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“You don’t know me.” — Star Trek: Discovery Review — Vaulting Ambition
Star Trek: Discovery, Season 1, Episode 12
Vaulting Ambition
Posted by Clinton
“Vaulting Ambition” exemplifies the duality of this first season of “Star Trek: Discovery.” Not just in terms of its characters who continue to shed their hidden identities, but also the way in which it handles story elements. When things are handled with care, the show is magic. When pieces are slapped together, the end product suffers.
Let’s start with what is good.
The acting is this episode is excellent. It is clear that the cast is now very comfortable with their characters. Over these many episodes the idiosyncrasies of each role have been refined. Cadet Tilly (Mary Wiseman) has become a just a wee bit less chatty. Commander Saru (Doug Jones) is a bit more in control. And Captain Lorca (Jason Isaacs) is…well, Lorca has pretty much always been on point. More on that in a second. The supporting players in “Vaulting Ambition” were also tone-perfect. Dwain Murphy’s turn as the torturous Captain Maddox left us with mixed emotions when he was ultimately slain by Lorca.
A long-game character plot line also came together beautifully this week. Last week, we dealt with the revelation that Tyler and Voq (Shazad Latif) are two personalities that share the same modified body. This week, we learn that Captain Lorca is, as some fans suspected, actually from the mirror universe. This is the type of twist that sends you reeling. Part of what made the reveal so satisfying is that Jason Isaacs knew where this character was headed from the very beginning. His discussions with the producers meant he knew things about Lorca that perhaps even individual episode directors did not know. This allowed the acting to reinforce the character’s backstory. Isaacs’ performance differs from Shazad Latif’s portrayal of Tyler/Voq because Lorca was always well aware of who he was and what he wanted. It is the kind of twist that makes you want to go back to the beginning of the season and closely watch the character in every scene.
We are treated to a lovely moment where Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) gets to say goodbye to Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz). It helps soften the blow of the doctor’s untimely death and leaves us wondering if this truly is the end. It brings to mind Spock’s words, “There are always possibilities.”
“Discovery” also continues to shock and surprise in other ways. We recoiled when we learn that the Kelpien that Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) had selected in the Emperor’s throne room was the main course at her dinner with Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh). Bonus points to Martin-Green for her reaction to being offered the Kelpien’s ganglia. In addition, Georgiou’s use of a flying disc as a killing weapon was inspired.
Then there are the elements that seem to fall off the rails.
Shall we begin with the I.S.S. Charon? The Emperor’s palace is a ship ridiculous in both size and design. It dwarfs virtually everything we have previously seen in “Star Trek,” save the occasional starbase. Its dimensions only serve to reinforce the belief that the people in charge of “Star Trek: Discovery” think that bigger equals better, and that insanely bigger is best.
Meanwhile, after last week’s brilliant revelation about Tyler’s true identity, L’Rell’s (Mary Chieffo) reaction to Tyler/Voq’s torment feels unnecessarily rushed. It plays out like something we simply need to get through in order to hit the next plot point. All the elements are there — love, regret, sorrow — but we ultimately get too little of any of them to justify her actions. Likewise the medical procedure that L’Rell uses to supposedly “kill” Voq is another low point. It feels too simple. The process to merge Tyler and Voq was long and painful. This operation took mere seconds.
Then there is the laziest piece of writing in the episode: the reveal that mirror universe humans have eyes that are sensitive to light. This characteristic immediately informs Burnham that Lorca is not who he claims to be. The only problem is, we have been in this mirror universe several times and light sensitivity has never before been an issue. It is simply not true. There were other ways in which the same failing of Lorca’s eyes could have been used to reveal the Captain’s deception, but writer Jordon Nardino chose the easy way out. Nardino simply made something up, even if it contradicted what we already know to be true.
The duality of “Star Trek: Discovery” is diminishing over time, as both the characters and production crew find their way to their true selves. But episodes like this demonstate that there is still some room to improve.
Next episode: What’s Past is Prologue
“Can you continue to pretend to be one of them?” — Star Trek Discovery Review — The Wolf Inside
Star Trek: Discovery, Season 1, Episode 10
The Wolf Inside
Posted by Clinton
Given sufficient time and clues, the hive mind of the internet will solve virtually any mystery. In this case, it involved two “Star Trek: Discovery” characters.
