Did anyone else feel kinda bad for Spencer?

[Sgt Detritus]

Now that is a valid point. Or if they would have been too distracted by having it done back on earth, which would have sidetracked their thoughts and actions, then they should have had two psych guys come up to the ship, see the surroundings, get an idea of the circumstance these peole are in, and then evaluate them. Especially when they saw people like Spencer really falling apart, they could have ordered the brig and suicide watch till he went thru withdrawal. Instead Young gets to go home more than once and so does Chloe. Very unselfish of them wasn't it

It might just be me but as far as I can recall no-one apart from Young, Wray, Chloe and Eli have used the stones. I can accept the need for Young and Wray to use them but Chloe?? One of the times she used the stones she get's annoyed that her best friend has been getting it on with her boyfriend while conveniently forgetting that she has been doing the horizontal tango with Lt Scott.

If we had seen them use the stones to get a proper psych guy to talk to Spencer we might have gotten a better understanding of his actions but I guess the writers didn't want that as the audience might have started to feel sorry for him. However if we know next to nothing about his situation it may be that we are not supposed to miss him as none of the other people on Destiny did.

The fact that Spencer chose to have his quarters away from everyone else should have been a bit of a pointer that he was a few sandwiches short of a picnic

[Phenom]

The show is realistic.....except for all the logical things that would probably happen in real life but don't happen on the show, like the stones being used so a psych can get on board.

But back on topic...

No I don't feel sorry for Spencer. He took the easy way out and ended his life leaving no doubt as to what kind of person he was. Selfish.

[Lord Hurin]

I can accept the need for Young and Wray to use them but Chloe?? One of the times she used the stones she get's annoyed that her best friend has been getting it on with her boyfriend while conveniently forgetting that she has been doing the horizontal tango with Lt Scott.

In fairness though, the time you're referring to was when Young, Eli and Chloe were switched out for Telford and those two scientists. I got the impression that HWC ordered those people specifically because they didn't think they'd be able to help. Thus, Chloe gets a second turn with the stones.

Also, her getting mad at her BFF was understandable. Chloe and that dude had broken up, but him banging Chloe's bestie was the reason for that. I'd be pretty pissed too, even if I found out months later.

[Jill_Ion]

Yeah, I felt kinda bad for Spencer. The audience knew he was in trouble, but all the crew knew was he was being an ass and selfish (stealing food). I don't think much time (a day, a few days?) passed between Young keeping Spencer from beating up Franklin and Spencer killing himself.

I knew something bad was going to happen, but I didn't see suicide. Bummer.

[Daro]

Now that he's dead, I feel bad for him. As someone who has worked with mentally ill patients quite a bit, I watched him unravel knowing that something horrible would happen. But I'm not sorry he's dead, really. I'm relieved; I was sure that he'd hurt one of the characters I care about, especially Rush.

I don't agree that he took the coward's way out. He was sick, and when sick people don't get help, they are capable of just about anything. Normal, mentally stable people are losing it on Destiny. What hope could someone like Spencer have had?

T.J. should have recommended that Spencer be put under observation; ultimately, it's on Young. He knew Spencer was losing it and chose the "snap out of it" method. Which simply doesn't work for mentally ill people. Nor does violence. For once, I agreed with Wray when she demanded to know why Spencer was even allowed to have a gun.

[natyanayaki]

Now that he's dead, I feel bad for him. As someone who has worked with mentally ill patients quite a bit, I watched him unravel knowing that something horrible would happen. But I'm not sorry he's dead, really. I'm relieved; I was sure that he'd hurt one of the characters I care about, especially Rush.

I don't agree that he took the coward's way out. He was sick, and when sick people don't get help, they are capable of just about anything. Normal, mentally stable people are losing it on Destiny. What hope could someone like Spencer have had?

T.J. should have recommended that Spencer be put under observation; ultimately, it's on Young. He knew Spencer was losing it and chose the "snap out of it" method. Which simply doesn't work for mentally ill people. Nor does violence. For once, I agreed with Wray when she demanded to know why Spencer was even allowed to have a gun.

