Who will really lose it first?

[ARealArchaeologist]

I know there is a lot of talk about Spencer, and the writers are pegging him as the crazy one, but did anyone notice Volker? When he was talking to TJ, he said that he was so glad they had a plan to get home, because he was close to losing it, and then laughed (not exactly what happened, just paraphrasing). He really seemed like he was on the edge at that moment. I wonder who really is going to lose it.

This is also just my opinion. I don't have any spoiler information.

[Hibblette]

Did you watch the Preview?

[Jeff-B]

With all the buildup of Spencer being ready to snap, maybe they're just doing it to make for a big plot twist, you never know. At this point, I still think Spencer's character could be redeemed. Like, if he went to Young or TJ and asked for help because of an addiction of some kind.

[Pharaoh Atem]

lol spencer going to have a bad day in the next ep

[ARealArchaeologist]

I haven't seen the preview, but I rarely put stock in them. They usually lead you in a different way then the show goes. So I'll watch them, but I never let them influence me.

[Cold Fuzz]

I know there is a lot of talk about Spencer, and the writers are pegging him as the crazy one, but did anyone notice Volker? When he was talking to TJ, he said that he was so glad they had a plan to get home, because he was close to losing it, and then laughed (not exactly what happened, just paraphrasing). He really seemed like he was on the edge at that moment. I wonder who really is going to lose it.

This is also just my opinion. I don't have any spoiler information.

This is a very astute observation about Volker. Without going into specifics, I can tell you right now that we'll gradually see more and more of Volker. I'm happy about that since he and Riley are my two favorite secondary characters.

Spoiler:

TPTB decided that Patrick Gilmore's performance in "Life" merited a greater development of Volker's backstory. Of all the secondary characters, he appears in the most number of episodes this season with 19, and apparently he's going to be more heavily developed in season 2.

Volker strikes me as one of those people that excels in controlled environments. If he didn't, he wouldn't have gotten into the Stargate program in the first place. However, the situation on the Destiny is anything but controlled. The guy isn't cut out for the current situation, despite his skills. I personally think that we'll see him experiencing various successes and failures adapting to life onboard the Destiny.

[kaliel]

I'm actually putting my money on Young. He seems to be getting less and less stable, especially with the increasing tension between he and Telford.

I don't think he'll explode in the way that Spencer seems to be headed towards, but being in a position of command, even a quiet breakdown is going to have massive ramifications.

[MattSilver 3k]

Who's going to lose it? Anyone between Spencer, Young, Greer, Rush, TJ, Chloe, Eli, Scott, Park, Volker, Franklin, Becker, Riley - they're all at risk if they haven't already!

[Rudolph]

I'm wondering about the rumoured mid-season suicide. It could be built up to Spencer turning into Gomer Pyle and blowing his own head off, but then again it could be really subtle and have the crew shocked that one of the quieter redshirts we don't really see hanging themselves.

[ARealArchaeologist]

This is a very astute observation about Volker. Without going into specifics, I can tell you right now that we'll gradually see more and more of Volker. I'm happy about that since he and Riley are my two favorite secondary characters.

Spoiler:

TPTB decided that Patrick Gilmore's performance in "Life" merited a greater development of Volker's backstory. Of all the secondary characters, he appears in the most number of episodes this season with 19, and apparently he's going to be more heavily developed in season 2.

Volker strikes me as one of those people that excels in controlled environments. If he didn't, he wouldn't have gotten into the Stargate program in the first place. However, the situation on the Destiny is anything but controlled. The guy isn't cut out for the current situation, despite his skills. I personally think that we'll see him experiencing various successes and failures adapting to life onboard the Destiny.

I'm glad we will see more of him. I would like to know more of his back story. I really don't think he can handle the situation either, he seems to be barely holding it in. And Rush doesn't seem to give a rat's $%& about him and that's not going to add to the mental stability.

[ARealArchaeologist]

I'm actually putting my money on Young. He seems to be getting less and less stable, especially with the increasing tension between he and Telford.

I don't think he'll explode in the way that Spencer seems to be headed towards, but being in a position of command, even a quiet breakdown is going to have massive ramifications.

Didn't even consider him, but you are right. He is becoming more unstable and can't control his emotions. I guess we will see when some of these episodes start coming up.

[Cold Fuzz]

I'm glad we will see more of him. I would like to know more of his back story. I really don't think he can handle the situation either, he seems to be barely holding it in. And Rush doesn't seem to give a rat's $%& about him and that's not going to add to the mental stability.

