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4thofelevenIn which Saru and President T'Rina continue to have more chemistry than any other pairing on the show.
My first thought is that I was little disappointed that we don't get much of Grey now that he's finally coporeal again. I understand that the writers probably wanted the chance to write an Adira story without Grey now that that's possible, but it's a shame we didn't really get to see anything of Discovery's crew getting to know Grey for the first time. Maybe we'll get that next week.
I'm also terrified by the thought that Tilly might be being written out – though if the actor is leaving, it is a good storyline. Having one of Discovery's crew finally acknowledge how much they've lost by travelling to the future is great, and having her start to reassess her priorities and move outside the Discovery bubble is a good move for her. And, of course, it makes sense that Starfleet would want to see its experienced officers start training the new generation as they return to full-scale recruitment. It's also great to see that the issues of the Burn haven't faded away, and the cruelty and deprivation of the last generation has still left cultural scars. As I've said before, this feels very much like the sort of stories Enterprise might have told had it continued past the formation of the Federation – dealing with the growing pains of different cultures and societies trying to work together.
So if Tilly's going to take a bit of a back seat from now on, I'll be sad to see her go – but glad she's found a new life and is contributing to help build the new Federation and Starfleet.
(Also, was that a Tellarite as one of the cadets? If so, I like the makeup – the Tellarites have gone through a lot of designs, but none of them have been great. I wouldn't mind this as their 'standard' look going forward.)
(I also love that one of the cadets immediately assumed their situation was a holodeck test – to be honest, I was wondering the same thing, given that Starfleet loves to put recruits through that sort of simulated trauma... Cadets assuming everything around them is fake must be a common problem.)
Meanwhile, on Ni'Var... well, I'm of two minds here. On the one hand, I continue to love the Federation President. We do get confirmation of her mixed heritage, but she still seems to take after her Cardassian ancestors; a schemer and manipulator, but one with good intentions. And it's nice to get a political story where the problem isn't bad intentions or corruption, but simply the difficulty of satisfying all parties while being receptive to the desires of one's supporters and coalition partners. For that matter, it's nice to get a Star Trek story that remembers that the Federation is meant to have a civilian government, and isn't just a Starfleet dictatorship.
(Remember when Bajor was going to join the Federation, and the Federation delegation seemed to consist entirely of Starfleet officers?)
But the story fumbles at the resolution, with a solution to the dilemma that... honestly, doesn't make a lot of sense. Not the basic idea – a committee to mediate disputes and ensure the Federation is upholding its responsibilities to the member worlds is fine, and ensures that Ni'Var gets the guarantees its people want without giving it alone any special privilege over other worlds. But then Burnham volunteers to serve on the committee, and I'm just... what?
To begin with – is Burnham, by any standard, a neutral observer? Of course not – just last episode, she made it clear she sides with Starfleet over Ni'Var and doesn't trust Ni'Var's justice system. Her connection to Vulcan is a thousand years old; I can't believe hardline Vulcans are going to accept her as kin, let alone the Romulan population, who's culture, traditions, and politics she knows nothing about.
(Actually, if they'd framed it in those terms, it might have made more sense – she's neutral because she's from so far in the past she can approach modern disputes without any baggage. That would have been nice, actually, rather than it hinging on her Vulcan upbringing.)
Second, when is she even going to be able to serve on this committee? Does she not have enough responsibilities as a Starfleet captain? And, of course, there's her loyalties to Starfleet – if Admiral Vance gives her orders that go against Ni'Var's interests, can she remain neutral? More importantly, will she be perceived to be neutral, rather than a representative of a foreign military?
It felt very unnecessary, and left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. To me, it was vaguely reminiscent of late Babylon 5, with Sheridan and Delenn appointing themselves their world's representatives without any sign that their worlds actually wanted them representing them. I think it would have been more than enough to simply have Burnham propose the compromise, without making her directly part of the political process.
Finally, in a minor plot, we get to see Booker and Culber. It's great to see that even though Booker is recovering, it's still a very long journey, and a single mind-meld won't solve it. And it's nice to get the reminder that Culber has his own issues, and that he'll probably never entirely be over those either. Trauma has been a recurring theme in Discovery, right from the beginning, and it's really nice to see a show that takes time to focus on the healing process, and doesn't offer any magical solutions.
