'Faith' (113) General Discussion

[EllieVee]

I expect

Spoiler:

Human will have Franklin in it.

[Excali5033]

Decent, if somewhat predictable. However what sticks out in my mind most is OLDEST. A1C. IN. HISTORY.

[g.o.d]

It felt like a SG-1 episode, but because of that, it felt dissapointing that they did not try to decipher or do what Daniel did. So it was like you were expecting something to happen with this discovery but then nothing happened. It set up like Stargate and even though it did go into character focus, that also fell short even for a SGU kinda episode. It is like hitting the warning track in a baseball game and only getting a single instead of a Homerun. lol.

it wouldn't make any sense if they would manage to decypher an unknown obelisk. Given the fact, they're on the "other side" of the Universe, I don't see how they could decypher it. In SG-1/SGA almost everything was based on Ancient or Goa'uld language, so it was quite easy to use an alien technology (to be fair, it was sometimes absurd), but here? No way.

[Shan Bruce Lee]

Episode starts and i find out about a star that apparently somebody made, so i think "U something cool is gonna happen" but of course nothing does, they just land on the planet, hold hands and run around like idiot children. ( Ya thats what hungry, desperate and always in danger people do, very realistic and dramatic must be nice to live in that world).

Then they find that obelisk thing and again i go "U this must be the time something good happens " but off-course nothing does, then the damn obelisk starts to shoot beam of light into the sky and again i go "U something real good is gonna happen" and once again nothing does. After that we have credits and the end, episode over and apparently i spent 45 min. watching nothing i would have more interesting time watching the test signal.

Oh yes what is it with that baby thing i mean besides rising the soap opera element another notch or two not that it can go much higher i mean they are now at Santa Barbara level.

Did someone mention that a good SF drama is what people wont to watch these days did you actually see how long those shows last and if SGU ratings are any indication this show is on a fast track to doomsville.

So what you're saying is "something happened and then nothing happened until something happened and then nothing happened until something else happened"

I completely agree... and all the stuff you mentioned happening was AWESOME!

[PG15]

Sickeningly positive and long review ahead!

Anyways, Faith was a fascinating episode! It didn't have the excitement and tension found in Space and Divided, but it made up for it with its cerebral storytelling.

The episode was in essence a metaphor for how people handle their faith. Instead of a promise of an eternal paradise that religion gives the peoples of the real world, the "paradise" is made real for the crew of the Destiny, and it's up to them to decide whether to embrace it, or be critical of it.

We have people like Dr. Caine who entirely embraced the idea that there is meaning here beyond the reality of a star and a planet that's formed too quickly, and that a higher power is involved. After the hellish weeks on Destiny, the sharp difference in environment seems to have swept him up.

Then you have the opposite side of the coin, as with the scientist with the red hair. He questions this "higher power" idea and points out that this isn't necessarily a paradise at all, but a very real planet that could have "mood swings" if it wants to.

And then you have others, like TJ, who just sees the planet as a better place than Destiny, and that that's all it is - but that's not selling it short either. The planet is great, so why not stay?

It is a great parallel of the theist, the atheist, and the pragmatist we all meet in the real world, all made possible through a Sci-fi setting. Furthermore, the fact that we never found out what the truth was fits perfectly with how faith works in real life. That is some masterful storytelling right there!

I also loved how the montage served to highlight this, with its juxtaposition of the scenes on the planet and the scenes on the ship. On the planet, the sky was clear, the sun was shining, the air was clean, and everyone had fun enjoying themslves. Meanwhile, on the ship, it was work-work-work, and everything was dark and dank; a great contrast between heaven and hell, so to speak. Or, perhaps Destiny is just reality (to keep to the metaphor of Destiny being our daily lives, and the planet being paradise), and hell is something much much worse.

So, apart from all that scifi goodness, we also had good ole' SGU character development and interactions. There were several that comes to mind.

First of all, TJ. My goodness. Not only was Alaina Huffman's performance incredible in this episode, but she was absolutely stunning with her hair down like that. What can I say; I am a guy after all. I loved the few moments where she reminisced about her childhood - especially the mention of the Olympic Peninsula. I've been there a few times and it is truly a beautiful place.

That little smile she wore when she found the last piece of her memory puzzle - the waterfall - was heartwarming. Then, later on, it became heartbreaking as she struggled with her decision to stay. Her conviction to stay for the betterment of her child was very moving and her strength at that moment shone right through (though it could've also been the baby glow ). I've gotta admit, I've always liked TJ, but never thought she was that interesting (it might have had something to do with her lack of screentime) - until now. Her character just jumped quite a few levels in interest for me. Not only did we get a revelation about her, but we also saw her in a bad place - she was pushed to her limits personally and it's always good to see characters like that.

