CBS All Access Asks Fans: "Will You Take My Hand?" Into Star Trek: Discovery's Second Season.

The Good: Speeches exemplify Star Trek values well, Most of the acting is good
The Bad: Terrible characterizations, Awful direction, Simplistic plot, A couple of lousy performances, Continuity issues
The Basics: Star Trek: Discovery completes its first season with "Will You Take My Hand?" and it's a lackluster end to a disappointing first season.


The first major chance Star Trek: Discovery has to make a massive course correction has arrived: it is season finale time! Having spent the weekend with die-hard Trekkers - I was at a wonderful fan-run convention populated by the Star Trek fans who remember watching the original series, supported the boom of Trek during the mid-nineties and have kept fandom and the franchise alive for fifty years - who either refused to watch Star Trek: Discovery because they were not going to pay for CBS All Access or because the first two free episodes completely offended their sensibilities (seriously, CBS - I found ONE person who vocally enjoyed Star Trek: Discovery at a convention attended by thousands!), I was in no real rush to watch the first season finale of Star Trek: Discovery. But, upon returning home, my wife - with hope in her eyes - asked, "Did you watch the season finale while you were on the road?" The look of disappointment in her eyes when I said "no" broke my heart. So, while she's sleeping in today, I'm taking in "Will You Take My Hand?"

"Will You Take My Hand?" is a chance for Star Trek: Discovery to make an attempt to re-steer Star Trek: Discovery toward something more recognizably Star Trek and more in line with Star Trek canon (which would be a virtually impossible task). Instead, the show generally digs itself in deeper with an attitude of "we'll do whatever the hell we want with this show!" "Will You Take My Hand?" picks up where "The War Without, The War Within" (reviewed here!) left off, with the U.S.S. Discovery headed on a dangerous mission to the Klingon Homeworld in an attempt to end the war.

As the Klingon fleet closes in on Earth, Emperor Georgiou - impersonating the lost Captain Georgiou - commanded the Discovery on its mission to Kronos. As the ship closes in, Georgiou is harsh with her crew and Saru and Burnham resist her authority and jibes. Georgiou and Burnham visit L'Rell in the brig where Georgiou attempts to torture the information of where she should send a landing party out of L'Rell. Failing that, Burnham brings the Captain to Ash Tyler in an attempt to get the information a nicer way. Tyler advises a team to visit a volcanic site that was leased to the Orions and Georgiou enlists Tyler and Tilly to help deploy a mapping drone needed to better define targets on Kronos. Saru and Stamets take the Discovery under the planet's surface, while the Away Team beams to the Orion marketplace and attempts to gather information.

Shocked by how Tyler's interactions with the Klingons triggers memories of her parents' death, Burnham becomes sympathetic to the Klingons on Kronos. Waking up from being drugged, Tilly discovers that the mapping drone is actually a bomb capable of almost entirely destroying Kronos. Realizing that StarFleet has sanctioned a genocidal action, Saru and the Discovery crew turn on Admiral Cornwell and devise another plan. L'Rell and Tyler leave to end the war by taking control of the Klingon High Council. The Discovery returns to Earth, where Burnham is given a pardon and re-commissioned as a Commander.

"Will You Take My Hand?"actually manages to embody the adage from "Mirror, Mirror" (reviewed here!) that it is easier for civilized people to play the barbarian than the other way around; from the outset, Georgiou is impulsive, short-tempered and cruel, exactly what one would expect from the Mirror Universe version of the character. It proves a severe lack of judgment on the part of the Federation leadership and StarFeet that they would attempt to use Georgiou to end the war. Unfortunately, the fact that no one in the leadership of StarFleet or the Federation foresaw the stupidity of putting Georgiou in command is insulting. How did so many people rise so high in such an ethical organization only to completely lose their principles?! It's a conceit that plays to the idea of a heroic starship crew, but plays poorly to the idea that they are part of something larger; how are they the only capable people in StarFleet who actually adhere to the principles of the Federation?

In a similar fashion, it is utterly ridiculous that Tilly would be part of the Away Team to Kronos. Tilly is a cadet and there is no decent explanation within "Will You Take My Hand?" for what particular skills she had that make her of use to the mission. She is a terrible liability, which is evident almost immediately - especially when Georgiou outs herself to Tilly. Saru is still, technically, in charge of the Discovery and he could easily have ordered a security officer to accompany the Away Team. Allowing Georgiou free range to assemble her team without any oversight makes no real sense.

