A couple of weeks ago, commenter “Asher” noted that Rush’s wife (and possibly the late Dr. Franklin) were not just figments of Rush’s imagination, but were actually the embodiment of Destiny’s A.I.. I wasn’t really sure how that could be, nor why anyone would assume that. But in tonight’s episode, Rush seems to indicate that at least Dr. Franklin is “the ship,” and that this isn’t ghosts he is (or we are) seeing. The question now is: did the ship just pull those memories out of Rush’s brain once he got in the bridge, or is it a result of something else?
I also believe Rush could have just made that statement about Franklin as part of him losing his marbles. It could be that he believes they are part of the ship, but in fact he’s just imagining them. We now know he’s been spending countless hours in the Hall of Equations, which certainly didn’t speak well of his sanity. His crumbling mind may also be why he went so far as to throw Chloe in the chair — did he really think it might make her well, or did interfacing her to the ship trigger of something else his crazy mind wanted?
The other major storyline in this episode I really liked, and it was surprisingly touching; I actually choked up a wee bit. Eli’s mom finally learns the truth about Destiny and where her son has been all these months, and the way they went about convincing her made a lot of sense, even though it was risky for the program. Does anyone else think Eli’s mother looks like she can’t keep a secret for more than two seconds? It’s not that what she says would jeopardize government secrets, it’s that she might get locked in a loony bin! The other risk is having evil dudes catch wind of what she’s spouting off about and use that information against Eli and crew.
I know a lot of people are on the fence about the use of the stones on SGU, myself included, but this was a nice way to throw it back into the story briefly and actually clear up that dangling plot of Eli’s mom never hearing from her son. I’m all for them putting the stones on a shelf again and use them when it really matters to the story.
Clacked by Keith McDuffee 
on Oct 19, 2010 @ 22:47 EST5EDT
From the beginning, when Rush was dreaming in the chair it seemed that the ship’s AI was playing psychiatrist to the mad doctor Rush. Definitely alot of story potential there I think if they dont hold it back for too long; like Lost.
I don’t understand why they won’t let the families visit the Destiny in the first place … since they let Destiny castaways visit home
Two things: Wasn’t Dr. Franklin the guy who went in the chair then totally disappeared? That’s why I thought he was part of the ship and not a hallucination.
And as for Rush’s Hall of Equations, while he may be spending time there, I thought it was also a way for him to explain away his frequent absences, an excuse to spend time on the bridge.
I like how Rush blames the ship’s movements on Chloe so that the others don’t know that he’s the one controlling Destiny now. Speaking of which… what the heck is Rush trying to do with the ship? Why all the jumps? I’m not sure what he’s trying to accomplish, or if he’s just messing around and figuring out what all the little buttons do.
I’m calling it the crazy corridor!
Yeah Rush, that was pretty low.
I must have missed something, because I remember Camile’s girlfriend being significantly injured before….?
Hmmm. Are you thinking about when Camille stone switched w/ the brilliant doctor who was paralyzed?
I like SU but it is starting to make my brain hurt.
Come to think of it….so does about everything.
Did Rush purposely make Chloe fail the test for more of his secret manipulations?….
Good question. I think so, he certainly cast suspicion in another direction, with what seemed to be a charade. He knew everyone would treat her well, and just try to help her. Not a bad plan really, for the jerk.
Ha Ha!(the jerk). Bsgfan2003, I just love the passion in your posts. Thank you.