At the end though, TJ chose to stay on the Destiny in order to fulfill her function as CMO. This was a noble decision, but I think she made it knowing that people such as Scott will not let her baby be harmed in anyway if they can help it.

Speaking of Scott, he also gained a few levels in Awesomeness. Not only did he do well ordering people around down on the planet, he also showed a sense of honor and leadership by choosing to go against Young just so he can protect the people on the planet when they decided to stay. When one realizes that this means he will never see his son again, it adds an extra layer of nobility to his actions. Good stuff.

At the same time, when TJ told him he was pregnant, he seemed to be momentarily speechless; he almost had a "deer-in-a-headlights" look to him during that revelation; it just shows that he's not quite the stoic leader Young is (yet?), and that he still lets his emotions rule him at times. It's a flaw, but flaws are usually good in TV land.

And then there was his scene with TJ in the shuttle. Wonderful scene. The two actors have great chemistry, and it was great to see Scott caring so much for TJ in her time of need. I think this has everything to do with Scott's past - especially with that look he gave some ways into that scene - I saw how the memories of his past instantly erupted back into the front parts of his mind. This time he is not going to make the same mistake and abandon the pregnant girl, even if he wasn't responsible for it this time. He is going to make amends.

Now that I think about it, perhaps Scott stayed not only to protect them all, but to especially protect TJ and her child.

And perhaps Chloe as well. The coldness between her and Scott was obvious and pretty much every scene between them was awkward as hell, which is good. The shot of Scott and Chloe in the pond in the montage was very telling - there's a bit of mutual "I really want to work this out" thing going on there, and I think it added significant depth to the relationship. Then again, we also saw frustration - I thought Scott's "Have you forgotten what those aliens did to you the last time we met them?" line was a bit harsh, and Chloe seemed stung by it. Not surprising, considering Scott has been one of her emotional pillars in the show. It will definitely take some time for them to get back to normal, if it happens at all.

I think this relationship could suffer a few more tests before they break it off - but ends up getting back together near the end. This way, it allows the characters to grow while apart from each other, but also doesn't remove the obvious emotional bond between them. Also, I just like to see those "soulmate" relationships in shows where they get together in the end no matter what happens to test them. What can I say, I'm a guy AND a romantic. A lethal combination.

Speaking of Chloe - she didn't get that much screentime, but what she had was good. I liked how she tried to ask for work when she didn't get assigned to a team, and how she helped TJ when she got sick. What I really liked though, was how she stood up for her beliefs once again in her defence of the people who wanted to stay. I love this aspect of her character; she is uncompromising on the value of a human life and the free will that is a right of every one of those lives.

One relationship that came out of nowhere for me was Wray and Eli. I was wondering what was going on there until I had 2 revelations: 1). Eli usually hangs out with Chloe, Scott, and Greer, but they're gone. I doubt he wants to hang out with Rush or Young at the moment, so that leaves Wray. He also tried to get away before being caught. Also, 2). Wray now understands the importance of Eli to the "cold war" that is serving as an undercurrent between her, Rush, and Young, and if she can manipulate Eli into being on her side, then there is more power to her.

Then again, maybe she just wants to be friends with him and no manipulation is involved. It's just so hard to tell with this show, which is Awesome!

Speaking of Awesome, I think it's about time we tell the Dictionary people to list "Greer" as a synonym of it. Seriously, not only does Jamil do masterful work with every line he's given, every line he's given is a masterful work! Haha! You see what I did there? Anyway, I loved his moments in this episode. His "You are both going to dig, and you're both going to love it" speech; definitely a highlight. There was also the bit at the end with him siding with Young right away - not unexpected, but it raises 2 questions:

1. Now that he's seen how Scott and TJ go against Young, how will he feel about them?

2. What will it take for him to be disloyal to Young?

Interesting questions that I hope TPTB will explore somewhere down the line. Scott and TJ are definitely less loyal to Young than Greer is (consider the scene in Air II where Young wanted to sacrifice himself). On the other hand, Greer seemed to go with Scott against Young just fine in "Space" - does this mean that the one thing that will make Greer be disloyal is the issue of sacrificing lives? We saw how Greer was broken up inside when he saw all those lives he lost in "Time", after all. Another interesting idea to think about, IMHO.

Ahhhh! I love how consistent these characters are! LOVE IT!