The idea that Lt. Ash Taylor (Shazad Latif) and Klingon Torchbearer Voq were one and the same entity became a widely held theory on the Web long before the episodes “Despite Yourself” or “The Wolf Inside” premiered. Some argued that Voq had been modified to look like a human. Others asserted that Tyler had been brainwashed. In either case, the online world knew something was up. They felt they had outsmarted the people behind “Star Trek: Discovery.”
But did the production team actually want to keep this plot line a secret? Or did they surreptitiously encourage us to figure it out ahead of time? After all, one of the first clues to this mystery was not even contained in an episode of “Discovery.” It was found just sitting there on imdb.com. The actor credited with playing the role of Voq was one Javid Iqbal. Except it appeared that Javid Iqbal’s only acting credit was playing Voq. Was he new to the profession? It was hard to tell, since Iqbal was conspicuously absent from the “Star Trek: Discovery” press junkets.
The internet was suspicious.
In episode four (“The Butcher Cares Not For The Lamb’s Cry”), L’Rell (Mary Chieffo) tells Voq that in order to win the war he must sacrifice “everything.” At which point, the Torchbearer is spirited away to house Mo’kai, a Klingon house composed of watchers, deceivers and weavers of lies. Then, in episode five (“Choose Your Pain”), Lt. Tyler appears on board a Klingon prison ship. Tyler tells Captain Lorca (Jason Isaacs) that he has survived seven months of captivity by allowing himself to be the subject of L’Rell’s torture and desires. Through it all, he remained strong and never gave up hope of rescue. He even helps Lorca escape the prison ship. He is Starfleet, through and through. Just what you would expect if the spy theory was to be believed.
The internet was obsessed.
It was hard to deny the evidence. How had Tyler survived so long on the Klingon ship? After all, we know that L’Rell had not been on board the vessel during his entire captivity, so that alone could not account for the lieutenant’s ability to escape death. What was the full story behind Tyler’s hazy, violent flashbacks? Had the medical staff on board Discovery run any scans on the Lieutenant? Why was Lorca cutting Tyler so much slack? Was the Captain so enamored with Tyler that he had developed a blind spot to possible sabotage? And the Tribble on the desk in Lorca’s ready room. Surely that would play a part in unmasking the Klingon spy.
Eventually, as the Tyler/Voq theory began to take hold, Javid Iqbal appeared to open his own Twitter account, filled with pictures doctored to place Voq’s head on other actors bodies. Someone was having fun with all this. Maybe we were being played. Perhaps it was all some guerrilla marketing scheme.
But, as this game of cat-and-mouse played out, there was a danger. You see, not only was Lt. Ash Tyler proving to be a lifeline for Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin Green), tying her to his humanity, he was also being portrayed as a survivor of torture and sexual assault. He was suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), trying to fight his way back from darkness. If the lieutenant was actually only experiencing the effects of some type of Klingon brainwashing, as the theory suggested, that could marginalize his medical condition. Those in the audience suffering from the horrors of PTSD would feel betrayed.
The Internet was watching.
When all the pieces finally came togethe, both last week and this week, we were lucky enough to have four scenes which slowly unraveled Voq from Tyler. In the first, L’Rell attempts to awaken Voq using trigger phrases. But all does not go according to plan, and Tyler exits the brig, confused and concerned. In the next incident, Dr. Culber (Wilson Cruz) hypothesized that Tyler’s personality was an overlay on some other consciousness. That could mean that all of Tyler’s memories of abuse were real. They simply had not all happened to this particular body. Without warning, as we were beginning to process that information, Tyler breaks Culber’s neck. The breakdown of the wall within Tyler had begun. Next, Tyler had an episode of cognitive dissonance while hearing “Mirror Voq” explain how Klingons, Vulcans, Andorians and Tellarites were all working as one unit. This concept was so diametrically opposed to the belief system preached by T’Kuvma, Tyler snaps again and attacks the parallel universe Voq. The character is literally at war with himself. Later, as Tyler tries to explain his actions to Michael Burnham, the Klingon Torchbearer claws his way up from the depths of his slumber, fully reasserts himself and tries to kill Burnham.
The four scenes helped the anticipated reveal not feel like we were watching Scooby Doo and the gang simply rip the mask off the villain of the week. We saw the duality of this situation. It was some sort of complicated ecosystem contained in one body. It left us wondering who this hybrid creature really is. Do we consider it half human, half Klingon? Is Lt. Ash Tyler still alive within that body? Is the “real” Tyler alive somewhere in the prime universe? Is this body and mind loyal to L’Rell or Burnham? Or both. And which memories are real, and to which personality do they belong?
