[7.8/10] I’m going to offer “Whistlespeak” some high praise -- it feels like a meat and potatoes episode of 1990s Star Trek, updated for the modern day. The visit to a pre-warp planet where our heroes have to blend-in, the moral dilemma of whether to observe the Prime Directive or save the lives of innocents and friends, the contemplation of what belief means in the shadow of tremendous scientific advancement, were all the bread and butter of The Next Generation, and Voyager and sometimes even Deep Space Nine. Seeing Discovery replicate those rhythms, and in some instances even improve on them, is a sight for sore eyes after an up and down season.
For me, this is a better spin on the type of story TNG aimed to tell in “Who Watches the Watchers”, where Starfleet officers were captured by a community of Bronze Age proto-Vulcans, and Picard had to save his crewmembers without letting the locals believe he was a god. “Whistlespeak” isn’t exactly the same. But the principles, of pretending to be a local, rescuing an ally from their potentially deadly practices, and reconciling your advancement with their beliefs are at the heart of both episodes.
The premise sees Burnham and company following the trail of an ancient Denobulan(!!!) scientist to a comparatively primitive planet called Hemenlo, to find the next clue. To secure it, they must blend in with the locals and work their way to a weather tower disguised as a mountain than Hemenloites revere as a holy place. That means taking part in a ritualistic race, meant to mirror one of the community’s hallowed myths, where the winner gets to tread the holy ground and complete the ritual to ask the gods for rain.
It’s a good setup! One of the best parts of Star Trek has long been the “new life and new civilizations” part of the mantra. While the outlines are familiar, meeting a new forehead-accented community with a unique form of communication, vibration-based curatives, and their own distinctive set of cultural practices is invigorating. The premise of Burnham and Tilly needing to hunt down the clue without being discovered or disrupting the locals’ rites adds a sense of tension to the proceedings. And as in classic Trek, we get a parent and child, named Ovaz and Rava, to help bring the planet to life in a personal sense, each of whom gets meaningful interactions with our heroes.
For Tilly, that means running the famed Helemna thirst race and bonding with young Rava. In truth, the show has underbaked the story of Tilly’s struggles to find the right connection with her students at Starfleet Academy. But I like that her interactions with Rava, both before and after the big reveal, show that she’s capable of forging that kind of mentorship connection. It’s a simple gesture, but her choosing to refill Rava’s bowl, re-qualifying her to finish the race, is gracious and powerful. Seeing her compassion, and the two women lifting one another up to reach the finish line, does a nice job of selling why Tilly makes sense as a Starfleet instructor at a time of uncertainty for her.
Honestly, the interpersonal interactions, which are typically a weakness for Discovery in my book, were one of the highlights here. If nothing else, this episode brings back the friendship between Burnham and Tilly in a way that's shown and not told that I love. The two have an easy, playful rapport that befits the show’s longest-running friendship. Their joking with each other, banter, and breaking all the rules to save one another fits the two people who’ve been in each other’s corner for the longest. Hell, even their racing together comes with echoes of the famous “Disco” shirts and jogs along Discovery’s corridor.
It’s not limited to that, though. One of the best parts of this episode for me is Adira getting their chance to step onto the bridge, and pushing past their nervousness with the help of Commander Rayner. I like it on two fronts. On the one hand, Adira has sneakily become one of my favorite characters on Discovery. They are basically what Wesley Crusher was meant to be -- a talented but untested young ensign -- except that Adira is more endearing through their anxiousness and stumbles, which are more relatable than the young wunderkind on the Enterprise-D.
At the same time, this is a good episode for Rayner, clearly changed after the events of “Face the Strange”, the way his usual calm but firm demeanor is used not to demean his subordinates or give them the short shrift, but rather to show a steely confidence in Adira, makes him feel like a good Team Dad rather than a recovering Team Jerk. It’s a good look for all involved.
Not for nothing, this may also be the most I’ve liked the interactions between Dr. Culber and Stamets. In truth, I’ve never fully bought their relationship. It’s long seemed to miss that spark that turns on-screen relationships from script-mandated pairings into something the audience can invest in. But I don’t know what to say -- they felt like a genuine married couple here, familiar in their way with one another, a little playful but caring, and tender in an area where they’re nervous to tread. There’s a relaxed sweetness between them that we don’t always see, and it helps sell Dr. Culber’s ongoing storyline of personal discovery.
I’ll admit, I have my qualms about that storyline. Star Trek is no stranger to spiritual awakenings (hello Deep Space Nine fans!), and my assumption is that it will tie into the ongoing storyline in a plot-relevant, not just personal way over time. But I’ll admit to appreciating the humanist spirit of the franchise, and I’m always a little leery when creative teams veer away from it in ways that don’t feel fully baked. (Hello Voyager fans!) Still, both Stamets and Book telling Dr. Culber not to fret over his newfound sense of attunement to something greater, but rather just enjoy it and let it wash over him, is a solid start.
That humanist spirit is more alive in Burnham’s adventures down on Helemna. It becomes necessary to break the Prime Directive and talk some future sense into Ovaz when it turns out the prize for winning the race isn’t just a visit to the sacred mountain, but rather the “privilege” of becoming a sacrifice to the gods in the hopes that they’ll bring rain. When it’s Tilly who’s suddenly on the chopping block (or, more accurately, the suffocation block), Michael is willing to throw the rules in the can like so many great Starfleet captains before.
I appreciate the twist! The episode runs a bit long for my tastes. But I like the fact that this triumphant moment of Tilly’s kindness and camaraderie with a young but aspirational soul quickly turns into a horror movie when you realize what their “reward” for winning is. The secret weather station containing a vacuum chamber that becomes a sort of altar creates a ticking clock as Tilly and Rava lose oxygen. And it creates urgency not only for Michael to disobey the Prime Directive in the name of her friend, but to convince Ovaz of the truth so that he’ll open the door and free her and his child.
What follows has shades not unlike the best part of “Who Watches the Watchers” -- a Picard-esque conversation between the wizened space-farer and the local mystic about what’s really going on. (Heck, Burnahm even shows Ovaz a view of the planet from above, a Jean-Luc classic.) I appreciate the idea of Michael rooting her pitch in both the practical and the personal. She explains to an already devastated Ovaz that his people can have their rain regardless of the ritual, and on the personal front, that Rava doesn't need to die for it. The explanation of the weather station and technology on the one hand,a dn the personal appeal on the other,shows the best of Michael.
And despite the on-the-nose “Here’s the lesson we learned from our treasure hunt today” ending that would make even Kirk blush, I like the theme about the evolution of belief more than the tacked-on theme of being cautious with technology. Burnham doesn't use her knowledge or technological advancement to invalidate Ovaz’s gods or tell him his rituals are no good. But she also recognizes that there is a hunger for the community’s beliefs to evolve and grow alongside the needs of the people and their evolving view of the world. The notion that ritual and tradition can sit comfortably alongside advancement is a heartening one, and it’s delivered with a blend of high-minded philosophy and personal compassion, and understanding nuance that would befit The Next Generation.
This is the kind of thing I want more of from Discovery even as we only have four episodes left. Even though it’s connected to the larger chase, this episode could stand on its own. It dusts off old franchise tropes but finds new spins on them, updating the lessons for current problems. And most of all, it puts our heroes hand-in-hand with another, with believable relationships and interactions among both the regular cast and the guest stars. As the episode’s own moral suggests, it’s never too late to keep the good from what’s old and blend it with the best of what’s new, and in an episode like “Whistlespeak”, it’s nice to see the show taking its own advice.
