The second episode does bring the action with an extremely impressive space battle, though fortunately not entirely at the expense of character. I was particularly intrigued by the flashbacks to Burnham's Vulcan upbringing and her initial arrival on board the Shenzhou (finally answered my question about the weird "lateral" transporters, too!). I loved the sneaky tactic of beaming a warhead onto a dead body, and the resulting explosion was great.
I wasn't quite expecting the deaths of what seemed to be main characters (although honestly, I wasn't completely expecting Michelle Yeoh to hang around all that long), so seeing T'Kumva meet his end this early was surprising. It didn't really feel like Burnham did much to try and capture him, as was the initial plan - couldn't she have stunned him and then beamed back with him as her prisoner?
Her interactions with the computer in the brig felt like something we've never seen before on Trek, as typically when a character tries to engage the computer in some kind of speculation or discussion it ends up getting confused. But I liked it. I'm a little bit sad, though, that the computer voice isn't provided by Majel Barret, as there were so many rumours going around that she recorded a vocal library before passing away which could be used to synthesise her voice.
The Klingons feel like the weak point to me. The redesign bugs me a little bit, but not enough to ruin things. More problematic is if they insist on speaking Klingon all the time then it really slows scenes down due to how stilted the actor's dialogue becomes. However, I quite like that they've given them much more of a culture and meaning, as opposed to the drunken "honourable" warrior caricatures that '90s Trek reduced them to.
I'm impressed that the show has done enough this early to make Captain Georgiou's death have an impact. I must admit, thought, that I'm quite surprised that we still haven't seen the USS Discovery.
Welp, like Tryion said, We're fucked. Living vs. The Dead. Season 8 A fight that only comes once.
The dragon pit scene was awesome. Getting so many characters all in one place at the same time was great to see. So many quick “oh, hey you’re still alive” moments. One of the best was Brienne and the Hound. Speaking of the Hound, we did not get the Cleganebowl we have been wanting for so long but at least he was able to tell his brother off. Maybe next season…
Cersei, as the hound would say, is a real cunt. She truly is the biggest villain this show has seen. She is lying to everyone about sending her armies north and bringing in more mercenaries to help fight while Dany is a little occupied. She not only threatened to kill not one of her brothers but both of them is the same episode. Jamie is finally getting smart and getting away from her, even if he is leaving to go fight an army of undead. I honestly think she might stick around to the end and keep the iron throne. She has no problem doing whatever it takes. She has a kid on the way and that is all she is worried about now (I still don’t think she will have the child because of the prophecy said she would only have three). Oh and the shot of snow falling on King's Landing was a beautiful reminder that winter is here.
The winterfell storyline finally did something amazing. Sansa’s “trial” of Littlefinger was a long time coming and with Bran there was no denying. I’m so glad Arya got to kill him with his own dagger. The sisters finally started acting like family.
Nice to see Theon having another chance at redemption. He had a nice moment with Jon about their dad, well technically Ned was neither of their father. I hope he gets to save Yara next season. I wonder where she is if Euron is going to Essos or could she already be dead?
The show finally says what all the fans have know for years, Jon is a true Targaryen and the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. And they say it just as the two have sex for the first time, nothing new for this show. I’m sure this won’t be a problem. Dany will be cool with it, right? I mean the old Targaryens were into incest too. Maybe not we'll just have to wait and find out.
That last scene really was a little frightening, to see something that has been keeping the white walkers out for 8000 years to just go down like that. Now that the Night King has a dragon they are really going to cause some havoc. RIP Tormund and Beric? I don't think there were able to get off the wall in time but were they on the part still standing?
Great season, moved a little too fast and missed some of the slower character moments from old season. They definitely had some of the largest battle scenes TV has ever seen and I’m sure we are not done yet. Let the wait for season 8 begin…
Previous comments in the page, though short, sum up the frustration with this episode (safe for the eliminated queen. She really sucked in this episode, and it was well deserved).
But on the usual rant: The least funny snatch game in RPRD's history. Clearly, this isn't a season for comedy, only for bitchiness, which some of the queens have to spare. Most characters were, well, horrible. I saw a lot of people complaining that Bob stole the spotlight, but perhaps the blandness of the others just made it too easy for her to do so? Most of them were flailing on dry land, and removing attention from them might have been a blessing in disguise. Derrick finally could play Britney - now, yes, at the right moment to do so, but.. hm. I honestly think Tatianna's Britney would slay Derrick's any day. So... just not impressed. I actually thought Kim Chi's character was funny, and who cares if it was made up. The body language was really nice. Thorgy's Michael Jackson was also pretty good, and the thing about the baby and the blanket was delightfully unexpected and funny. Then there's Bob - which I'm still not sure if she was really very good, or just above average enough to seem in an entirely different category from the rest of awful unfunny barely acting queens. Robbie, which I came to love btw, sunk under her character. Totally sunk, and she then whined with excuses. Robbie, darling, this is not a show for whining, complaining, or justifying yourself - when you suck, you pray you aren't sent home and you LEARN from it. That's all there's to it - unless you can put on a beautiful show when you cry, of course. Also, mention to Naomi: so pretty, so average. I mean, I adore her to the point that sometimes she appears and I just have to stop and wonder how can a queen be so beautiful, but I feel she's beginning to to approach the deep end of the pool, and despite those eternally long legs of hers, she'll be underwater real soon. If I could bet, I'd say she's the next one out... (does a guess require a spoiler alert? Considering it isn't pertinent to this episode, it makes me wonder if it annoys who reads this.)
Now, runway time: TODAY NOBODY COULD CALL CHI CHI BASIC. BASIC ARE THOSE RED KIMONOS. I mean, really, is it some kind of trend? How many of you own red kimonos, did they really just have them there by accident? And when we say Madonna, you all think Nothing Really Matters? It isn't even the most iconic Ray of Light-era look, much less all-time ever. How in the world did they not notice the oriental theme going on around the work room? So many questions for this Gaijin Cherry Blossom festival runway.
But back to Chi Chi, here's my delight in seeing that she has once more shown herself cool under pressure, coming up with what is definitely Madonna's most iconic look on the spot. Well done, my Louisana queen! Ok, Kim Chi's red kimono wasn't so bad - or maybe, it's just my crush talking. Bob's runway makes me ask the same question as before - is she really good, or just good enough to steal the spotlight from this underwhelming lot? Her padding, though, was flawless. And I thought that wig really suited her. She just looked so sweet and pretty when she smiled in the runway, I think she had my favorite make up on too, followed by Chi Chi's amazing glitter eyeshadow. Least favorite make-up was Acid Betty's. I'm not sure if the Victorian actor powder look was intentional, awfully dry skin, or awfully applied translucent powder atop some equally awfully blended highlighter. And to think she's so eager to criticize Trixie's look.... hm.
(As for next week, Marc Jacobs will be the guest judge. Here's to my hopes that the week's winner prize is MJ merch. I'D KILL FOR THAT).
