'Human' (114) General Discussion

[Briangate78]

Epically awesome that develops into the psychie of Scott and Wray?

The problem is, I am not that interested in those characters, not even Chloe. I am actually even looking forward to Greer's past because he is an interesting character to me. Sorry to say, but to me Chloe and Scott are the weakest links in the show. Wray is good, but she does not stand on her own like the other character do.

[jsonitsac]

I really liked this episode, a lot. It reminded me of SG-1's "The Changeling," especially Daniel's role. Hopefully, we'll see a reformed Rush, more accepting of his wife's passing, and over all a nicer guy. The off-ship scenes were pretty cool, and did anybody else get a Shepard/McKay or Jack/Daniel vibe with Eli and Scott? Still, one could make some parallels to the SG-1 team with those four, only its leader isn't sure of himself as Jack, the woman isn't anywhere near as amazing as Carter, Eli isn't as competent or confidant as Daniel, and Greer is more bad a$$ than Teal'c.

[any_gopher]

Did anyone else notice when "Dr. Jackson" said to Rush that their contact in the Lucian Alliance provided them with the location of the Icarus-type planet? Seems like there is more to the Icarus Project than we are currently aware of.

[Fridgefiend]

Did anyone else notice when "Dr. Jackson" said to Rush that their contact in the Lucian Alliance provided them with the location of the Icarus-type planet? Seems like there is more to the Icarus Project than we are currently aware of.

Which seems odd to me considering how surprised they were when they got attacked.

[jelgate]

Which seems odd to me considering how surprised they were when they got attacked.

It was a spy withing the Lucian Alliance. Probably a little insight into why the Lucian Alliance attacked and how they found out about it in the first place.

[Fridgefiend]

It was a spy withing the Lucian Alliance. Probably a little insight into why the Lucian Alliance attacked and how they found out about it in the first place.

That's why i find it odd that they were so surprised they got attacked. You would think they'd have been watching for something like this considering where they got the intel on the planet.

[Rykel]

The Icarus base was pretty well fortified (Turrents and shields) so it's not like they weren't expecting no one to attack ever. It was just that they were not expecting it right at that moment so in a sense they were and weren't surprised by the attack.

[xxxevilgrinxxx]

wow!

Rush: I wanted to really belt Rush with a big heavy book, right upside the head. Okay, so it's a dream state but still! I love that it's his wife's impending death, and that weird defective gene that isn't repairing things right

Spoiler:

anyone else thinking robot? the Super Roomba From Outer Space!

comes when he finally comes face to face with what he's been avoiding - that he WASN'T there when it happened. I also liked knowing that he wasn't always what he is now, and that his wife didn't like what he's become. Considering its all him, all Rush, it's interesting that Rush (through Jackson) is mentioning contacts in the Lucian Alliance. One thing that really stood out for me though was how he sees Eli. I hadn't considered that Rush would consider himself Salieri to Eli's Mozart. It makes me wonder what Eli's mind would do with that chair. It also makes the whole music theme kind of neat

Onward...
Young: I believe Young really cared about Rush's fate in that chair. He's have pulled him out if he safely could, I think, but there was just no certainty about it. Young's "son" to Scott, taken after last episode where he calls him Matthew really choked me up a little.

Chloe and Eli: I loved their conversation when they were trying to convince Young to let her go. Nerd moment indeed! I do like that she's been reading up on stuff, making herself more valuable. The spider, gah! That was scary but it was phony having to phone that in, that the girl got scared by a spider.

Greer: I really didn't see that coming, that fear. And yet, he sucked it up and went down there with him, despite his fear and despite saying he would stay up top.

The scene with them walking across the field was just iconic Stargate for me

Anyway, way more brain burning excitement from me, and I haven't even read any other posts here, but I can't wait to hear what everyone else thinks!

[jelgate]

That's why i find it odd that they were so surprised they got attacked. You would think they'd have been watching for something like this considering where they got the intel on the planet.

Space is quite vast. You have to imagine the possibility of them finding Tauri in a unpopulated planet in the galaxy. Its something like 1 in a billion

[timebandit]

that spider was hUUge ....

I dunno why but I love it when rush yells "GET OUT!"

....awesomeness....

[Daro]

I too was very upset with Rush, even though I know that he was dreaming. I realize he wasn't that detatched in the real events of Gloria's death, but he was to some extent. What he said about his wife dying, and how he got into the Stargate program, and how Eli invalidated all the suffering he'd gone through by solving the problem easily and quickly is very revealing. I pitied Rush a lot in this episode, especially toward the end. But not a fraction as much as I pity his wife. I like it that he's imagining what she would say to him about what he's become. It gives some hope for him to become more 'human' from this point out.

