Storytime with Rachel F Hundred

Just enough intriguing questions

Incursion Part 1 is the meat in the finale sandwich between the very good Subversion and the yet to be seen, and imaginatively entitled, Incursion Part 2. Like all middle sections, it risks being boring and nothing more than a continuation of the set-up to the grand finale. While it does manage not to fall foul of boring thanks to being action-packed but it does fall foul of some plotting issues while remaining stuck in ‘set-up’ mode, but bizarrely doesn’t leave an enthralling cliff-hanger.

Let me start with the ending because it was in a word, pathetic. Maybe it’s because with the serial nature of SGU the audience is used to events being left in limbo. Maybe it’s because the music failed to deliver a sufficiently dramatic note of ‘duh-Duh-DUH.’ Maybe it’s even because Louis Ferriera’s quiet delivery of the end line was too quiet and not bombastic enough to create the needed tension. Or more realistically it’s a combination of all of these things that means the ending with Young declaring it’s time to take down the Lucian Alliance is something of a damp squib. It’s possibly the least impactful ending of a ‘Part 1’ in the franchise’s long history. Frankly, it’s lucky that ‘Part 2’ is the actual finale and so people will want to tune in anyway. The only shocking thing about Young’s declaration was his assertion Rush was right.

Young’s command issues which have really been the core of the season arc come sharply into focus in this episode and that’s a very good thing in terms of season pay-off. His issues with Rush, with Telford, with Wray; his seeming inability to make the tough decisions on one hand, and yet to be utterly ruthless on the other; his incredibly poor communication skills causing problems, all resurface here. And that’s good to see.

Nicely sub-plotted in contrast to Young’s command issues on Destiny is Carter’s deft command of the Hammond. I loved seeing Amanda Tapping back as Sam Carter; loved her short scene with Jack (Jack even calls her Sam!). But it’s not just done for the sake of it: Carter’s decision to leave two of her pilots behind to save her ship is there to hold up a mirror to Young’s performance. She made the hard decision whereas it looks like Young bottled it. It is a good contrast and a good use of the heroes we know and trust being used to show the flaws in their SGU counterparts.

However, it’s never really made clear why Carter has to leave the pilots behind given she had ordered them beamed out once they got clear of the shielded areas (an additional aside that they were still in shielded areas or that they were unable to get a lock to beam would have been enough to tighten this up). It’s also not really clear in terms of plotting that when it’s evident Telford has been compromised as a spy and has provided information to Earth against the Lucian Alliance, why Kiva is so quick to trust him and let him lead a team of her men. Given the additional question of why Young didn’t just do what he’d done at the start of the episode when faced with the Alliance invasion (just vent the atmosphere in the ‘gate room and revive Telford afterwards), the plot does start to look a little frayed around the edges.

But there is much to like in the writing of this middle part: the scene between Telford and Young in the infirmary, the confrontation between Scott and Young, the chilling ruthlessness of Kiva in threatening the lives of two of the most liked characters in Reilly and TJ. Plus it is action packed: from the shocking suffocation of Telford at the beginning, to the attack on the Alliance base, to their evacuation through the ‘gate to Destiny, to the abortive plans.

All of the production remains quality too from the special effects which get to shine in the scene where the Alliance man is burned to a cinder by a strange white ray that enters through a breech in the hull and the attack on the Lucian Alliance, to the costuming of the Lucian Alliance which, while sticking with the leather motif of previous incarnations in Stargate SG-1, does give the impression of an army rather than a raggedy band of thieves and outlaws.

In conclusion

It is another solid hour of entertainment for the franchise and, while the ending isn’t perhaps as much of a hook as it was intended, Incursion Part 1 does provide a good set-up. Will Young step up and beat the Lucian Alliance? Will Reilly become a red-shirt? Will Telford betray them again? Will Kiva harm a pregnant TJ? Will Eli discover the answer to their problems and be the hero? There are enough intriguing questions as the crew of Destiny faces a fight for the ship alongside their continued survival to make the audience tune in with anticipation for the season finale.