I nearly rated this a 7 because it was a fun watch if you didn't pay too much attention to the detail. The best parts were definitely with Saru et al on the planet; the other parts felt shallow and drawn out with a lot of fairly vacuous action. A bit of a disappointing end to the season but on the plus side, at least we don't need to keep pretending that Michael isn't Discovery's leader. I just hope this doesn't mark the end of Saru's involvement, especially since we already lost Georgiou this season.
I do hope next season they focus on distinguishing the assorted crew members more because at the moment, outside of the more obviously senior officers, these assorted faces keep cropping up that all seem to have the same "happy NPC" personality.
As for all the people rating every episode 1s and 2s out of 10, bitching and moaning about alleged "bumming" and forced "diversity", you're 3 seasons in now and know what you're getting. Either accept this is what this particular Trek show is about and try and enjoy it by growing as a person, or find something else to do or watch - life is far too short. You'll feel better, I'm sure.
[7.6/10] A good chunk of “Scavengers” is just good clean fun (so to speak). Burnham and Georgiou’s jaunt to the Orion junkyard/stronghold to rescue Book feels like a good spin on the Movie Trek vibe that Discovery often goes for.
There’s interesting personal dynamics with Michael’s barely-sublimated feelings for Book and her testy but maternal relationship with Georgiou. There’s a good overarching task, not just to rescue Book from Orion slavery, but to retrieve a black box that may help solve the mystery of The Burn. And there’s the tension that comes from Burnham once again going rogue, while she and Geogiou have to fool the Orion overseer long enough to escape with their prize, their friend, and their lives.
That’s a damn good setup. There’s nothing very deep to it, but it’s fun to see Mirror Georgiou go full baddie here, selling the ruse to the Orion slaver and seeming cunning and combative, which is Michelle Yeoh’s most entertaining mode on this show. At the same time, we get just enough of a flavor of life in this slavery-ridden salvage yard to understand the dangers Book is facing and care about the other poor souls trapped there with him.
It’s ultimately a good old fashioned Star Trek caper. There’s ruses, secret communications, a group of good people in need, and a MacGuffin that needs retrieving. There’s the ingredients at play to make it interesting: tension, romance, vulnerability, a ruse, and a righteous cause. Things go wrong and go right at a good cadence, and there’s even amusing references to canon like Burnham mentioning a search for “self-sealing stem bolts.”
Things are more mixed for the scenes on the Discovery. “Scavengers” seems to follow a familiar Star Trek structure, with the fireworks happening on the planet of the week, while the rest of the crew deals with other sorts of crises on personal issues in the meantime. It helps pepper an episode with different kinds of scenes and mix tension and relief for variety’s sake. The problem is that Burnham’s rescue/heist wraps up around the two-thirds mark, and the rest of the episode is devoted to on-the-nose conversations between crew members that turn subtext into text.
Some of those moments are good! Most of them involve Saru! I’m particularly fond of his scene with Tilly, a pairing that’s proved remarkably durable. There’s something meaningful about Tilly coming clean about Burnham going off against orders rather than protecting her friend, not just because it’s the duty of a Starfleet officer to report such things, but because she’s sympathetic toward Saru for the position that Michael’s putting him in. Tilly sees the bigger picture here, and her walking the line between loyalties to two different friends, not to mention her job, marks this as a choice with complexity.
(Not for nothing, her scene with Grudge the cat is pretty darn adorable to boot, and feels true to just about any cat owner like yours truly.)
Similarly, I like the scene with Burnham, Saru, and Admiral Vance. I still don’t fully trust Admiral Vance (maybe it’s just because he’s a high-ranking Starfleet officer, so he’s inherently untrustworthy in this franchise), but he’s very fair albeit plainly angry at both of the Discovery’s senior officers. He gripes at Saru for not raising the possibility of Burnham’s mission with him beforehand, and he gripes at Michael for putting others at risk to call her own shot, which reflects a certain amount of selfishness. And yet, he leaves discipline as an internal matter for the Discovery, evincing a certain “tough but fair quality.”
The follow-up, which features Saru demoting Burnham, lays things on a little thick in terms of the dialogue, but it’s also a strong choice. It shows that there’s a cost to Burnham’s choice to color outside the lines, both personally and professionally. As to the latter, she loses her position as First Officer, which retroactively adds weight to what she gave up to save Book and pursue the mystery of The Burn. As to the former, she not only disappoints a friend in Saru, but violates his trust, which has just as potent emotional consequences. Again, this show veers more toward making such moments melodramatic rather than making them feel real, but the emotional calculus of it works.
The same problem afflicts the budding friendship between Stamets and Adira. I like the idea of the two of them bonding not only of a shared love of science and Adira’s aptitude for fixes that make Stamets’s life easier when utilizing the spore drive, but over having lost someone they love who’s nevertheless still with them. The two performers have a good chemistry, and the mentoring relationship is a good one.
But the show, once again, gilds the lily. Having Gray explicitly state that he likes Stamets and thinks he could be a good friend, and also having Dr. Culber explain for any audience member too daft to get it why Stamets and Adira have losses in common, just goes too far. The scenes feel unnatural and hurt, rather than help, a connection between Adira and Stamets that works better with friendly chemistry than it does blunt exposition.
The rest of the business on the ship mostly involves marveling at the new 32nd century upgrades the crew can now enjoy. That means a heap of refits with programmable matter, combages that project info via holographic inputs, automatically receptive new controls throughout the ship, and even separated nacelles. That leads to some stilted attempts at comedy with Linus the Saurian showing up at inconvenient times due to personal transporter malfunctions, but it’s a solid way to show our heroes acclimating to and wow-ing over the technological advances of the future.
If there’s a theme to all of this, it’s the idea of people admitting things to one another, showing vulnerability and emotional honesty in the hopes that it will be rewarded by those close to them. We see it in Burnham sniffing out that Georgiou is suffering from some sort of PTSD-induced panic attacks over the loss of someone close to her (I think she says, son?). We see it in emotional exchanges between Burnham and Saru or Stamets and Adira. And, of course, we see it when the show pulls the trigger on romance between Burnham and Book, a relationship I’m not fully on board with, but am at least glad to see the series stop pussyfooting around on.
Still, the best part “Scavengers” is the escapade Burnham, Georgiou, and Book have in the Orion slaver’s scrapyard. The confluence of double identities, entangled affections, plot-relevant artifacts, and beleaguered freedom fighters feels like classic Trek. All the pieces are there, and season 3 of Discovery has been an improvement so far, I just keep waiting for the show to put it all together.
[7.2/10] I wonder how long it will be before I start feeling the urge to compare Discovery to past Star Trek series. It’s been a long time since a Trek show has been on the air, and since TNG, each of them felt pretty easily familiar and of a piece with one another, even as they occupied different settings and even different tones. Discovery, on the other hands, feels like the biggest change, the biggest shift, since we went from The Original Series to the cinematic/Next Generation-era of the franchise, and that leaves longtime fans like myself sniffing for the familiar, even as we enjoy what Discovery is doing.
To that end, “Si Vis Pacem. Para Bellum” (a latin proverb that roughly translates to “if you want peace, you should prepare for war) feels like the most familiar episode of Discovery yet. It doesn’t necessarily follow the structure of old school Trek, with two major stories and a couple of minor ones packed in together, but it has premises that feel the most like something we might see Kirk or Picard exploring.
Chief among that is the major plot of the episode, which sees Burnham, Saru, and Tyler beaming down to an alien planet called Pavoh, in the hopes of using its natural resonance to help them detect cloaked Klingon ships. How many times have we seen Federation crewmembers beam down to a planet in search of some technology or resource, only to find more than they bargained for when they make it to the planet’s surface?