As for the side story of Chloe, Scott, Eli, and Greer, I wasn't very interested in it. I could see exactly what was going to happen, and that we had a two-parter on our hands. I did like the part where Eli jokes with Greer about being scared, and Greer overreacts. I like the brief flashbacks. I am not nearly as interested in his history as I am Rush's, or Young's, but still. It'll be good to find out, hopefully, in episodes to come.

I was a little shocked about the spy in the Lucian Alliance. No wonder Icarus base was attacked; after all, it sort of seems like SGC might have stolen it right from under their noses. Another hint of moral shades of grey to come.

Great episode, can't wait until next week's.

[_SocraticMethod]

Hmmmm, this episode was pretty good. I won't say I *loved* it (it was a bit disappointing coming after a brilliant episode like "Faith"...), but I certainly enjoyed it. (Then again, for me all of "Justice" through "Faith" were GOLD, so it is tough for this ep to measure up.)

Someone probably mentioned this already, but the Rush/Daniel scenes really reminded me of "Changeling" from SG-1. Daniel was there for Jack too, in "Abyss"... he's just perfect for that sort of thing, isn't he?

I'm very glad that we got to see a human side to Rush; I think the line about him having "died" with his wife was extremely important. I certainly saw him as predominantly an antagonist so far, but now I'm rather ambivalent on this. To me, this makes Rush a more interesting character.

Okay, did anyone else find it improbable that Young would send Scott, Greer, Eli and Chloe down as an 'away team'? No objection to sending them in particular, just to not sending anyone else. I mean, especially with the signs of civilization present, one would think that Young would send a couple seasoned scientists down with them.

Speaking of Chloe, I am still waiting for something more out of her. She still feels like the wallpaper/damsel-in-distress. Honestly, the spider web scene was ridiculous. While she did make a valid point about advanced cultures 'feigning' primitiveness, I think her prospects as quasi-anthropologist are dubious at best. To me, this would strain credulity, so I hope that's not the plan.

Now then, I have a question about the C4 - how much did they use?! That was a bloody big chunk of earth that caved in!! Maybe the vis-effects were deceiving, but the area of the collapse looked massive!

Finally, I loved the slight shift in the Rush/Young dynamic last week; this week we seemed to return to what we had before. Frankly, this old dynamic is a tired one. It's stale. I'm not saying I want to see Rush and Young hob-knobbing over chess and sweet potatoes (), but I enjoyed the subtle changes and I'd like to see more than:
Young: What are you doing, Rush?
Rush: Finding the answer to everything.
Young: How soon will you have the answer?
Rush: Do you have any idea how complicated this is, Colonel?

Oh, one last thing... the little tid-bit about the Lucian Alliance was great! I'm glad that got brought back in from the pilot, and I'm definitely looking forward to finding out more about that side of the story.

Those are just a few of my thoughts on "Human"... pretty middle-of-the-road episode for me. Not outstanding, but not unpleasant, either.

[jelgate]

Jelgate's Two Cents

Human was and is a Rush episode. So as you might imagine I hated the episode. I kid of course. Human gave us what Stargate Universe is really good at. Massive characterization mixed in with action. And with the big question mark of who is Dr. Rush this was refreshing. I feel like I learned a lot about this character this week. And while I am no closer to sympathizing with Rush then I was a few weeks I am closer to understanding why he does what he does. But I am getting ahead of myself once again. Lets a enter a most dangerous place. I am of course talking about Rush’s subconscious.

If I wasn’t a spoiler man the opening teaser would have confused. They made the opening scene quite confusing because they showed Rush on Earth. But like the rest of the episode the beginning teaser points to what I think is a very important aspect we must consider about Rush. His own wife was dying and he buried himself in his work instead of being with the woman he married. Surely that is significant in to who Rush is. All those personal problems and he chooses to do work instead of being with his wife as she died. At first I thought it was just him reliving past events through dreams but when we learn that Rush is aware that this is just a retelling of his wife’s death it made me wonder was he just ignoring because he knew it wasn’t real. Then I think maybe both are true. Given what we know about Rush I can imagine that the first time Gloria died he did bury himself in his work to grieve. It makes sense really. He wouldn’t the first person to find a “hobby” as he grieves. But t the same time since Rush is complicit of the fantasy aspect he distance himself more then the original time. Because in reality of the present nothing is more important to Rush then breaking the code of the Destiny.

Let’s switch gears to reality. And by reality I mean the Destiny. Don’t worry you won’t hear what I had for breakfast. But I liked the opening scene with Eli and Chloe. Like I said in the Faith review I wanted to see Eli and Scott be on tough terms with Chloe given her “betrayal” in Divided. We saw that in Faith with Scott but those two had months to get on speaking terms. Eli did not have that luxury. So I really like how cold Eli is too Chloe. He is still friends with her but they defiantly not on the best speaking terms. Very interesting in my view. Speaking of Chloe I wonder how truthful that is she has been studying archeology notes. It defiantly would make her seem more useful but at the same time it looked like she was throwing words into there.

