Is telling Eli he is special all the time a bad thing?

[Wayston]

I had the impression that Rush was talking to Eli as if he were talking to himself. Rush considers himself to be special. A lot of people in crucial positions consider themselves special and privileged, always warranting special treatment when there's sacrifices to be made. He wants to make Eli a disciple of this line of thought. Although he may have went well, it had a tone of a dark jedi speech in it. I wonder where he would have gone if Young hadn't interrupted them.

Eli being torn between his scientific curiosity with Rush as his mentor and his loyalty towards the crew and Young would be a very interesting storyline to explore in a third season.

[jsonitsac]

Its pretty clear that with his mom's HIV progressing (although not yet AIDS), the death of his girlfriend, the transformation of Chloe, and being stranded millions of light years from home that his morale is sagging. The truth is, this guy needs a pep talk. While they don't need to lay a burden on him, he does need to get fired up since he's proven to be a vital member of the crew.

[sgc]

Its pretty clear that with his mom's HIV progressing (although not yet AIDS), the death of his girlfriend, the transformation of Chloe, and being stranded millions of light years from home that his morale is sagging. The truth is, this guy needs a pep talk. While they don't need to lay a burden on him, he does need to get fired up since he's proven to be a vital member of the crew.

Yes, and Eli has shown in more ways than one that he responds best to positive influence and usually requires some nudging to keep going forward.

[kweerone]

Maybe it is just to keep us reminded about how special Eli is so that we don't freak when his greatness starts showing...

[Artemis-Neith]

I think it's not a bad thing to tell Eli, that he's special, and, that he has skills, only a very few people have. But I don't think, it's a good idea either, just to pat him on the back, and say how fine he's doing everything, cos he's never used his skills properly, other than to play video games.

If Rush would have used his skills the same way Eli did, and in a way still does, he would be a worker on the Glasgow shipyards like his father was, and would never made it through university, or even get any kind of graduation.

It's right, Eli had a lot of traumatic experiences lately, but he also needs to understand that he has to do some hard work, using all his abilities, for himself, and for all the people on board Destiny. To use his special skills is the best way helping his friends, not to sit in the corner and mourn his losses.

[stevilevi]

Considering he figured out the ninth chevron, given his slacker background, Eli is special. So to see him so down as he is, why wouldn't you want to encourage him?

[stargatetravler]

I agree that he will learn that hard work is required to achieve greatness. He was living a pretty bum life with doing nothing but playing video games and living with his mom. He's been thrown into a life or death situation being on Destiny and many lives are in his hands sometimes. Its a lot of pressure. I think eventually he will learn.

[lt1superman]

its like me everyone tells me I'm special all the time... I hate it sometimes but I am seeing more and more that I am and its motivation to me