Star Trek Discovery: 4x09 (Rubicon)
Feb. 26th, 2022 04:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
4thofelevenIn which it's never that easy.
Another good episode, again focusing on the tensions between Book and Burnham, and how far they're willing to go to stop each other while knowing the other is just as convinced that they're acting for the greater good. It's nice that we still don't have any villains – even Tarka, selfish and arrogant as he is, seemed appropriately concerned and abashed when his defence systems looked like they were going to destroy Discovery's shuttle.
It's also nice that we finally got someone bringing up the obvious compromise – hold Tarka's weapon in reserve while proceeding with an attempt at diplomatic negotiations.
I do have to ask – what's happened with Adira, Zora, or Grey? Given how prominent they were before the mid-season break, their absence is notable. Especially when this week we get the return of a character missing since last season. I don't mind seeing Nhaan again, and the role she played this week could only be played by someone who'd been away from the crew for a while, but it does make me notice the absence of supposedly regular characters even more. Is this the result of Covid-related unavailability?
Speaking of Nhaan, there seems to be a writing inconsistency here – Nhaan seems to imply that Discovery's time travel is still being kept secret, and that she couldn't talk about it on Barzan. That's clearly not the case; Ni'Var and Kaminar are clearly well aware of who and where Burnham and Saru have come from. It's a minor detail, but it has me a little concerned that the writers aren't all quite on the same page regarding details.
In minor details, the ship that detects the return of the DMA, after Tarka's plan proved to be completely misguided and based on inccorect assumptions, is named the USS Mitchel. I assume this is a reference to Kenneth Mitchel, the actor who played Kol, Tenavik, and Dr. Aurellio, and sadly has since had to retire from acting due to ALS. A nice little tribute to an actor we sadly probably won't be seeing again onscreen.
Another good episode, again focusing on the tensions between Book and Burnham, and how far they're willing to go to stop each other while knowing the other is just as convinced that they're acting for the greater good. It's nice that we still don't have any villains – even Tarka, selfish and arrogant as he is, seemed appropriately concerned and abashed when his defence systems looked like they were going to destroy Discovery's shuttle.
It's also nice that we finally got someone bringing up the obvious compromise – hold Tarka's weapon in reserve while proceeding with an attempt at diplomatic negotiations.
I do have to ask – what's happened with Adira, Zora, or Grey? Given how prominent they were before the mid-season break, their absence is notable. Especially when this week we get the return of a character missing since last season. I don't mind seeing Nhaan again, and the role she played this week could only be played by someone who'd been away from the crew for a while, but it does make me notice the absence of supposedly regular characters even more. Is this the result of Covid-related unavailability?
Speaking of Nhaan, there seems to be a writing inconsistency here – Nhaan seems to imply that Discovery's time travel is still being kept secret, and that she couldn't talk about it on Barzan. That's clearly not the case; Ni'Var and Kaminar are clearly well aware of who and where Burnham and Saru have come from. It's a minor detail, but it has me a little concerned that the writers aren't all quite on the same page regarding details.
In minor details, the ship that detects the return of the DMA, after Tarka's plan proved to be completely misguided and based on inccorect assumptions, is named the USS Mitchel. I assume this is a reference to Kenneth Mitchel, the actor who played Kol, Tenavik, and Dr. Aurellio, and sadly has since had to retire from acting due to ALS. A nice little tribute to an actor we sadly probably won't be seeing again onscreen.