SGU 2.20 "Gauntlet" Episode Guide

Précis

Blocked by Command Ships at every star and unable to gate for supplies without alerting the drones, Destiny must take a stand or be left adrift.

Guide | Transcript

MGM/Syfy.com Official Summary

The good news is, Rush and Eli have created a program that allows them to see all of the command ships, and their attacking drones, in the whole of the galaxy. The bad news is, they're positioned at every gate in Destiny's path until the edge of the galaxy.

Eli sums up the situation: There are drones in attack positions at every supply site from here to the edge of the galaxy. Destiny has enough energy to make an FTL jump through this galaxy, across the stellar gap and into the next galaxy, provided no life support is used. The ship has enough stasis pods for every crew member to go into stasis for the duration of the jump, until they find themselves clear of the hostile race. Their only chance is to step into the pods, set the FTL jump, and come out when they're clear - in three years. The plan shocks everyone, but it's the best they can do with what they've got.

Each crew member is lining up to visit Earth and say goodbye to their loved ones, when a glitch occurs: The ship needs a supply of a rare element, found on a nearby planet. Park devises a strategy to launch a shuttle as a decoy to draw the fire of the drones while Destiny dials the planet and retrieves the needed material.

Before long, the crew is loaded into the pods. The nucleus of command - Rush, Eli, Young, TJ, Camille and their colleagues - are enjoying a final meal as the ragtag family they have become. Then, the officers step into their pods, and Eli, Rush and Young have one last conference.

It seems that one of the pods is malfunctioning, but the ship doesn't have enough life support for all three of them to stay out and solve the problem. Rush volunteers to stay out of the pod to fix the problem, but Young refuses. He can't trust the man, and would rather give his life than risk the mission Eli has crafted. He goes to say goodbye to Eli, but the budding scientist will have none of it. After a year of shadowing Rush and saving the ship and her crew again and again, Eli finally realizes his value. With full confidence, he proclaims his genius and his ability to fix the pod. He won't have it any other way: Young and Rush must go into stasis while Eli solves the problem on his own.

Young believes in him, and Rush, perhaps finally exhausted, yields. The elder men step into stasis, and Eli, self-possessed, stands gazing at the stars for one last time before getting to work.

Cast

Opening Credits:

• Robert Carlyle as Dr. Nicholas Rush
• Louis Ferreira as Col. Everett Young
• Brian J. Smith as 1st Lt. Matthew Scott
• Elyse Levesque as Chloe Armstrong
• David Blue as Eli Wallace
• Alaina Huffman as 1st Lt. Tamara Johansen
• Jamil Walker Smith as MSgt. Ronald Greer
• Ming-Na as Camile Wray

Guest Starring:

• Mike Dopud as Varro
• Jennifer Spence as Dr. Lisa Park
• Patrick Gilmore as Dr. Dale Volker
• Peter Kelamis as Adam Brody
• Julia Benson as Lt. Vanessa James
• Vincent Gale as Dr. Morrison
• Anna Galvin as Mrs. Armstrong
• and Lou Diamond Phillips as Col. David Telford

Closing Credits:

• Glynis Davies as Maryann Wallace
• Leanne Adachi as Cpl. Barnes
• Trevor Carroll as Sgt. Graham
• Sarah Smyth as Anne Balic
• Gordon Grice as Matthew Balic

Production

• Written by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie
• Directed by Andy Mikita

Related Articles

Keywords

• Command Ship and Drones
• Destiny

Other

• Stargate Universe: Season Two
• Previous: SGU 2.19 "Blockade" Episode Guide

Related Links

Official

• MGM Official Website: Search Results for "Gauntlet"
• Syfy: 2.20 "Gauntlet" Guide

Fan

• Solutions News and Spoiler Blog
• Solutions at LJ: Universe Tagged Entries
• Solutions Universe Forum

