Rush and Young: A Photo Essay
We begin in Air parts 1 and 2. Young and Rush have already known each other for a while; Young is the commander of the Icarus Base, Rush is the lead scientist on the Icarus project. It's reasonable to assume that they already have somewhat of an established relationship.
At first appearances, this relationship isn't great. The first time we see Young and Rush together, it's the arrival to Icarus Base.
Young takes the foreground, Rush retreats to the background. Young hasn't even quite finished greeting everyone before Rush suggests, pointedly, that they get inside. He has work to do.
Immediately on getting inside, Rush puts Eli's equation into practice, and they start dialing the gate.
Rush is enthused...
…Young is skeptical.
And it doesn't work.
Even though it should, damnit!
Young orders the gate shut down.
Rush protests…
…and is overruled.
This starts a clear pattern. Rush's primary concern is getting this ninth chevron address dialed. Young has noticed this, and judged him for it. In his mind, Rush's judgment can't be trusted. He probably doesn't even really listen to Rush, most of the time, because he can't follow Rush's technobabble regardless.
Just a few minutes later, the pattern repeats itself.
Rush is working...
…and Young interrupts, inviting Eli to join him for dinner. Rush is not invited, despite the fact that he came up with the practical application for Eli's equation. This may be because Rush never accepts invitations to dine with others (the takeaway box that Becker attempts to provide Rush seems to indicate that Rush likes to take his meals alone); or, this may be because Young simply doesn't want Rush there.
Eli says yes. Rush says no.
And Young, once again, casually overrules him.
Then we're on the Destiny.
Rush nearly gets shot by Greer in attempting to fix the life support system.
This is unacceptable.
As such, Rush makes a move to undercut Young's command, and uses the communication stones to contact Earth.
…and then Young wakes up.
His first action, similarly, is to undercut Rush.
First, establish the support of Camille Wray, before he does anything else:
Then dial Earth.
Rush doesn't like this.
This leads to an argument between Young and Rush. In which Young clearly does not trust Rush's motives, and Rush just as clearly knows the most about the Ancient ship they're on.
And then the ship drops out of FTL and dials a planet. And everything suddenly, drastically changes.
Young's face is all WTF here, as he realizes that Rush might really have something to contribute, something that could help everyone.
There's a complete 180 in both of their demeanors and attitudes.
Not only does Rush loosen up, but he almost smiles. And though Young makes it clear that Scott is in charge of the mission (earning a tight, disappointed look from Rush), they do exchange a glance before Rush goes through the stargate.
We begin Darkness with Rush in a bad way. He's suffering from withdrawal. His hand shakes when he tries to pick up a cup of coffee. And he's self-evidently obsessing over Destiny's systems.
…if only all those damn scientists would stop turning things on.
The first Young and Rush interaction is in the mess hall. Rush briefly updates Young on the situation. Young listens. Which in and of itself is a change.
Young very easily agrees to tell people to stop activating Destiny's systems. Immediately, in fact. Without hesitation. There's something different here than before; Young is actually paying attention to what Rush has to offer.
But he's not entirely willing to let Rush run amok.
He tells Rush to accept someone's help. Probably because he's worried about Rush's instability. He also insists that Rush keep him informed, not the other way around.
Besides a mini dick-measuring contest, this is Young asserting his command over Rush.
"All right! Fine! I'll tell you everything!"
Young sends in Volker.
It goes well.
And then the ship goes dark.
Well, balls.
Rush starts to flip out.
Young's attempt to calm him down doesn't work.
It's worth noting here that Young calls for TJ well before Rush collapses. Young's first thought isn't that Rush is being unreasonable, it's that something is wrong.
And then, when Rush collapses, Young reaches out to him:
This is the first time Young and Rush touch, in canon.
Most likely, by this point, Young has realized that Rush is literally the best he's got. Rush is their best hope for survival. Not only that, but he's started treating Rush like someone who's essentially rational, not irrational.
So Rush wakes up, later on.
This marks a dramatic change in behavior.
From this point on, Rush is, for lack of a better word, mellow. He describes himself as embarrassed; he's apologetic, he cooperates easily. His dialogue is much less accusing and more neutral.
Young is comfortable with this.
…but now they're all boned, because they're flying straight into a sun.