I admit I am having a hard time reviewing Rush’s hallucination since most of him is isolating himself in his work as Gloria dies. And as I have mentioned that above it seems pointless to continue mentioning my thoughts about Rush obsessing over his work as he watches Gloria die. So it seems wise next to mention Rush in the lecture hall with Daniel. And let me just say if a professor yelled at me like that for no reason I probably would have filled a complaint with the dean. Anyway the scene where Rush admits that Eli is smarter then him points to a few things. Well first it shows the limit to Rush’s arrogance but more importantly I think it points to guilt. Just look how Rush phrases unlocking the 9th chevron while his wife is dying. I think Rush generally guilty that he isolated himself from Gloria when she was dying. And not because he was unable to solve it but because of the pain he caused her on her deathbed. Not to mention how he was unable to spend the last hours with his loved one because he was so overshadowed by emotion. I think what happened to Gloria is a huge impact into why Rush is the sociopath we know in the present.

Now back to the ruins planet. I find it really hard to swallow that Eli lost the KINO. Yes I understand that it’s a maze down there but you would think those things left a flight plan or something. It’s just a little hard to digest as a reason to go down into the ruins. Speaking of the ruins I am rather curious what closed spaces have to make Greer so scared. It shall be an interesting dynamic to explore. Again speaking of Greer I love how he calmly tells Chloe to stop moving when he shoots the spider. It’s like he knows how it going down. But that most be some weak structure to cause a section of the ruins to collapse. Yes I know it was needed for the plot of the story but it was somewhat hard to swallow.

Young sending a rescue to team to rescue Scott’s team was predictable but I’ll excuse it since its standard military procedure. But that must have been one big cave in to have James and her team work for an hour and have to resort to C4. It was obvious that C4 was already not going to work given how weak the structure was in the first place. I am more then a little surprised that Scott didn’t say anything or the structure didn’t come crashing down. They might not be dating/sleeping anymore but you I think you can see caring between James and Scott when he ordered her to return to the gate. I can see sadness in both of them when the order was given. I thought it was a really good moment.

To Rush and his 46 observations, First of all I woke up the neighbors when I laughed at Daniel’s 42 joke. Second I quite liked how cryptic it was. We knew it had to be significant to the Destiny’s code but at the same time given how the code had stumped Rush I kind of think should have been cryptic for a little longer. But more on that later. Its time to talk about Gloria’s dying speech or more specifically Rush’s speech to himself. I am talking in particular how Gloria talks about how sadden she is that Rush has done some of the things he has done to get where is now in the present. That speaks to me that as this is Rush’s subconscious we are talking about. It shows that deep down even when Rush is doing those borderline immoral actions that deep down he knows its wrong That and many other things in this episode speak to me about Rush. While it doesn’t excuse his actions it makes me understand them a little bit more.

And now this review comes to an end. And it’s kind of bittersweet. On one end I like the part of Scott’s time being left behind and seeing how said event will unfold in Lost. On the other hand I am disappointed that the 46 clue in relation to DNA was discovered so quickly. It leaves a sore taste in the mouth that we were able to find to figure it out the clue. Yes given the size of DNA (and its big) it will take a long time to figure out the master code I was just disappointed that Rush found it out so easily

[xxxevilgrinxxx]

...............
To Rush and his 46 observations, First of all I woke up the neighbors when I laughed at Daniel’s 42 joke. Second I quite liked how cryptic it was......................

LOL! I'm really glad I'm not the only one that cackled like a crazy lady at that!

[s09119]

Jelgate's Two Cents

Human was and is a Rush episode. So as you might imagine I hated the episode. I kid of course. Human gave us what Stargate Universe is really good at. Massive characterization mixed in with action. And with the big question mark of who is Dr. Rush this was refreshing. I feel like I learned a lot about this character this week. And while I am no closer to sympathizing with Rush then I was a few weeks I am closer to understanding why he does what he does. But I am getting ahead of myself once again. Lets a enter a most dangerous place. I am of course talking about Rush’s subconscious.

If I wasn’t a spoiler man the opening teaser would have confused. They made the opening scene quite confusing because they showed Rush on Earth. But like the rest of the episode the beginning teaser points to what I think is a very important aspect we must consider about Rush. His own wife was dying and he buried himself in his work instead of being with the woman he married. Surely that is significant in to who Rush is. All those personal problems and he chooses to do work instead of being with his wife as she died. At first I thought it was just him reliving past events through dreams but when we learn that Rush is aware that this is just a retelling of his wife’s death it made me wonder was he just ignoring because he knew it wasn’t real. Then I think maybe both are true. Given what we know about Rush I can imagine that the first time Gloria died he did bury himself in his work to grieve. It makes sense really. He wouldn’t the first person to find a “hobby” as he grieves. But t the same time since Rush is complicit of the fantasy aspect he distance himself more then the original time. Because in reality of the present nothing is more important to Rush then breaking the code of the Destiny.