Production Notes

• "201: Intervention, 202: Aftermath, 203: Awakening, 204: Pathogen, 205: Cloverdale, 206: Trial and Error, 207: The Greater Good, 208: Malice, 209: Visitation, 210: Resurgence, 211: Deliverance, 212: Twin Destinies, 213: Alliances, 214: Hope, 215: Seizure, 216: The Hunt, 217: (Rob’s script), 218: (Carl’s script), 219: Blockade, 220: Gauntlet. Yep. All we need are a couple of titles." — Joseph Mallozzi, July 10, 2010
• "As was the case in every other season, the script for our season finale will be written by the time a decision is made on a pick-up. In fact, I suspect that by the time we do hear, we will have already wrapped production on season 2." — Joseph Mallozzi, July 11, 2010
• "Some discussion on the as-yet-untitled (or, more appropriately, once-titled-and-subsequently-untitled) episode 20. Paul is slated to assume the writing duties on this one but that could change depending on how busy he finds himself in the next few weeks." — Joseph Mallozzi, September 2, 2010
• "Success! I finished my rewrite of The Hunt, finally nailing that tricky fourth act scene. I’ll re-read it sometime this weekend and put it out on Tuesday after which my entire week will be free to spin episode 20, the season finale, that Paul will probably be writing (unless the approaching rewrites prove too time-consuming in which case I’ll be doing the honors)." — Joseph Mallozzi, September 3, 2010
• pg15 writes: "No Gauntlet for the season finale? Wonder why that is. It’s a pretty sweet name." Answer: "It IS a sweet title – but no longer applicable." — Joseph Mallozzi, September 3, 2010
• "In the afternoon, we also started spinning the big season finale. Tomorrow, we start putting the beats up on the board." — Joseph Mallozzi, September 9, 2010
• "Well, so much for best intentions. The plan was to start beating out the big season finale this morning, but with Brad on Stage 6 overseeing the first day of main unit on Seizure and Carl down on Stage 5 overseeing the icky second unit action on Hope, we never did get around to gathering. Then, after lunch, I was in casting for two hours, checking out potential Corporal Reynolds, Sara Johansens, Steven Johansens, 12 year old TJ’s, and Tasia’s. By the time I got back upstairs, it was too late and now we’re eyeing Monday as a potential target of opportunity." — Joseph Mallozzi, September 10, 2010
• "Finally, I was going to address some of the 'fan' conspiracy concerns in today’s mailbag but got sidetracked by prep on The Hunt, spinning episode 20, and this blog entry." — Joseph Mallozzi, September 13, 2010
• "We finally finished breaking episode 20 today. Formerly titled Gauntled [sic], then untitled, now retitled Gauntlet, it’s a fitting end to SGU’s spectacular second season. I’ve been tasked with outlining the story and – depending on Paul’s schedule – scripting it as well. I’ll get right on that as soon as I finish work on The Hunt that goes to camera next week." — Joseph Mallozzi, September 15, 2010
• "I put out my outline for episode 20, Gauntlet, and look forward to the feedback." — Joseph Mallozzi, September 27, 2010
• "Started work on the script for Gauntlet, our season two finale. Five pages down; only forty-five (ish) to go. Ideally, if I continue on this torrid pace, I should have a first draft completed for the week of the 19th." — Joseph Mallozzi, October 4, 2010
• "Gauntlet, episode 20, the script I’m working on will be a satisfying and surprising season finale." — Joseph Mallozzi, October 8, 2010
• "My sleep patterns are all wonky while I’m in Montreal so last night, I was up until 2:00 a.m. working on my script for episode 20, Gauntlet, the season two finale. I hit the 16 page mark and, if all goes as planned, should have it half completed for my return to the office on Wednesday – by which time I’ll have to set it aside for a couple of days while I tackle my producer’s edit of The Hunt. I’m feeling the pressure because, at this point, it’s the only script outstanding – and the episode begins prepping October 26th. That new set should be built by then and I’m looking forward to checking it out." — Joseph Mallozzi, October 9, 2010
• "The clouds are parting. I can finally see daylight! I handed off the first four acts of Gauntlet to my writing partner, Paul, today, then went to Post and finished cutting episode 16, The Hunt, with editor Rick Martin." — Joseph Mallozzi, October 18, 2010
• "Well, finally completed work on that cursed script – surprisingly those last two acts were relatively painless – and passed the first draft off to my writing partner, Paul, to work his magic. I’ve never been so relieved to write those glorious two words 'FADE' and 'OUT'." — Joseph Mallozzi, October 19, 2010
• "Paul finished up his pass on Gauntlet over the weekend and, today, heads prep on episode 20. Boy, that last scene… Dare I say it? Not a dry eye in the house!" — Joseph Mallozzi, October 26, 2010
• "On the SGU side, we’re all focused on episode #20, Gauntlet, which starts shooting next week. This one’ll raise (and singe) a few eyebrows – and set the stage for some major season 3 developments." — Joseph Mallozzi, November 3, 2010
• "Looking ahead to a short week on the production side. Prep on Stargate: Universe’s second season ends as we head into production on the season finale, Gauntlet." — Joseph Mallozzi, November 7, 2010
• "Today, we started production on our final episode of the season: Gauntlet. There is one scene still outstanding, however, and it looks like I may be the one to write it – right after I finish my producer’s edit of The Hunt tomorrow." — Joseph Mallozzi, November 8, 2010
• Major D. Davis writes: "In terms of finales.. which one do you think is better (and tells a bigger story).. Gauntlet or Incursion.. you gotta give me a tease here.. Gauntlet sounds EPIC!" Answer: "Gauntlet is definitely more epic…and gut-wretching a cliffhanger." — Joseph Mallozzi, November 12, 2010
• "Also, watched my cut of The Hunt this afternoon. The A, B, and C stories interweave nicely and, again, some nice character and comic beats peppered throughout. The T.J. flashbacks are officially filed away for next season – but that’s fine because it pushes me to come up with a T.J.-centered story. Both Carl and Brad came up with some terrific potential season 3 stories. Let’s just say the second season finale sets up a VERY INTERESTING scenario." — Joseph Mallozzi, November 15, 2010

Further Reading

• Joseph Mallozzi's Blog
• Solutions Blog: Search for "Gauntlet"
• Solutions: Stargate Franchise Ends Tonight with Universe's "Gauntlet", May 9, 2011

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--DeeKayP 02:22, 11 July 2010 (UTC)