That’s certainly the case here, as the previously-thought uninhabited planet turns out to be populated by spores or particles or some sentient swarm of magical bacteria who, per Saru, are the planet. It’s the sort of “new life and new civilizations” mission that good Trek stories are made of, even if it feels a little too familiar for old fans here. For better or worse, the “crew beams down, one crewmember gets afflicted by crazy alien influence, other crewmembers have to save them,” is the type of story that you could pretty well deposit into any of the prior Star Trek* series without having to make many adjustments.
What’s less familiar is the B-story, for lack of a better term, which sees Admiral Cornwall allying with L’Rell (Voq’s accomplice) to try to get away from Kol the bad Klingon and get off T’Kuvma’s old ship. The storyline has some good moments, but it also comes off as pretty muddled at times. Who’s allied with whom, what everyone’s motivations are, and what the point of the story is all gets jumbled up at points.
Part of that is by design. The show intentionally wants you to question L’Rell’s true motivations and whether she really wants to defect or its part of a spy game and whether Kol really trusts her or not. But rather than having the audience question but follow along, the episode makes it rather unclear when she’s playing along and when she’s being true, in a way that makes the viewer scratch one’s head moreso than it builds intrigue.
Still, it offs Cornwall, which conveniently and predictably gets Lorca off the hook for his screwed up behavior. And it creates a ticking time bomb on Kol’s ship, where someone who abhors him is there, potentially wants to defect to the Federation, and definitely wants to get back at Kol for what he did to Voq and her other brethren.
There’s also a couple of other semi-disconnected stories, or at least check-ins, that move the larger narrative of the season. The most heart-pumping is the cold open that sees the Discovery engaged in a battle with six Klingon ships attacking another Federation vessel. It’s a thrilling skirmish, filled with well-done dogfighting, a nice sense of urgency and order to the chaos, and a meaningful loss that underscores the importance of Burnham’s mission that makes up the meat of the episode.
The most compelling, however, is Tilly detecting that something is clearly off with Stamets after his many trips as a tardigrade substitute. For one thing, the show teases hard that Tilly realizes her ambition and becomes a captain, and that Stamets is tripping through time or tapping into some cosmic knowledge when he rides the spore superhighway. But for another, the episode does a nice job of exploring the bind that Stamets’s issues puts him in, where he doesn’t want to turn into a lab rat and be taken off duty, but also doesn’t want to put his partner in a position where the good doctor has to lie for him. It’s just a little hint, not a full story, but it delivers a very humane dilemma to be unpacked.
The main story does a bit of the same. It’s another familiar Trek trope to have gentle or reserved characters be under the influence of some alien agent and go a little crazy and dangerous. Spock’s done it; Data’s done it, and now Saru does it. The bits where Burnham and Ash disagree about what to do with him and reveal their differing viewpoints is a little cheesy, but it’s interesting to see the show turn its most gentle and reluctant character into a threat.
The pod person routine with Saru is scary, both for how his alien physiology means that Burnham and Ash are no physical match for him, but also for his calmness turns from something that makes him seem kind of stuffy and superior, to something that makes him feel impossible to stop or reason with. It’s a nice outing for Doug Jones, and it gives the Burnham character some hard choices.
While I’m not crazy about the tease at the end (can we say Organians, folks?), I do like the explanation for Saru’s turn, for the reasons for his biological reaction to the Pandora-like planet, and for the psychological reasons for his change in demeanor. Like Spock before him, beneath that staid exterior is a well of emotions that Saru doesn’t always reveal. But in the clear light of day, he admits that he spends his entire life afraid, that it’s in his DNA, his evolutionary path, to constantly be on his guard and constantly worry. To have a respite from that, a chance to escape it and be happy and undisturbed on Pavoh, is a pull that no one could understand.
And yet, in her own way, Burnham does. She too has to project an image of strength, of calm, while clearly feeling the stress and strain of all that she’s been through. Like many of those other familiar stories, Star Trek often uses those away missions to find common ground between its crewmen, and this is no exception.
“Si Vis Pacem. Para Bellum” isn’t a groundbreaking episode of Star Trek. It doesn’t bring a time travel story into modern splendor like last week’s episode, or delve into some of the more ambitious serialized storytelling that the show’s engaged in thus far. But it follows the Trek formula more than any other ep in Discovery so far. That makes it feel comfortable, like slipping into an old primary colored uniform, but also like business as usual, and despite the sharp cinematography and better effects, it becomes just another adventure of the week.
Maybe I felt a bit let down by this one just due to how much I enjoyed last weeks, or maybe because it didn't follow up on that awesome moment of Stamets in the mirror that ended the previous one. Either way, I didn't get quite as much into this one.
But it's a shame, because there are many parts of this episode that worked by themselves, it just failed to grab me when they were all put together. I think it's clear that a real strength of the show is how unpredictable it all continues to be. The focus is taken away somewhat from Burnham and we get to spend half the episode with Captain Lorca, who continues to become more and more complicated. He's also becoming more and more sympathetic. There's a moment of what appears to be genuine fear when he realises the admiral will take away his command, and despite her apparent disbelief on whether or not he's being real it definitely came across that way to me.
It's a shame that the plot went in the direction of them sleeping together which felt a bit tired, but it did allow for that scene to play out nicely in the aftermath. At any rate, the ending with the Klingon double-cross made her look very naive.
Michael's story was quite interesting, too, if maybe a bit sloppy. It's a common misconception that Vulcans are an emotionless species, as various Trek shows and films have shown us time and time again that they are fiercely violent, racist and have a superiority complex. The emotions are merely suppressed and (hopefully) not acted upon, but they're all there. The relationship between Michael and Sarek is pretty fascinating while somehow feeling a little bit ridiculous. Anyway, it was great to get some more insight into the failings that Sarek felt around this time, especially in regards to Spock.
I also loved Amanda Grayson as portrayed by Mia Kirshnir, who bears an amazing resemblance to original actress Jane Wyatt. A little part of me feels it's a shame that Winona Ryder didn't come back, but I guess that was never going to happen.
The newly arrived Lt. Ash Tyler is a weird one. I think it's clear that the story is going somewhere with him (and if you explore online discussions be careful, because it's also clear that a lot of people have worked this out already), but at this point he doesn't really seem to fit. He's too good at everything and has integrated himself too readily, taking the forefront a bit too often. The guy has just spent 7 months in a Klingon prison (allegedly) so I'd think he'd need some serious rehabilitation.
Other random observations: I love that Stamets appears to have become in a constant state of agreeable bliss since using the spore drive (REALLY need to get back into this story line) and Tilly again just makes me smile.
[8.1/10] There is a line of demarcation between the difficulties a person experiences, their shames and fears, and what about those insecurities and regrets they share with the world, particularly for people in positions of authority. That’s particularly true for Capt. Lorca and Sarek, who find themselves confronted with those close to them -- a lover in the case of the former and a daughter in the case of the latter -- and yet cannot bring themselves to reveal what they’re going through, the personal pain they’re experiencing, until forced to by the very people they seek most to keep it from.
“Lethe” dramatizes these personal blocks and reveals in different ways. For Lorca and Admiral Cornwall, it’s a personal encounter that devolves from professional concern into romantic rekindling. For Michael Burnham, it’s something much more Trek-y, involving taking a shuttlecraft into a radiation-filled nebula and using a nigh-magical mind meld enhancement beam to find her surrogate father. Burnham is still infused with Sarek’s katra after he used it to revive her as a child, and now she’s out to return the favor when she received a psychic blast indicating he’s in danger.