Let’s switch gears to reality. And by reality I mean the Destiny. Don’t worry you won’t hear what I had for breakfast. But I liked the opening scene with Eli and Chloe. Like I said in the Faith review I wanted to see Eli and Scott be on tough terms with Chloe given her “betrayal” in Divided. We saw that in Faith with Scott but those two had months to get on speaking terms. Eli did not have that luxury. So I really like how cold Eli is too Chloe. He is still friends with her but they defiantly not on the best speaking terms. Very interesting in my view. Speaking of Chloe I wonder how truthful that is she has been studying archeology notes. It defiantly would make her seem more useful but at the same time it looked like she was throwing words into there.

I admit I am having a hard time reviewing Rush’s hallucination since most of him is isolating himself in his work as Gloria dies. And as I have mentioned that above it seems pointless to continue mentioning my thoughts about Rush obsessing over his work as he watches Gloria die. So it seems wise next to mention Rush in the lecture hall with Daniel. And let me just say if a professor yelled at me like that for no reason I probably would have filled a complaint with the dean. Anyway the scene where Rush admits that Eli is smarter then him points to a few things. Well first it shows the limit to Rush’s arrogance but more importantly I think it points to guilt. Just look how Rush phrases unlocking the 9th chevron while his wife is dying. I think Rush generally guilty that he isolated himself from Gloria when she was dying. And not because he was unable to solve it but because of the pain he caused her on her deathbed. Not to mention how he was unable to spend the last hours with his loved one because he was so overshadowed by emotion. I think what happened to Gloria is a huge impact into why Rush is the sociopath we know in the present.

Now back to the ruins planet. I find it really hard to swallow that Eli lost the KINO. Yes I understand that it’s a maze down there but you would think those things left a flight plan or something. It’s just a little hard to digest as a reason to go down into the ruins. Speaking of the ruins I am rather curious what closed spaces have to make Greer so scared. It shall be an interesting dynamic to explore. Again speaking of Greer I love how he calmly tells Chloe to stop moving when he shoots the spider. It’s like he knows how it going down. But that most be some weak structure to cause a section of the ruins to collapse. Yes I know it was needed for the plot of the story but it was somewhat hard to swallow.

Young sending a rescue to team to rescue Scott’s team was predictable but I’ll excuse it since its standard military procedure. But that must have been one big cave in to have James and her team work for an hour and have to resort to C4. It was obvious that C4 was already not going to work given how weak the structure was in the first place. I am more then a little surprised that Scott didn’t say anything or the structure didn’t come crashing down. They might not be dating/sleeping anymore but you I think you can see caring between James and Scott when he ordered her to return to the gate. I can see sadness in both of them when the order was given. I thought it was a really good moment.

To Rush and his 46 observations, First of all I woke up the neighbors when I laughed at Daniel’s 42 joke. Second I quite liked how cryptic it was. We knew it had to be significant to the Destiny’s code but at the same time given how the code had stumped Rush I kind of think should have been cryptic for a little longer. But more on that later. Its time to talk about Gloria’s dying speech or more specifically Rush’s speech to himself. I am talking in particular how Gloria talks about how sadden she is that Rush has done some of the things he has done to get where is now in the present. That speaks to me that as this is Rush’s subconscious we are talking about. It shows that deep down even when Rush is doing those borderline immoral actions that deep down he knows its wrong That and many other things in this episode speak to me about Rush. While it doesn’t excuse his actions it makes me understand them a little bit more.

And now this review comes to an end. And it’s kind of bittersweet. On one end I like the part of Scott’s time being left behind and seeing how said event will unfold in Lost. On the other hand I am disappointed that the 46 clue in relation to DNA was discovered so quickly. It leaves a sore taste in the mouth that we were able to find to figure it out the clue. Yes given the size of DNA (and its big) it will take a long time to figure out the master code I was just disappointed that Rush found it out so easily

The DNA clue seemed really forced, to be honest. Like they couldn't think of a better way to connect the mystery part to the answer, so they just through the answer in. I mean, "Why 46?" and Daniel immediately going "Well 46 divided by 2 is 23! And that's the 23 enigma!" Come on, no one would ever instantly make that connection.

Anyway, I like your point about the manufactured reason to go into the caves, since it bothered me, too. In "Divided," Eli reveals that the kino records its flight plan, accurately enough that he can feed the track into a shuttle and have it automatically trace the path.

Lastly, you need to remember that none of Rush's interactions with Gloria/Daniel/the class actually happened as we saw them. This was a warped view of reality because Rush was changing things with his focus on solving the command code problem.