Until Stargate Universe's episode five, "Light," we still see the crew of the Ancient ship Destiny as military and civillian, almost always working at cross purposes and in conflict. There is zero trust between Dr. Nicholas Rush (the brilliant Robert Carlyle) and de facto Mission Commander Col. Everett Young (Louis Ferreira). In "Light" we finally see them, of necessity, beginning to trust each other, at least minimally—and temporarily—and only of necessity. But it's a start, and in the end, critical for all of their survival.
At the end of episode four, "Darkness," Destiny, still on autopilot, had performed a narrow breaking maneuver and changed its course, heading right for a star. With still little understanding of the Ancient ship's systems, Rush is at a loss to explain what's happened. He must have theories, but he's not shared them with anyone. My guess is that he suspects that Destiny might use the stars to power itself, but I'm also guessing he believes it's just a hunch—a gut feeling; something he's not yet willing to share.
The crew members are faced with seemingly inevitable death; the ship will dissolve into the star and everyone on board her will perish from heat, gravitational forces and the eventual breakdown of the ship's hull. We see how each one of the main players react to this inevitability, and perhaps more than in the first four episodes, we begin to know them.
When Destiny drops out of its faster than light (FTL) mode, it does so in range of three planets, one of which seems at least minimally habitable. This appears to be the ship's MO in understanding the crew's needs, as well as the ship's needs. They haven't the power to use the stargate, so the only choice they have is to use the shuttle to transport down to one of the planets—the one Rush believes can support life. The "Goldilocks" planet, he calls it—not too hot, not too cold.
The shuttle, fully loaded with supplies, can only hold 17 passengers. But there are 80 or so crew members aboard Destiny, so how to choose? And who to choose? Young decides on a lottery system to select 15 of the 17, reserving two spots for himself to choose.
Removing himself from the lottery, Young selects the only other qualified pilot, Matthew Scott (Brian J. Smith), and medic T.J. Johansen (Alaina Huffman). Scott is also Young's second in command and, although he's inexperienced, he has already shown some leadership skills, even if he's not an exceptionally brilliant mind. These are both good choices, if the survivors have any chance of making a go of it on the planet.
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Article comments
1 - ashimon
Interestingly, I did not really have a problem with the final scene. I mean Young and Rush's relationship has always been uneasy and the necessity to cooperate did not change that at all. Young never trusted Rush and Rush doesn't really trust Young.
But my take on this is that Young probably realized that if Rush is really the brilliant scientist he claims himself to be than it must have occurred to him that the ship may use the sun to recharge (I am no hard scientist, but having energy problems and going toward the largest energy source that there is made me figure out rather early that they would use the sun to recharge). And let's be honest, Rush isn't the person of beautiful and noble gestures -- it seems he always have an (hidden) agenda.
I think partly the issue is of principle for Young: if he does not have all the available information, he cannot make the best possible decision (This is something that comes back later in the season and even in the second season.)
It could have also changed the nature of the decision because if there is a chance that they might survive on the Destiny probably not everyone would have wanted to participate in the lottery.
As for Young's decision to take himself out of the lottery: I think you are right, he had no choice. But that does not mean that the act can't be viewed as heroic. If he is a good commander he can't go, but it makes it no less a personal sacrifice. Young was "cursed" with the ability of being able to do the math: 1) injured people has no place on the mission, 2) the captain (or so) always goes down with his ship, 3) his choice could serve as a good example for those who were not lucky to be selected on the lottery. I have found rather intriguing that it was not one of the civilians but one of his soldiers who could not understand this. The embarrassment on Young's face is clear when Spencer starts acting up.
I found your take that Young chose to do the lottery instead of hand-picking the shuttle crew as a sign of his unwillingness to command interesting. I am not sure I agree with it, but it has never occurred to me before.
Ugh, I guess this got a little lengthy...