So, "Will You Take My Hand?" is utilized as an opportunity for Tilly to swear, have StarFleet personnel hang around a strip club and lope into a heroic first season ending. The episode feels like it wants to be audacious, but it pulls its punches. Sure, Tilly gets high and swears again. That's a fairly juvenile way of "being edgy." Georgiou has a threesome and appears almost fully-clothed in the aftermath; the producers were not willing to push the envelope the way something like Altered Carbon (season one reviewed here!) did with naked people in combat.

Akiva Goldsman directed "Will You Take My Hand?" and it doesn't take long before the viewer wishes someone would get him a camera stand. There are almost no shots in the episode where the camera is not shaking and moving in an inorganic way. "Will You Take My Hand?" is nauseating to watch. And the movements make no rational/storytelling sense. For a show that makes viewers pay for the privilege of watching the final product, one would think there would be money in the budget to afford something to hold a camera steady!

"Will You Take My Hand?" is hampered by convention to form over sensibility. While there are continuity issues like a Klingon female taking over (much less serving!) on the Klingon High Council and a Klingon fleet massed right off Earth (seriously, did none of the writers watch Star Trek: Deep Space Nine?!), the episode is far more gutted by its forced attempt to stick to the familiar. Michael Burnham is the protagonist on Star Trek: Discovery and Sonequa Martin-Green gets top billing for the show, so she is utilized like she is the most important character in this corner of the Star Trek universe. As a result, the convicted criminal is the character who upholds StarFleet and Federation values more than anyone else and that plays poorly in "Will You Take My Hand?" As the episode comes to a close, Burnham gives a rousing speech to an assemblage of StarFleet and Federation personnel . . . for no particular reason other than the fact that she is the show's focus. A newly-recommissioned, barely exonerated, officer addressing the top brass in such a fashion is roughly equivalent to me being able to address the United Nations General Assembly. The list of people given such an opportunity before me (or Burnham) is so long as to make such an appearance laughable. It severely diminishes Saru's character that he acts as a supporting character in "Will You Take My Hand?," especially in the climactic speech scene.

On the acting front, James Frain continues to shit all over the legacy of Sarek with his performance - smirking through a key scene between Sarek and Burnham in a way that is decidedly un-Vulcan. Frain cannot be blamed for the writing of Sarek (one supposes Sarek learned his lesson on using force against the Klingons, which is why he was not part of the cabal intended to wipe out the Klingons in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, though his actions in Star Trek: Discovery would have made an approach by any member of that group logical, in which case Sarek failed to disclose?), but when he outright smiles in a scene it is hard for fans not to wince.

The rest of the acting is fine, though Michelle Yeoh and Sonequa Martin-Green dominate the episode. The dramatic standing of many of the characters is well-performed, but given how little is known of their characters, it lacks impact. And Martin-Green delivers her several big speeches well, but they feel forced for the character she plays.

Ultimately, "Will You Take My Hand?" does what it can to resolve the Klingon war arc that has dominated half of the first season and it gets there . . . but it does so in a way that leaps to that end without making it feel organic or incredible. L'Rell becomes suddenly critically important to wrapping up the arc and the way the episode plays, Klingons are undermined for their resolve, personal strength and even their established cultural values. The result is that Star Trek: Discovery ends with its characteristic lack of respect for canon and an emphasis on style . . . though at least "Will You Take My Hand?" pays lip service to Star Trek values and ideology.

For other first season finales from the Star Trek franchise, please check out my reviews of:
"In The Hands Of The Prophets" - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
"Learning Curve" - Star Trek: Voyager
"Shockwave" - Star Trek: Enterprise
"The Neutral Zone" - Star Trek: The Next Generation
"Operation: Annihilate" - Star Trek

2.5/10

For other Star Trek episode, movie, and seasons, please check out my Star Trek Review Index Page!

© 2018 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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"The War Without, The War Within" Is (Mostly) Simplistic And Insulting To Star Trek Fans!

The Good: Well-directed, Mary Wiseman's performance, Final speech from Michael Burnham
The Bad: Simple plot, Horrible philosophy, Glib character development
The Basics: Star Trek: Discovery argues that winning is the only philosophy in "The War Without, The War Within."