Volker reminds me of a bashful and assuming friend I met about 9-10 years ago. He even dresses like he did (namely the vest). Consequently, Volker quickly drew my attention since the similarities were interesting. However, Patrick Gilmore and the friend I knew don't look remotely alike. For one thing the guy I knew had a beard and glasses.

Personally, I think "Life" sets in motion an interesting character arc for Volker that not even TPTB themselves were expecting until after the episode finished filming. Now we do get his backstory fleshed out but it's what he goes through this season I think will be the most interesting. I personally think we're going to gradually see him lose it...as in slowly go bonkers. And having someone as manipulative and abusive as Rush essentially supervising him I think will contribute to this.

Spoilers for "Pain" below:

Spoiler:

By the time we get to "Pain" it looks like Volker's going to endure something rather...interesting and violent. This link shows some production notes about "Pain." Now this page reveals virtually none of the plot information so nobody really knows the specifics of what's supposed to happen, but if you look at the final two bulleted items in the production notes, you get this:

"Gold star for @PatrickGilmore today. Great, creepy, unsettling work." — Carl Binder, Twitter (September 10, 2009)
"Thanks to @cpbinder for the 'Pain' & the gold star. Crazy last day of the episode. Bruised forehead & an exciting #SGU episode to prove it." — Patrick Gilmore, Twitter (September 10, 2009)

Words like "creepy" and "unsettling" are definitely words that I would never associate with the Volker we know right now. The fact that he ends up with a bruised forehead at the end of "Pain" and the way his performance is described says something.

[Count]

Young seems stable, but he definitely doesn't want to be there, he's made no bad command decisions yet, even with the emotional stress of his wife and Telford.
TJ is coping by burying herself in work, she's too busy caring about the injured and lack of supplies to lose her mind.
Chloe's lost everything on Earth, her father, her boyfriend, she's just gone numb. Surprisingly enough, this makes her "more stable" on the Destiny then most because she has no desperate need to return. Not to mention Eli is her anchor.
Eli's insanely stable for this situation, he's loving the whole spaceship thing, just not the whole lost in space bit.
Rush, he's stable but only relative to his normal mindset, obviously
Scott is going to start losing it, he was content protecting people, now he knows there's something on Earth waiting for him.
Greer... hard to say, he seems very weird at time, but i think that he'll remain stable as long as there's a clear chain of command he can see and be loyal to.. oh, and keep him away from Telford.
Franklin's going downhill fast, but i think his arboretum is going to keep him from going around the bend.
Volker and Brody seem fine enough, they're disgruntled but not insaneish.
Camille is a hard one to figure out too, we just haven't seen enough of her yet.
James seems ok, she's upset, but as long as she's not alone, i think she wont go crazy. It seems more like she's afraid of loneliness then anything else.

Who'd i miss? (I excluded spencer, we know he's insane)

[ARealArchaeologist]

Volker reminds me of a bashful and assuming friend I met about 9-10 years ago. He even dresses like he did (namely the vest). Consequently, Volker quickly drew my attention since the similarities were interesting. However, Patrick Gilmore and the friend I knew don't look remotely alike. For one thing the guy I knew had a beard and glasses.

Personally, I think "Life" sets in motion an interesting character arc for Volker that not even TPTB themselves were expecting until after the episode finished filming. Now we do get his backstory fleshed out but it's what he goes through this season I think will be the most interesting. I personally think we're going to gradually see him lose it...as in slowly go bonkers. And having someone as manipulative and abusive as Rush essentially supervising him I think will contribute to this.

Spoilers for "Pain" below:

Spoiler:

By the time we get to "Pain" it looks like Volker's going to endure something rather...interesting and violent. This link shows some production notes about "Pain." Now this page reveals virtually none of the plot information so nobody really knows the specifics of what's supposed to happen, but if you look at the final two bulleted items in the production notes, you get this:

"Gold star for @PatrickGilmore today. Great, creepy, unsettling work." — Carl Binder, Twitter (September 10, 2009)
"Thanks to @cpbinder for the 'Pain' & the gold star. Crazy last day of the episode. Bruised forehead & an exciting #SGU episode to prove it." — Patrick Gilmore, Twitter (September 10, 2009)

Words like "creepy" and "unsettling" are definitely words that I would never associate with the Volker we know right now. The fact that he ends up with a bruised forehead at the end of "Pain" and the way his performance is described says something.

That Carl Binder quote has me really excited! Wow! We soon won't even know Volker!

[The Prophet]

Did you watch the Preview?

We don't get previews in the UK

Unless it's a brief clip for an advert, which really isn't anything substantial, and is usually a few episodes behind xD