Now that SyFy’s “Stargate Universe” has returned with new episodes, how will the show progress in terms of human relationships aboard the Destiny and will the women of the ship step up? Check out these excerpts from an interview with Elyse Levesque on her character, Chloe Armstrong, the love triangle between her character, Lt. Scott, and Eli, and the role of the female characters on the lost Destiny.
Q: What can you say about Chloe’s storyline in the coming episodes?
Elyse Levesque: Without giving too much away, something happens in the first episode which really drastically affects her; it changes her. And we see her go through almost a bit of a personality change. We don’t see the full repercussion of the event on her until Season 2, actually, which we started filming. But we do see a bit of it come into play, and we’re gonna see her relationship with Scott get tested and her relationship with Eli and everyone else on board, and I think we see her become a more active member of the crew and the life onboard the ship.
[Above: Lt. Matthew Scott (Brian J. Smith) and Chloe Armstrong (Elyse Levesque)]
Q: Is she just not seeing that [Eli] wants to be more than her buddy?
EL: I think she knows. She knows. I mean, she’d have to be blind not to tell that the guy cares about her and has feelings for her, and I think it’s one of those situations where it’s hard for her to see him in the same light. She loves and cares about him very much, and I think she’s never had anyone in her life that she’s connected to on the level that she’s connected with Eli, where it’s a friendship with someone she really, genuinely trusts and values as a friend. And you’re always in that predicament of, do you mess up a good thing? Do you take that to the next level and then possibly ruin a great friendship? And then, of course, she’s got her relationship with Scott, which complicates that whole business, and I think where she stands right now with Eli is she sees him solely as a friend. I think she tries her best to be careful with his heart and not hurt him.
[Above: Eli Wallace (David Blue) and Chloe Armstrong (Elyse Levesque)]
Q: In different ways, she spent time with both those guys, when the end was nigh.
EL: I know. And there was a lot of – this is funny – the fans were peeved because they thought I was leading Eli on and then I go and slept with Scott. But from how I saw it, she’s trying to keep herself together, and you just want to be close to somebody that you care about and trust, and I don’t think that any of the stuff that happened between them actually was sexual at all. It was clearly a matter of, “Oh sweet Jesus, we’re about to die. This is the end. At least let’s stick by each other and be there for each other through this.”
Q: So as the actress playing the character, who are you rooting for in this love triangle?
EL: I’ve been asked this a couple times. You know what? Oh man… I’ve been the Eli. I totally have. And I know that it is a horrible situation to be in, to love somebody and to not have the feelings reciprocated. So a part of me gets him, and I am rooting for him, but at the same time, and you’ll see it happen more and more, the relationship with her and Scott grows and changes and become more serious. It’s not really just a fling. So my hands are tied at the moment. It’s tough, man, being fought over like that. [Laughs] It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it. I’ll take it for the Destiny team, no problem. I’ll carry that burden.
[Above: Left to right- Tamara Johansen (Alaina Huffman), Camile Wray (Ming Na), Chloe Armstrong (Elyse Levesque)]
Q: Some viewers felt that the female characters weren’t proactive enough in the initial episodes.
EL: We’ve got some really great stuff in the back half of the season with all the female characters, where I think we all see them come out and step up. I think the reason people thought that in the beginning… What they have to remember is that — and I think with some of the male characters we saw weaknesses [as well] — is that’s kind of the point of the story we’re trying to tell.
These people, they weren’t designed to be here. They’re all completely scared and out of their element and unsure. My character, Chloe, had never been off-world before, had never been out in space like that, and all of a sudden she’s living on a space ship and her dad’s dead and her entire life is turned upside down. Tamara is not a full-on doctor; she’s just a medic, and she’s just one person. It’s overwhelming to have to do all this. And Camile is constantly having to go up against Young, and this, that and the other thing. But we see, I think, them all come into their own in the back half of this season, and it just honestly gets better and better, and there’s a really kick-butt female character that’s introduced in the very end of the back half, and it’s just interesting. There’s some really interesting dynamics going on. I think there’s a lot more girl power in the back half.
Watch “Stargate Universe” on SyFy, Fridays at 9/8 pm C.
[Source] IGN
