(S01E14) The challenges never end aboard Destiny. The ship drifted toward a massive void between galaxies with the threat of failing power reserves putting the crew in danger. Dr. Rush called on an old friend to help solve the problem, and last week's cliffhanger was conveniently resolved.

Let's talk communication stones, Blue Meanies, and wonky FTL drives after the jump. Spoilers follow.

So whattayasay, 'Stargate Universe' fans? Did Chloe, Eli and Scott's convenient return to the ship sink this episode for ya? Were you hoping they'd be stuck on the planet for a while? Were you hoping that something a little more interesting would come out of their situation?

I sure was. I was expecting to see Rush and company finally learn how to steer the ship and head back to the planet for some kind of rescue mission. Instead, Col. Young completely abandoned any hope of rescuing the lost trio as the ship readied for its perilous trek into the void. The priority switched from rescuing the missing crewmembers to surviving the trip.

Seeing Chloe, Eli and Scott walk through the Stargate was a little disappointing, but it didn't ruin the episode for me. There was still a lot of plot to chew on here.

The show continued its attempt to humanize Dr. Rush with a visit from one of his former colleagues, Dr. Amanda "Little Miss Brilliant" Perry. Amanda was a charming character. She really brought that sense of wonder and amazement that Eli once had back to the show. She didn't seem to bring much to the table science-wise (she reprogrammed a robot, right?), but it was great to see Rush actually connect with another human being on more than a surface level.

Here's the thing about Rush: you really have to earn his respect. That's one of the big reasons why he doesn't connect with the other crewmembers; he simply does not respect them. So he usually comes off as angry, self-absorbed and taciturn, which isn't always fun to watch. (Remember the caffeine withdrawal episode?)

It was a smart move to bring in Amanda, a person Rush clearly respects, and allow him to act like a normal human being for a while. Hopefully the camaraderie he shared with her will inspire him to give his other crewmates more of a chance. I like the hard-edged Rush, but I'd also like to see the guy get along with everyone a little better.

This ep also attempted to make Camille Wray a more sympathetic character by putting her in Amanda's disabled body. It was an interesting twist on the whole communication stones/body-switching device, but it didn't really work for me. As most of you know, I'm not a big Camille Wray fan. I would've been happy to have Amanda permanently replace her on the ship.

But Wray's plot in this ep brought up an interesting idea: the people the crewmembers left behind on Earth live in anxiety and torture as they wait for their loved ones to return. They're stuck in limbo. And the communication stone visits, as strange and awkward as they are, only seem to make everyone involved feel worse about their situation.

I think it's time we ditched the stones or, at least, only used them sparingly for emergencies or special circumstances. And it's probably time for everyone aboard Destiny to say goodbye to their old lives on Earth and accept their new lives on the ship.

The Blue Meanies returned, but this wasn't the knock-down-drag-out war episode I was expecting. One of them boarded the ship by taking possession of Lt. James' body. Very sneaky. The alien managed to destroy one of the ship's FTL drives, but that move actually ended up helping the crew in the end. It makes you wonder why the alien didn't do anything more to sabotage the ship. Who knows? Maybe he did. Maybe that's why the chair room turned into an icebox at the end. That was weird, huh?

We got to see poor ol' Franklin again. In another convenient development, he decided to sit in the chair to activate the FTL drive and apparently jump the ship away from the alien attack. It all seemed too easy. Still, I'm intrigued by the idea that the chair/ship has somehow altered Franklin and maybe even turned him into something more (or less) than human. He was missing when Young went to check on him after the ship jumped away. Where did he go? Maybe we'll get the answer during next week's creepy looking hallucinations episode.

Other thoughts

- Robert Carlyle continues to do amazing things with the role of Rush. I'm still thinking about that moment where he broke down in front of Amanda when talking about his wife. So great.

- So Lt. James is claustrophobic, too? Seems like a very bad thing to suffer from when you're stuck on a dark and creepy spaceship for the rest of your life.

- Chloe and Scott are officially all lovey-dovey again. It was bound to happen.

- Young and Johansen aren't exactly ready to become a happy family unit just yet, but I enjoyed their brief interaction this week. Still curious to learn if and how they're gonna work a baby into the story for the long term.

- Welcome to Brody's Bar, where everybody knows your name and the moonshine is free. Just remember to hold your nose when you take a swig! ... A pub on a spaceship might not be the most original idea, but I like it. I'm looking forward to Destiny's first bar fight.

[Watch episodes of 'Stargate Universe' on Slashcontrol.]

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