The internet is waiting to learn more.
Next week: Vaulting Ambition
Random Thoughts and Observations:
- That look on Lorca’s face as Burnham bows. It clearly means something. Is the internet right again about the Captain?
- The good guys always seem able to locate a secure channel, no matter how well monitored the environment might be.
- The doors on the I.S.S. Shenzou sound like they are opening and closing a bit more violently than ships in the prime universe.
- Tyler survived for a few seconds in the vacuum of space, but the crew members beamed out earlier in the episode appeared to die instantly.
- Cadet Tilly continues to impress. Will Saru actually give her a recommendation?
- The new take on Tellarites shown in this episode is a bit jarring. The aliens now have tusks. Given the tradition of portraying the species as having pig-like features, this is an understandable addition, but it is still a bit radical.
- It was nice to see Detmer get something to do other than simply sit at a station on the bridge. Let’s hope prime universe Detmer also gets more to do.
- Javid Iqbal’s separate imdb.com credit no longer exists on the Star Trek: Discovery page. Independent credits for other industry professionals with the name Javid Iqbal do still exist on imdb.
“I’m going to have nightmares about myself.” — Star Trek Discovery Review — Despite Yourself
Star Trek: Discovery, Season 1, Episode 10
Despite Yourself
Posted by Clinton
A friend of mine recently Tweeted “Going to a mirror dimension in the first season is a terrible idea because we barely know these characters.”
If the crossover had happened earlier in the season, I might have agreed. But I think we now have some basic ideas about each of our lead characters. To me, it is the familiarity with this crew that is actually the issue when it comes to the so-called “Mirror Universe.” With one exception.
Up until now, we’ve seen how stoic, seasoned characters handle being thrust into this unfamiliar universe. Whether it was Kirk and company or the crew of Deep Space Nine, our heroes have been quick to ponder, analyze and adapt. That is to be expected. It is why they hold positions of authority. We’ve also seen how “the other half” lives, particularly aboard Archer’s I.S.S. Enterprise. (RIP Archer, All hail Empress Sato!) But what about the crew of the Discovery? The ship is captained by a man with questionable morals, it is seconded by a Kelpian who lives with constant fear, watched over by a chief of security who may be some sort of spy, and has a specialist convicted of mutiny. It all sounds pretty dark even before they go to the mirror universe.
Enter our surrogate “every person,” Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman). Tilly is, we must remind ourselves, still a cadet. She has been serving as a theoretical engineer on board the Discovery, working with Lt. Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp). It has certainly been quite a unique internship. For starters, she was given a mutineer as a roommate. Then she had to watch as Starfleet officers knowingly harmed a lifeform (the tardigrade) to serve their own purposes. She has been forced to accept the fact that she has died — multiple times (“Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad”). And she struggled to keep the knowledge of her superior officer’s illness a secret, only to have that illness eventually lead to catastrophic consequences for Stamets and the entire crew.
But, through it all, Tilly has remained wide eyed and optimistic. She confesses that she loves feeling feelings. When she, Stamets and Burnham (Sonequa Martin Green) discuss finding an alternative to using the tardigrade in the spore drive, she enthusiastically exclaims “You guys! This is so fucking cool!” She also played matchmaker between Burnham and Lt. Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif).
Cadet Sylvia Tilly’s eyes are also focused on the future. In “Context is for Kings,” she tells Burnham, “I’m going to be a captain someday. The thing is that there are still some things I need to learn.” At which point. she takes on Burnham as a mentor. And when Burnham has reservations about the advice she has been giving Tilly, she tells the cadet to seek her own way to the Captain’s chair. Tilly smiles and replies “I have.”
So, when the Discovery finds itself in the Mirror Universe, and it is revealed that its Sylvia Tilly is the bloodthirsty Captain of the I.S.S. Discovery, her world is turned upside down — as is ours. Lorca’s advice is to “Defy your every instinct.” Which is all too true.
Our avatar, our surrogate, has met her darkest side. And she takes it about as well as we would. She does not enjoy any aspect of her “Captain Killy” counterpart.
As Tilly prepares to communicate with Captain Connor of the I.S.S. Shenzou, Burnham comments, “You are a captain now.” But Tilly realizes this situation is a mockery of her goals. Tilly rejects the statement. “No, I’m not. She is. I’m nothing like her, Michael. She’s terrifying. She’s like a twisted version of everything I’ve ever aspired to be. I’m going to have nightmares about myself now.”
