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    A mutual obsession

    Rush says to Young that the aliens are obsessed with Destiny. Considering that he quite obviously is too, and must at some level realize that, do you suppose he sees something of himself in them? Is he sympathetic to them at all, or does he just see them as rivals? I mean, they did torture him (and Chloe) to get what they wanted. Unless there's something we don't know yet about them, they seem to have no respect for life. They use people to get what they want. Maybe Rush saw that and maybe he realizes how inhuman his obsession could drive him to be? Anyone else have thoughts on the obvious parallels here?

    #2
    The way Rush described being on Destiny as his destiny in one of the earlier episodes, I don't doubt that he feels at least a little proprietorial about it, so I see how he could feel some kind of empathy with their obsession with it (and who knows just how long they have been chasing it?). On the other hand, I also think he probably resents their obvious advantages over him - they have ships, they track it easily, they are united in their goal, whereas Rush is one man against a whole lot of people who don't want to be there and who he feels hinder him in his "mission".

    I guess whether he learned anything about his own humanity from seeing first hand the extent to which they will go to get what they want depends on how we read the character and his motives. Personally (and this won't come as a surprise to anyone) I think he's as respectful of human life as the rest of them but sees things from a different perspective than they do. The greater good can mean many things (learning everything they can as much as getting home), and I think that's what drives him, rather than some personal agenda.
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      #3
      Originally posted by Lahela View Post
      The way Rush described being on Destiny as his destiny in one of the earlier episodes, I don't doubt that he feels at least a little proprietorial about it, so I see how he could feel some kind of empathy with their obsession with it (and who knows just how long they have been chasing it?). On the other hand, I also think he probably resents their obvious advantages over him - they have ships, they track it easily, they are united in their goal, whereas Rush is one man against a whole lot of people who don't want to be there and who he feels hinder him in his "mission".

      I guess whether he learned anything about his own humanity from seeing first hand the extent to which they will go to get what they want depends on how we read the character and his motives. Personally (and this won't come as a surprise to anyone) I think he's as respectful of human life as the rest of them but sees things from a different perspective than they do. The greater good can mean many things (learning everything they can as much as getting home), and I think that's what drives him, rather than some personal agenda.
      Well, (and this comes as no shock either,) I agree with you about Rush for the most part. I think he does have an agenda though, but it isn't about advancing himself. If he didn't have an agenda before he came aboard the Destiny, he does now, and that's unlocking the secrets it might hold. And I think the idea of ascension is tied up in it somehow for him. If you carry that to an extreme, Rush may consider every minute wasted a waste of human life back on Earth. If he discovers how to ascend, no one has to die anymore. And if he brings humanity just a bit closer to that goal before he dies, he's helping the survival of humanity as a whole perhaps, in such a crowded and uncertain universe.

      Even if he wouldn't quite say that, I think he has walled himself off from other people. Chloe is the first indication otherwise. I never doubted that he cared when other people died, or were hurt, but he said it in 'Light:' they're a bunch of strangers. That's probably less true now (after all, Young is no longer a stranger, he's an enemy!) but still, getting to know the people he's with will mean he'll be much more impacted emotionally when someone gets lost along the way.

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        #4
        Originally posted by Daro View Post
        Well, (and this comes as no shock either,) I agree with you about Rush for the most part. I think he does have an agenda though, but it isn't about advancing himself. If he didn't have an agenda before he came aboard the Destiny, he does now, and that's unlocking the secrets it might hold. And I think the idea of ascension is tied up in it somehow for him. If you carry that to an extreme, Rush may consider every minute wasted a waste of human life back on Earth. If he discovers how to ascend, no one has to die anymore. And if he brings humanity just a bit closer to that goal before he dies, he's helping the survival of humanity as a whole perhaps, in such a crowded and uncertain universe.
        Without trying to make him sound altruistic, I think if that's the case (and it very probably is) then his actions are not just motivated by a concern for humanity as a whole but perhaps are also guided by his belief that he's the only one that knows best. It would seem to fit with what we know of his background.

        Even if he wouldn't quite say that, I think he has walled himself off from other people. Chloe is the first indication otherwise. I never doubted that he cared when other people died, or were hurt, but he said it in 'Light:' they're a bunch of strangers. That's probably less true now (after all, Young is no longer a stranger, he's an enemy!) but still, getting to know the people he's with will mean he'll be much more impacted emotionally when someone gets lost along the way.
        Again, that emotional wall also very probably stems from both a sense of his own importance in the grand scheme of things (therefore a need to stay away from close personal contact) and his own past making him wary of attachment. I wonder if his relationship with Chloe will impact on how he deals with people, if that wall is cracking.
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          #5
          Frankly, if he doesn't ever break that wall down, he's going to pretty much have to be a villain in most viewers' eyes. It's too late for him to pull the Spock card.