As Star Trek: Discovery rushes toward its first season finale, it has a tangled web to unweave to bring a sense of credibility back to Star Trek: Discovery to tie it back to the rest of the Star Trek franchise. The penultimate episode of the first season of Star Trek: Discovery is "The War Without, The War Within" and it returns to the forefront the war between the Klingons and the Federation. The sense going into "The War Without, The War Within" is that Star Trek: Discovery has bitten off more than it can chew; that reconciling the "prequel" series with the rest of the franchise is an impossible task that will require the events of the first season to be completely undone. As an example of why that sense exists among fans, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine established that outside the Borg incident there had not been a state of emergency declared on Earth in 200 years and that even at the peak conflict between the Klingons and the Federation, the Klingons never attacked Earth. So, with the war turned so drastically against the Federation, it is hard not to ask the question, "Why the hell haven't the Klingons attacked Earth?!"

"The War Without, The War Within" follows on the events of "What's Past Is Prologue" (reviewed here!), which put an end to the Mirror Universe plotline for Star Trek: Discovery and returned the lost ship to Federation space. Almost immediately, though, Saru and the Discovery crew recognized that a massive portion of Federation space was now occupied by Klingons. The U.S.S. Discovery, as it turned out, managed to return to our universe, but nine months after they left and in the meantime, the war has turned dramatically against StarFleet.

While repair crews fix the cosmetic changes to the Discovery, Captain Saru visits the transporter room. There, he finds Emperor Georgiou and has her beamed to confined quarters. With Burnham and the transporter technician ordered by Saru not to discuss Georgiou's presence, Saru visits Ash Tyler in Sickbay. Tyler describes what was done to him and Saru attempts to get information about Voq out of Tyler. The Discovery is borded by a nearby starship, with Admiral Cornwell taking command of the Discovery. Cornwell and Sarek detail the state of the war and how the Klingon Empire has taken twenty percent of Federation territory.

Ash Tyler is given leave to roam the ship and Tilly and Detmer go out of their way to not judge him for his crimes. When the Discovery reaches Starbase One, they find it severely damaged and occupied entirely by Klingons. Cornwell, in shock, turns to L'Rell. Hoping L'Rell knows about House D'Gor - Cornwell tries to figure out what might stop the war. The Discovery takes on a dangerous mission to leap into subterranean caves below the Klingon Homeworld, Kronos. En route, Georgiou appeals to Sarek with an idea on how to end the war definitively.

"The War Without, The War Within" is philosophically insulting for anyone who loves Star Trek. As the war with the Klingons takes a terrible turn toward almost certain defeat, StarFleet comes together. The implication is not that the Federation thrived because various species came together to celebrate their differences and build something; they huddled together out of desperation from a crushing military defeat. As the episode progresses and Cornwell and Sarek turn to Georgiou for guidance in winning the war, the philosophical implications are even more horrifying; the Federation could not survive without the brutality of a barbarian queen to guide them.

Sarek once again appears on Star Trek: Discovery in a very un-Sarek way. Sarek and Spock never mindmelded, but the moment Sarek appears, he leaps on Saru to mindmeld with him. Sarek seems like a parody of Sarek in "The War Without, The War Within."

"The War Without, The War Within" leaps to try to classify the mission to the Mirror Universe and there is some sensibility to that idea. But, as other Star Trek's have noted: you can't kill an idea (seriously, did NONE of the executive producers on this show watch Star Trek: Deep Space Nine?!) and military secrets are the most fleeting secrets of all. The idea that a whole ship full of people could abide by a gag order (especially for the decade until the events of "Mirror, Mirror") is utterly unrealistic. Hell, the Enterprise crew was given a gag order about the Genesis Planet and it took McCoy all of ten minutes to violate that (and the civilian to whom he mentioned the planet knew of the planet's existence already). Beyond that, Cornwell's viewpoint is entirely myopic; destroying information about the Mirror Universe robs our universe of any chance to organize a defense against any Mirror Universe incursions. Were it not in complete violation of the canon already, Cornwall should have - at the very least - ordered transporters retrofitted so that they could not beam people into the Mirror Universe.

Saru, while an interesting character, shows a ridiculous trust for L'Rell. L'Rell performed the surgery that saved Ash Tyler's life and in "The War Without, The War Within," it appears that his Voq personality is in - at least - remission. Believing L'Rell that the Voq personality is destroyed seems painfully naive. While it is high-minded to not blame Ash Tyler for the crimes of the Klingon personality with whom he was grafted, it is absurd to give a known Klingon spy any form of roaming privileges with which he could betray the ship or the Federation. After all, Voq was latent within Tyler for quite a bit of time before his psyche split.

To that end, Tilly manages to deliver the most enlightened dialogue of the series so far in confronting Michael about Tyler. Mary Wiseman gives the performance of the episode in delivering her character's big speech.

