This was an action filled episode. Production wise this is great. If their is one point of criticism - hire a new fight choreographer. And what about Jason Isaac ? Will we now see the other Lorca ? Just when I thought I had a vague idea where this is going they throw everything out of the window. This I did not see coming. Whole episode was full of what-the-heck moments. Question still remains what is the main universe they are in because with that reveal at the end their is no way you can tie this into Trek Prime. And this is the main drive for me - how does this fit into Star Trek canon ? Could be worse. But I must add I also enjoy the writing more and more. At least they come up with bold ideas and judging from how the Mirror Universe part was layed out in preperation for this I have confidence the writers to have a bigger picture.
A thrilling episode that once again goes into a direction that's... bold. I can only imagine what will happen next and what the ramifications are for the events portrayed. Is this loss of Federation Space canon? If not how will they twist it into the canon, if at all? Will they eventually travel back in time, change the past and thus end up with regular Klingons and everything else we know and hold so dear from the classic series.. This is all so very exciting, I can't get enough of this show... but alas... there's no more to get (for now).
9.5/10
Outstanding
THIS IS PROPER TREK AND
THE ABSOLUTE BEST TREK OF THEM ALL.
THIS SHOW IS PHENOMENAL AND HAS ME ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT EVERY EPISODE AND SCREAMING AT THE TV WITH THRILL AND EXCITEMENT. WOW WOW AND WOW AGAIN.
AND THEY HAVE BROUGHT TIME TRAVEL INTO
IT AS WELL, WHICH IS FRICKIN AWESOME, THAT IS DEFINITELY MY THING THAT I CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF IN TV SHOWS AND MOVIES.
THIS EPISODE HAD EVERYTHING IN IT
AND IT WAS AMAZING AND SO WELL CHOREOGRAPHED WITH THOSE AWESOME FIGHT SCENES, NO TREK HAS EVER COME CLOSE TO THAT SHOWCASE COMBAT
IT WAS STUNNING TO SEE,
THIS WHOLE SHOW IS MOVIE
QUALITY AND I ABSOLUTELY LOVE
EVERYTHING ABOUT IT.
RIDING THE SHOCKWAVE WAS A NICE TOUCH,
(I HAD GOOSEBUMPS ALL
THE WAY), THAT'S WAS TOTAL
TREK 101. IF YOU DON'T RIDE
THE SHOCKWAVE AT SOME POINT
IT'S NOT PROPER TREK, KUDOS
TO THE WRITERS FOR THAT,
THEY DEFINITELY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING AND THEY DEFINITELY
KNOW THEIR TREK.
SARUS SPEECH WAS EPIC,
REALLY HEARTFELT, AMAZING
ACTUALLY.
THIS SHOW IS PERFECT AND
THE ABSOLUTE BEST TREK
HAS EVER EVER BEEN.
This show has its own unique way of being addictive, it always finds a way to keep you posted on the next episode :)
I have my plan and I do not mind using anyone to get it. A classic bad returns
It's becoming tired to read people again and again writing: "how this fit into the cannon"
Daaaaaaamnnn!! Just watch the show and forget all the freaking old series. It's no so hard
Oh f...! This episode was great until the end when they just had to push time travel down our throats. All the f... screen writers in Hollywood that thinks time travel is a good idea should be shot, hanged, decapitated and shot into the sun!
[5.3/10] What is Star Trek Discovery trying to be?
Maybe that’s an unfair question. Television show’s are collaborative efforts, and one of the advantages of having a writers’ room and some T.V. real estate to play with is that you can give the audience a diversity of perspectives and takes on the same material. Different writers, directors, and other creative folks from episode to episode can give you different variations that stay true to a core theme.
But Discovery feels wildly different from episode to one episode. One week may feature the show bringing back Harry Mudd in the type of standalone episode that wouldn’t feel out of place in The Next Generation. The next, it may feature a sturm und drang-filled character study and thematic exploration that shows its connection to The Walking Dead.
And in episodes like “What’s Past Is Prologue”, Discovery seems to be aping the worst excesses of Star Trek’s cinematic outings, embracing tired tropes and turning into a generic sci-fi action movie.
Ye gads. Gone are the nuance and richly drawn characters the series has developed over the course of its previous twelve episodes. In their place are a snarling bad guy, a monologuing mentor, and our protagonist playing Die Hard on a Federation starship.
As empty actioners go, this one is perfectly serviceable. The art department did their job, coming up with colorful explosions and terrifying disintegration animations. The trip through the spore-web apes Star Trek: The Motion Picture (which as aping 2001: A Space Odessy -- it’s turtles all the way down). And I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t cool to see Michelle Yeoh busting out her martial arts moves a la Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
But good lord is it all so meaningless. Lorca, who after last episode’s reveal, is laden with complexity and intrigue in his motivations, turns into a generic antagonist, slinging boasts and swinging weapons like he’s Negan from The Walking Dead. Instead of the unyielding leader of a racist empire, Mirror Georgiou is cast as a generically tragic figure with a “you and me we got problems” relationship with Burnham. And Burnham herself becomes the standard action hero, playing tricks on the bad guy in control, getting into fist fights, and escaping certain doom at the last minute.
