SGU 2.04 "Pathogen" Episode Guide

Précis

Chloe behaves in a bizarre way, prompting a search of her quarters, where Lt. Scott finds a journal penned in an alien language. Elsewhere, Eli copes with his mother's medical condition.

Guide | Transcript

Syfy.com Official Summary

Eli's mom is sick, and Eli must rush home to see to her. Once on Earth, he realizes that she won't come out of her depression until she realizes that he's OK and cares about her.

Eli's Earthly woes are matched on the ship. No one can figure out why Chloe, who's been acting strangely, has recovered so quickly from her gunshot wound, but when she goes missing and is found in a daze in one of the cargo holds, the crew realize that she must be under some kind of residual genetic manipulation program from her abduction by the aliens. Young wants to quarantine her immediately, but Rush, who has been making huge strides in learning how to control the systems of the ship, convinces him to let her go about her life, under careful observation. He uses her vulnerable state to get her to solve an equation for him—an equation that will give him even more control over Destiny—but he continues to keep the bulk of his knowledge a secret from the rest of the crew.

On Earth, Camile is reconnecting with Sharon, but the pressure of a cross-galaxy relationship is wearing on her, and domestic tensions only get higher when Camile rushes to Eli's side to counsel him through his crisis with his mother.

Young has decided to give the Lucian prisoners a trial integration with the rest of the crew, in exchange for the intel they've been providing, but he may have to rethink his decision when Simeon, one of the Lucians, gets inappropriate with Park. The man is locked up, and Varro attempts to patch things over—which has an effect on TJ, but the rivalry between Simeon and Greer has been ignited, and is not likely to cool down anytime soon.

Brody, Park and Young are all becoming suspicious of Rush who, in a bind, shows them the equation that Chloe solved, and implies that the erratic behavior of the ship—dropping out of FTL with no gates nearby, turning off course for no apparent reason—is a result of her sabotage, at which point Young proceeds with his original plan and has her quarantined.

Camile, who is unable to solve her own domestic problems, is at least able to help Eli: She orders immediate clearance for his mother, and allows her to use the communication stones to visit the ship and see, with her own eyes, the magnificent work he's a part of.

As a last-ditch effort, Rush proposes sitting Chloe in the neural interface of Destiny—the chair that made Franklin disappear—in hopes that it will burn away the alien parts of her, leaving the human part. Young and TJ reluctantly agree, and though she emerges safely, her condition remains the same, and her future—along with that everyone she's in contact with—remains uncertain.

Modified by Solutions.

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
• and Ming-Na as Camile Wray

Guest Starring:

• Reiko Aylesworth as Sharon Walker
• Louise Lombard as Gloria Rush
• Peter Kelamis as Adam Brody
• Julia Benson as Lt. Vanessa James
• Patrick Gilmore as Dr. Dale Volker
• Jennifer Spence as Dr. Lisa Park
• Mark Burgess as Dr. Jeremy Franklin
• Alisen Down as Dr. Brightman
• with Robert Knepper as Simeon
• and Mike Dopud as Varro

Closing Credits:

• Glynis Davies as Maryann Wallace
• Leanne Adachi as Cpl. Barnes
• Primo Allon as Koz

Production

• Written by Carl Binder
• Directed by Robert Carlyle

Related Articles

Keywords

• Destiny
• Neural Interface Chair

Other

• Stargate Universe: Season Two
• Previous: SGU 2.03 "Awakening" Episode Guide
• Next: SGU 2.05 "Cloverdale" Episode Guide

Related Links

Official

• MGM Official Website: Search Results for "Pathogen"
• Syfy: 2.04 "Pathogen" Guide