          I think Chloe is the first crack in the wall. And we may have seen another starting to show up when she begged him not to let Young and Scott die. He couldn't, and while I may think that he wouldn't have let them anyway, I'm not sure he wouldn't have turned a blind eye and charged ahead anyway. If he cares about Chloe, then he has to care somewhat about Scott, and Eli (I already think he cares about Eli, but hasn't shown it much because Eli has betrayed him in a sense.) It's a chain reaction from then on out.

          I feel a little vindicated that Chloe was the first person Rush befriended, since I had thought that would be the case in the first episode. I'd like to see him emotionally vulnerable again, they shut that off real quick in the show.

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            #6
            theory:
            Spoiler:
            chloe is only trying to get close to him to find out his secrets and so the NID can manipulate him through her
            R.I.P Stargate 1994-2009

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              #7
              The way he delivered his lines at the dinner table in Space lead me to think that he hasn't actually truly revealed what the aliens intentions are. I somehow suspect that through his mind meld with them, he has inadvertently gleaned some secret of Destiny that the aliens are perhaps aware of. The secret might be massive or purely dangerous enough that he can't or won't tell anyone.

              The OP's observations are very intriguing though.

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                #8
                Or maybe he's just too scared. He was pretty terrified in the alien ship.

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                  #9
                  His speech did seem a little...rehersed. But then, if you're going to lie, you do tend to reherse it before hand, and he was lying for sure about the 'rockslide.'

                  It is quite possible, maybe even likely, that he isn't sharing everything. I'm not sure why he would, unless it happened to be a way to dial the gate to Earth. I'm pretty sure if he could get everyone off the ship, and put some lightyears between himself and Young, that he would. Not entirely sure though.
                  If the information he might be keeping secret is ever relevant to a situation, he'll share it.
                  I couldn't begin to speculate on what the alien knowledge could be, as they've never been on the inside of the ship. But that doesn't mean they don't know something.

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                    #10
                    I'm pretty sure he was telling the truth with Chloe when he said he couldn't remember everything. I also don't think he'd have learned what they knew about Destiny because they probably don't know that much. However, I do think he was hiding what happened to him. He'd have been on that ship for the better part of a week and I doubt the smurfs had an anaesthetic handy for their implant operation.

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                      #11
                      I doubt Rush's experience has fundamentally changed him. The irony of the alien's motivation probably hasn't eluded him, but he's still willing to sacrifice the life of others to get what he wants. For example if it weren't for Chloe and wray he would have let Young and Scott die in their shuttle.

                      On the plus side I'd assume his obsession also means he won't want to share destiny with the aliens (or any other human for that matter if that means he can't play the Destiny-suprimo), so there's no prospect of betrayel there.
                      I'm an average viewer. As plain as they come. People make TV shows based on my demographic.

                      Million's of ZPM's, ZPM's for free! Millions of ZPM's, ZPM's for me!

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                        #12
                        Originally posted by Wayston View Post
                        I doubt Rush's experience has fundamentally changed him. The irony of the alien's motivation probably hasn't eluded him, but he's still willing to sacrifice the life of others to get what he wants. For example if it weren't for Chloe and wray he would have let Young and Scott die in their shuttle.
                        Speculation.

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                          #13
                          Originally posted by EllieVee View Post
                          Speculation.
                          it's open to interpretation I guess but the inference I took from the episode was that rush would have waited for the transfer to complete before doing anything, but that his conscience got talked into by chloe and wray (who e.g. stressed the risk of having their civilians jump ship again, pun intended) to stop the transfer prematurely
                          I'm an average viewer. As plain as they come. People make TV shows based on my demographic.

                          Million's of ZPM's, ZPM's for free! Millions of ZPM's, ZPM's for me!

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                            #14
                            Originally posted by asdf1239 View Post
                            theory:
                            Spoiler:
                            chloe is only trying to get close to him to find out his secrets and so the NID can manipulate him through her
                            Spoiler:
                            so he'll become another king in a medieval world with a lot of wifes !!! nicee!!!
                            Watching SGA and SGU

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                              #15
                              Originally posted by Wayston View Post
                              it's open to interpretation I guess but the inference I took from the episode was that rush would have waited for the transfer to complete before doing anything, but that his conscience got talked into by chloe and wray (who e.g. stressed the risk of having their civilians jump ship again, pun intended) to stop the transfer prematurely
                              I got that inference as well but it's speculation that he'd have allowed them to die had the transfer not been completed by the time of the jump. He says that Eli is slowing down the transfer which, I think, probably would have killed them.

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