The penultimate episode of Stargate Universe, Blockade, was written by Linda McGibney, and debuted on 2 May, 2011.

Destiny needs to be refueled. It needs to get into a star to recharge. Unfortunately, every time she comes out of FTL, the drones find them. They only have enough fuel for one more try.

Eli (David Blue) suggests passing through a blue super giant, which could refuel them, but could also destroy them. To keep the crew safe, Young (Louis Ferreira) orders the crew off the ship to a nearby planet, and Eli and Rush (Robert Carlyle) will have to navigate the dangers of the star alone.

Not everyone got off the ship though, Lisa (Jennifer Spence) is still aboard. Good thing there are three spacesuits. But when she’s trapped in the hydroponic garden, will she survive the run through the star?

And on the planet.. a discovery is made of a destroyed civilization. Destroyed by the things they created. The drones. The crew have to work to avoid the drones and its a run and gun the entire way, while they wait for Destiny to succeed in is refueling efforts.

There’s also some nice stuff with Rush about how the descendant colony got along just fine without him.

So that’s it, they’ve discovered where the drones originated, the ship is refueled, and we’ve had some solid character moments. But are we ready for what’s coming next? Let’s see how it all finishes off, as I dive into the final episode of the series…

Gauntlet.

Written by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, the episode brought the series to a close on 9 May, 2011. But is it an ending?

The drones are still harassing the Destiny, but they may have found a way to temporarily neutralize the control ship. But the ship can’t be drawn out into an epic battle everytime they need to refuel. It’s too much.

So Eli hits on a different approach. What if they skip to the next galaxy and leave the drones behind? Not a horrible plan. But it will take three years to reach the next galaxy traveling through FTL. So the plan is to use the stasis pods.

The crew will be held in suspension as the ship makes the transit. But it’s not going to be that easy is it?

Nope.

One of the stasis pods is inoperative. So one person will have to stay awake, and do their best to repair it. Now, it seems a little convenient that there are enough pods for everyone, and only one is inoperative, it’s explained away in the story, so it works, mostly. But it also lets one of the characters commit a great act of self-sacrifice.

Who will it be? The only choice that makes sense.

It’s been fifteen years since the series came to its end. Now, there are rumors of a new Stargate series. Will we learn in some form or another, of Destiny’s fate? And what of it’s actual mission?

Hopefully we may get some answers, at least in passing, from what is to come.

Universe was a solid series, completely unlike the Stargate that had come before it. It needed a little more time. It was smart, and had good stories.