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4thofelevenWe get some long-overdue revelations, some fun character moments, and some slightly problematic choices, but in general, the show looks like its found its feet.
I enjoyed “Despite Yourself” a fair bit more than “Wolf Inside”, but the last two weeks have been the most consistently enjoyable weeks of the show so far. I am wondering if the Klingon War arc was left over from an older plan for the show, and now we're finally getting the stories the current team want to tell.
It's nice after the campyness of Ds9's mirror universe that we get a take on it that plays it straight. It reminds me a fair bit of Diane Duane's mirror TNG novel “Dark Mirror”, with the characters struggling to pass for their brutal doppelgangers long-term. It's also nice to see the evil=sexy theme downplayed; Ds9's tendency to make everyone's mirror double bisexual is something that was questionable at the time and has only aged worse.
I do hope mirror Saru gets an arc similar to mirror Worf's in that novel – that he'll notice the change in his captain, and become the hope for the future. I also hope there will be some indication that Ds9's mirror universe is not an inevitable future of this place. I'd like to believe the rebellion has a chance to be something other than another oppressive force – the evil Alliance taking the place of the evil Empire was far too cynical for my liking.
“Wolf Inside” does suffer from being built around a revelation that everyone had guessed months ago. It's nice to finally get it out in the open, so we can actually do something with Ash that's not just hinting and foreshadowing. I do wonder, though, where the character can go from here. Unfortunately, Voq isn't a very interesting antagonist – and has demonstrated he was basically the worst choice anyone could have made for a deep cover agent. Yet, at the same time, it would be hard to believe a full restoration of Ash is possible.
I do think, in hindsight, it was a fairly questionable decision to make the middle-eastern guy turn out to be a brainwashed sleeper agent for a murderous cult of religious fanatics who literally hate diversity. The Klingon story in general has suffered from making them purely a hostile 'other', and making Voq a reflection of contemporary fears of radicalisation isn't an interesting direction.
The mention of the Defiant was somewhat surprising; so far, Discovery's been playing rather coy about its references to previous series. There's been a few minor references in dialogue, and of course we got Mudd and Sarek – but the reboot movies did that too, mentioning the former and featuring the later. Now, though, we're deep in continuity, referencing the much-maligned Enterprise, specifically an episode that was itself a direct sequel to a classic episode. It's an interesting choice, throwing out the idea that this is some sort of stealth reboot and beginning to follow up on older threads.
(I do find myself wondering if the sole purpose of the Klingon redesign was to conceal further Shazad Latif's dual role. Given we've now seen Andorians and Tellarites appear without redesign, the Klingons do really stand out...)
Stamet's arc is still too much in the early stages to comment on much. I am... disappointed to see the first same-sex couple on Trek meet a tragic end, but I suppose that is the usual fate for main character's love interests. And there are still a number of get-out-of-death cards still unplayed. What bothers me more is that Culber's death is treated with so little reaction from the rest of the cast – it's a problem the show's had for a long time. It throws in 'shocking' deaths, like Landry's, but then doesn't give them any weight afterwards. Even when a disposable redshirt died in the classic series, we got a moment or so to take it in, and Kirk was generally affected by the deaths of any member of his crew. Discovery seems to just take it all far too much in stride.
As for Lorca – well, who knows what he's up to? If he is from the mirror universe, as some people have speculated, we still don't know who's side he's on. The entire series could have been an elaborate ploy to lure the Emperor out of hiding – I'm wondering if her flagship is still the Defiant, which would explain why he focused on getting that ship's schematics; not to get home, but to launch another coup. He's certainly up to something, and I've given up on guessing.
I enjoyed “Despite Yourself” a fair bit more than “Wolf Inside”, but the last two weeks have been the most consistently enjoyable weeks of the show so far. I am wondering if the Klingon War arc was left over from an older plan for the show, and now we're finally getting the stories the current team want to tell.
It's nice after the campyness of Ds9's mirror universe that we get a take on it that plays it straight. It reminds me a fair bit of Diane Duane's mirror TNG novel “Dark Mirror”, with the characters struggling to pass for their brutal doppelgangers long-term. It's also nice to see the evil=sexy theme downplayed; Ds9's tendency to make everyone's mirror double bisexual is something that was questionable at the time and has only aged worse.
I do hope mirror Saru gets an arc similar to mirror Worf's in that novel – that he'll notice the change in his captain, and become the hope for the future. I also hope there will be some indication that Ds9's mirror universe is not an inevitable future of this place. I'd like to believe the rebellion has a chance to be something other than another oppressive force – the evil Alliance taking the place of the evil Empire was far too cynical for my liking.
“Wolf Inside” does suffer from being built around a revelation that everyone had guessed months ago. It's nice to finally get it out in the open, so we can actually do something with Ash that's not just hinting and foreshadowing. I do wonder, though, where the character can go from here. Unfortunately, Voq isn't a very interesting antagonist – and has demonstrated he was basically the worst choice anyone could have made for a deep cover agent. Yet, at the same time, it would be hard to believe a full restoration of Ash is possible.
I do think, in hindsight, it was a fairly questionable decision to make the middle-eastern guy turn out to be a brainwashed sleeper agent for a murderous cult of religious fanatics who literally hate diversity. The Klingon story in general has suffered from making them purely a hostile 'other', and making Voq a reflection of contemporary fears of radicalisation isn't an interesting direction.
The mention of the Defiant was somewhat surprising; so far, Discovery's been playing rather coy about its references to previous series. There's been a few minor references in dialogue, and of course we got Mudd and Sarek – but the reboot movies did that too, mentioning the former and featuring the later. Now, though, we're deep in continuity, referencing the much-maligned Enterprise, specifically an episode that was itself a direct sequel to a classic episode. It's an interesting choice, throwing out the idea that this is some sort of stealth reboot and beginning to follow up on older threads.
(I do find myself wondering if the sole purpose of the Klingon redesign was to conceal further Shazad Latif's dual role. Given we've now seen Andorians and Tellarites appear without redesign, the Klingons do really stand out...)
Stamet's arc is still too much in the early stages to comment on much. I am... disappointed to see the first same-sex couple on Trek meet a tragic end, but I suppose that is the usual fate for main character's love interests. And there are still a number of get-out-of-death cards still unplayed. What bothers me more is that Culber's death is treated with so little reaction from the rest of the cast – it's a problem the show's had for a long time. It throws in 'shocking' deaths, like Landry's, but then doesn't give them any weight afterwards. Even when a disposable redshirt died in the classic series, we got a moment or so to take it in, and Kirk was generally affected by the deaths of any member of his crew. Discovery seems to just take it all far too much in stride.
As for Lorca – well, who knows what he's up to? If he is from the mirror universe, as some people have speculated, we still don't know who's side he's on. The entire series could have been an elaborate ploy to lure the Emperor out of hiding – I'm wondering if her flagship is still the Defiant, which would explain why he focused on getting that ship's schematics; not to get home, but to launch another coup. He's certainly up to something, and I've given up on guessing.