We pick up again in Light. Young tells everyone there's going to be a lottery, the shuttle will leave as soon as they know if they have a habitable planet, etc., etc.
After this, Rush radios Young, and Young comes to find him. Important note here: Rush initiates contact, not Young. Before now, every contact has been Young pursuing Rush, or Young pulling a stunt that makes Rush come and stop him. In this case, Rush actually reports his findings to Young. And he does it in a soft, mellow way.
In fact, Rush is very human in this scene. His expression changes a lot. He feels. Young, in contrast, is very businesslike. He's shut down.
…with little hints of humanity.
Young turns to go, once business has finished.
And Rush calls him back.
Rush requests that his name be left out of the lottery. Young wants to know why. Rush admits hands-down the most personal thing he's ever admitted to anyone on the show: his motivations.
Rush tells Young that being on this ship is his life's work. His destiny. This goes straight to the heart of why Rush acts the way he does. And he makes this confession to Young very easily, just because Young asks.
Young turns to leave, once more --
-- and Rush calls him back again, this time asking who Young is planning to send to the shuttle. By this point, it's pretty clear that Rush is not only open to talking to Young, he's the one actually carrying the bulk of the conversation.
Then Rush suggests that Young could stack the lottery:
…and we're back to hostility.
The next scene with Young and Rush is as the shuttle leaves, when they watch from the observation deck with Greer, Chloe and Eli.
As soon as they enter, Young goes to stand next to Rush.
And they get a chance to see the Destiny from the outside.
Young looks to Rush. In fact, he addresses Greer, and he's still looking at Rush. And when Rush says what he's going to be doing for his last hours, he says it to Young, not to Chloe or Eli or Greer.
Then comes the second time Young and Rush touch, in canon.
Young reaches out a hand. He initiates it.
And Rush accepts.
Just afterward, though, he kind of fiddles with his hand.
…suggesting that Rush may not have been as entirely comfortable with the truce with Young as it appears he is.
Of course, everything goes to shit, or fails to go to shit, which is kind of going to shit in another way. The shuttle is trapped, it has to be brought back.
Young freaks out a little.
"Now would be an excellent time for you to trust me to fix this problem."
It works!
Young is surprised and happy!
And he conveys this in a rather amusing way.
What's interesting here is the progression of Rush's reaction.
First he tenses up, reflexively, then he kind of blinks, and then he looks after Young. There's a lot going on, here. Touch is obviously very important to Rush, which might be why he never touches anyone casually in canon; this touch is unexpected, and unwelcome, and Rush's first reflex is to reject it.
But his second impulse is the interesting one. It's like -- that touch wasn't really so bad.
And finally, we get to maybe the most important scene of the episode, which defines Young and Rush's relationship from here on out.
Party in the mess hall!
Rush doesn't want to join.
Check out the change in expressions. Rush does not look mellow, here. He looks hostile.
And he refuses to make eye contact.
…until Young makes an actual point.
"You took your name out of the lottery."
"So did you."
"I was injured. You made a real sacrifice."
And that's when Rush looks at Young.
This is not the open, mellow Rush we've seen in the rest of the episode. Who the hell knows what this look means, but the important part, here, is that it's guarded. Rush is no longer comfortable with showing Young his emotions.
Young sees the guardedness, and interprets the hostility, and leaps to exactly the wrong conclusion.
"Unless you knew."
Since Rush, not ten seconds earlier, said that it was essential to get the supplies back with the shuttle? There's no way he knew. No way he'd let that many supplies leave the ship with a risk that they wouldn't come back. Young leaping to this conclusion is flat-out wrong.
Sci-fi writers are smart people. They may sometimes assume their audience is kind of stupid, but it takes a really intelligent person to write TV. They put this scene in for a reason, and made it a different tone for a reason. No way they wouldn't have realized that it's fucking stupid to think that Rush knew Destiny was going to be recharged via solar power.
Add to that the markedly different acting, in this scene, and you have a turning point in this character relationship. Something about Young's trust made Rush shut down and pull away.
Rush just flat-out lets Young jump to this conclusion. Then turns and leaves him.
From here on out, the trust of this episode is never re-established. Young stays permanently suspicious of Rush. Sure, he's an idiot for jumping to this conclusion and staying there -- but Rush deliberately sabotaged his own chance of working well with Colonel Young.
