'Deliverance' (211) General Discussion

[Skiznot]

What I remember from the episode space was that folks were freaked out by the fact that the Blues sent a one word response "in english." This was an acknowledgement that that really would be strange. It was also in that episode that we learned the Blues had access to Rush for a while and had a way create a direct neural interface with his brain. If they have tech to directly read a brain then a translation matrix probably wouldn't be as tricky to work out.

[Lahela]

Rewatch number 3 and it just gets better and better. I love this show. Truly, madly, deeply.

[Browncoat1984]

My one complaint is with the Chloe resolution. While I'm glad that its over (or is it?) I expected something bigger or grander or more shocking to happen that the audience wouldn't expect or would maybe say "it would be cool if...but that would never happen." One idea I liked is the idea of Chloe being a sort of clone ala Bashir in DS9 when he was replaced with a changeling, or Chloe becoming part alien/part human...but oh well. This is a problem that Stargate has often suffered from when it comes to paying off plots, whether its villains or romance or just big character moments/changes like the thing with Chloe. The writers build it up and then when it reaches the climax it sort of fizzles. The whole McKay/Keller/Ronon thing is a great example. It's like they start working with it and then they're like "can't figure out where to take it so lets just end it now." As different as SGU is from Atlantis or SG-1, the weak resolution to the Chloe plot felt like something they would pull on us in either of the earlier shows...

...while I still LOVE SGU and say its the best show, I always felt that SGU would be it from this team as far as Stargate goes and that the next series would be a new team of writers, whether it had its full 5 year run or if it was canceled prematurely. MGM would be careful not to repeat the same mistakes that Paramount made with Star Trek, which is still fresh in the minds of many SF fans today (though I admit that Enterprise and Voyager hold up better if you watch them years after having not seen any Trek). In an interview, Rick Berman made a great statement about how he felt it was a bad idea going into Enterprise so soon after Voyager and I wish the Stargate people would have talked to him before going into SGU to learn "wait a bit."

[Lahela]

My one complaint is with the Chloe resolution. While I'm glad that its over (or is it?) I expected something bigger or grander or more shocking to happen that the audience wouldn't expect or would maybe say "it would be cool if...but that would never happen." One idea I liked is the idea of Chloe being a sort of clone ala Bashir in DS9 when he was replaced with a changeling, or Chloe becoming part alien/part human...but oh well. This is a problem that Stargate has often suffered from when it comes to paying off plots, whether its villains or romance or just big character moments/changes like the thing with Chloe. The writers build it up and then when it reaches the climax it sort of fizzles. The whole McKay/Keller/Ronon thing is a great example. It's like they start working with it and then they're like "can't figure out where to take it so lets just end it now." As different as SGU is from Atlantis or SG-1, the weak resolution to the Chloe plot felt like something they would pull on us in either of the earlier shows...

That precisely why I don't think it's done with. We've seen it so many times in SGU - it looks like something is finished and we've moved on, then all of a sudden we're back (Faith planet, TJ's baby thing, the sand aliens from Air in Water, the water from Water in Time...). I have faith in the writers not to truly give us such a tidy resolution

[ns2]

Was I the only that enjoyed the awesome background music esp when they were getting the Drone, brilliant

It's obvious from a writing point why they killed the Ursini; they wanted to get rid of the Seed ship aka power source needed to get home

[traylormatt]

After reading everyone chatting away, I am going to re-watch Deliverance RIGHT NOW! woohoo

[Giantevilhead]

Lense flares!!!!

That is all.

[The Destiny]

Was I the only that enjoyed the awesome background music esp when they were getting the Drone, brilliant

I did. I love the music in SGU. There's at least 1 good piece of music in every episode. For example the ending of visitation on the observation deck and kino recording gave me the chills but it was beautiful.

In Deliverance I liked the music when the blue aliens' ships came out of hyperspace ( it actually sounds pretty badass ) and right after that ( the music played on the bridge during their reaction to the blue aliens showing up ) , when they caught the drone, the ursini sacrifice and all the music of Scott bringing Chloe to the blue aliens.

[Kilgharrah]

Hi Everyone,
I'm new here at the forum. I thought I would start by giving my opinion about Deliverance.
Well, after I watched the episode. I guess I liked it, but I guess it's not what I was waiting for. I thought it would be better or something good to start 2.5 with.