Thank you for this post, I agree with you completely and I to have some experience with mentally ill individuals, professional and personal. It's easy to judge someone who feels that they have no other options, especially if one hasn't felt that way, or hasn't known someone who has felt that way. We often condemn an ill, lost, lonely and scared individual who takes his/her own life as selfish, yet those of us who are refuse to understand their pain are also being selfish as well. Daro thank you again, green for you again (if I'm allowed to give you more green!).

Eta, I have to green other people before I green you...hmm...take some virtual, virtual green for now...

[Daro]

Thank you for this post, I agree with you completely and I to have some experience with mentally ill individuals, professional and personal. It's easy to judge someone who feels that they have no other options, especially if one hasn't felt that way, or hasn't known someone who has felt that way. We often condemn an ill, lost, lonely and scared individual who takes his/her own life as selfish, yet those of us who are refuse to understand their pain are also being selfish as well. Daro thank you again, green for you again (if I'm allowed to give you more green!).

Eta, I have to green other people before I green you...hmm...take some virtual, virtual green for now...

Lols, thanks for the double virtual green.

I have the same problem spreading reputation around. Sometimes it's hard to spread it around...

I think Spencer may be judged harshly for the same reason I did at first: he's a threat. Many dislike Rush for this reason. I think some folks are looking for the crew of the Destiny to somehow turn into the crews from SG-1 or SGA. Ya know, getting stuff done. I think it will take an outside threat other than the fight for survival v. nature.

One wonders if the people who attacked Icarus will show up again? A good, self-righteous fight against 'bad guys' does wonders for teamwork and morale! XD

[desertrat1979]

Here are my thoughts on spencer.

He is a soldier. He became part of a program that accepts you voluntarily. I could only imagine fighing battles in an interstellar backdrop can be stressful, but if you are doubting yourself, put in for re-assignment. Regretfully he became a liability by becoming narcotic-dependant. He was physically strong, mentally weak. Having hands available is a good thing. But it only works when the hands are helpful. He steals food, requires meds, he was a huge liability to everyone else. In a survival situation where multiple lives are a part of the picture, it only takes one person making bad decisions and others suffer, sometimes with their lives. It suck when a person dies, makes people feel helpless when its a suicide. But, in the end, what could he have contributed?

[The Mighty 6 platoon]

It might just be me but as far as I can recall no-one apart from Young, Wray, Chloe and Eli have used the stones. I can accept the need for Young and Wray to use them but Chloe?? One of the times she used the stones she get's annoyed that her best friend has been getting it on with her boyfriend while conveniently forgetting that she has been doing the horizontal tango with Lt Scott.

Actually Young tells O’Neill in Air part 3 that everyone on the Destiny should get to use the stones to possibly say their goodbyes. Then in Water at the end of the ep you see several people like Franklin that they didn’t use the stones that day. I think it’s pretty much implied that everyone gets to use the stones at least once but they haven’t had the time to show all the more minor characters.

[Daro]

Actually Young tells O’Neill in Air part 3 that everyone on the Destiny should get to use the stones to possibly say their goodbyes. Then in Water at the end of the ep you see several people like Franklin that they didn’t use the stones that day. I think it’s pretty much implied that everyone gets to use the stones at least once but they haven’t had the time to show all the more minor characters.

Did they ever mention if Rush used the stones (except in the pilot?)
I mean, I don't think he would have, most likely. I don't think he has anyone on Earth he'd go visit, especially not if it meant giving up time studying his Destiny.

Still, if they are going to use this plot device (which I don't particularly care for after they over-did it in "Life",) I'd love to see him use it eventually. Surely there is someone on Earth that he'd want to see.
It's not impossible to imagine he has a child (grown, of course) that he's estranged from. I had kind of thought that from the way he treats Chloe and Eli: he is a better version of himself when he tries to talk to them, very sympathetic.