Unfortunately, Wiseman's moment is philosophically enlightened in an episode that strains to be anything other than simplistic. The Discovery needs more spores in order to launch the attack on Kronos. Conveniently, there is one more mycillial spore-bearing plant left. Stamets has an idea to rapidly grow a whole crop of spores. Cool. The planet he names to take the spores to is not one of the many, many planets the Klingons have conquered or destroyed. (And, hey, where was that idea when they were in the Mirror Universe and needed to get back home - once Stamets came out of the coma, couldn't they have rescued Burnham, gone to the Veda moon and grown the crop there and gotten out of the Mirror Universe without becoming super-embroiled in their politics?!) The Discovery gets to the planet and uses terraforming devices to grow a new crop almost instantly. This, despite the fact that a century from this point, terraforming still took months to years ("Home Soil" might not be the most popular episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but it did a good job of establishing the canon mythos about terraformers in the Trek Universe). And, apparently, environmental impact can go fuck itself when expediency is a factor; the Veda moon's entire ecosystem overrun by spores . . . like Tribbles removed from their predator-filled environment.

"The War Without, The War Within" lacks serious reflection in exchange for a glib sense of plot convenience.

For other penultimate episodes of seasons of Star Trek, please check out my reviews of:
"Two Days And Two Nights" - Star Trek: Enterprise
"Jetrel" - Star Trek: Voyager
"Duet" - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
"Conspiracy" - Star Trek: The Next Generation
"City On The Edge Of Forever" - Star Trek

1.5/10

For other Star Trek episode, movie, and seasons, please check out my Star Trek Review Index Page!

© 2018 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Resolve The Interloper: "What's Past Is Prologue" Is Simple Action-Adventure

The Good: Moments of direction, Performances are good, Special effects are cool
The Bad: Annoying camera movements, Simplistic plot, Lip service to supporting cast, No real character development
The Basics: "What's Past Is Prologue" completes the Star Trek: Discovery Mirror Universe storyline in a mediocre way that moves Star Trek: Discovery further from being able to integrate with the rest of the Star Trek franchise.


So, the big secret of Star Trek Discovery's first season is out. In "Vaulting Ambition" (reviewed here!) the revelation was made that Captain Gabriel Lorca, of late of the U.S.S. Discovery, was in fac the Mirror Universe version of Lorca. Lorca's unique defining character trait - his aversion to bright lights and strangely different eyes - was revealed to be a "tell" for Mirror Universe characters that once again reveals an astonishing lack of understanding of the canon that came before. After all, if such a tell existed, "Mirror, Mirror" (reviewed here!) would have found Spock being far less clever in his quick understanding that the four people who beamed back to the U.S.S. Enterprise were not his crewmates as much as observant as the lighting in the transporter room would have pretty much blinded the barbaric I.S.S. Enterprise crewmembers. And, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is once again neglected entirely as Smiley, at the very least, would have - as a former slave living on the run and underground - never had access to the information or medical solution to hide in our universe for any period of time under the guise of being O'Brien (when he reached Ops, he would have been virtually blinded by the lighting and could not have held Sisko effectively at gunpoint). But, continuity has not been the forte of Star Trek: Discovery and the writer's failure to understand the Mirror Universe leaves the next episode desperate for an explanation that is unlikely to be satisfying.

That next episode is "What's Past Is Prologue" and it is saddled with satisfactorily addressing how Lorca ever ended up in our universe. After all, the idea that the U.S.S. Defiant in "The Tholian Web" (reviewed here!) fell through a hole in interphasic space and ended up in a different universe and time was fairly clever, but its crew was long dead when it made the transition. In other words, any raw data aboard the Defiant collected through passive scanning or equipment left on at the time would not have been useful to explain the transition - much like if one is performing a blood test for sugar content, the results will not tell a doctor about viruses in the bloodstream. And while the Mirror Universe is sitting atop future technology, the barbaric nature of its citizens would preclude their ability to scientifically analyze it. So, that whole conceit, established in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "In A Mirror Darkly, Part 2" (reviewed here!) actually manages to work. But how any person in the Mirror Universe could use the Defiant to learn about our universe . . . and then exploit that new knowledge to travel between universes is a gargantuan problem for "What's Past Is Prologue." In fact, until the I.S.S. Defiant was built and staffed by crewmembers who served aboard the U.S.S. Defiant - based upon how all of the past Mirror Universe episodes worked and established the Mirror Universe! - things like the Defiant's crew logs and records should not have been accessible to Mirror Universe characters.

