"Hey! First ever space battle!" Thanks, Eli. I'm glad somebody other than me said it. After several months off the air, Stargate Universe came back this week with a crackerjack of an episode. I know this series is supposed to be about the way people isolate themselves from those around them and how civilized society is a difficult prospect to maintain, but I can't be blamed for wanting my shiny sci-fi show to have some wicked cosmic combat every now and then. The dramatic angst of SGU gives the series some gravity, but without the snazzy technology and popcorn excitement, it would be just another soap opera.

When last we left the crew of the Ancient vessel Destiny, they were scouring yet another inhospitable planet for resources when Colonel Young decided he'd had enough of Dr. Rush's meddling. An unhinged hothead soldier on board the ship offed himself, but Rush framed Young as the soldier's killer. For his secret attempted mutiny, Rush gets left on the barren rock Destiny is orbiting as the rest of the crew jumps away.

But hey, Robert Carlyle is one of the leads, so it wasn't a matter of if he was going to return to Destiny, just how and when. For the better part of "Space" it looked like it was going to be just another Monster of the Week episode, but then Rush shows up on a hostile alien ship looking a little worse for wear. It seems that the crashed ship in the midseason finale belonged to a race of blue squid-like creatures with an interest in Ancient technology that rivals Rush's. They take him prisoner and use a mind-reading device to divine Destiny's location, intercepting the crew's Communication Stone transmission to gather intel before they attack.

After the aforementioned wicked space battle, the aliens capture Chloe and put her in a pod just like Rush. Young uses the Communication Stones to zap himself into one of the aliens' bodies again, stumbling upon Rush's pod in the process.

This is what I've really come to appreciate about Stargate Universe. Though it doesn't have the gut-punching grit of other modern sci-fi productions and it errs a little too often on episodic storytelling, it frequently proves that high concept genre has the ability to be deeply allegorical. The Young/Rush conflict has been at the center of this show from the beginning, so their jumbled confrontation on the alien ship really felt like a strong payoff. Just like they are on Destiny, Young and Rush can't understand one another because they are fundamentally different. Whether it's in body or in mind, these two men are alien to one another. Even when they get back to Destiny, it's clear that the only thing keeping them from waging all-out war on one another is the damage it would do to the innocent people around them.

Best Moment: The space battle for action and the montage of loneliness at the end for drama. They were strong examples of the two sides of the show.

Notes: There are a few minor dramas in the background of this episode, like the stifled romances, simmering dissent and sock-sewing dilemmas of various crew members. These threads provide some depth to SGU that doesn't need to be there, but still makes the show better.

Episode Rating: 5/5- The second half of the first season of Stargate Universe is shaping up to be a welcome slice of Spring television. If the rest of the season can balance all the best elements of the series like "Space" did, SGU will soon occupy must-see territory.