[GateGipsy]

Good point Daro, I didn't think of that. I cannot imagine Rush with children though, not at all. Possibly before he framed Young I might have. But that incident was so childish and petty that it has made me reappraise the character entirely!

[Daro]

Good point Daro, I didn't think of that. I cannot imagine Rush with children though, not at all. Possibly before he framed Young I might have. But that incident was so childish and petty that it has made me reappraise the character entirely!

Ah, this is not the proper thread to debate Rush's character on, but if you want to go check out the "Did Rush do what Young thinks he did?" thread, we've come up with all sorts of stuff there. I am not convinced he's a bad guy; and parents can be childish and petty.

I agree with the poster who said that Spencer was, basically, too dangerous to live. It doesn't mean I don't feel sorry for him, but when everyone is fighting for survival, and you have someone like Spencer running around with a gun, causing trouble, something has to happen. I'm just glad he didn't take any other characters with him.

[GateGipsy]

Oooooh! Did you just mod me for being OT!!! LOL. You are right of course. I'll find the thread when I've the time and post there. I am UTTERLY fascinated with the character of Rush.

Spencer - well there wasn't anywhere else for him to go, so to speak. I felt bad for him, but clearly there was a mix of stuff going on. Some post traumatic stress perhaps from the attack on the planet, which hadn't been treated as they couldn't, combined with an unstable personality or some other problems, and he clearly wasn't ever going to cope on the ship. I felt bad in that I think people were unfriendly towards him because of his attitude from the start, but then when people were seen to make the effort he brushed them off. I don't think that given the stress of the situation anything could have been done for Spencer.

[Daro]

Oooooh! Did you just mod me for being OT!!! LOL. You are right of course. I'll find the thread when I've the time and post there. I am UTTERLY fascinated with the character of Rush.

Spencer - well there wasn't anywhere else for him to go, so to speak. I felt bad for him, but clearly there was a mix of stuff going on. Some post traumatic stress perhaps from the attack on the planet, which hadn't been treated as they couldn't, combined with an unstable personality or some other problems, and he clearly wasn't ever going to cope on the ship. I felt bad in that I think people were unfriendly towards him because of his attitude from the start, but then when people were seen to make the effort he brushed them off. I don't think that given the stress of the situation anything could have been done for Spencer.

Just trying to keep us both out of trouble. I started it, after all.

I still wonder why they couldn't have used the stones to get Spencer some therapy. They haven't really shown how often the stones are used, but I got the impression that they aren't constantly in use. But maybe they are, letting other people on the ship go home for a while. Still, Young should have prioritized enough to let Spencer go 'home.' I don't know if it would have helped, but it probably wouldn't have hurt.

[prion]

Just trying to keep us both out of trouble. I started it, after all.

I still wonder why they couldn't have used the stones to get Spencer some therapy. They haven't really shown how often the stones are used, but I got the impression that they aren't constantly in use. But maybe they are, letting other people on the ship go home for a while. Still, Young should have prioritized enough to let Spencer go 'home.' I don't know if it would have helped, but it probably wouldn't have hurt.

The sad fact is that the stones are not used correctly. You don't have a paramedic to a psych assessment on crew. You get in someone who knows more than 'one class/course' of psychology. The thing also is that no one seemed to want to help Spencer. I didn't see any comraderie with fellow military folk. Sure, if your'e depressed as he was you pull away, but apparently no one onboard the Destiny knows the symptoms.

When Riley (remember him? bad head injury?) got injured, they should have used the stones to get in a neurosurgeon. Then TJ should go back home and get courses on how to handle medical crises. Paramedics can do a lot, but they are not surgeons. Or psychiatrists. This isn't CSI where everybody can do everything (guess we should be glad that nobody did that in "Justice").

The thing is that both Young and Rush are basically not letting Earth know all that's going on, as Young surely doesn't want to lose command,a nd Rush, well, we've seen the unethical stuff he's done to keep his place on the ship...