So, "What's Past Is Prologue" has a built-in burden that would leave attentive viewers utterly shocked to have answered in a way that respected existing Star Trek canon, especially given that now the Mirror Universe characters are apparently running around with extreme photosensitivity and glowing flecks in their irises. There is certain irony to the title "What's Past Is Prologue" as the Star Trek Discovery writers so frequently fail to take into account what has already been written and established and make sure that the new prequel's works fit into that. And "What's Past Is Prologue" opts for the most lazy possible explanation for the Lorca crossover (that still does not exactly explain how he knew what the Mirror Universe was).

After 212 days, Lorca releases his surviving crew from the Charon's agonizers and he teams up with Landry to find the Mirror Stamets. Stamets releases a bioweapon to kill several decks worth of Georgiou's crew. On the Discovery, Stamets explains that the spore network is degrading across the entire multiverse and that when the network is depleted, the multiverse will be destroyed. Lorca goads Georgiou into a phaser fight, which leads the two to a stalemate. Burnham, having escaped execution at the Emperor's hand, attempts to contact the Discovery to warn them about the trap they are flying into.

When Burnham finds Georgiou's sanctuary, she works to convince the Emperor to help her. While Saru commits to lead the Discovery home safely, Burnham brings Georgiou before Lorca. When the Discovery arrives, Lorca tells Saru that Burnham is staying and that acts as a signal for the Discovery to attack the Charon. The Discovery has to use the Charon's massive spore hub and Burnham must make a difficult decision pertaining to Georgiou to make the attempt to return home.

Ironically, "What's Past Is Prologue" gives more of the cast lines than ever before; for a change, there are moments when Star Trek: Discovery actually feels like an ensemble piece. The irony in this is that Cadet Tilly, as opposed to any commissioned officers on the science staff, steps up with answers. But, Detmer, Airiam, Rhys and Owosekun all get lines for a change, but there is little substance to what they say; the core five characters, Georgiou and even the returning Landry have more to contribute to the episode than the supporting cast's random utterances.

The internal continuity of Star Trek: Discovery is undermined in subtle ways in "What's Past Is Prologue." Saru has not shown a real care for Burnham before, outside the professional. So, addressing her as "friend" is almost as awkward as Lorca referring to the spore network as Stamets's "creation," as opposed to "discovery." Saru notes that Lorca did not set off his threat ganglion, but the episode completely neglects why Saru could not sense the threat Lorca represented (especially considering that he could detect Ash Tyler as a threat).

The resolution to "What's Past Is Prologue" continues to undermine Star Trek: Discovery within the Star Trek canon as the last lines of the episode make it impossible to believe the credibility of the season's events in the larger context of the show. "What's Past Is Prologue" is moving the first season of Star Trek: Discovery toward the point where its events must be completely undone to even pretend to have this series be a part of the larger Star Trek franchise. While the next episode is set up to reignite the Klingon/Federation war, the scope revealed at the end of "What's Past Is Prologue" is instantly problematic for a show that is set about nine years prior to "Errand Of Mercy" (reviewed here!). This is a huge problem for Star Trek: Discovery because the show is begging the viewers to invest in a show where it either lives in complete contradiction to established canon or lead to the inevitable reboot/reset of all they have viewed.

Lorca practices tactics aboard the Charon that are incredibly limited for a man who is supposed to be so smart. Lorca and his team draw down against Georgiou's team when he has a tremendous tactical advantage. All Lorca has to do in the confrontation is turn up the lights and make sure his team has his light-dampening occular treatment (or a decent pair of sunglasses). But, Lorca thinks in a very linear fashion in "What's Past Is Prologue."

"What's Past Is Prologue" is well-directed for its first half. Olatunde Osunsanmi makes "What's Past Is Prologue" look theatrical, even when it is physically dark. Sadly, Osunsanmi is bound by a script that includes conceits that, when visualized, look ridiculous. Mirror Universe guards apparently have the marksmanship of Star Wars Stormtroopers. In the second half of "What's Past Is Prologue," though, the camerawork becomes nauseating. Seriously, what the hell is the problem with using shots that don't move the camera, like stabilizing technology like camera stands are somehow audacious?! "What's Past Is Prologue," ironically, utilizes fewer camera movements during the climactic battle scenes than it does during a simple dialogue exchange between Tilly and Stamets.

"What's Past Is Prologue" has a very generic action-adventure feel to it, in which the problems are solved by big action sequences and physical fights and special effects. The episode is overloaded with fights and with the added elements of almost constant camera movements makes "What's Past Is Prologue" difficult to watch.

