['Stargate Universe' – 'Resurgence']

One of the things I love most about 'Stargate Universe' is how the show manages to bring me to the edge of my seat with carefully crafted suspenseful moments -- like the build-up to the space jump in last night's mid-season finale.

The scene probably didn't do much for most viewers, but watching Greer leap from the edge of the shuttle to a hole in the side of a dark alien ship, wearing a space suit that may or may not be broken, was enough to make me squirm in my seat.

It just worked. The cinematography, special affects, set design, music and lighting all came together for an exciting scene that reminded me of some of the best horror/sci-fi films of all time, like 'The Thing,' 'Dark City' or, of course, 'Alien.' 'Resurgence' only got better from that point on ... until the episode ended abruptly with Destiny caught in the middle of a crazy space battle.

It's a problem we've seen before on 'SGU' – the frustrating cliffhanger. Last season ended on the verge of a climax with every major character about to get killed, and this mid-season-ender was no different.

'Resurgence' was the first of a two-parter, with the second part, according to Syfy, set to air sometime next spring. Next spring! That means we might have to wait until May 2011 for Part 2. The "Is everyone gonna die?" cliffhanger ending probably wouldn't have felt so frustrating if we didn't have to wait several months for the show to return.

Fortunately, everything that came before the ending was pretty amazing. The ep opened with most of Destiny's resident techies – Rush, Volker, Brody and Park – working on the bridge of the ship. It took a while, but it looks like our heroes are finally learning how to work together on a regular basis – sort of.

The ep's opening moments were actually quite funny with Rush walking around the bridge like a frustrated schoolteacher fixing everyone's mistakes and tossing snarky comments in every direction. Rush's early frustration with his underlings here telegraphed a scene that came later, with Rush telling Eli that some people are "better" than others.

Eli was still feeling the pain of losing Ginn. He was distracted and detached, and he refused to let his feeling out when Camille offered a friendly shoulder to cry on. Surprisingly, Rush opted for a one-on-one with Eli to help clear his head. But Rush being Rush, his approach was a little ... cold.

Rush's advice to Eli pretty much boiled down to, "You couldn't do anything about it, so get over it already," but their conversation ended with Rush praising Eli -- telling him that he had the potential to become a great success. Strong words coming from an incredibly arrogant genius like Rush. It was an interesting moment between two characters who, at times, come across like distorted mirror images of each other. They're both gifted scientists, but Eli's smarts come naturally while Rush has to work hard and study to the point of obsession to achieve great things. Plus, Eli has a big heart while Rush's heart seemingly turned into a dried up old prune long ago.

One of the biggest moments of the night featured the return of Col. Telford (Lou Diamond Phillips) and the drowsy pod aliens. They have a name now – the Ursini.

Telford and the seed ship appeared right in time to save Destiny from a Drone (I guess that's what we're calling them?) attack, and Young soon decided to trust the Ursini and join their plan to attack a Drone command ship. But the Ursini are a nervous bunch. Instead of jumping to a safe place where Destiny could patch up its battle wounds, as agreed, they dropped out of FTL in the middle of the danger zone.

Drone ships surrounded Destiny and they seemed to ignore the seeder ship piloted by the Ursini. Did the Ursini lead Destiny into a trap? Were they working with the Drones? Were they cloaked? I had my hopes up about the crew finally making some otherworldly friends, but the alliance with the Ursini seems uneasy at best and treacherous at worst.

The same can be said for Chloe. She told Eli she wanted to help during the battle, but she knocked out her cell guard and rushed to the control interface room. Was she helping Destiny or was she delivering the ship to the Drones? Her final words, "It's too late" seemed to suggest the latter.

So far, season 2 of 'SGU' has offered some of the series' best episodes yet. This mid-season finale was exciting and full of promise for what's to come in season 2.5. Spring can't come soon enough.

What About Season 3?

As most of us know, 'SGU' isn't exactly a ratings success. That's why a group of passionate fans have started the Stargate Universe Awareness Campaign to help spread the word about the show with the goal of helping it land a third season renewal. You can join the campaign to help save the show and meet other 'SGU' fans, and you can also follow the campaign on Twitter.

'Stargate Universe' airs Tuesdays, 9PM ET on SyFy.