Incursion - Part 2

 DVD, Stargate Universe S1 (Incursion - Part 2)

It is annoying, but you knew it was coming: no resolution, a cliffhanger ending, the characters stuck in that state of uncertainty on the brink of success or failure, who knows who's dead, who's about to be killed, who will survive... Maybe that's why I wasn't so keen on this the first time round, but perhaps with hindsight (and certainly this is more appealing than the ending of Season 2 since that will never get a conclusion!), knowing what's coming in general for some of the characters, I felt the tension of this ending, the buildup as things are set in motion, actions, choices, plans and counter-plans, and I was, if not exactly swept up in it all, at least carried along and drawn in. Kiva proves to be a hard bargainer, and though she finally caves on the suggestion to swap four captives for four on each side, she is also still smarting from Young's attempt at a dishonourable solution to the problem which got one of his men killed. To be precise it wasn't that one of his men got killed, it's that he was executed in retaliation for Young trying to spring an attack when he offers a show of good faith with medical supplies, and also it wasn't something that went wrong with the plan, it was the growing issue of the ship itself losing power every so often which spooked Kiva before the attack could take place. In the end she still wants her people back so they agree to a new truce, this time through Camille acting as go-between, but she's no match for the hardbitten Kiva who lumps in the dead body of the man she executed as one of the four in the hostage exchange, showing her tough negotiating style and that she can't be swerved from her goal of taking the ship.

Camille was a bit out of her depth, looking quite small and ineffectual in the face of such tactics, unable to say anything against this logical show of power. On the positive side it does lead to our people realising Eli and Chloe must be somewhere else in the ship, and as was inevitable the moment they got lost and became a sort of 'third party,' some serious stuff lies with them, or I should say, with Eli, since Chloe's barely conscious. At least they had something worthwhile to do instead of as in part one when it was just an excuse for them to be together. There's a nice scene where Eli realises she knows he likes her, talking about how he's a great friend and that it isn't a consolation prize, and it cleared things up a bit and made it better instead of this young lad moping after this girl all the time. There was a similarly nice piece of character work between Greer and Scott when the former expresses absolute conviction in Colonel Young's judgement and authority, that he'll give the word to go in and sort the enemy out at the right time, because obviously that's what Greer always wants to do, that's what he's been hardened for. Scott, however shows doubt in his formerly untouchable commanding officer's judgement, a sign that Young has crossed one too many lines recently. It was also nice as a sign that Greer and Scott aren't at enmity with each other after the one wholeheartedly supported Young's torture of Telford, while the other was about ready to defy orders and stop it.

It's a good one for them because they're tasked with the mission that must be accomplished to preserve all their lives, Stargate personnel and Lucian Alliance alike, when they have to do an EVA on the hull of the ship to activate something or other (it doesn't really matter, it's the action itself that counts), having to stride nightmarishly slowly with the aid of their EVA suits magnetically sealing them to the deck. And of course they're trapped out there when things go wrong and the blast from a pulsar that they can no longer take winks the episode out. That was a terrific final shot, too, close on Young's face, standing before his soldiers who have been rounded up and are about to be mown down - he almost looks up the heavens as if to question what brought him to this point, the power going out once more to signify the final blast has come, fading the episode itself to black! If it was good for Greer and Scott, it's also a good one for Telford, at least in some ways. He's proved his triple agent status beyond doubt now when he protects TJ and the others as much as his influence will allow, communicates secretly with the 'enemy' and finally shoots his 'leader' when she discovers him returning control to his original allies. I say in some ways because she also shoots him, it's a draw in the draw, both seriously injured and I have the feeling he doesn't make it for Season 2, other than perhaps a guest star for a death scene, maybe not even that - I don't remember well enough if he survives, but it didn't look good.

Notably, they didn't rely on any 'SG-1' main cast appearances in the finale, as if to show that the series can exist on its own two feet (even though that was proved not to be the case, frustratingly, when it was cancelled at the end of Season 2), and at first I wasn't keen on that - I always want more of those originals, just as when they bring the old actors back in Trek (which has happened a lot in recent years). But I came to see that it was fair as they are their own series, a statement of intent, no matter how successful the end result would prove to be. For me, I've certainly come to really like this group, we've got to the point where we know them (even if I still don't always recall everyone's name since there are so many - Brody's presence was enough to make him a good character in this one, and Young gets a sharp word from that female scientist, too!), and they know each other so there's meaning there. Perhaps exemplified in that scene where Scott offers Camille a flak jacket for her exchange with Kiva and she refuses based on needing to show trust in the opposition, and he admits Young knew she wouldn't take it, but he wanted to try anyway. It says plenty about all three of those characters and I like that. It hasn't always been that well written across the first season, we've had a lot of lows, a lot of miseries, but, and I don't know if it was because characters like Lieutenant James, whom I like, but can also be quite emotional, took a backseat in this episode, we've seen some growth and development, not always for the best (in Young's case, for example), but generally a more cohesive unit has developed over time. They eventually realised they had to do more than just concentrate on one aspect, like Water or Air, etc, even if in some ways that simplicity was a strong point early on. But now they've got some consistency going and it's for them to build on that into Season 2.

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