Stargate Universe ”Pathogen” Detailed Analysis & Review

Chloe is acting strangely on board destiny. But hidden within her is knowledge that Doctor Rush can use to unlock the secrets of Destiny. Meanwhile, back on earth, we do some deep character stuff with Eli and Camille. This is what Stargate Universe does best. Join me as we dig into this episode of Stargate Universe. ----more---- Transcript Welcome to Nerd Heaven I’m Adam David Collings, the author of Jewel of The Stars And I am a Nerd This is episode 75 of the podcast. That means we’re 3 quarters of the way to 100, which is pretty cool. Today, we’re talking about the Stargate Universe episode “Pathogen” I’ve already recorded this podcast once today. But for reasons that will remain a mystery for all time, my microphone died so the whole thing was silent. So I’m doing it all again now, and I’m not gonna bother with video this time around. I’m curious. Those of you who watch on youtube, do you actually care one way or the other? The sound quality is probably better when I don’t use video because I can hold the microphone close to my face, which looks stupid on camera. Anyway, curious to hear people’s thoughts. The description on gateworld reads Chloe's increasingly erratic behavior leads the crew to suspect that she may be under alien influence. Eli returns home when he learns that his mother has fallen ill, and Camille finds Sharon struggling in her absence. This episode was written by Carl Binder. It was directed by Robert Carlyle, who of course, plays Dr. Rush. And it first aired on the 19th of October 2010. Chloe is sitting at a console in a random room on Destiny. She has no memory of how or when she got there. She’s a little freaked out about it but so is Eli. Scott is also concerned. Chloe has been acting strange lately. Withdrawn. Could any of this be related to her miraculous healing? It’s actually nice seeing these two talking together about their common concern for her. Despite the fact they were both vying for Chloe’s affection, there has never really been any malice between them. Eli respects Scott because he knows that he cares about Chloe just as much as he does. Scott asks her where they’re at. If they weren’t on the ship, would they even be together? Chloe’s answer is “of course.” This is when Scott admits that this is all new to him. He’s never been good at relationships, but he wants to make this work. Remember back in early season 1, I was pretty hard on Scott. To the point of being kinda judgemental, if I’m honest. But at this point, you can’t deny that Scott has changed. He’s a different person than he was in the pilot. He doesn’t want to be the womaniser who uses women and then throws them away. He wants a real loving relationship with Chloe. I thought that needed to be acknowledged. It doesn’t doesn’t get Chloe to open up, though. Rush is still keeping news that he has control of the ship to himself. He’s having difficulty with the countdown clock. Franklin taunts him saying he’s making things more complicated than they already are by being one person trying to do the work of an entire crew. He talks about how Young is reckless and unsuited to lead the mission. But right now, nobody is being more reckless than Rush. He’s the one putting everyone at risk. He’s become everything he despises. You’d have thought he’d have learned a little something from Riley’s death. But it appears he hasn’t. But it’s not just that. Brody and Park are starting to get suspicious of him. The ship is acting weirdly and he doesn’t seem surprised or even interested. He says he’s busy but won’t explain where he is. The guy is really slipping. Eli is informed he’s gonna have to use the stones to go home. His mother is sick. That’s the kind of news nobody wants to hear. He gets to earth and speaks with the doctor. His mum has stopped taking her medication, which is causing her to get very sick. They can help her, but the doctor’s concern is that she’ll stop taking her medication again. To Eli, the solution is simple. Don’t let her stop. Don’t release her. But I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way. Patients have the right to refuse treatments. Doctors and nurses can explain, recommend, and plead with a patient to do what’s best for them, but they can’t force. At least, not under normal circumstances. This is how it is in Australia, anyway. My wife is a nurse. I assume it’s the same in America. It turns out that Eli’s mum has severe depression. She has to want to get better, and right now, it seems that she doesn’t. Eli does his usual speel. “I’m airman Tracy and I work with your son Eli. He’s really worried about you.” “Not worried enough to be here himself?” And that’s the problem isn’t it. She came home one day a year ago and her son was gone. The air force said he’d gone somewhere classified to do important work. And she hasn’t seen him ...