One of the things I didn't like was that the Blueberries healed Chloe. That was not a good decision from the writers. IMO, they could have done something new with her new personality and body like a new arc maybe by making her a main villain with her sadness for her father as a main motive or she could have been a way to make the blueberries allies or a way to destroy them. That's why I would give this episode 3 out of 5 stars.

[Captain James]

Not a bad episode.
7 out of 10!

[garhkal]

There are always a few high points. Young is firmly in command and the crew appears to be behind his leadership, even the Telford/Rush/Wray contingent. It may not have been a command he wanted to take on, or one that he felt he could manage, but he appears to have finally accepted it and the crew have accepted him there.

Initially i was shocked he felt so natural in that chair, while rush hovered around, but it did seem to gel very well.

One of the seemingly larger changes is in Rush, and while the change appears to be abrupt, I believe it has more to do with his belief that everyone on board is on board for a reason. The notion of ‘destiny’ has seized him, even though his rational mind would have dismissed it out of hand previously. The change is nuanced – one of methods

Maybe the changes are cause he finally realises that his selfishness has concequences (Mandy and his wife) and has come to accept he can't stay that way..

and if Rush wants people to produce for him, he appears to have learned that there are ways to get people to do more. One of those ways is to treat them better. Treating them poorly certainly hasn’t worked. Not only has Eli noticed the change but he also notes the pragmatism, when Rush quips that it was the best way to get things done.

It is easier with the carrot than a stick!

I can’t help but feel a bit of dread for Rush, given this new outlook. He’s come a long way in terms of character development and now that he’s got that new outlook – not only on the crew but on all the things that have happened, including Young’s stranding him – I wonder if he will live long enough to see it through to the end? Is his arc complete? And what happens to him if it is?

Perhaps him coming this way IS what is needed to see the ship to its ultimate destiny?

The scientific and military teams worked seamlessly with each other in this episode. Park was delightful as always and her ability to accomplish a great deal of good with such cheer reminds me of Firefly’s Kaylee. Not a power in the ‘verse could keep Park down either.

It was refreshing to see them all hit their grove in working, even if some of it was futile (the shield emitters)..

Eli is developing into a fine, strong young man, more confident in his place.

WE can hope he is getting some of rush's assuredness in his abilities.

The whole McKay/Keller/Ronon thing is a great example. It's like they start working with it and then they're like "can't figure out where to take it so lets just end it now."

Who's to say they ended it..??

[Matt G]

1. OK, Chloe hasn't been taken over 'yet'.

2. Scratch the Ursini - ouch!

3. Chloe has been cured...yeah right!

4. So Eli is valued by Rush but I wonder how much Eli respect's Rush's attitude. Still, this was one of Rush's better eps!

Nice solid way to begin the final run in.

[maneth]

Wonderful episode! Loved the space battles.

[NowIWillDestroyAbydos]

Not as good as Resurgence, but still a good episode.

Score was awesome, visual effects were awesome (as always).

Tomorrow, our final time travel episode (sort of)

[Zombies Rise from the Sea]

Chloe's time to shine finally comes here, this is a result of her building up her hype episode after episode; the position she's placed herself in with her fear and lack of fear, her newfound abilities and vulnerabilities and most of all, her newfound importance. She definately takes the candor well, showing what it truly means to be in her position; to be faced with the eventuality of being given to the blue aliens, she doesn't know what they'll do and even the crew doesn't want to give her up but she does it, she reassures Scott even though she doesn't know what's coming. It's definitely something that puts the character on a high note, it's also something that shows various grey areas; if there's one thing this show does well, it's that it tests our perception of what we see.

The Blue Aliens turn out to be surprisingly good, I thought they were this enemy that was out to destroy them but here we see them helping Chloe out and saving the Destiny; they really must have some sort of honor going on, dignity that we can never hope to understand. It's one of the few bright spots of SGU, that alien civilizations aren't exactly good and evil and the motives can only be guessed upon, example being that the crew definitely is on edge in letting Chloe go; there's a sort of family bond to it but it's also obvious what they're thinking about. They're going to attack, they're going to take Chloe and kill her, they're up to no good and that thought definately relates to us upon the first viewing. It's an interesting social situation, we can't help but to judge things based on what we see and what we commonly believe and that common belief forms an essential part of society which provides an interesting question, are our guys better than our logic. The Ursini turn out to help the Destiny but I wasn't shocked about their mistrust mainly because I picked up the message that said "Attack the Main Ship" which few managed to actually notice thus furthering the gut belief. (They thought the Destiny could attack the ship and destroy it, they were wrong.)

