Light

DVD, Stargate Universe S1 (Light)

Doesn't end quite as triumphantly as I was expecting, in fact it ends on a note of suspicion and distrust: did Dr. Rush know Destiny would survive her entry into a star, or not...? If he knew then he was playing some weird game with the people, perhaps to see how they'd react, or to see how well Young's authority would survive. I don't remember the answer, but Rush is a complicated man. It plants a seed of uncertainty where the animosity and strained relations had previously thawed. I don't think he knew, I think he really would have preferred to die than live out whatever remaining years he might have on an unknown planet with 'strangers,' as he calls them. That was the fascinating thing about this life and death situation: seeing how individuals react. Young comes up with a very equitable way to decide who will go on the escape shuttle with Scott and Johansen, we see some threaten, some plead, others just accept his decision, but everyone has a stake. I was coming to the episode knowing how Destiny recharges itself in a star's corona in a majestic, incredible display of power and engineering, so I knew they'd survive, but I really wasn't in any more privileged position than when I first watched since it is a TV show set on this ship, clearly they aren't going to destroy it or it'd all be over. What I did like was that the stakes change from the fate of Destiny to the fate of the shuttle and all those aboard.

I like that the situation from the start is treated with gravity and dignity. The only public display of insubordination comes from wildcard Spencer (did Young call him Telford when he was later discussing what happened with Greer, or did I imagine that?), who we've seen is a boiling pot that's due to overheat any time now, but this time he comes up against his volatile mirror in Greer who's quick to knock him down (and out), when he tries to stir up the crowd in his fear and anger. Otherwise the idea of a lottery and people sombrely taking their places, one by one, was all very real and horrible from both groups' perspectives: for those left behind they have no hope, but for those given hope it's an uncertain one with a harvest of survivor guilt to confront. Young easily could have agonised over fifteen people best qualified to survive, as Camille wanted, and narrowed down the list that way, but he is a just man, he made a decision, as any commanding officer should do, based on how he believes things should be, then stuck with it despite any argument to the contrary. The only thing missing was input from Earth as you'd think Young would be checking in with them before they lost contact forever. This above all things should highlight that it isn't really going to be game over.

It crossed my mind what if they could select a group of people, say those on death row or who don't wish to live - could they have exchanged all the people aboard Destiny through those communication stones so they could live out their lives back on Earth in someone else's body? It's a chilling thought, and extremely immoral from every angle, and I don't even know if the stones would work like that, but it wasn't anything anyone ever even brought up. Amid all this serious stuff Eli's feeling a little disappointed when Chloe goes off with Scott - clearly he's not her kind of material, and as for Scott he once again makes me wonder what form of Christianity he practices because he's still happy to be quite loose with women. I know it was a tough moment, but even so you'd think that would make him call a halt to any untoward behaviour, or maybe he doesn't really believe in the sacrament of marriage? Either way, Chloe really isn't worth it, Eli, always happy to run off, then of course when she's got no one else she gets all touchy-feely with Eli! We see those left behind deal with their impending doom in different ways: some settle down for a card game, others prefer solitude, some attend a service in which they recite The Lord's Prayer as a group, and others just sit and watch the glowing fireball they're heading for. One point that could sway towards Colonel Young's suspicion of Rush's foreknowledge is that he's content to wait it out alone with a book, but more than that, that's he's very calm and not frustrated at all, in worryingly good humour, accepting of his doom.

One thing I had never thought of was that our intrepid gang had never actually seen the beauty of Destiny from the outside. This is achieved thanks to Eli's idea to turn the documentary he'd been recording of various people saying who they are and what they do, into a message in a bottle, hopeful that one day this infinitesimally small device will be found in the vastness of space - not just our Galaxy, remember, but the entire Universe itself (hey, that would make a great title!). My concern would be that it's most likely going to be dragged into the star since they're so close, and was consequently a pointless exercise, but then it did give them their sight of the ship, so perhaps it was all worth it for that? As ever, the visuals are a feast, the orange glow permeating most indoor scenes, and the external graphics are stunningly realised. The ship powering up all systems is a high point, lights coming up all over these gloomy interiors as if to emphasise the success they've had, bringing light into every dark place. That the situation becomes about rescuing the shuttle adds danger and tension because they don't 'need' that for the series to continue (but there were so many main cast members aboard that they weren't going to destroy that either, let's be honest!), and there's some great thinking to retrieve the shuttle just in time - teamwork, skill, stakes... this is what Trek should be (and used to be), so good work 'Stargate,' showing us how it should be done, this is the first I could truly say was a strong episode.

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