Tilly has to put on the same show as the rest of the prime universe crew, masquerading as cutthroat servants of the Empire. Reluctantly, nervously, she sits in the Captain’s chair, but there is no satisfaction in her ascent to this position. She wants nothing to do with this universe. Which is as it should be. We need Tilly to stay true to herself.
Others on board the Discovery may be on the road to redemption (or ruin), but Tilly needs to stay on the path to greatness. Let’s hope the darkest timeline does not claim her.
Ultimately Michael Burnham does offer one insight that helps Tilly, and can help us hang on, too: “I’ve been trying to understand them better. And Terran strength is born out of pure necessity, because they live in constant fear. Always looking for the next knife aimed at their back. Their strength is painted rust. It’s a facade. But you have the strength of an entire crew that believes in you. Fortify yourself with our faith in you. That’s what a real captain does.”
Next episode: The Wolf Inside
Random Thoughts and Observations:
- Yes! I called it on the cloak-defeating data. The Discovery did not transmit the information before it was pulled into the mirror universe.
- Saru is supposed to trust his threat ganglia, but seems to pay it little mind when it reacts to Ash Tyler’s appearance on the bridge.
- How loyal is Lorca to Ash Tyler? Tyler is late to the bridge for yellow alert, freaked out in the work bee, and takes his time getting to the transporter room, but Lorca lets all that slide.
- My prediction is that Philippa Geourgiou is the mysterious Emperor
- Stamets is clearly giving clues as to events unfolding around the crew. But are the clues always as literal as we think they are?
- Why is there never anyone else in the brig? Or sickbay?
- Why wasn’t Culber wearing a Terran version of a medical delta shield?
- Spoiler: There is a theory floating out there that Lorca is actually from the mirror universe. Nothing that happens in this episode would negate that theory. In fact, putting emphasis on the fact that Lorca plucked Burnham (his would-be killer in the mirror universe) out of prison and bringing her on board the Discovery, then ultimately into this dark universe could clearly be part of a plan.
Episode 12: Showtime at the Apollo
Episode 11: The Name is Wjorf, the J is Silent
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Episode 10: Gorn, but not forgotten
“One last jump then.” — Star Trek Discovery Review — Into The Forest I Go
Star Trek: Discovery, Episode 9
Into The Forest I Go
Posted by Clinton
I loved where this show arrived by the end of “Into The Forest I Go.” Yet, I hated some of how we got there.
First, the love.
This episode, which concluded what the producers are calling “Chapter One,” was paced to a T. During the critical 133 jumps, editing perfectly drew out Stamets’ (Anthony Rapp) ordeal. A sequence that involves this many repetitive steps would typically move from jump one to somewhere around 60, then to jump 131. Not in this case. We cut from from exterior views of the spore drive in action to closeups of a disoriented Stamets, to a readout of the jump numbers, then the loading of more spore canisters. The action is chaos in motion. Dr. Culber (Wilson Cruz), monitoring Stamets’ deteriorating condition, asks, “Tilly, how many jumps do we have left?” Cadet Tilly (Mary Wiseman) replies, “96 more.” We are heartbroken. Tyler’s (Shazad Latif) PTSD flashbacks are also expertly done. They seem to reveal everything, but don’t necessarily tell us all we need to know. The entire episode slipped seamlessly between frenetic action and slow, quiet character moments. Special shoutouts to episode writers Bo Yeon Kim and Erika Lippoldt, as well as episode director Chris Byrne and editor Jon Dudkowski.
Coupled with last week’s “Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum,” this part of the story was sweeping in its scope. We joined a planet-side exploration, made first contact, battled the Klingons, uncovered revelations about major characters and ended up someplace completely unexpected.
We are left to wonder if Discovery had a chance to transmit the cloak-defeating data before her fateful jump. Captain Lorca (Jason Isaac) makes a point of telling Admiral Terral (Conrad Coates) that it will take eleven hours to refine the equations for fleet-wide use. It is unclear how long after that the ship disappears. Has Starfleet’s secret weapon vanished with the one piece of information that would turn the tide of the war? That would be rather devastating, wouldn’t you say?
The main characters on “Star Trek: Discovery” are slowly reaching that point where we think we know what makes them tick. We feel accustomed to the way Gabriel Lorca, Saru (Doug Jones), Sylvia Tilly, Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Ash Tyler behave. Dr. Hugh Culber hasn’t had enough screen time to foster this sense of familiarity, but one gets the feeling that will change sooner rather than later. Imagine if we had had a chance to spend this much time with Captain Georgiou or T’Kuvma. How much more of an impact would their deaths have had on us?
