by Kroze Kresky, Media Editor

Every mission has a destiny… and apparently this mission’s destiny was to end long before its time was up. Stargate Universe: The Complete Final Season (aka Season Two) was both a blessing and a curse for sci-fi fans, as the season really ramped up the epic journey of Col. Young, Lt. Scott, Eli, Chloe and Dr. Rush, seeing them delve into deeper and darker territory than any Stargate series ever had. This darker setting made it one of the most captivating and interesting series that the franchise ever produced, breathing new life into previously generic sci-fi situations. Sadly, at the end of the season, SyFy decided not to renew the tragic series; despite the fact that this season set up some huge events that would have no doubt continued on into even more interesting stories. Every character gets their chance to shine this season, including those who are newly added to the crew, thanks to last season’s cliffhanger ending where the Lucian Alliance (along with Col. Telford) now find themselves on the Ancient ship known as “Destiny” along with the Icarus Base crew.

Right from the start, the show wastes no time in getting things moving at a brisk pace (which continues throughout the entire season), which solves complaints by fans and critics alike about the previously slow pace towards payoffs and reveals. When Dr. Rush ends up finding Destiny’s bridge and the crew learns how to fly the ship, the show is able to branch out into several new and quite grand directions, thus finally being able to take control of their own Destiny (Ba-dump-psssh!).

Also, we are introduced to a new threat that can’t be negotiated or reasoned with, in the form of a series of alien drone ships that are out to destroy any technology they come across. The Destiny now has to deal with the fact that they are constantly being hunted by these things that appear to adapt and can’t be stopped.

Eli gets a lot more focus this season when he gets a new love interest in the form of Ginn (Played by the uber-hawt Julie McNiven from Mad Men), one of the Lucian Alliance members who is now working with the crew. If you are a geek that never seems to get the girl, this storyline will really tug at your heartstrings (trust me, I know…). Chloe has an expanded role this season, as well, due to being experimented upon by the aliens who were after the Destiny last season. Chloe now becomes a whole lot more useful, seeming to have an entire library of alien knowledge inside of her head, as well as information on how to activate several of the new toys on the Destiny.

Featured episodes:

“Deliverance”: When we last saw our heroes, they were fighting for their lives and fending off an attack from a swarm of alien drone ships. All hope seemed to be lost as Destiny was taking a severe beating. So, how do our favorite characters make it out of this one? Stargate has a history of setting us up with a massive cliffhanger moment for the mid-season finale, and like those previous stories, “Deliverance” fails to disappoint. When Destiny’s destruction seemed to be imminent, Chloe steps in and saves the day, sending out a beacon to the aliens that had captured her in Season One. The aliens become a distraction for the drones, who refocus their attack on the new target. This gives the crew of the Destiny a chance to figure out a way to escape their pursuers. In order to stop the drones, they realize that they must work with the other aliens, and that means giving them what they want: Chloe! She agrees to go to the alien ship with the hopes that they will reverse the process that is slowly consuming her. Can they trust these aliens and escape the drones?

“Deliverance” lives up to its name and gives us resolution to some of the lingering plot threads from the first half of the season. We finally get development with Chloe’s Season Two storyline, and it is a very positive development for the character. Rush also plays a very different role in this episode, showing a new side to the character that previously hadn’t been seen. Will his new persona stick around for the future, or will he revert back to “classic” Rush? Only time will tell.

“Twin Destinies” Eli has found a new way to get the Destiny team home to Earth! Rush disagrees with Eli’s plan and decides to stay on board the Destiny. He determines that in order to maintain the ship, he would need a total of 12 staff to operate and continue their ancient mission. Right before initiating Eli’s plan, a Destiny Shuttle appears on long-range sensors, piloted by Dr. Rush. But how can that be Rush when he is standing on the bridge with the Senior Officers? We learn that this is a Dr. Rush from several hours in the future, and that they had gone through with Eli’s plan, and that Destiny’s crew perished. Can they find a way to make it home without sacrificing the entire crew?

“Twin Destinies” has a fantastic new take on time travel and allowed for a very different episode of the series. Rush is faced with a future version of himself, is proven to be correct, and must overcome his arrogance to save his friends. We also get some interesting developments between Rush and Col. Young, as Young offers to stay behind with Rush to support the continuation of Destiny’s mission. Lou Diamond Phillips also gets a lot of screen time in this episode and has some surprising developments in both the current and future timelines (not going to give this one away).