Also loved the Brody-Park team up. Hilarious! Brody continues his pessimism shown in "Darkness", and no doubt Park is so optimistic all the time thanks to her little book club.

Finally, we have the seeds of a Young-Rush-Wray leadership council. Seeing them discussing the issue together without any significant shouting matches was refreshing, and it was nice seeing them all calming down a bit and realizing that they HAVE to work together, or else. Young's efforts in being nice to Rush really made him likeable again after the bad things he did in the last few episodes (during which he wasn't very likeable, but extremely interesting - which luckily he still is). It was pretty funny seeing Rush being all shocked at Young's new attitude.

The "I like chess" line is going to be important, I think.

One last thing: the CGI in the episode was FANTASTIC. It goes without saying that it looked realistic, but it was also just *beautiful*, especially the shots of the Destiny in front of the star, and that one shot of the shuttle cruising amongst the clouds of the planet. I literally shouted out "Wow!" when I saw that shot. Incredible.

One nitpick though: when the shuttle first landed on the planet, the grass and weeds beneath it didn't move at all; I thought that was kind of odd.

So anyway, I think that's all I got (cue the reader breathing a sigh of relief). It was a great episode, and it made me think quite a bit. Denis the Freelancer did a pretty good job!

[EllieVee]

Nice review, PG.

[morjana]

Also loved the Brody-Park team up. Hilarious! Brody continues his pessimism shown in "Darkness", and no doubt Park is so optimistic all the time thanks to her little book club.
!

Snort! Oh my gosh...I think I woke up the neighbors with that laugh.

Excellent review, PG15! Thank you!

[MattSilver 3k]

PG do not ever apologise for being sickening positive. It makes me all sickeningly glow-y inside with sickly joy. Give me a P!

P!

Give me an ositivity!

ositivity!

Positivity!

[EllieVee]

PG do not ever apologise for being sickening positive. It makes me all sickeningly glow-y inside with sickly joy. Give me a P!

P!

Give me an ositivity!

ositivity!

Positivity!

I don't want to sound negative but I don't think that quite works as a rah rah chant.

[MattSilver 3k]

I don't want to sound negative but I don't think that quite works as a rah rah chant.

I don't mean to sound negative, but you're a grade A buzzkill.

[Eternal Density]

This was a pretty fun ep. Not action packed like the last couple but still plenty happening arc-wise and lots of juicy character stuff. Plus use of the shuttles and some visuals of flying around the sun!
The planet sure looked great, especially the waterfall, which I want to name "TJ's waterfall". As for TJ herself, she should let her hair down more often. Seriously, she was glowing!
This is the third time people have been left behind. The second time was Rush and he's already back, so it'll be interesting to see whether we hear from any of the others ever again.
Greer was especially good - as always!

[EllieVee]

I don't mean to sound negative, but you're a grade A buzzkill.

Yep.

[Colonel Chris]

When i was watching this episode i noticed that when Chloe was talking to TJ when they arrived on the planet it looked to me like they were sitting on some cut down logs, but what i don't get is, they were there for at least five maybe ten minutes, how could those logs have got there

[SG-Chris]

First post here, So first of all hi all, nice to be among my fellow fans.

I think this episode was very good. Not as good as some this season though. I personaly think that we will not see this planet again, i would like to be proved wrong as it would be cool to see the aliens that are clearly advanced, but i think this episode was to put across the point that its a big ol' universe out there and from time to time the crew of the destiny are going to come across things that they are going to want to stay and study. The problem with this is that they never have much time, as before they can scratch the surface its time to go back into FTL. I think Col. Young summed this up well at the episode when he said to Rush that hes sorry he didnt get his wish, and meet the aliens. Rush knows that this is not the last time that his "wishes" will not come true.

As I said before its a big ol' universe.

[Ramses818]

Not my favorite episode.

The problem I have with this episode is that they set it up for something big. They set up the Destiny dropping out of FTL at some unknown place and finding a "man-made" star and planet. When they go down there they find some sort of alien tech. But there is no climax to the episode. There isn't even a love story going on. There's no finding out any information about the creators of the planet. The only issue that is brought up is to stay or leave. Big woop.

Back on Destiny, they go searching the ship and we don't see anything substantial they find.

Overall this episode gets a C grade.

In most shows this whole episode would have been a 10-15 minute segment not an entire episode.

And did they leave anyone or not.

And I don't think that Rush is playing his cards to make everyone hate Young again. It is a people and numbers issue. A) Young has a responsibility to get the people back to earth. B) If they are in for the long haul on Destiny every body manning a position helps. They can't let people leave everytime they find a resort town.