“Discovery” has clearly started to hit its stride. That’s a good sign. Chapter Two now has the task of raising the bar even higher.
Now, about that hate I mentioned…
While the main characters have been fleshed out over the course of these first nine episodes, we know virtually nothing about most of the bridge crew. Yes, it’s true that we didn’t get to know every crew member who took a station on the bridge in classic Trek or “The Next Generation,” but those were mostly interchangeable extras. The bridge crew on board Discovery has been a constant. We also know nothing about the Discovery’s Chief Medical Officer. Remember, Dr. Culber is not the CMO.
We also did not get a chance to really know the Klingons to any great extent. Much like his makeup, Kol (Kenneth Mitchell) was painted with a pretty broad brush. In the end, he came across as simply a villain interested in power. He was not even the Klingon who killed Captain Georgiou. In fact, Kol points out that he never met the Captain. This made his defeat less satisfying than it could be.
There were also plot points in Chapter One that seemed to go nowhere. What happened to those mysterious security personnel who wore black delta shield insignias. We saw them momentarily in episode three, but never again. What happened to Harry Mudd when he left Discovery with knowledge of how the ship works? Is he going to try to sell that information? Every moment of screen time should mean something. If it is not paid off, we feel cheated.
L’Rell’s (Mary Chieffo) long game is another sticking point with me. At the mid-season break, we still are very much in the dark as to what she is planning. While it is fine to have some mystery left, her motives are so vague, it is hard to either love or hate her. Or love to hate her. She simply exists.
The producers have promised that as we get closer to Kirk’s five year mission, there will be a bit more dovetailing with the aesthetics of classic Trek. It is unclear where we are in that timeline. If the battle of the binary stars took place ten years before “The Original Series,” and Burnham arrived on Discovery six months later, once you add in the amount of time it took to get to the incidents at the battle at Pahvo, we are roughly 9 years out from TOS now.
Overall, I think the pluses far outweigh the minuses with regards to Chapter One. We know that virtually every Trek series has had an awkward start; each struggling to find its unique voice. “Discovery” is no different. The characters are evolving as the writers and actors get more familiar with how this particular part of the Trek universe works. I think the rushed nature of Chapter One is something that will smooth out in future episodes. Of course, that vision may not be fully realized until season two, but that only give us one more thing to look forward to 2019.
Next episode: Despite Yourself
Random Thoughts and Observations:
- I loved the huge sensor devices Tyler and Burnham had to place on board the Ship of the Dead. The fact that they lit up and talked felt so classic Trek.
- Very happy that Admiral Cornwell survived. In a previous article, I wrote about women of power on “Discovery”. Nice to see this one could possibly return.
- Why is it always so easy to sneak around on Klingon ships? Why are there so many corridors and rooms for so few crew members?
- Speaking of Klingon ships, why do their commanders always just watch, dumbfounded, while torpedoes hit their vessels at the end of a battle?
- Lorca clearly has no desire to return to Starbase 46. Did his desire to avoid that option cause him to feed new coordinates into the spore drive controls?
Episode 9: Working in a Kol Mine
Listen below or “Is this what harmony and balance look like?” — Star Trek Discovery Review — Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum
Star Trek: Discovery, Episode 8
Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum
Posted by Clinton
In this episode, Saru (Doug Jones) succumbs to the call of the Pahvans, and Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) must try to convince him to complete the landing party’s mission. Two things struck me about the story: first, the episode reminded me of another classic “Star Trek” adventure and, second, it made me ponder the likelihood of achieving happiness in the “Star Trek” universe.
In “Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum,” Saru, Burnham and Tyler (Shazad Latif) beam down to the surface of the planet Pahvo in an attempt to figure out how to utilize the planet’s unique resources in the war against the Klingons. Trying to communicate with the planet’s essence, Saru has a transformative experience. He abandons the mission in favor of his his own agenda.
You might be tempted to draw parallels between this story and the classic “Star Trek” episode “This Side of Paradise.” In that story, the crew of the Enterprise is affected by spores native to the surface of Omicron Ceti III. The crew abandons ship and plans on living in virtually eternal harmony on the planet surface.
