Mitra and Alaina Huffman, and wonderfully directed. The way they simply look at each other across the room as TJ makes her demand; the sharp beat of silence and then Kiva’s acquiescence. It is just fantastic.

The scene where Young yells at the science brigade for not having the answers to the ship’s malfunction after his plan goes FUBAR and Kiva kills Rivers, and rightly has it pointed out to him by Rush that somebody was bound to die is also brilliant. Louis Ferriera nails a Young pushed to the edge. I also really liked the personal drama that plays out between Eli and Chloe with Chloe telling him she knows about his feelings and that friendship isn’t a runner-up prize. It’s a touching moment well played by both David Blue and Elyse Levesque. The other part that worked well was the ending where there is a ticking clock as Greer and Scott try to make it back into the ship before they become crispy fried critters also results in some good tension and drama.

Indeed, the ending is great at leaving all the crew in peril with perhaps the exception of Rush and Brody who got a ‘get out of peril free’ card (Carlyle’s dry delivery of the “well, Mr Brody, time to panic and run off” line was just superb). It’s an excellent “who will survive” scenario. It is perhaps unfortunate for the production team that with the delayed viewing of the second half of the season by Syfy (and subsequently every other channel around the world), that the edge has been lost given with season 2 production already well in hand, internet savvy fans mostly know who survives.

It’s an entertaining episode but I can’t help but think that while it had a better cliff-hanger than its first part, in some ways Incursion Part 2 would have made a better season opener -- or that it needed to remain a single episode as it was originally intended with much of the push-pull negotiation of the aftermath eliminated.

As season 1 comes to a close, there’s no doubt that this latest incarnation of Stargate has polarized the existing fan base with its new style, and has had its ups and downs in terms of execution. I personally think the season started well with Air Part 1 but suffered from the decision to extend into a three-part episode and Darkness/Light into a two-parter. The show struggled to gain momentum with the pacing through these first five episodes, and by extending these stories failed to put some of the characters, particularly Wray and TJ, front and centre. The problems, in my opinion, were further compounded by imbalance in the episode-to-arc plotting in episodes such as Earth and Life. Only Time managed to really shine in the first half. But the second half of Season 1 has been much stronger with episodes such as Human and Sabotage which followed Time in successfully combining the best of the much-loved Stargate of old with the newer style and character focus of SGU.

The overall standard of production from sets to music, from direction to special effects, and the acting throughout has been incredible: the show deserved its Leo award. I’m looking forward to Season 2, and while I may not be tuning in to see who survives, I will be tuning in to see how they survive.

Previously published at GeekSpeak Magazine

[ZRFTS]

Incursion (Part 2)

So this is it, we have reached the end of SGU's first season and man is it disappointing. I guess start off with a whimper, end with a wimpier.

To be fair, it does contain more action, characterization and engagement then the first part. Young manages to be better in this part with pure emotion and confrontation that we haven't seen in the first part of this episode; he truly manages to show what made people like him in the first place, that side to him that is tough yet manages to be flawed and human and the confrontations he has with Rush, brilliant. All I can say is, where were you Young? the first part of the episode really needed you. Stuff finally reaches an exciting impasse when a person gets shot and additionally, the unexpectedness of the lights going off manages to create a true sense of surprise that was missing from the previous part; not only that but the leader of the Lucian Alliance crew even gets a chance to show off that aggressiveness and edge that her character should of had, making her more then just a robot.

Unfortunately, it still manages to be underwhelming. Never have I seen a hostage situation be boring as hell; there is almost nothing going on between the point where they negotiate and the point where they take action. Sure, there is stuff going on but I didn't feel engaged with these scenes. Ming Li supposedly gets her chance to shine but her negotiation traits seem lacking, mainly because the actor can't seem to luster up a personality or performance that's compelling and worthy of the skill she possess; granted she does fare a small bit better but still, you were in "Mulan", you can do better then this! TJ is the same as she ever was but at least we get small hints of her pregnancy here and there so that's nice I guess; Telford is notable in that his alliance finally gets revealed, of course there isn't much to follow with his character and his acting leaves much to be desired so yeah... At least they're taking some action, they follow through with the promise made in the last episode as they try to take back control of the ship and some of the scenes regarding that are exciting, unfortunately it's mostly a wash as the writers think that drawing out these scenes and trying to add cleverness will add an extra dimension to these scenes; we all like cleverness, we just don't like people forcing cleverness.

They try to add some sort of tensity that they think will move things along; it's understandable since they can't have a hostage situation where nothing happens, then the episode would go nowhere. A ticking clock should do wonders for the story (and it's even scientifically referenced and possible) but it fails to bring the sort of tension that these things usually provide; why? Because there is little to care for and little at risk. Ticking clocks work because we're invested in the situation, caring about the characters next move and the possible consequences if it runs out; this episode has nothing to invest in and as a result it feels a bit flat, the episode is aware of this and it does try to up the ante to compensate for the lack of risk that happened in the last part but it seems all for naugth as those efforts don't seem to stick. Still, I gotta commend SGU for at least trying to learn from past mistakes. It isn't all for naught though, some good visual FX scenes are to be had in this episode and there are even small numbers of good music, (but a really small number as the usual underwhelming music consists of a large majority of the episode.) it shows the potential beauty of SGU when they put their minds to it.

Eli and Chloe continue their plot from the previous episode and once again, they are the best thing the episode has going and it's even better then before; he is truly a good character, a good actor and one of SGU's best things ever, he manages to bring much of the sweetness, kindness and compassion and he's also surprisingly strong, caring for another person just seems to be bring out the best in him. Chloe is also good too, being somewhat reflective in her dialog and even managing to be as sweet as Eli, saying stuff that adds to both of their characters. It's a shame the plot had to merge with the main plot because this was the best plot of the two parter, even the part where they Kiss manages to be exceptional despite the forced romance, it shows just how good the romance could of been had they handled it correctly. They say that a season finale is supposed to end in the most amazing way possible, well the writers know that and they manage to draw out an ending that is the ultimate example of pretentiousness; we have guys shooting each other, only to reveal it a few seconds ago; we have people being forced into rooms and we're showing it to you for minutes on end, we have people running towards something and it's going to be super long therefore it's going to be really dramatic. Get the picture?

Endings like this provide the action SGU was lacking but it also serves as something that unnecessarily raises the stakes, packing in a bit too much where a whole lot was needed; not only that but it's also placed in a position where it's too little, too late. Aspiring content creators, stuff like this is decremental to a show as a whole, you may think that stuff like this serves to set the mood when in actuality it's short shots that show only what's necessary that sets the mood; I mean you don't see Lost with super long shots of people running and staring at their faces during season finales do you? Overindulgence is not the way to go, in fact being straightforward and to the point is the way to go; you may think that there is an excuse but there's none whatsoever, keep that in mind when ending your seasons. Additionally, trying to be fancy with your shots and clever with your plots is only going to be your undoing, it just draws attention away from the characters and towards the style of the show which is not what a show is supposed to be about; sure, some of the best shows are clever but they weren't actively trying to be clever, it just naturally came to them in some form. Never force anything, let it come naturally, simple as that.

It is better then the first part but not by much, some characters do act better (especially Young), the action is more intense and Eli & Chloe is still the best plot out there but for a season finale, this is especially disappointing and it ends the season as it started, a whimper. Well it's off to Season 2 I guess...

5.0/10