That quest forces her to confront her own insecurities over her relationship with her father. Her efforts to mind meld with Sarek from afar lead her to one moment from their shared past -- the moment when they learned that Burnham would not be accepted into the Vulcan Expeditionary Force. Burnham reads the situation as her adoptive father spending his last moments on his greatest regret -- her. She interprets this scene as him fixating on the ways she failed him, the ways she was not good enough to achieve all that he wanted for her, something that’s lingered with her ever since she first felt the sting of that failure.
But buoyed by the support of Tilly and the recently-made-security-chief and former Klingon POW Ash, Burnham gathers the strength to confront Sarek about what he’s hiding from her, why he’s so set on rebuffing her from his mind. It’s there that she learns the truth. She didn’t fail, or at least not exactly. The Vulcan leadership gave Sarek a choice for whom it would accept into its leadership and good grace: Burnham or Spock, and we know whom ended up picking.
The shame, the thing he cannot escape, is not Burnham’s failure; it’s his own. He failed Burnham, and put in a Sophie’s Choice type situation, managed to lose on both fronts, with Burnham missing out on the dream he instilled in her to join the Vulcan Expeditionary Force, and Spock going against his wishes and joining Starfleet rather than the Vulcan Science Academy. The reasons for Burnham’s rejection are a lie he carried with him from that moment, pushing the failure, and the ensuing sense of loss and worthlessness, from himself onto her.
Lorca is likewise keeping up a facade in order to avoid owning up to his own failures and limitations. When Admiral Cornwall comes to check on him personally, to question his decisions of bringing Starfleet’s first ever mutineer on as a member of his crew and making a 7-month Klingon POW his chief of security, he puts up the image of cool collectedness. He claims to have his reasons, to be fighting this war the best way he knows how, and maintains that his decision-making, his risk-taking, is sound even if it seems unorthodox to the stuffed shirts in Starfleet Command.
But then they sleep together, and after a tender moment, a gentle touch of specific-contoured scars on his back by Cornwall, Lorca has an episode. He wraps his hand around his companion’s neck and brandishes a phaser in her face before he’s able to calm down. It’s then that Cornwall has confirmation that Lorca is not well. He admits that he lied on his psyche evals, that he’s had trouble since the battle that affected his eyes and cost him his crew, that he’s struggle and needs help.
But that’s the hard thing for people keeping important parts of themselves and parts of what they’re going through hidden from the people who care about them -- you never know if they’re telling the truth, if they’re letting you in, or if you’re just one more layer into them denying the real depths of the problem
But it’s understandable, even if the consequences are harsh, when what’s being hidden are personal failings, ways in which people feel like they don’t measure up to the standards they’ve set for themselves. Lorca wants to be a wartime chief, someone who can avenge his crew and create a safe place in the galaxy for his countrymen. That means hanging on to the Discovery, his best hope and best chance to do so, even if it means ignoring all the signs that he’s not well.
For Sarek, it comes in the form of all his efforts to overcome the prejudice of his species. The episode opens with a “logic extremist” who calmly self-immolates to protest Sarek’s involvement with humans or Klingons (you know, by trying to kill him). The crux of Burnham’s story in the episode comes when it’s revealed that the Vulcan leadership would only allow humanity to be a part of the Vulcan community “by titration,” gradually, and that they saw Sarek’s work of integrating Vulcans with their human allies as a parlor trick, a wild experiment, that should be cordoned off from Vulcan purity. It speaks to the recurring themes of this series thus far, one involving the mixing of cultures and the friction points therein.
But while it’s Lorca and Sarek who have these truths revealed, neither grows or changes from it. Lorca is saved by the plot-teasing Klingon trap that Cornwall, who’s filling in for an ailing Sarek, gets caught up in. (As a side note, if you ever find yourself in a T.V. show or movie, never tell someone that you’re going to deal with something big “as soon as you get back,” because it guarantees you aint comin’ back.) And Sarek, despite being rescued and revealed by his now-accomplished ward, remains taciturn and reserved, and more like the version of the character from The Original Series and its descendents.
But Burnham does. It’s signposted a little too hard, but she overcomes the blocks carelessly put in front of her by Sarek, and realizes that she can find her own worth, her own value, apart from his approval, even if it leads her to value the approval of the similarly-flawed Lorca, who offers her an official post on the Discovery. And she realizes, that as she tells Tilly, there is more than one path to success, more than one way to get what you want, and the fact that she had a setback on hers, a couple of major ones in fact, does not mean that she is doomed or fated to fail.
It’s easy to hide our damage, the things that bother us or make us feel like failures or less than. We want to project an image: to our coworkers, to our bosses, and even to our family members. But when we confront those parts of ourselves, share them and work through them, we can not only come out the other end realizing that the help we need is there, but also that the failures that keep us up at night are not really our own, and there’s still a galaxy of possibilities ahead of us.
After a lifetime of love for the Star Trek universe, it's hard to be impressed by some of the iterations between the end of Voyager, and the start of the recent movie reboots. As much as I love Scott Bakula, I panned "Enterprise" sometime after the first season, unable to find a way into the story or caring about that crew.
However, as if the showrunners of Discovery knew what, my intersectional heart was longing for. A powerful new female lead of colour (wearing her natural hair), in a very different take on the Federation and enemies of old. When I realised which enemy of old it was being reimagined—indeed, the extent to which the Federation has been a little reimagined—I became deeply impressed, moment by moment.
I'm uncertain if I like the makeup and costume design for the new 'Others' in the story, and the very 'colourfulness' of their ship interiors, but you know, I might just let it grow on me and see how it goes.
A word here on Sonequa Martin-Green's performance: Yes muh girl! Yes! I like you... A nuanced and compelling performance.
That said, this was an impressive opener. Oh CBS.. you play too much. They banned reviews to pique interest, and I am in for it. Here for it. I'm glad I took the chance and watched, and I'm glad to be so pleasantly surprised. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Usual disclaimer: never played the game, so I'm judging the series - not how much it resembles the videogame or how much it portrays my love for it.
Saying this cause of the amount of overenthusiastic reviews by fans of the game, which put this next to the greatest series ever after 2 episodes...
I found out a thing I never thought about before: the show is suffering a little for bringing too faithfully the videogame experience in some scenes. Which translated to a series some standard horror movie choices. It happened last time with the clicker sitch: it happens that they have to pass through a dark museum, creates a great setting for a videogame bit, but it's a little forced for a series/movie. Here again when Ellie goes in the basement alone. Come on. We can create 270 horrors by having a protagonist go into every basement, every corridor, every empty house and dark corner.. but it should have a solid motivation, not "girl thinks it's a good idea to go alone in a manhole in a infected-creatures world, finds a creature and decides to go close cause why not".
It does its best when it's telling a story and showing a world: through flashbacks, interactions, travelling.. when it goes too much into the "videogame level" kind of stuff, it gets redundant.
The part with Bill & Frank was remarkable, sweet and tragic and human at once. A depiction of a life spent together and what makes it worth living.
small IMO: Nick Offerman should try to convey emotions with his voice as well, his tone hardly changes
Looking back, from the perspective of a person who played the game many times, this is both a great love letter to long time fans, and gives a new spin on a well done character that had the potential for some really good lore, which was presented quite well here. I'm happy with the direction of where they went with Bill & Frank's story. I have no clue where they will be going in the next episode, so I will be watching closely to see if they go crazy off trail in the next episodes, but this one felt good. As a piece of work, this hit the emotional marks alongside the story aspects quite well, while also tying in the stories of our main characters throughout the episode. I'm trying to grasp the lens of what a first time watcher would be experiencing, such as those who haven't played the game. I wouldn't call it a filler episode, but it does hit the mark of a self contained story, though it connects to our main story, and helps continue Joel and Ellie's journey. This episode reminds me of what you would see in a show like Atlanta on FX, where the entire episode revolves a self-contained story of one character, and then the main characters would show up at the end, and possibly mentioned or pop up throughout the episode. This was a pretty rough ramble, but it was well done in the sense of a self contained story, branching off of our main journey with Ellie and Joel, which I do appreciate in many shows. This episode contains such beautiful and heavy themes, and it is interesting to show that there are bright spots like this within the bleak world of The Last Of Us.