And I'm done for now. Further photo-essays for later episodes might come at a later date.
At first appearances, this relationship isn't great. The first time we see Young and Rush together, it's the arrival to Icarus Base.
Young takes the foreground, Rush retreats to the background. Young hasn't even quite finished greeting everyone before Rush suggests, pointedly, that they get inside. He has work to do.
Immediately on getting inside, Rush puts Eli's equation into practice, and they start dialing the gate.
Rush is enthused...
…Young is skeptical.
And it doesn't work.
Even though it should, damnit!
Young orders the gate shut down.
Rush protests…
…and is overruled.
This starts a clear pattern. Rush's primary concern is getting this ninth chevron address dialed. Young has noticed this, and judged him for it. In his mind, Rush's judgment can't be trusted. He probably doesn't even really listen to Rush, most of the time, because he can't follow Rush's technobabble regardless.
Just a few minutes later, the pattern repeats itself.
Rush is working...
…and Young interrupts, inviting Eli to join him for dinner. Rush is not invited, despite the fact that he came up with the practical application for Eli's equation. This may be because Rush never accepts invitations to dine with others (the takeaway box that Becker attempts to provide Rush seems to indicate that Rush likes to take his meals alone); or, this may be because Young simply doesn't want Rush there.
Eli says yes. Rush says no.
And Young, once again, casually overrules him.
Then we're on the Destiny.
Rush nearly gets shot by Greer in attempting to fix the life support system.
This is unacceptable.
As such, Rush makes a move to undercut Young's command, and uses the communication stones to contact Earth.
…and then Young wakes up.
His first action, similarly, is to undercut Rush.
First, establish the support of Camille Wray, before he does anything else:
Then dial Earth.
Rush doesn't like this.
This leads to an argument between Young and Rush. In which Young clearly does not trust Rush's motives, and Rush just as clearly knows the most about the Ancient ship they're on.
And then the ship drops out of FTL and dials a planet. And everything suddenly, drastically changes.
Young's face is all WTF here, as he realizes that Rush might really have something to contribute, something that could help everyone.
There's a complete 180 in both of their demeanors and attitudes.
Not only does Rush loosen up, but he almost smiles. And though Young makes it clear that Scott is in charge of the mission (earning a tight, disappointed look from Rush), they do exchange a glance before Rush goes through the stargate.
We begin Darkness with Rush in a bad way. He's suffering from withdrawal. His hand shakes when he tries to pick up a cup of coffee. And he's self-evidently obsessing over Destiny's systems.
…if only all those damn scientists would stop turning things on.
The first Young and Rush interaction is in the mess hall. Rush briefly updates Young on the situation. Young listens. Which in and of itself is a change.
Young very easily agrees to tell people to stop activating Destiny's systems. Immediately, in fact. Without hesitation. There's something different here than before; Young is actually paying attention to what Rush has to offer.
But he's not entirely willing to let Rush run amok.
He tells Rush to accept someone's help. Probably because he's worried about Rush's instability. He also insists that Rush keep him informed, not the other way around.
Besides a mini dick-measuring contest, this is Young asserting his command over Rush.
"All right! Fine! I'll tell you everything!"
Young sends in Volker.
It goes well.
And then the ship goes dark.
Well, balls.
Rush starts to flip out.
Young's attempt to calm him down doesn't work.
It's worth noting here that Young calls for TJ well before Rush collapses. Young's first thought isn't that Rush is being unreasonable, it's that something is wrong.
And then, when Rush collapses, Young reaches out to him:
This is the first time Young and Rush touch, in canon.
Most likely, by this point, Young has realized that Rush is literally the best he's got. Rush is their best hope for survival. Not only that, but he's started treating Rush like someone who's essentially rational, not irrational.
So Rush wakes up, later on.
This marks a dramatic change in behavior.
From this point on, Rush is, for lack of a better word, mellow. He describes himself as embarrassed; he's apologetic, he cooperates easily. His dialogue is much less accusing and more neutral.
Young is comfortable with this.
…but now they're all boned, because they're flying straight into a sun.
We pick up again in Light. Young tells everyone there's going to be a lottery, the shuttle will leave as soon as they know if they have a habitable planet, etc., etc.
