Stargate Universe went from barely passable plots to what is, at best, a loose construction of random threads. "Pathogen" is all over the place with a multitude of characters doing their own thing, resulting in an episode which has no drive towards an ending.
The one thing that will carry over from this episode is Chloe's condition, which increasingly appears to be transformation into a alien. Her cognitive functions spike when looking at Rush's math board and there are periods of time when she can't remember how got somewhere. As Chloe changes, there's nothing she or anyone else can do. Scott is concerned but as clueless as the next person and Chloe, expectedly, is at wits' end. To make things worse, Rush, decides to pin the ship anomalies on her, putting even more pressure on her. Hey, if Rush is an unsalvageable human being, at least we can feel sorry for Chloe.
And there's the stones again, those mystical problem solvers which have limitless scope and power. The scenes with Eli and his mom aren't half bad, with real emotion coming from both ends, but as Eli's mom refuses to believe Eli to actually there, a logical conclusion presents itself--put his mom on Destiny. Just like that, the problem is solved.
On the other hand, Wray and Sharon aren't fairing well because Wray can't physically be there. Despite how broken the stones are, actual physical presence trumps all. While I like how the stones weren't a cure-all this time around, personally I don't care much for Wray and Sharon. Their relationship was pretty much generated out of thin air, without seeing what made them drawn to each other in the first place, so they're just a generic couple to me.
Greer gets into a confrontation with Robert Knepper's LA character, but it all boils down to the same old thing: Greer has anger problems. We. Get. It. Also, TJ has a thing for the other LA guy. Oh boy...
Stargate Universe is one of those shows I've lower my expectations for enough so that I'm never too disappointed at the end of an episode. I take what I can get--with "Pathogen," very little--shrug my shoulders, and move on.
Score: 7.8/10