In the end, I enjoyed this episode, I am pretty happy we got some really juicy Bill and Frank lore. I wish we got to see some conversations with Ellie and grumpy Bill , but it's alright, I'm sure we will be able to whiteness more fun Ellie moments throughout the rest of the show. By the way, the performances were absolutely beautiful. I managed to really connect to these characters, and hang on to what they had to say, alongside the amount of empathy I had for them. A beautiful story was told, and though it is different than the source material, which I typically am not a fan of, I was happy to be brought on this lovely adventure.
It's 1:30 in the morning and I'm waiting for my photos to render, so I decided to comment on this episode while I wait lol. I am very tired so mind my poor grammar lmao
[4.1/10] I am the king of complaining about Star Trek episodes where some Federation ship barges in and just completely upends somebody else’s society. If I had a nickel for every time Captain Kirk strolled onto some alien planet and, over the advice of Spock, decided that their way of life was wrong and he knew better, I could afford to build my own stentorian-voiced authoritarian supercomputer. There’s a lack of nuance and practicality that always drove me nuts in that, and it’s a strain of arrogant righteousness that ran from the 1960s series to the latest one.
But holy hell, “Cogentior” ends with Archer chewing Trip out for teaching a slave to read and blaming him for the slave’s suicide. I just....I don’t know what to do with that.
Let’s go back to the basics of the situation. The Enterprise is studying some megastar and runs into a more advanced species. They have fancier ships and better equipment and, for once, they’re friendly rather than hostile! They too are explorers, hoping to meet new species and learn more about the galaxy. After so much rough and tumble diplomacy, Archer and company meet some aliens who are excited to see them, ready to teach them about their technology, and seem to share the same values.
That alone is kind of refreshing. Granted, friendly aliens don’t usually make for great drama, which is probably why Star Trek tends to go more for the aggressive/greedy/paranoid types, but still. There’s something kind of adorable about Archer and the alien captain trading quotes about Shakespeare (a Trek tradition), and having their little mutual admiration society.
The catch to all of this is that Trip discovers the species’ titular “cogenitor.” You see, the Vissians have a third gender, who expectant couples take with them when they decide they want to have a baby. The episode plays things a little coy when Trip finds the setup a bit weird and has a certain purtianical curiosity about the whole thing. At first, it feels like an extension of the subplot from “Stigma”, where he’s just a little uncomfortable, or even close-minded, about other species’ cultural practices.
But then the episode takes a startling right left turn, when Trip discovers that the Vissians’ cogenitors are basically chattel. He follows on his shock and curiosity and uncovers the fact that neurologically, the congenitors are exactly the same as the other Vissians, despite the fact that they’re treated like will-less property. He is aghast, and aims to teach the nameless congenitor on board how to read and instill in it the idea that it could have freedom and self-direction and the capabilities to be something more that need not be penned in by the restrictions of the Vissians’ society.
That actually sets up a really interesting dilemma and bit of social commentary. Here you have one of the most kind, altruistic, advanced, and seemingly enlightened species that humanity has ever met. They have a lot to teach Archer and his crew, and it seems like the beginning of a long, fruitful, mutually beneficial relationship between the two peoples. What happens when you realize that your new best friends are slavers? What do you do when the nicest people in the galaxy, who’ve been exploring the galaxy for 1,000 years, turn out to casually treat sentient beings like pieces of property?
There is a push and pull between notions of moral relativism and practicality versus the founding values of Starfleet and respect for sentient beings’ human rights that is a worthwhile and engaging topic to plumb the depths of. It’s the sort of conundrum we rarely see, and it’s especially salient at a time when the Federation doesn't even exist yet, and humanity is the new kid on the block that needs all the help it can get rather than the intergalactic equivalent of a global superpower.
But for some godforsaken reason, Enterprise elides all of that, and basically comes down almost wholesale on the side of “it’s their culture, and if they want to have slaves, it’s none of our business, and shame on you for interfering!”
It is mindboggling. After forty years, this is where Star Trek draws the line? This is where the franchise finally takes its whole “noninterference” thing seriously? After dozens, maybe hundreds of episodes where the crew of Federation ship decides that their morality and ethics supersedes those of the other cultures they encounter, the hill that Trek is willing to die on is “so what if this species has fully sentient, socially subjugated, baby-making slaves? It’s none of our business!” What the bloody hell!
It doesn't help that, like “Stigma”, this episode breaks up its “Very Special Episode” seriousness with broad, inessential subplot. Chief among these is Reed flirting with one of the Vissians. It’s a pointless but cute bit of cultural exchange, and in another episode, I think I’d like it. It’s the sort of slice of life bit of Trek that we don’t get enough of. But here, it just feels out of place.
The same goes for Archer and the Vissian captain’s adventure exploring the megastar. Being the most charitable, you could argue that these scenes are necessary to establish the bond that Archer is forming with the Vissians, which makes him loathe to let anything disrupt the relationship. But really, it feels like a chance for the show to show off some mid-2000s CGI firestorm effects, which are fine for their time, but pretty unavailing when you’re dealing with a choppily-edited story of Trip trying to free a slave in the main story of the episode.
Naturally, when Archer gets back from his sojourn and learns what Trip’s done from the Vissians, there’s hell to pay. The episode pays lip service to Archer seriously considering the Cogenitor’s seeking asylum, but devolves into even more stultifying Archer speeches and Vissian recriminations about not judging other cultures. So in the end, Archer agrees to return the congenitor back to the Vissians.
That alone would be a somewhat unsatisfying conclusion, albeit probably a realistic one. But what happens next takes the cake. The Enterprise gets word that the congenitor, having been consigned to a life of repression and servitude, takes its own life after having been shown the greater possibilities it will never experience by Trip. Archer reams out his chief engineer over this, laying the death at Trip’s feet and tearing him a new one for being reckless, without any consideration for the fact that, you know, this is a sentient being who was in bondage that Trip was trying to help.
What kills me is that you could keep the major beats of this story and still make it work. All it would take is Archer being genuinely conflicted, genuinely understanding of why Trip did what he did, for someone other than Trip to acknowledge the utter horribleness of what the Vissians are doing to these people, however nice they may seem otherwise.
If there were some bit of realpolitik going on, of Archer or T’Pol or somebody else saying, “You are right. This is terrible. But being absolute novices in deep space and humanity’s only representatives means that sometimes we have to make hard choices about what we tolerate in the name of not making enemies when we need friends,” then this would still be a hard episode to watch, but it would be bearable and even comprehensible.
Instead, the message of the episode seems to be “Trip was dead wrong for teaching that slave how to read and that it deserves freedom, and the congenitor’s blood is on his hand.” That is a lesson so far removed from the enlightened, compassionate ethos of Star Trek that it feels like an insult. At its best, the franchises explores the moral gray areas of where personal ethics meet cross-cultural exchange, and the fraught sore spots that arise when those two things clash. But an episode that aims to do the same, and yet lands on a message of “how dare you mess with those aliens’ practice of slavery!” is utterly antithetical to the nuance and the values that have sustained Star Trek for so many years.
