(S01E19) "A pyramid! That takes me back." - Lt. General Jack O'Neill

Jane here, filling in for Mike. I reviewed a few episodes of 'Stargate Universe' at the beginning of the season, and it's fascinating to see how much the show has evolved since then.

It took a long time to get rolling, focusing on character development in the first part of the season. But this episode, the second to the last, included lots of action and gunfire -- but not overly so -- mixed in with the drama and angst. I like that.

Last fall, I compared the show to 'Firefly,' and while surfing around tonight, I found Mike's post from last spring noting that show creator Robert C. Cooper said he indeed took some cues from 'Firefly,' with the handheld cameras and unconventional locations and angles.

After tonight's ep, though, 'Stargate Universe' seems less like 'Firefly' and more of an entity unto itself. It's coming into its own, and the comparisons to other shows are fading. It's a space show, though, so it's probably always going to be compared to other space shows like 'Battlestar Galactica' and 'Star Trek.'

Great opening scenes with Col. Young calm and cool as Telford was dying inside the room. Everyone else was going nuts, including Wray, frantically trying to get him to restore the atmosphere and accusing him of murdering not only Telford, but Dr. Rush, as well.

But Young knew what he was doing. He wasn't bluffing. He needed to kill Telford to de-activate the brainwashing and, in the process, learn the truth: "They're coming," gasped Telford, after he was resuscitated. "The Lucian Alliance is coming to take Destiny."

You've got to hand it to Telford, though, wanting Young to send him back because he knew he'd be more useful there, and trying not to think about all the horrible things he'd done under the influence. It's like he had to re-stock the karma bank. Don't you think the Alliance would have been onto him, though? I mean, first he tries to take 12 people with him onto the ship -- at which point Kiva yelled "Six!" -- and once there, he makes some excuse to log into a computer to figure out where they're going, thus inputting his code and alerting the crew.

Man, though. I was sweating bullets from that beginning scene to the end. On one side, you've got Commander Kiva and her people taking prisoners (including T.J. -- ack! -- I hyperventilated when Kiva pointed the gun at her). And on the other, you've got Young and the crew hashing out how best to handle the situation and avoid collateral damage in the process.

Of course, I always love seeing Richard Dean Anderson. The pep talk to Young was cool ("Then get your ass back there!"), and the crack about the pyramid was awesomely geeky.

I also loved the side trip by Eli and Chloe. At first it seemed odd that the particular part of the ship hadn't been explored yet, but, of course, it wouldn't because as Eli explained, life support hadn't been activated there and why would it? They'd want to conserve what power they had.

I've gotta give props to David Blue; Eli's always been one of my favorite characters on the show, just because he's funny and nerdy and different from the rest of the crew. He was trying to do the manly thing and carry Chloe to safety, even though you could tell he was freaked about the blood and gunshot wound, and about ready to bust a heart valve lugging her around.

Ripped from the headlines quote: "In our society, the military takes orders from civilian leadership." - Wray

And nice effects on the implosion of the Alliance guy. There's something you don't see every day.

What did you guys think about this episode? Next week: the finale.

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