'Faith' (113) General Discussion

[Ramses818]

Good thing about the episode though...we find out how long they have been on Destiny it is about 14 weeks. TJ tells Chloe that she is pregnant from just before they left Icarus base and she is about 15 weeks. So that is how long they have been out their. Now, at the end of the 4 week stay, she is closer to 18-19 weeks.
I would hate for it to be a time-line problem if they mess up the time that she is pregnant (if she actually has the kid).

But it is a good way to write in the actor's real life pregnancy.

[Kaiphantom]

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.

Really? Interesting, I didn't see that at all. In fact, since there were no spoken lines, we have to take it as fact that they didn't feel that way at all. It's one of the things other people in the forum have drilled into me: if we don't blatantly see or hear it on the show, it didn't happen, and there is obviously no subtext or anything like that going on.

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.

My just-as-valid opinion says that he supported her, she betrayed him, and is now being cold to him. And however upset at her Scott is, he's ultimately a guy with a weakness for the flesh, so he'll allow himself to be sucked back in, regardless of how things might end up. There is too much baggage between them now to make something work; and as you've noticed, they need to be apart in order to grow.

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.

I found it interesting that she didn't say anything about helping while on the ship, just a "I want to go" kind of thing. I wonder how she would have responded, if she was asked to dig the latrine?

I also found the subtext to hint more at still being attached to Scott, which is the reason she ultimately came back as well. Her motives were never explained, otherwise.

Interesting review overall, though.

[Commander Zelix]

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. 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!

Wow, the review was better than the episode itself.

Can you take some time to do another Earth and Life review please?

[jelgate]

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

Maybe the trees just fell after old age. Maybe this log is the origin of Rush's chess board

[xxxevilgrinxxx]

Sickeningly positive and long review ahead!


....

I love your positive review, and you've touched on so many things that I liked about the episode as well!

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'll cheer too! Let me find my pom poms!

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.

I have a funny thought that, not soon after they left that planet, that it simply winked out of existence. That it offered what was needed to whomever needed it. That the science fictiony obelisk etc isn't something that was meant to be deciphered but that it just offered itself up to the scientists that needed that to be complete.
You had a Kino shot of them all on the planet. I think the Destiny herself was watching, and offered them what they wanted, when they needed it. When they didn't need it anymore? I think that planet disappears.

[Commander Zelix]

I have a funny thought that, not soon after they left that planet, that it simply winked out of existence. That it offered what was needed to whomever needed it. That the science fictiony obelisk etc isn't something that was meant to be deciphered but that it just offered itself up to the scientists that needed that to be complete.
You had a Kino shot of them all on the planet. I think the Destiny herself was watching, and offered them what they wanted, when they needed it. When they didn't need it anymore? I think that planet disappears.

Sure, its called a plot device.

[jelgate]

I have a funny thought that, not soon after they left that planet, that it simply winked out of existence. That it offered what was needed to whomever needed it. That the science fictiony obelisk etc isn't something that was meant to be deciphered but that it just offered itself up to the scientists that needed that to be complete.
You had a Kino shot of them all on the planet. I think the Destiny herself was watching, and offered them what they wanted, when they needed it. When they didn't need it anymore? I think that planet disappears.

And what drove you to that theory? You can't just make something disappear

[xxxevilgrinxxx]

And what drove you to that theory? You can't just make something disappear

the planet itself simply appeared in the first place, so why not disappear?

[jelgate]

the planet itself simply appeared in the first place, so why not disappear?

It couldn't just appear. Something had to create those things.

[xxxevilgrinxxx]

It couldn't just appear. Something had to create those things.

of course something did, just thinking that the same thing that created it could just as easily wink it out of existence
In any case, it's just bits of wondering from my brain, nothing to worry about

[Commander Zelix]

And what drove you to that theory? You can't just make something disappear

Maybe with some very advanced large scale transporter technology. A moving super gate could work.

Stealth technology could work too.

[jelgate]

Maybe with some very advanced large scale transporter technology. A moving super gate could work.

Stealth technology could work too.

Something like that would put off a lot energy.

[s09119]

Something like that would put off a lot energy.

Would it? We're working with human-level physics and their laws, after all. Who's to say a race this advanced hasn't discovered a whole new reality of laws and constants that work entirely differently?

[MrVivi]

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!

and all of that, that you say happened means squat as it is now, but as long as they can run home to mommy and cry some will call it a great plot twists and dramatic moments.

[garhkal]

And half the members here probably watched soaps at some point in there lives....

When i lived in england as a lass, i watched Neighbours, corronation street and sometimes, crossroads motel.

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

I didn't even think of that aspect to why Wray took a liking to him,

Something like that would put off a lot energy.

The stealthed cities of the Nox didn't put off energy. Neither did the oblesks in SG1 where merlin had his stuff.