I'm not entirely sure what point this episode is trying to make.
On the surface, it seems to be an obvious gender equality play, with clear parallels to the past (and continuing) struggle by women in all parts of real-life human society to be taken and treated as equal to men in all respects. There's even an entire story beat wherein the writers went to great lengths to have Phlox scientifically determine that the Cogenitor is equal in every way to the other Vissians.
Then there's the undercurrent of commentary on slavery. The Vissians do seem to treat the Cogenitors in their society as property of sorts, what with the male/female couple being "given" a Cogenitor. This line doesn't go very far, unfortunately. All we really have on it is that one scene around the conference table with the Vissian engineer's line asserting that Enterprise's stewards are forced to serve, and his following statement that it's easy to misunderstand another culture when you don't understand it. That's pretty much all of it. We don't know if Cogenitors are forced somehow into serving their role. Vissian culture remains pretty opaque.
The whole thing is overshadowed by the resolution, in which Trip is all but formally reprimanded for his methods, if not his intent. (Though it's pretty clear that Archer disapproves of both.) Keeping in mind that this is pretty much pre–Prime Directive, I suppose Archer's objections stem mainly from the obvious: Trip's actions resulted in a sentient being committing suicide. I'm just not sure how to square his apparent opposition to Trip's intent, which was to show one Cogenitor that the way they're treated isn't necessarily right. Potentially starting a social revolution would definitely violate the Prime Directive, but that doesn't exist yet.
Unless the subtext is that the Cogenitor was killed to prevent her inflammatory ideas from spreading. That would make the story marginally more interesting, maybe.
This was a truly beautiful thing to watch. The whole cast and crew working at the highest level possible to make a genuine masterwork.
In general though, I hope people just accept that this is not a video game. The Last of Us was my favorite PS3 game. The Last of Us II was my favorite PS4 game. People who can't accept that they are not the same will be disappointed time and time again in the future if they keep expecting things to play out the same way. Accept that the games are an inspiration for a TV show and that many things that work in video games do not necessarily work in a live action medium. The show itself can't be all actiony all the time because frankly it would be entirely unrealistic for Joel to continue to live through constant fights with zombies, especially when in this world one bite and you're done. There's no cutting off a limb or anything else to stop the spread. Unless you're Ellie, if you get infected you die. There's no way if they were constantly fighting he'd make it like you can in a video game. You can't reload if you get mortally wounded when you're doing a TV show.
It's a funny look at fandom, something we Star Trek fans know well. The Doctor always had a tendency to, how did B'Elanna put it, arrogance and self-absorption. And quite frankly he became really annoying here. Which was the intention of course. The episode ran along those lines and I was beginning to get bored when we reached an essential part. The moment the Doctor wanted to resign we were back at the point of the Doctor's status. Has he that right or is he property of Starfleet and thus hasn't. Sounds familiar ? It should, we once were at that point with Data.
While I understand, and in a way am glad, they didn't do a remake of "Measure of a Man" from TNG, I think the whole issue was not satisfactoy resolved. But in the end it is a good character building story as the Doctor comes to realise that he's more appreciated on Voyager than he thinks.
Funny how this whole think also reminds me of all those casting shows and competitions we have for years now. Which back than probably wasn't a point they wanted to make. But it is true, your fame holds only as long as the next one comes along.
I get emotional every time. Deep Space Nine ends with a beautiful farewell that manages to cover a lot of bases. It wraps up the Dominion War and gives - mostly - satisfying farewells for these characters. This show had by far the characters with the most depth and development in the franchise. There is no room for arguing that fact at all. They felt real. They had faults and they had arcs and evolved throughout the show.
So, it's a real shame that this is the final on-screen appearance for all of them bar Worf. If there was any Trek show that deserved a continuation in film format it was this one. The stories developed here were so rich, and even though this episode wraps things up it still leaves enough open questions and paths for exploration (with one MASSIVE cliffhanger in particular).
This episode itself is strong though certainly not without problems. The pacing is mostly good, but every time we cut to Kai Winn and Dukat on their pah-wraith search it really spoils the momentum. I've now learned (thanks to online forums that didn't exist for me back in the day) that a lot of people were not fans of any of this storyline. I can kind of understand why, even though it never bothered me too much. I really like the mythos that was slowly built up around the Bajoran religion, and certainly when I was younger I couldn't see the way elements became shoehorned in. The pah-wraiths amount to little more than hand-waving magic when you really look at them and they had the effect of turning both Winn and Dukat into pantomime villains.
I don't really accept the way that Winn changed her entire religious beliefs so readily, even though she tries to justify it. I also don't quite understand most of Dukat's motivations after he loses his daughter in season 6. If we are supposed to believe that he's just gone a bit insane then it could have been portrayed better. The whole showdown is over and done with far too quickly and it all gets a bit Star Wars (which I adore, but Star Wars is fantasy-based whereas Star Trek is science fiction/technology based). It doesn't fit. And we get a fast wrap up where Sisko and Dukat just fall into the fire which is... silly, to be polite.
The rest of the episode makes up for this, though. The final battle of the Dominion War is a visual feast and a gripping rollercoaster. The space battle is a tremendous accomplishment for 1990s television standards, but the best part is the Kira/Garak/Damar resistance storyline. Those three characters have such rich histories of conflict to mine that putting them together leads to nothing but joy on screen. The death of Damar does feel like a gut punch even though we've spent so much time hating him for his actions over the course of the past few seasons. It's a shame that his murder of Ziyal is never directly addressed by Kira or Garak. The love-to-hate-him character Weyoun gets a satisfying send off, and the war is ended with a moment of compassion and understanding when Odo offers to give himself up to save everyone.
The individual character bookends are also greatly satisfying, and often bittersweet. Odo leaves, O'Brien leaves, Worf leaves. Odo's decision feel natural even though he leaves hurt people in his wake, but Miles' is much more unexpected and actually the more emotional for me. The O'Brien/Bashir bromance was among my favourite parts of this show, so the video collage of their past moments is heartbreaking for me. Worf's departure is a bit stranger, since we will see him again in Star Trek: Nemesis and it doesn't acknowledge his decisions here at all. Additionally, I will be forever disappointed that there are no flashback to Jadzia due to licensing reasons.
In happier endings, Julian and Ezri are finally together and I like it. It was all a bit forced but I'm just happy at the thought of them together. Nog gets promoted to Lieutenant (take that, Harry Kim), Kira is in charge of the station and Quark gets to keep running the bar while Rom has become Grand Nagus!
That leaves the saddest ending of all: the Siskos. In particular, I think Jake gets the short straw. His dad is gone but just within reach. Benjamin has not only left his son behind, but his pregnant wife. It's a bold ending that leaves you wanting to know more, and extremely bittersweet. Ben and Jake were the heart and soul of this show from the very beginning and I think it's appropriate that it finishes on a shot of Jake thinking about his dad while being comforted.
I said in my review of 'Emissary' that DS9 was my favourite TV show of all time. This rewatch has solidified that statement for me. The characters here are mismatched, broken people who grow and evolve into true friends and take us on that journey with them. It has also really struck me how much DS9 continues to stand up to today's modern TV landscape, while the other Trek shows feel very much liked dated products of their time. Here we have a tale of terrorism, religion, war and through all that a thread of hope and idealism.