My first thought is that I was little disappointed that we don't get much of Grey now that he's finally coporeal again. I understand that the writers probably wanted the chance to write an Adira story without Grey now that that's possible, but it's a shame we didn't really get to see anything of Discovery's crew getting to know Grey for the first time. Maybe we'll get that next week.
I'm also terrified by the thought that Tilly might be being written out – though if the actor is leaving, it is a good storyline. Having one of Discovery's crew finally acknowledge how much they've lost by travelling to the future is great, and having her start to reassess her priorities and move outside the Discovery bubble is a good move for her. And, of course, it makes sense that Starfleet would want to see its experienced officers start training the new generation as they return to full-scale recruitment. It's also great to see that the issues of the Burn haven't faded away, and the cruelty and deprivation of the last generation has still left cultural scars. As I've said before, this feels very much like the sort of stories Enterprise might have told had it continued past the formation of the Federation – dealing with the growing pains of different cultures and societies trying to work together.
So if Tilly's going to take a bit of a back seat from now on, I'll be sad to see her go – but glad she's found a new life and is contributing to help build the new Federation and Starfleet.
(Also, was that a Tellarite as one of the cadets? If so, I like the makeup – the Tellarites have gone through a lot of designs, but none of them have been great. I wouldn't mind this as their 'standard' look going forward.)
(I also love that one of the cadets immediately assumed their situation was a holodeck test – to be honest, I was wondering the same thing, given that Starfleet loves to put recruits through that sort of simulated trauma... Cadets assuming everything around them is fake must be a common problem.)
Meanwhile, on Ni'Var... well, I'm of two minds here. On the one hand, I continue to love the Federation President. We do get confirmation of her mixed heritage, but she still seems to take after her Cardassian ancestors; a schemer and manipulator, but one with good intentions. And it's nice to get a political story where the problem isn't bad intentions or corruption, but simply the difficulty of satisfying all parties while being receptive to the desires of one's supporters and coalition partners. For that matter, it's nice to get a Star Trek story that remembers that the Federation is meant to have a civilian government, and isn't just a Starfleet dictatorship.
(Remember when Bajor was going to join the Federation, and the Federation delegation seemed to consist entirely of Starfleet officers?)
But the story fumbles at the resolution, with a solution to the dilemma that... honestly, doesn't make a lot of sense. Not the basic idea – a committee to mediate disputes and ensure the Federation is upholding its responsibilities to the member worlds is fine, and ensures that Ni'Var gets the guarantees its people want without giving it alone any special privilege over other worlds. But then Burnham volunteers to serve on the committee, and I'm just... what?
To begin with – is Burnham, by any standard, a neutral observer? Of course not – just last episode, she made it clear she sides with Starfleet over Ni'Var and doesn't trust Ni'Var's justice system. Her connection to Vulcan is a thousand years old; I can't believe hardline Vulcans are going to accept her as kin, let alone the Romulan population, who's culture, traditions, and politics she knows nothing about.
(Actually, if they'd framed it in those terms, it might have made more sense – she's neutral because she's from so far in the past she can approach modern disputes without any baggage. That would have been nice, actually, rather than it hinging on her Vulcan upbringing.)
Second, when is she even going to be able to serve on this committee? Does she not have enough responsibilities as a Starfleet captain? And, of course, there's her loyalties to Starfleet – if Admiral Vance gives her orders that go against Ni'Var's interests, can she remain neutral? More importantly, will she be perceived to be neutral, rather than a representative of a foreign military?
It felt very unnecessary, and left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. To me, it was vaguely reminiscent of late Babylon 5, with Sheridan and Delenn appointing themselves their world's representatives without any sign that their worlds actually wanted them representing them. I think it would have been more than enough to simply have Burnham propose the compromise, without making her directly part of the political process.
Finally, in a minor plot, we get to see Booker and Culber. It's great to see that even though Booker is recovering, it's still a very long journey, and a single mind-meld won't solve it. And it's nice to get the reminder that Culber has his own issues, and that he'll probably never entirely be over those either. Trauma has been a recurring theme in Discovery, right from the beginning, and it's really nice to see a show that takes time to focus on the healing process, and doesn't offer any magical solutions.