'Stargate Universe' Season 2, Episode 20 (Series Finale) Recap

['Stargate Universe' – 'Gauntlet']

The Gate stopped spinning and Destiny went dark in the captivating 'Stargate Universe' season finale.

'Gauntlet' was a strong, densely plotted, emotional hour. It failed to wrap up all of the show's many hanging threads, but I don't think anyone expected 'SGU' to answer every single mindboggling question it ever brought up here, especially since it's well-known that the actors and creators learned about the show's cancellation after filming had wrapped.

But its no accident that 'Gauntlet' had an appropriate sense of finality to it. 'SGU' co-creator Brad Wright told me in a recent interview that the episode was designed to work as a season finale as well as a series finale of sorts. As the show's ratings started to dip following the move to Tuesdays last October, Wright and crew figured that they should really make this season ender count.

Instead of devoting the episode to addressing the show's more complex puzzles, like the search for the "God signal" that was said to be Destiny's true purpose, the finale focused on the characters and how they've grown and learned to work together as a family unit.

I'm aware that some of you who felt cheated by the 'Lost' finale are probably more than a little weary about the whole "It's all about the characters" idea when it comes to sci-fi TV shows. But I never found 'SGU''s "signal" mystery arc very compelling. It really was the characters, their relationships and their individual arcs that kept me coming back to the show. Also, space battles. Big, gorgeous space battles!

The battles in this episode were exciting and great fun to watch. We got to see wild Drone kamikaze runs and two giant Drone command ships blow up. I like explosions! Explosions are cool! Plus the effects here looked amazing. 'SGU' was truly one of the best looking sci-fi shows to hit the screen in quite some time.

The action was awesome, but so was that tender dinner scene featuring the show's major players. The scene, which could have easily played overly schmaltzy and indulgent, was genuinely moving, warm and funny. The actors, especially Louis Ferreira, made every moment feel genuine and earned here. The short scene played like a celebration of how far these characters have come together. I loved hearing Young refer to Rush as the "crazy uncle" and make a toast "to family."

Almost every character in the ensemble, even Dr. Park, had something at least mildly interesting to do here. Brody and Volker had a few fun exchanges, Chloe sold Rush on Eli's plan, Matt and Camille felt the pain of leaving loved ones behind, and TJ struggled to stay strong. But Eli, Young and Rush were the stars of the night.

I liked seeing these three stay behind for a while after everyone else went into stasis. The acrimonious dynamic between Rush and Young played out again with Young unable to trust Rush to do the right thing. It was a little surprising to see Rush volunteer to stay behind, but, as Eli suggested, maybe he volunteered because he knew that Young wouldn't let him do it.

But Rush assured Eli that he didn't want anyone to die. These two shared a satisfying scene where the elder scientist finally admitted to the slacker genius that he had "tremendous potential."

Rush even gave Eli some props for proving himself worthy over the past two seasons. "You've come a long way from that videogame slacker we discovered a year ago," he said. Eli's sly response: "You've been pretty consistent."

Leaving the fates of the ship and its crew in Eli's hands felt appropriate. Eli was the one who made all of this possible, after all, and he's been pretty consistent with the brilliant, life-saving ideas in the past several episodes.

As Eli stood alone on the observation deck, alternately bewildered and inspired by the beauty and vastness of the cosmos, I thought, "So this is what 'Stargate Universe' has been building to all along (on an emotional level anyway)."

Eli, like many of us at some point in our lives, was faced with the difficult task of believing in himself. He still looked like the videogame-obsessed slacker we met in the pilot, but the heart of a true hero was beating underneath that silly 'You Are Here' T-shirt.

I could go on and on here, but I'll turn it over to you, folks. Feel free to discuss the finale and how you feel about the series as a whole in the comments. And go ahead and speculate on where you think the show and the characters could have (or should have) gone from here, if you like.

It's been quite a ride. Happy trails, Destiny.