I absolutely can't leave it here, and I'm going to be delving into the "relaunch" novels that pick up where the show ended and continue the journey. It's not official canon and could easily be overwritten at any time (especially given the announcement of all the new Trek heading our way on TV), but that doesn't take away from these new stories at all, and given the "black sheep" nature of DS9 in the franchise I have a feeling that these stories are probably the best I can hope for. There's also the upcoming documentary What We Left Behind to look forward to, and maybe one day we'll get a nice HD upgrade for the show.
See you again down the road, DS9.
Okay, it's another silly holodeck episode quite soon after 'Take Me Out To The Holosuite' (and aired fairly close to Voyager's 'Bride of Chaotica'), but DS9 somehow made these work. There's a sense of full commitment from all involved and the way they come together is quite creative, and now far removed from the typical "holodeck gone wrong" scenario. In this case the stakes are very low - the holodeck safeties are even working! - but it's a nice testament to the crew's friendship with Vic.
I also just enjoy heist stories, and even though this is as formulaic as they come it's clearly doing it on purpose. All of the cast just fit into their assigned roles (and how good does everybody look?). Sisko makes a welcome argument about the race issues of the time which is similarly countered well by Kassidy.
The episode also managed to get a great bunch of supporting actors to play the gangsters, and they are absolutely perfect. Trek often falters when filling these kinds of roles and we end up with watered down cartoon character bad guys, but everyone here just adds some sparkle to their roles as well as coming across as natural.
It's a dumb episode too. The fact that the holodeck program can't just be fixed isn't really given any proper due and the whole thing could be seen as a waste of time given the whole war thing that's going on. But it can equally be viewed as a breather before the storm. Despite my dislike for the swing music that keeps featuring in these Vic episodes, we do find out that DAYYMN Avery Brooks can sing, and "the best is yet to come" can certainly be seen as a message for what we're about to get into with the remaining episodes.
A much stronger follow up to 'The Siege of AR-558'. This puts Nog front-and-centre, which doesn't happen often, and deals with his recovery from losing his leg. Aron Eisenberg gets to show that he's a better actor than most of us expect and puts in a very strong performance that requires a lot of him. The episode also performs the miracle of making Vic Fontaine an integral part, and I actually found myself really liking him for the first time.
It's a downbeat episode for the majority of the running time. Nog becomes kind of exasperating to watch, and it's easy to understand why Jake loses his temper with him. It all feels very realistic, though - not that I have any experience of losing a limb or being around someone who has. The low mood all gives way to quite a gorgeous and positive ending, though, so it's worth it. It's impressive that the two main characters in this episode, Nog and Vic, are just secondary characters who don't even have their names in the opening titles. There is so many depth and good writing to all involved in this show that we can have episodes like this and it just works.
I also love the background stuff that happens, such as the worry shown by Rom and Leeta (and even Quark!). The sense of their family really shines through. I also love Bashir's exasperation when his holosuite programs are belittled.
If I have any complaint, it's the overuse of damn swing-jazz lounge music. I just cannot get behind it's inclusion in the show, and the fact that every character who comes into contact with it seems to fall in love with it just bewilders me.
I didn't really love the previous episode with the genetically enhanced super group from last season ('Statistical Probabilities'), but this one is a bit better. I think I have to admit that the main reason for that is that it gives Jack, Patrick and Lauren much less screen time. I just found them a bit too much to watch.
Sarina, however, was always the interesting one and I'm glad that she gets an episode here. What is most impressive is the complete transformation of the actress playing her, and I don't just mean in looks. Her entire face suddenly comes alive and it's both fascinating and lovely to see. This being Star Trek, it's a little obvious that the episode is not going to end well, though. Fortunately they don't go the expected route of reverting Sarina to her original state (or even worse, killing her) and do manage to give her a happy ending even if she's not going to be sticking around on the station.
Julian's role here is iffy. The story does at least acknowledge most of that, with Miles reminding his friend that Sarina is his patient and the realisations he accepts at the end. It's fairly easy to see Julian as taking advantage of Sarina here, and his early DS9 arrogrant/womaniser persona is in danger of reappearing in earnest. I'm glad that the doctor does at least see how poorly he handled things while at the same time I feel sympathy for him. He did things all sorts of wrong here, though.
The "do-re-mi" singing scene manages to be both gorgeous and cheesy as hell.
And here we have it, the real blemish on an otherwise great show and a contender for the worst episode in the whole Trek franchise. This is quite a disgusting episode for very clear reasons: it makes light of sexism, sexual assault and attempts to turn trans-genderism/gender identity into a joke. I honestly have no idea how anyone thought this was a good idea, other maybe than "it'll be funny!". It's a shame, because the episode starts with the very interesting issue of women getting equal rights on Ferenginar before becoming derailed. It also has the superb Wallace Shawn and Jeffrey Combs doing their usual excellent work.
We open with Quark, a character we've come to love through his faults, openly encouraging a female employee to perform sexual acts on him under the threat of being fired. But it's okay, right? It's meant to be funny.
Quark is forced to have gender reassignment and becomes woman. It's okay, it's meant to be funny.
We all laugh at Quark trying to act like a woman, and the way his hormones now make him feel. It's okay, it's meant to be funny.
A Ferengi male traps female-Quark in his quarters and chases her around in an attempt to have sex with her against her will. It's all very slapstick. It's meant to be funny!
At the end, it turns out that Quark's female employee actually wants to perform the work-enforced sex acts on him! Women always say yes if you're persistent enough, right? SO FUNNY!
Quark doesn't actually learn anything from his experience as a woman! Ha! Sexism wasn't ever a real thing! Oh MY!
More than anything, I was curious about this show when it was first announced. I love the idea that each Trek series can be something completely different and I'd like to think that I'm pretty open minded, so an "adult animated comedy" immediately piqued my interest and I honestly though it sounded fun. But I was also confused as to just how it would function, or even fit in with the Trek framework. I didn't want Rick and Morty with a Star Trek skin.
That's not what this is at all. Lower Decks is clearly made by people who both love Star Trek and are intimately familiar with it. Each episode is a joyous exploration of various Trek tropes that are turned inside out and then made to provide us with pure entertainment. And yet they still manage to stay true to Trek's ideals, and they send the characters on a journey of discovering themselves and what they want out of their lives.
Mostly, the show is genuinely funny. This is a case of the producers not showing off their best stuff in the trailers and really saving the surprises for the broadcasts. The season continues to steadily improve and settle down as it goes on, but even out of the gate I was enjoying it. There's a fast pace in the early episodes (maybe too fast) that gets smoothed out, and any questions we have about how these characters are supposed to fit into their roles get answered. It slots very nicely into canon and works as a continuation of the '90s era of Star Trek shows.
The show is a deep dive into Trek lore and even the most die hard fans will find references to their most obscure favourite things. And yet it's not overdone, it's just FUN. I don't think it's even off putting for viewers who may not be all that familiar with Trek's past, as a friend of mine with only a passing knowledge of the franchise really got into the series (I shall now continue my mission to get her to watch more!)
The voice cast do excellent work, and the characters really came to life for me over the course of the season. Notably, Mariner is a fascinating and complex character who gets explored in detail and has probably emerged as my favourite. Over the course of the season, these characters genuinely made me feel things and fall in love with them. And I can't help but notice how much each actor looks like the character they play - could this be an intentional move to facilitate live action appearances down the line?
How do I begin to sum up 'The Visitor'? It's not only one of the finest episodes in all of Star Trek, it's one of the best pieces of television ever made. Every time I see it, I end up in tears. But it's not an overly sentimental tearjerker, it's subtle and honest in its storytelling. It's delightfully simple and self-contained, making it something that you can watch even if you've never seen any of DS9 before.
