Stargate Universe episode 20 spoiler-free review

20. Incursion Part 2

Stargate Universe has been almost consistently delivering brilliant episodes week after week, and in the lead up to the finale, the last two have been just outstanding. If you, like me, have been enjoying the Lucian Alliance storyline so far, you’ll be happy to know that the finale delivers massively on the promises of the last two weeks.

Characterisation here is key, as everyone hands in a brilliant performance. Robert Carlyle as Dr Rush is, as always, an utter gem; Louis Ferreira’s Col Young is as good as ever, if not boosted by the performance of his co-star, Carlyle; David Blue and Elyse Levesque hand in their best scenes here, as Eli and Chloe remain closed off from the rest of the situation. Lou Diamond Philips makes his welcome return continually seem like a great thing for the series.

We get to learn a little more about the Lucian Alliance, and their motives too, as the focus on them is great and they explain their actions pretty thoroughly throughout. Their inclusion here is still hugely better than their SG-1 appearances, where they seemed like their only goal was to rule the world, be smarmy and wear silly clothes. They may have kept the latter, but their actions at least seem to have distinct reasoning here, even if Commander Kiva does some incredibly evil things.

The effects here are the best they’ve ever been, with some external shots of Destiny mixing some of the best computer generated effects all season, mixed in perfectly with creative handiwork. The effects team here prove themselves to be the best in the business, at least in the world of TV, that is.

A few answers to questions, which I had been scratching my head about for a while, get picked up here and have a ridiculously complicated answer to hear. Of course, it’s sci-fi and I believe that the answers may have some basis in science, but the scene where it is all laid out can seem a bit too much at first. So, if, like me, you like to know exactly what’s going on, you may want to have your Sky+ or V+ remotes at the ready, with your finger poised above the rewind button, as it may take a second listen to really get it. Those of you without those fancier features on your TVs may just have to pretend you understood it.

The ending was described by Joseph Mallozzi to be “the biggest HOLY #%&@! ending I have ever written,” and while in my mind I was thinking of completely different things than what actually happened, the reality was still pretty striking. It only really matters, however, if the writers have enough balls to follow through when it comes to season two.

In closing (purely because more can’t be said without giving too much away) this is an episode which delivered incredibly well on its build up, and then some. If season two is half as good as this finale was, we will be enjoying an incredible sci-fi series for years to come.

Check out our review of episode 19 here. Our spoiler-filled review will be live shortly…

Stargate Universe is shown in the UK on Sky1 and Sky1 HD.