And for what? Lorca manages to take over Mirror Georgiou’s ship, and thus has control of the Terran Empire very suddenly? Plus what do you know, Stamets has come to just in time to realize that his Mirror Universe counterpart is the one poisoning the spore network, and not only does that threaten the entire multiverse, but it gives our heroes a chance to fix it by destroying the energy source that just happens to be on Georgiou’s ship. And what do you know! Destroying that energy source may just be the boost the Discovery needs to be able to make the jump back to the prime universe!
Look, I’m not averse to a fair amount of coincidence in storytelling. Every movie cheats a little bit for convenience and to give everyone something to do when the climax his. But this is just too much of a cliché, replete with it seeming like the Federation ship is doomed only for the science officer to spit out some tenuous Treknobabble that makes it possible for our heroes to win the day. “What’s Past Is Prologue” even beats the audience over the head with the “no-win scenarios” bit that has the writer practically shaking the audience and yelling “hey, ‘member the Kobyashi Maru?”
That’s frankly the worst part of disappointing end to Discovery’s Mirror Universe arc. The writing here, particularly the dialogue, is really really bad. It’s full of generic action movie pablum. There’s so much exposition -- both in characters explaining in unnecessary detail how the plan is going to work, and characters flatly laying out their motivations and emotional states -- that you can almost feel your hand being held from beginning to end.
It’s not that there aren’t mild high points. Saru completes his minor arc from this season, of learning how to become a captain and a leader, in memorable fashion. His speech about not sensing the approach of death, his belief in his crew, and his steely response to the mustache-twirling Lorca make him an absolute highlight in the dregs of this one.
But to enjoy those, you have to suffer through heavily underlined callbacks to Stamets’ finding “the clearing in the forest,” tepid conversations between Burnham and Georgiou that treat subtlety like an endangered species, and tons of perfectly serviceable but ultimately meaningless combat.
What’s frustrating is that these aren’t new problems for the franchise. Plenty of cinematic Star Trek outing took the thoughtful, layered, and clever qualities that the franchise is known for, and smushed them into a standard-issue blockbuster package, to where the only thing that seems truly Trek-y about the movies is the uniforms and chaps with point ears. (See also: Star Trek Beyond.) For some reason, when it comes to these climaxes, Discovery tosses out all the good work it’s done thus far in favor of the kind of flavorless action movie third act you can find in just about any dollar theater right now.
Yes, there’s the hint of thematic depth, between Lorca’s call for purity echoing T’Kuvma’s in the series premiere, and both Georgiou and Burnham fiddling with the old combages of their fallen compatriots. But it’s only skin deep, and instead, the episode gives over to contrivance, convenience, and conventionality.
The opening stretch of Discovery suggested a series that could potentially balance the thrills of interstellar travel, with the thoughtfulness of social and political commentary, and the narrative stakes that come from compelling characters. And yet, in a finale of sorts, the show resorts to one-dimensional versions of its central figures, simplifies and minimizes its thematic heft, and leans hard into undifferentiated combat and explosions. That sort of turn is, sadly, not at all unprecedented for Star Trek, but it’s not something worth emulating either.
A good episode, but nothing special. Some minor decision making made little sense, so does "the science".
I also frequently feel like they'd recycle too many elements from previous shows and movies. "Riding on top of an explosion" is getting old, for example.
And about the show in general: I'm a bit disappointed by "the hounding" from setting to setting, within few episodes. So far Discovery's priority certainly isn't to deepen the plot, rather than jumping to the next climax.
This episode felt rushed and messy, obstacles being set up and solved almost instantly.
I can't possibly know what the show is running towards, but the ride doesn't seem worth it.
We get fun scenes, beautiful visuals and Doug Jones? Sure, but at the expense of really knowing these characters and getting enough time with them. Time to understand and feel with them.
Seems like Star Trek Discovery is establishing itself with nice peak moments, connected by a whole lot of nothing.
Discovery still has potential (and budget) to become a great sci fi show, here's to hoping they'll slow it down eventually.
Please make Michelle Yeoh a regular cast member! She's pure badass! This show really knows how to make the storyline interesting again and again. Great episode!
okay ladies kicked ass with mediocre fight choreography. but now what? they do realize that this is a PREquel, right? as in this has to lead up to the events taking place in TOS? or is there another "twist".
and we go back to the original question, in a world full of possibilities why did they choose to make a prequel in the first place.
anyway, what i came here to say is, i'm trying to enjoy the series and this episode was not bad.
So I guess they will use the emperor's skills to reclaim fed space...
Shout by kinkyVIP EP 6BlockedParentSpoilers2018-01-29T21:42:22Z
Evil Stamets is dead! Lorca is dead! They just won't stop with the twists! Every time I think that I know where they're going with this, a twist comes along and shakes things up. The unpredictability of this show is definitely one of its more attractive features. But now I feel a bit disappointed because it seems that we're back again at Klingons vs. Humans... I gotta say, for me, the best part of the show was spent in the Mirror Universe.
All the rush and adrenaline of this episode made it feel like a season finale, but we still got two episodes left. Let's see where they're taking this baby, now...
But what upsets me the most is that we will no longer be able to have Lorca saying the cute catchphrase "Make the Empire great again!".