I think what clicks for me always is the performances. Everything that makes Avery Brooks my favourite Star Trek captain is displayed here, not only because of his performance but because of what he allowed Captain Sisko to be. He's a family man and a father before he is a Starfleet officer, and he's never afraid to show his vulnerable and caring side. Duty is important to him, but it's with the simple things in life that his heart really lies.
To complement that, Cirroc Lofton as Jake is probably the best he's ever been so far. The moment where his father first comes back and asks how he's doing, and instead of being able to reply he just starts to cry sums up so much of their close father/son relationship. Jake really needs his dad, even relies on him and there's a really deep love between them, undoubtedly solidified more since he lost his mother. We can see that without his dad, Jake turns completely away from the life he could have and shuts the doors to so many other people and paths. My favourite moment is actually the last time Sisko appears and he just watches old Jake sleeping with such a lovely expression on his face.
Then there's Tony Todd playing the older Jake who also is magnificent. While the old-age makeup effects still look kind of terrible (always a problem, they looked terrible back in the 1990s too), the performances are fortunately able to come through. He also has a great chemistry with the young lady playing Melanie.
Maybe there's a bit too much technobabble at moments, butI love this episode and it will make you want to go and see your dad.
Among the purest representations of what Star Trek is all about, 'Darmok' is near enough a masterpiece. It's a beautiful look at the language barrier between two people when you don't understand how the other person communicates. It's exciting, at times bewildering and ultimately sad.
Of course, it's got issues. The concept of the language based around metaphors seems inherently flawed (how do you have a normal conversation with someone? How do you order a meal off a menu? How do you potty train your child? How do you teach your children the stories in the first place?) but it also works because the point is we find it incomprehensible. It's alien. There are ways to answer my questions (maybe the aliens have some telepathic abilities, or pass down genetic memories) that really don't matter in the grand scheme.
Patrick Stewart is on top form as always, but he's given a run for his money with guest star Paul Winfield as the alien captain. There's also a brief glimpse of a very young Ashley Judd in what looks to be her first ever on-screen acting job, and she will return in the future.
It's a compelling mystery episode with tension and excitement. The crew of the Enterprise all have great scenes trying to solve the problem while Picard struggles to understand his companion and how to stay alive. Also, I really love the uniform jacket that Picard wears here for the first time.
[7.6/10] There’s no shortage of stirring speeches from Captain Picard, but this one belongs somewhere in the top five: “The first duty of every Starfleet officer is to the truth, whether it's scientific truth, or historical truth, or personal truth! It is the guiding principle on which Starfleet is based, and if you can't find it within yourself to stand up and tell the truth about what happened, you don't deserve to wear that uniform.”
I don’t know if it’s true. Or at least, I don’t know if the behavior of Starfleet leaders lives up to it on a regular basis. But it’s something to aspire to -- the notion that if we can just stick to what’s true and right, in senses both private and public, we can fulfill our obligations to our communities and ourselves.
What I like about “The First Duty”, though, is that it acknowledges the difficulty of that seemingly simple maxim, the way it’s complicated by an intersecting, contradictory web of obligations. None other than a returning Wesley Crusher is caught in that web in this episode. His Starfleet Academy flight team is in hot water after one of their own dies in an accident during a showy maneuver for the graduation ceremony. Our own Jean-Luc Picard is there, nominally to give the keynote speech at commencement, but in narrative terms, to do what he’s done so many times: to set Wesley on the right path.
The path becomes tricky when it becomes clear that this was no ordinary accident as part of routine maneuvers. Instead, the vaunted Nova Team, led by hotshot senior Nicholas Locarno, was attempting a dangerous, banned stunt. Wesley must decide whether to lie, either actively or by admission, at Locarno’s behest during the Academy inquest, or whether to tell the truth, potentially at the cost of his place in Starfleet.
What I appreciate about the episode is that it doesn’t make the decision easy. On the one hand, Wesley has to consider the ideals that Captain Picard has instilled in him, the titular duties that come with his uniform, the obligation to tell the truth, and his desire to provide absolution to a grieving father who thinks his son caused the accident. On the other, he has to think about his obligations as a member of Nova Team, his desire to stick with people who’ve been through the same thing, his realization that truth-telling wouldn’t just jeopardize his career, but those of the other team members he’s served with as a cadet.
In short, there are stakes here -- the well-being of a parent in mourning balanced against the futures of four promising young men and women. The answer is not a simple one, with the ideal of loyalty to the truth conflicting with the ideal of loyalty to the comrades who’ve formed a team and family with you. Both are pillars of Star Trek as we’ve known it. And Wesley’s struggle with whether to listen to his former captain’s insistence that the truth be known, or his current team leader’s insistence that he stay quiet to protect the people who trusted him, is the latest in a long line of Star Trek quandaries where you’re forced to contemplate what you’d do in a situation that would provoke such inner turmoil. “The First Duty” deserves credit for suggesting an answer without suggesting it’s easy.
It does suggest, however, that adolescent boys and girls who do wrong should be given a second chance to “listen to themselves” with the guidance of caring mentors. Wesley does wrong here, for understandable reasons, but even those annoyed by him have to accept that he’s a good kid who means well and could be an asset to Starfleet if his early potential bears fruit.
More than that, we learn that Jean-Luc himself was once an unruly adolescent who needed the understanding and assistance of the famed Boothby -- whom we meet in person for the first time here -- to save him from the disaster. There’s a generational tone (no pun intended) to “The First Duty”, where Captain Picard thanks his former mentor for showing such kindness and giving him direction, while the captain himself tries to do the same for Wesley Crusher.
In principle, it’s a good lesson, and one keeping with the optimistic, aspirational tone of the franchise. But in the present day, it’s hard not to hear the “Don’t allow a bright future to be ruined over one foolish, youthful mistake” without thinking of Brock Turner, the Stanford rapist who received a light sentence based on the same principle. It’s hard not to think of all the young men of color who don’t receive the same level of understanding, whose youthful mistakes and crimes aren’t excused in the way Turner’s was.
The situation here is obviously different. It’s likewise hard for longtime Star Trek fans to look at Nicholas Locarno and not see a proto-Tom Paris (hello Voyager fans!) and likewise see him as a well-meaning kid who sometimes gets over his skis and merely went too far over the line this time. It’s easy to look at Wesley as a young cadet trying to fit in, flattered by the achievement of being part of Nova Team, and listening to a leader whom he owes reflexive loyalty to in the chain of command. When Wesley does the right thing and comes clean in the end, we want the best for him, we want him to be rewarded for his honesty in a tough situation, just as we understand his dishonesty amid social and structural pressures not to rock the boat.
While Locarno’s expelled, Crusher merely has to repeat this year at the Academy and carry the shame of his lies. That commutation owes to Locarno taking the blame, another sign of a certain nobility to him, despite his “big man on campus” energy and efforts to maintain a mob-like code of silence with teammates. The show leaves us on a note of bittersweetness, of Picard helping his surrogate son find the right way, but it coming at a cost, as all things must in good stories.
But in the universe of the show, a young man is still dead. In the real world, a rapist served a three month sentence while other young men spend years in prison for lesser crimes. That too is a truth. And as moved as I am to hear Patrick Stewart provide another foundational lesson to young men like me who watched The Next Generation as children, it’s hard not to acknowledge the ways in which so many adolescent men and women who don’t have the advantages or guidance Wesley Crusher enjoys also don’t have the benefits of seeing their futures preserved when they make a mistake and come clean about it. The real world is grayer and sadder than that, which can make it both welcoming and frustrating to see a glimpse of a world where the truth always wins out.