“Alliances”: Lt. Greer and Camile return to Earth via the Ancient Communication Stones to report on the situation aboard the Destiny, finding themselves in the middle of an attack on Homeworld Command by the Lucian Alliance! Can they help diffuse a bomb before it takes out the entire area? Meanwhile, on the Destiny, Senator Michaels (Kathleen Quinland) and Dr. Andrew Covel (French Stewart) meet with the team on the ship to determine if funding the Destiny mission is logical based on the number of failures and issues that have come up since the destruction of the Icarus Base.

This episode gives fans the long-awaited confrontation between Greer and Camile, allowing their hatred of one another to come to a head. These two are stuck in an extremely dangerous situation and are forced to rely on each other for survival. French Stewart appears as the former colleague of Dr Rush, who was actually offered the position on the Icarus Base prior to Rush and turned it down. He is extremely skeptical about Rush’s discovery of the Destiny’s mission, and is trying to debunk Rush’s work. Honestly, if I didn’t know that Stewart was going to be in this episode, I wouldn’t have recognized him in the first half of the story. Not only has the man aged significantly since his last appearance in the Stargate story (originally appearing in the first Stargate movie along with Kurt Russell), but he is playing the most serious character that I have ever seen him portray. He does a great job stepping into a more scientific role in SGU and his appearance will definitely be enjoyable for fans.

“Common Descent” and “Epilogue”: In one of the craziest moves Stargate has ever done, this two-parter episode gives us a look into the crew of the Destiny after they have lived out their entire lives. It turns out that the alternate crew of Destiny from “Twin Destinies” had survived, but had been transported thanks to a solar flare 2000 years into the past onto a random nearby planet. Two millennia later, when the crew of Destiny is off gathering supplies, they run into their own descendants, who immediately recognize them. Thus starts a journey of discovery for the crew of how their lives could have gone and how they survived without any of the technology and shelter that the Destiny provided.

We are also given a look into a civil war that stems from one of the constant sources of struggle in the series: The ideals of Dr. Rush versus the ideals of Col. Young. This war apparently leads the new civilization into its own destruction, as the crew is able to view the aftermath of it all. If the series would have ended with “Epilogue”, it would have been more than a satisfying conclusion for viewers, as we were given closure for just about every character in one way or another with what could have happened.

Special Features:

While it is unfortunate that we won’t be getting a Blu-ray release of SGU Season Two, the DVD release is definitely packed with some great commentaries and special features that will make fans very happy.

·     All 20 episodes featuring optional audio commentary from Stars and Guest Stars

·      Robert Carlyle Directs

·      Andy Mikita Directs

·      Eli’s Mom Comes on Board

·      Brian J. Smith’s First Fight

·      Crashing a Shuttle

·      The Seed Ship with Joe Mallozzi: Get to know more about the secrets of the Seed Ship in this featurette!

·      Saying Goodbye to Sgt. Riley – Oh Sgt. Riley. He sure couldn’t catch a break. Not only was he thrown across the universe, he definitely got the short end of the stick whenever trouble was around. Fans will definitely enjoy this nice featurette in his honor.

·      Lou Diamond Phillips on Guest Stars

·      Lt. Scott Gets Hit By A Car

·      Inside Cloverdale with Brad Wright

·      How to Get Sucked Into Space

·      SG-U Welcomes You to New Mexico’s Bisti Badlands

·      Deconstructing Destiny

·      A Day in the Life of Jamil Walker Smith

·      Transplant Day

·      Sitting Down with Mike Dopud

·      Bringing the Bridge to Life

·      Louis Ferreira vs. Colonel Young

·      Pitches: A Journey of Friendship and Discovery

·      Behind the Season 2 Finale – Gauntlet – Fans will want to check out this finale behind the scenes look at the Series Finale of SGU.

Overall:

To undo the faults of the previous season, this season of Stargate Universe seemingly has it all, but it also succeeds in winning back its audience of longtime Stargate fans. This season feels a lot more like an actual Stargate series then the last one did, and because of that, it feels as if it has more of an identity to it. The story is significantly more solid, overall. David Blue really knocked it out of the park this season for his portrayal of Eli, especially in the final moments of the season, where Eli finally has accepted his place in the universe. It is a great parting moment for us. SyFy pulled the plug on this series way too early, and if everything in Season Two was any proof, the writers were planning to take us on quite the crazy and memorable journey with what they had up their sleeves. Stargate Universe: The Final Season is a must-have for any true Sci-Fi fan, and especially every Stargate fan. Action, adventure, drama, intrigue; this series had it all! Lets hope that next time, networks will think twice before canceling a show of this magnitude.

Comicsonline gives Stargate Universe: The Complete Final Season DVD – 5 hot redheads alien girls that I would totally date if I were lost in space out of 5

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