The T'Kal-in-ket event in this episode sums up the series perfectly.
It's initiated to convince with science and reason.
And ends up being all about drama and emotions.
And about Michael Burnham, of course.
Doctor Who doesn't get any better than this episode. Forget the Daleks and anything else that you might consider 'scary', this is the real stuff. And such a clever writing. Incredible. Episodes as this, are what defines Doctor Who's cult status.
I'm not really fond of this episode. The history and relation between Kelpians and Ba’ul was very predictable. I had imagined that the Ba'ul could also be the Kelpians after their transformation, as the only alternative.
The Starfleet on the other hand acted pretty much nothing like they were supposed to. How they ignored the Prime Directive for some lame excuse was actually one of the lesser sins and is almost Star Trek standard.
But to transform a complete race without their knowledge or consent, ignoring the risks that those might face from the Ba'ul, with either a genocide or war as the result? Absurd.
Planet has an existential problem for one hundred years
Michael Burnham:
Can't you two just fix it?
No? What if we make you stronger?
Nice, problem solved in 15 seconds!
I could critizice a lot more. The usual disappointing script, badly developed characters, pacing that would ruin even a good story, bad acting ... but who actually cares anymore?
This series is trash, and we are only still here to see how much it will ruin the lore for future series.
I never would have considered this possible but I actually wouldn't mind if a Star Trek series gets canceled.
There is barely any logic in STD season 2, either in minor or huge events.
So this time it was Saru and Stamets, needing reminders about what the logical next step and not to mention their duty is, while becoming too emotional. Very innovativ, these writers. They simply can't stop repeating the very same boring pattern in every single episode, so at least it wasn't Michael again!
And as usual the crew is a sad joke. Besides getting their shields up again, they did exactly nothing to prepare for their combat?
But hey, even while they spent so much time to radio "Hello?" again and again, instead of sealing the ship's commandos they just decide to wait. And then wait some more. Only after the bridge is taken, it's time for a futile attempt!
Sorry, this most incompetent crew ever is supposed to have saved the galaxy multiple times? :joy:
I begin to wonder if @startrekcbs has lost all knowledge about scripts and pacing.
Where Discovery breathlessly rushed through plots for complete seasons within few episodes, Picard just keeps stumbling forward providing little of value.
In this episode we learned minimally about the background of Agnes, Seven of Nine and Raffi. While the men Picard, Elnor and Rios behaved like clowns, providing exactly nothing.
The greater story arc? Nothing new, Maddox came and left. The crew is simply forwarded to their next destination. The end.
Well, @balazs955 inspired me to leave a comment that this episode is just another disappointment. >70% of this episode was full of pathos and preceding weeping, terribly written and acted as (almost) always when STD gets emotional. What makes this even more absurd is that half of the weeping was pointless, as most of the crew decides to join the mission at the end.
Better than the first part, but there really is no other plot or progress in the series, but emotional breakdowns.
Earth: Abandoned all their values because of emotions.
The Vulkans in their T'Kal-in-ket: Emotions over facts
And now they also broke "The Imperator" from the mirror universe, the anti-emotional bulwark.
I can't wait for them to bend scientific laws next, with their emotions.
The dialogue between these two old men and former/still friends at the end of the episode was fantastic. Felt so real and truly touching, mostly thanks to incredible acting by both.
Agnes is once again leading the most irrational character ranking, in this season. Raffi and Rios really must try harder.
Agnes also beats Raffi in the most unlikable character competition, though that is a tighter race.
Can't say much more about the rest of this episode, as they just keep shifting parts of the puzzle around without the plot getting any deeper or inspirational.
Nothing about Maeve and especially those two clowns makes any sense. If that would be the only plot of this show, I'd have quit by now.
Something was missing in the second season, up to this episode. And this something was Vanessa Kirby. Wonderful episode!
I rather enjoyed the show, till the last 3 episodes, which all have been cluster**** of crazy people making crazy decisions.
The only good left in this episode is the chemistry between Trish and Jessica and the flashbacks. Pretty much everything else belongs in the bin of terrible writing.
I simply don't like stories that are primarily exciting because everyone seems to go crazy. This episode was terrible.
I was so close to rate this episode 9/10 ...till that very last scene with River. Geez, that dude really is a slow horse sometimes.
Durin and Elrond have the greatest chemistry, the only characters achieving the same quality level as in the movies.
Several good dialogues and scenes but still not a great episode. But the potential certainly is there.
Actually not bad. Though it felt more like Star Wars and the end was a bit cheesy.
The new Book character is interesting, but his soft/tough side balancing seems a little bit awkward.
I really can't tell if Allison or Vanya is dumber or more emotionally unstable. Klaus is almost reasonable and reliable, in comparison.
The fundamental plot could have resulted in a great episode, but most of the potential got wasted.
Stamets & Burnham in their 'emotional' moments become a real burden for the show. Happens too frequently, often for silly reasons and the actors certainly don't show their best performances in such situations. It's painful when the real tragic and drama isn't about events in the script, but the performances.
Finally an episode with a story and humor that did remind me of Avatar.
My favorite episode so far. Yes, I'm one of those strange people who considered "Fly" to be the best episode of Breaking Bad!
I'm impressed by how much story telling and character development they manage to pack into each hour.
And superb acting by "Homer".
Bjorn is so disappointing.
Ivar is so disappointing
All the characters are so disappointing, with the exception of Olaf maybe. Sometimes.
The plot is so disappointing.
The combat scenes are so disappointing.
This final season is so disappointing.
Ragnar would be so upset about how bad this became.
Michael must be the most one dimensional main character in a Star Trek series ever.
Always the same attitude initially, when she rebels. Always the same "empathic' reaction, when others react to her moods and unduly decisions.
And Sonequa adds poor performance, to maximize the effect of the bad writing and character development.
She has just one set of facial expression for being competitive/rebellious and one for regret/acceptance. Rinse and repeat.
Shame, because the episode wasn't great otherwise, but without the unnecessary drama about Michael, it was pretty okay.
After #Picard 1x06 I finally understand that Deanna Troi was really essential in TNG. :thinking:
Jean-Luc seems to struggle to register any emotional distress, even among his familiar entourage and therefore frequently behaves like an insensitive moron.
God bless counselor Troi for informing him all these years!
My feelings about this show in general are still very mixed. But the start was certainly more promising than the recent episodes.
Maybe Jean-Luc can't do space anymore?
Finally an outstanding episode. Loved how everything came together.
Some monologues and dialogues are so frustrating in this show. I often wish that I could strangle the character (or the writer) and make them shut up. Example in this episode: The "motivational" speech Eren receives at the end.
Amazing movie. Wonderful mix of humor and melancholy. Great slow storytelling. Fantastic actors. Not for everyone, but a 9/10 for me.
Promising season opening. But we've been there before and so far Kurtzman & Co always managed to disappoint later on. So I won't hold my breath for this one either.
The best part about a season at this stage is that it's still allowed to make no sense. The painful realization follows later.
Pointless plot with a stupid setting that makes no sense.
No characters you could care about.
Dialogues that only manage to annoy.
Action scenes as boring fillers, providing zero entertainment. Even that one unique idea was barely noteworthy.
That's subpar even by Michael Bay's standards.