After this, Rush radios Young, and Young comes to find him. Important note here: Rush initiates contact, not Young. Before now, every contact has been Young pursuing Rush, or Young pulling a stunt that makes Rush come and stop him. In this case, Rush actually reports his findings to Young. And he does it in a soft, mellow way.
In fact, Rush is very human in this scene. His expression changes a lot. He feels. Young, in contrast, is very businesslike. He's shut down.
…with little hints of humanity.
Young turns to go, once business has finished.
And Rush calls him back.
Rush requests that his name be left out of the lottery. Young wants to know why. Rush admits hands-down the most personal thing he's ever admitted to anyone on the show: his motivations.
Rush tells Young that being on this ship is his life's work. His destiny. This goes straight to the heart of why Rush acts the way he does. And he makes this confession to Young very easily, just because Young asks.
Young turns to leave, once more --
-- and Rush calls him back again, this time asking who Young is planning to send to the shuttle. By this point, it's pretty clear that Rush is not only open to talking to Young, he's the one actually carrying the bulk of the conversation.
Then Rush suggests that Young could stack the lottery:
…and we're back to hostility.
The next scene with Young and Rush is as the shuttle leaves, when they watch from the observation deck with Greer, Chloe and Eli.
As soon as they enter, Young goes to stand next to Rush.
And they get a chance to see the Destiny from the outside.
Young looks to Rush. In fact, he addresses Greer, and he's still looking at Rush. And when Rush says what he's going to be doing for his last hours, he says it to Young, not to Chloe or Eli or Greer.
Then comes the second time Young and Rush touch, in canon.
Young reaches out a hand. He initiates it.
And Rush accepts.
Just afterward, though, he kind of fiddles with his hand.
…suggesting that Rush may not have been as entirely comfortable with the truce with Young as it appears he is.
Of course, everything goes to shit, or fails to go to shit, which is kind of going to shit in another way. The shuttle is trapped, it has to be brought back.
Young freaks out a little.
"Now would be an excellent time for you to trust me to fix this problem."
It works!
Young is surprised and happy!
And he conveys this in a rather amusing way.
What's interesting here is the progression of Rush's reaction.
First he tenses up, reflexively, then he kind of blinks, and then he looks after Young. There's a lot going on, here. Touch is obviously very important to Rush, which might be why he never touches anyone casually in canon; this touch is unexpected, and unwelcome, and Rush's first reflex is to reject it.
But his second impulse is the interesting one. It's like -- that touch wasn't really so bad.
And finally, we get to maybe the most important scene of the episode, which defines Young and Rush's relationship from here on out.
Party in the mess hall!
Rush doesn't want to join.
Check out the change in expressions. Rush does not look mellow, here. He looks hostile.
And he refuses to make eye contact.
…until Young makes an actual point.
"You took your name out of the lottery."
"So did you."
"I was injured. You made a real sacrifice."
And that's when Rush looks at Young.
This is not the open, mellow Rush we've seen in the rest of the episode. Who the hell knows what this look means, but the important part, here, is that it's guarded. Rush is no longer comfortable with showing Young his emotions.
Young sees the guardedness, and interprets the hostility, and leaps to exactly the wrong conclusion.
"Unless you knew."
Since Rush, not ten seconds earlier, said that it was essential to get the supplies back with the shuttle? There's no way he knew. No way he'd let that many supplies leave the ship with a risk that they wouldn't come back. Young leaping to this conclusion is flat-out wrong.
Sci-fi writers are smart people. They may sometimes assume their audience is kind of stupid, but it takes a really intelligent person to write TV. They put this scene in for a reason, and made it a different tone for a reason. No way they wouldn't have realized that it's fucking stupid to think that Rush knew Destiny was going to be recharged via solar power.
Add to that the markedly different acting, in this scene, and you have a turning point in this character relationship. Something about Young's trust made Rush shut down and pull away.
Rush just flat-out lets Young jump to this conclusion. Then turns and leaves him.
From here on out, the trust of this episode is never re-established. Young stays permanently suspicious of Rush. Sure, he's an idiot for jumping to this conclusion and staying there -- but Rush deliberately sabotaged his own chance of working well with Colonel Young.
And I'm done for now. Further photo-essays for later episodes might come at a later date.