Saru is similarly affected by contact with the native entities on Pahvo. Or is he? It does not appear that Saru is actually under any type of spell. Instead, he has been freed from the genetic burden carried by every Kelpien. For the first time in his life, he is no longer afraid. Clearly he can still reason for himself. He can lie to his fellow crewmen or even attack them and destroy their communications equipment.
Burnham sets her phaser to stun and attempts to subdue Saru. This is not the same as Kirk provoking Spock in order to free the Vulcan of the Omicron Ceti spores. Burnham’s goal was to immobilize Saru. Attempting to reason with the Kelpien was secondary.
I submit that Saru’s actions are more like those of another “Star Trek” character: Dr. Tolian Soran from “Star Trek: Generations.”
In “Generations,” Soran was exposed to a place outside of normal space-time called The Nexus. Guinan, who had been inside the Nexus at the same time as Soran, describes it is asa place of pure joy. “As if joy was something tangible and you could wrap yourself up in it like a blanket. And never, in my entire live, have I been so content.” Guinan, Soran and others were then unceremoniously ripped away from the Nexus. While Guinan realized the impracticality of attempting a re-entry, Soran pressed on. He was driven by a singular desire to regain that bliss. Eventually he devises a way to get back to the Nexus. The fact that his plan includes destroying suns and would mean the deaths of hundreds of millions of souls was of no importance to him. That was just collateral damage.
It might seem to be a stretch to equate Soran’s actions with those of Commander Saru, but is it? After all, as Tyler pointed out, if their mission on Pahvo was unsuccessful, the Klingon-Federation war would rage on. Saru was well aware of this. He purposely prevented Burnham and Tyler from contacting the Discovery, crushing their communicators and smashing the uplink device.
Later, in sickbay, Burnham tries to comfort the First Officer. “You weren’t yourself.”
“But I was,” Saru replies, with sadness in his voice.
Emotion, not infection, drove both Soran and Saru to do what they did. And Saru must now live with that knowledge.
But the second question raised here is, can anyone in the “Star Trek” universe actually be happy? Saru realizes that he cannot have both his freedom from fear and do what is needed of him to save the Federation. Likewise, Captains Picard and Kirk prevent Soran from reaching the bliss of the Nexus. The same Nexus Picard begrudgingly ripped himself from, convincing Kirk to do the same.
This is a repeating scenario in “Star Trek” – a character or species or civilization seems to achieve peace only to have it taken from them. McCoy finds happiness on the asteroid spaceship Yonada, but loses it due to the actions of Kirk and Spock. Kirk finds happiness with Miramanee, only to see her stoned to death while carrying their unborn child. Picard finds fulfillment on Kataan, then discovers it was all in his mind. Benjamin Sisko loses his wife in the battle at Wolf 359. He finds happiness again with Kasidy Yates, but must leave her and and his son, Jake, because the prophet in the Celestial Temple still has much left for him to do. Kira loses Odo. T’Pol loses Tucker. And they both lose their child. Data also loses a child. And so on and so on.
The loss of paradise is such a recurring theme in “Star Trek,” one begins to wonder if anyone in this universe can truly be happy? So much so, that when a character does ultimately find happiness, it seems to be an extraordinary event.’
Is the lesson that the only way to be happy is to struggle towards that as an unobtainable goal? Or is it just a reminder that the human adventure is just beginning?
Maybe Kirk was right, in “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier,” when he told McCoy, “Damn it, Bones, you’re a doctor. You know that pain and guilt can’t be taken away with the wave of a magic wand. They’re the things we carry with us. The things that make us who we are. If we lose them we lose ourselves. I don’t want my pain taken away. I need my pain!”
Or was it best summed up in the musical “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”?
“For us there can be no happiness.”
“We must learn to be happy without it.”
Next episode: “Into The Forest I Go”
Random Thoughts and Observations:
- Is Admiral Cornwell dead? A slip of the tongue during “After Trek” seems to indicate we will see the character again.
- Was L’Rell’s interest in knowing how the Federation treats prisoners, and her desire to be brought aboard Discovery, related in ways we have yet to see?
- Pahvo and Pandora: separated at birth?
- We see Tyler getting a medical exam in sickbay at the end of the episode.
- Burnham is well aware that her ultimate fate still leads her to a prison cell.
- Is this Tyler and Burnham’s second first kiss? Time is so wibbly wobbly.
- At first, I thought Stamets was having visions of the future when he referred to Tilly as “Captain.”
- Several Klingon ships that survived the attack on the Gagarin have now seen Discovery simply spin and vanish. What Discovery is doing is certainly no longer a secret.