Fan

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

Production Notes

• "More spinning today in the writers’ room and more headway made on those first ten episodes. ... Carl has requested Episode 5 ..." — Joseph Mallozzi, October 28, 2009
• "Tomorrow, looks like Carl is on deck as episode five jumps two spots to take the position formerly held by episode three (my baby)..." — Joseph Mallozzi, November 3, 2009
• Concerning the body-swapping communication stones technology: JES writes: “What’s to prevent these characters from using the bodies to commit other antisocial and illegal acts? Where’s the limit?” Answer: "Great question. And it’s one Exec. Producer Carl may be positing in season two." — Joseph Mallozzi, November 7, 2009
• "Yesterday, we gave and received notes on three outlines: ... Episode 4 (Carl’s story, which will shoot first)." — Joseph Mallozzi, November 21, 2009
• "Prep has already begun on the first episode up, Pathogen (actually episode 4), with our special guest director." — Joseph Mallozzi, February 11, 2010
• Major D. Davis writes: "When do you start shooting pathogen?" Answer: "A week from Wednesday." — Joseph Mallozzi, February 25, 2010
• "Carl continues prep on episode #4 (Pathogen), in addition to working on that outline for episode #7. ... Our first cast read-thru early next week to be followed by our first day of principal photography on Pathogen (Yes, it’s episode #4, but it’s shooting in the #1 slot) and the start of prep on Intervention (Episode #1)." — Joseph Mallozzi, March 5, 2010
• "Rob and Carl have spent the past couple of days on the set, watching Director Robert Carlyle work his magic." — Joseph Mallozzi, March 12, 2010
• "Yesterday, we received a visit from our friends at Syfy, Exec. VP of Original Programming Mark Stern and Director of Development Erika Kennair, who dropped by to talk travel, television and, oh yeah, Stargate: Universe. We spent the afternoon discussing the first five scripts of season two and beyond – character developments, story arcs, and surprises in store for the not too distant future. It was a pleasant and ultimately fruitful sit-down that yielded some terrific ideas that I was quite excited about… until I sat down in front of my laptop this morning and realized I would now have to incorporate these terrific ideas into the rewrite of Awakening. Don’t get me wrong. I really do like the notions we came up with. They’ll help clarify some of the character motivations and offer up interesting revelations about her heroes. I just hate rewrites. Even more than I hate writing first drafts." — Joseph Mallozzi, March 12, 2010
• "WOW! Long but great day of shooting "Pathogen" scenes! LUV 2 Bobby Carlyle & @cpbinder !! My acting muscles are SORE! haha NITE!! xoxo" — Ming-Na, Twitter, March 12, 2010
• "Yep, Robert Carlyle is directing the first episode on the production schedule – which actually happens to be episode 4 in the airing schedule, Pathogen. No need to be gentle with Bobby. He’s incredibly well-prepared, knows the shots he wants and, more importantly, knows how to get them. He’s also got a fantastic cast and crew backing him up. And the dailies look great!" — Joseph Mallozzi, March 13, 2010
• "My gosh you guys, what a week. Carlyle did a fantastic job on this episode. And we've got a guest star who is going to blow u away." — Brian J. Smith, Twitter, March 20, 2010
• "Today, we watched the very first director’s cut of the new season. Congratulations go out to writer Carl Binder, the cast and crew, and, especially, Robert Carlyle who delivered big time in his SGU directorial debut." — Joseph Mallozzi, March 29, 2010
• "We capped off the day by watching a Producer’s Cut of episode #4, Pathogen. A great script by Carl Binder, wonderfully directed by Robert Carlyle." — Joseph Mallozzi, April 6, 2010
• On working with Robert Carlyle as the director: "Oh! He was a fantastic director. He's an actor, so he gets it. He understands what you're going through as an actor and the fears you may have about the scene or yourself. He creates an atmosphere where you feel safe and you feel loved, and that you can't really do anything wrong, which is the best kind of way to work because you're not censoring yourself. He was great, he would come up to us and give us notes that were so smart and so human and so actable. The episode he had to work on, was a beautiful episode and a very intimate episode but also one that's setting up a lot of stuff that's going to be a major problem down the road. So, it was a big responsibility for him, but it was kind of funny to watch him having to wear two hats. He'll be standing there in costume trying to hit his mark and act the scene out and then have to yell cut [laughs] and go talk to the DP and figure out what shot to do next and stuff like that. It was a trip, but he was fantastic. He really hit it out of the park and did a great job." — Brian J. Smith, interview with Den of Geek, April 13, 2010
• "Robert Carlyle is scheduled to assume directing duties on Pathogen’s outstanding scenes later today" — Joseph Mallozzi, April 16, 2010
• "Between the goings-on on Stage 6 and my office, I also found the time to join my fellow producers in taking in a matinee double-feature: Carl Binder’s producer’s cut of Pathogen (actually, I only caught the last 15 minutes, but I liked what I saw and loved those pick-up scenes, particularly that wandering look…yeah, I’m pushing this particular arc)..." — Joseph Mallozzi, April 21, 2010
• "Robert Carlyle also took over the director's chair for one episode (which will air 4th) that mostly takes place on Earth; with Camile and Eli going home to visit their loved ones. 'It was probably the most emotional thing I've ever done,' Blue confessed. 'I'd never done it before,' Carlyle said. 'I mean I've directed in the theater. It was fantastic working with David on that episode.'" — IGN SDCC report, July 23, 2010

Further Reading

• Joseph Mallozzi's Blog
• Ming-Na's Twitter
• Brian J. Smith's Twitter
• Den of Geek: Brian J. Smith Interview, April 13, 2010
• IGN: SDCC 10: Heroes Star Invades SGU Season 2, July 23, 2010
• Solutions: Stargate Universe: 2.04 "Pathogen", October 19, 2010

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--DeeKayP 18:40, 20 January 2010 (UTC)