Aside from that, the tensity that's supposed to be there isn't. This was like watching an episode of Star Trek, there's trouble, there's sparks but they're oddly calm and compelling about it; like they're ignoring the trouble around them just to command. While there is some action and "Siege" like tendencies, I was quite disappointed by the lack of intensity in the acting, an episode really needed people to step up and showcase the high stakes it has. This seems to be the episode where I noticed that they started playing up the mistrust angle a lot, and I mean a lot... It seemed like there were more scenes about them arguing about mistrust and forcing the grey area rather than scenes which showed the characters and which showed the mission; (throughout the entire series.) it has already been established that this isn't black vs. white, why force it down our throats even further?

But there is a bright spot in that it has those naturalistic life moments that I like; the more somber side of the characters comes out here and Rush proves that he isn't just a manipulating A-hole; if only there were more moments like that in the series, to me it makes the series stand out from the other Stargate shows.

[Matt G]

Midweek, another ep of SGU...

1. OK, I was wrong about Chloe.

2. Pity that was the end of the Urseni.

3. Interesting development in the Rush-Eli relationship, only guy Rush seems to have any respect for scientifically.

Well that's that problem dealt with...for now!

[Lieutenant Sparrow]

Pretty good ep.

In must say I'm very disappointed we didn't get to see the blues actually fight the drones. Budget constraints I suppose. They got there butts kicked though. Nice of them to lend a hand at least haha.

Eli coming up with a way to disable the drones was too easy. Came out of nowhere fast.

Destinys main weapon was cool this time. How it had that more powerful secondary fire.

Damn the command ships carry a lot of drones.

Well that's Chloe fixed.

Bye bye Ursini poor little guys.

I didn't think Destiny was going to make that jump for a second. Would have been an anti climatic end to the show.

[Krisz]

This one had more of an SGA feel to it. The relentless assault on Destiny reminded me of Wraith attack on Atlantis. Eli working out how the drone worked was worthy of one of McKay's miraculous efforts!

At least the blue aliens' helped, albeit for their own ends, by protecting Destiny and giving the humans a fighting chance. Nice touch with the remaining damaged alien ship blocking the shuttle's return to stop Destiny from leaving and forcing the exchange with the knowledge Chloe held. They certainly learnt about the human idea of not leaving a man behind and used that to their advantage.

Loved the 'alien probe' scene with Chloe, nice nod to the X-Files and all the 'stories' of what happens to those 'abducted' by aliens! It was good that the sense of mystery remained as far as the blue aliens were concerned.

Nice humorous moment with Rush saying nice unexpected positive things to Brody and Volker, being the best people for a job, only to get them out of his way to work on the probe with Eli.

Nice dramatic moment with taking the risk that Destiny's weakened sheilds would hold when they entered FTL, well acted by all on the bridge with the looks of apprehension!

[jelgate]

Thier is not a lot to say about this episode. It really goes through the motions of solving the drone issue that was presented in the previous episode. While entertaining their is nothing ground breaking or exciting. The last episode showed that drones are commanded by a command ship. So after we destroy the first command ship it was obvious to me that the "leftover" drones were going going to be used again in the episode. What was not obvious was the total genocide of Ursini. I figured the drones had attacked them but I did not see them killing all the Ursins. Kind of seeing the Ursini on the seed ship sacrificing themselves for Destiny kind of a cop out. It would have been nice to see these people struggle with being the last of their kind. Finally I was disappointed of the Chloe arc. This is not the writer's fault but more of a lack of a S3. We give Chloe to the Blues, they take her back, and return Chloe. What was the point of that? What were the Blues trying to accomplish? We never saw the motivation for the Blues experiment on Chloe. I wanted to see that and am disappointed we never saw S3 and the reasons for Chloe's expermentation.

[garhkal]

Perhaps they had captured her/converted her, to see if they could use her as a way for them to get on/control the destiny. BUT eventually realized that this method was for naught.