Spoiler Warning: Do not read this post unless you have seen the episode or don’t mind spoilers

One Sentence Review

A solid but somewhat unsatisfying episode

Episode Recap

The Destiny is suffering a mysterious disappearance of Water, with their reserves down to half of what was initially present and no signs of significant loss in the system. Rush also informs Young that they can’t dial Earth as while the ship is fully recharged, Eli has found that the reserves are less than 40% of what they were initially designed to be. Soon after the ship exits FTL with only 1 planet in range, which appears to have ice but is inhospitable requiring the use of environmental suits as it in Eli’s words resembles the Hoth system.

Col Young tries to contact Lt Scott but fails and so Lt James is sent to find him, she later finds him in a passionate embrace. Scott is then informed by Young that they are going to be using the 2 working suits to go to the planet and bring back ice. However, when they get to the planet they find the ice near the Stargate is contaminated by toxic chemicals so they will need to look further afield.

On the Destiny Lt Johansen has been left in charge, and orders a search of the ship as more water has been lost. During the search she encounters an alien creature similar to the one Lt Scott encountered on the desert planet in Air. She is then contacted by Greer who has discovered that Sgt Spencer has been hording supplies, he is then taken into custody to be dealt with when Col Young returns. She then informs Rush and Eli what she has learnt and confines everyone to quarters without telling them why.

This proves to be a mistake when a little later a soldier Corporal Gorman is badly injured (later dies) when he encounters them and shoots at them causing them to attack him. This later causes a dispute between Eli and Rush when Eli lets Col Young know what was going on, while Rush was trying to keep it quiet. It soon becomes clear that the alien is responsible for the loss of water on the Destiny.

On the planet Lt Scott falls into a crack in the ice following a tremor, and is only recovered after he falls unconscious due to his suit being damaged causing an air leak. At the same time Lt Johansen has managed to trap the Aliens in a water filled container and sends it through the gate as Young and Scott arrive. The aliens depart the gates area and Scott and Young make it through the gate to the Destiny, Scott is weak but alive. A little later Col Young records a log on a Kino noting the death of Corporal Gorman.

Thoughts and Analysis

This was a strange episode for me, since while there was nothing particularly bad about the episode, I was not particularly enthused about it at any point. The most likely reason for this that I can come up with is that all the episodes so far have been concentrating on resource issues to the detriment of any other plot and Water was more of the same.

Now while I admit give the situation they are in, there needs to be some emphasis on the resource management side of things but not to the exclusion of other possible plots regarding their situation. Hopefully this will change in the near future and we don’t have to deal with them running short of air/power/water/food/original plots every week.

In terms of the character development this week, Lt Vanessa James finally discovers Chloe and Lt Scott are in a relationship and…. doesnt have that much of a reaction. Sure she looks upset but I would have expected something more than just a quick “couldn’t you find a broom closet”. Whats more she is also sympathetic to Chloe when Lt Scott is injured on the planet. While this does show a surprising level of maturity on the part of her character, I hope this is not the end of the matter and that the only reason she did not say anything to Chloe was because she knows Chloe is in a vulnerable state at the moment.

This may also be the reason that I was disappointed in this episode as Lt Kirk sorry Scott survives the episode AGAIN, and according to spoilers is still alive at the end of the season. From reading forums it is clear that I am not the only person who has a problem with his behaviour, and I can only hope that the producers of the show decide to kill him off in a particularly gruesome way, perhaps by having him sleep with a member of a species who eat their mates after sex!

Moving on from my regular Scott/Kirk rant, I also found Col Young’s decision to go on the mission surprising especially when he took both himself and Lt Scott on the mission. This is one lesson he should have learnt from the newer Star Trek series, only 1 of the commanding officer and 2nd in command should go on away missions not both. As far as I could see there was no good reason for Col Young to go on the mission, or at least no good reason for him to take Lt Scott along as well.

This then left Lt Johansen (the medic) in command, who in my opinion showed why she was a medic and not a soldier. This also raises the question of whatever happened to Rush being in command of the Destiny mission which he claimed to be in the first episode.

I also did not buy the sheer volume of Water the Aliens were meant to have consumed, all the Aliens apparently fitted into a barrel that held probably no more than 100 litres, yet we are meant to believe they consumed 40 000 litres of water in a short space of time. I dont care if they are growing exponentially, for the amount of aliens seen this amount seems far too great. I can only hope this is a deliberate “mistake” to be brought up at a later date and not laziness on the part of the writers.

There was also the first hint of discord between Rush and Eli, when Eli filled the Colonel in on the Alien “incursion” when Rush was trying to keep it quite, he then calls Eli a child over this. Now while Eli is in someways immature, I am on his side in this case. While there are some occasions when you dont need to let people know what is going on, this was not one of them and Col Young being in charge of the Destiny mission needed to be kept informed, even if as correctly stated by Rush the water was more important.

Though given that their was a 3 hour difference between the supply of air and the time before Destiny leaves then I cant see why Young could not have returned and got out of the suit and sent Kinnear (woman mentioned by Scott as an alternative to Young) back to the planet. I also doubt that they got nearly enough water from the planet, which makes me wonder if the Destiny only stopped as it sensed the Alien life form and wanted to give it a chance to “jump ship”. I am also surprised that the Destiny doesn’t have mining capabilities as while it was meant to be unmanned it would need to keep supplies topped up for the periodic visits by Ancients that were originally planned.

Overall then, while there was nothing badly wrong with this episode, there were just too many small flaws for it to be an enjoyable episode by my standards.

Episode Rating

6/10

Destiny Death Count

1 – Corporal Gorman

Total Missing or Dead – 4