Ultimately, "What's Past Is Prologue" is an inevitable and necessary episode that resolves the Mirror Universe plotline . . . in a way that leaves our universe with a giant bull's-eye on it and with it almost impossible to believe that StarFleet personnel would not have been prepared for the transporter accident that resulted in the crossover in "Mirror, Mirror."

For other works with Rekha Sharma, please check out my reviews of:
"The Butcher's Knife Cares Not For The Lamb's Cry" - Star Trek: Discovery
"Context Is For Kings" - Star Trek: Discovery
V - Season 1
Love Happens
Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem

2.5/10

For other Star Trek episode, movie, and seasons, please check out my Star Trek Review Index Page!

© 2018 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Another Week, Another Predicted Reveal: Star Trek Discovery Hardly Has "Vaulting Ambition!"

The Good: Well-directed
The Bad: Awful character development, Unremarkable plot, Dull reveal, Huge continuity issues
The Basics: Star Trek: Discovery works to finish its Mirror Universe plot in "Vaulting Ambition," while making a reveal that was predicted by many fans a while ago and is unimpressive now that it has been revealed.


Retconning the events of "Mirror, Mirror" (reviewed here!) so that the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery entered the same alternate universe about a decade prior has created a number of issues with Star Trek continuity. Despite that, the show has moved toward an important story point with "Vaulting Ambition." "Vaulting Ambition" opens with the sense that most of the cards are on the table for the key characters of Star Trek: Discovery.

"Vaulting Ambition" follows the events of "The Wolf Inside" (reviewed here!) and it is impossible to discuss the new episode without references to where the prior episode left off. After all, "The Wolf Inside" found Burnham and Lorca right before the Empress, who was (unsurprisingly) Georgiou - if the show wanted to make a real surprise, it would have been Empress Sato from Star Trek: Enterprise and that the whole Terran Empire had grown on her watch and she had managed to stay alive and in power so long. But Emperor Georgiou visited the planet the Rebels were hiding out on to obliterate them, despite Burnham's promise to the Rebel leader Voq. Inside the Spore Network, Stamets met his doppelganger. And the insinuations fell away and Ash Tyler was revealed to be a surgically-altered Voq, who Burnham used to smuggle critical information back to the U.S.S. Discovery.

Burnham brings Lorca to the I.S.S. Charon, after giving him a hypo to help him resist the Agonizers better. Tilly treats Stamets and he is caught up within the spore network by his doppelganger from the Mirror Universe. On the Charon, Burnham and Lorca meet with the Emperor, who sends Lorca to the Agonizer chamber. Burnham learns that her Mirror Universe persona was raised by Georgiou. They dine together and Georgiou condemns Burnham to death and facing a quick death, Burnham confesses her true nature to the Emperor.

While Stamets becomes distracted with visions of his dead Dr. Culber, Georgiou works out an arrangement with Burnham for information on the spore drive in exchange for information on the U.S.S. Defiant. When Lorca is unable to provide information his doppelganger would know, he watches a man die horribly. L'Rell attempts to treat Voq in the Discovery Sick Bay, while Culber gives Stamets a pep talk and a mission. Stamets must undo the damage that the Mirror Universe Stamets did to the spore network to save it, which allows him to wake up on the Discovery. Unfortunately, it also allows the Mirror Universe Stamets to awaken on the Charon. And, in the process, Lorca's big secret is revealed.

The moment the I.S.S. Charon appears on screen, "Vaulting Ambition" loses a lot of credibility. The Charon is an amazing and impressive ship, but there is nothing even remotely like it in "our" universe during the same time period in the Star Trek universe. The Mirror Universe works have continually operated on the concept of parallel technological development, with a radically-different social development. So, missions, people, and technology are almost always in the same time and place in both universes, just with different motivations. As a result, the U.S.S. Enterprise and I.S.S. Enterprise are virtually identical; Deep Space Nine and the Mirror Universe Terok Nor were constructed by the same person . . . such that Sisko is able to operate the self-destruct system in the Mirror Universe. The I.S.S. Charon, then, is an absolutely ridiculous conceit in "Vaulting Ambition" as there would be nothing at all like it in our universe.

Michael Burnham is proven once again to be one of the worst characters in the Star Trek universe in "Vaulting Ambition." Facing her death, Burnham tells Giorgiou about her universe and provides her with proof of that universe, when she gives the Emperor her dead Captain's badge. The Empire is a bloodthirsty, aggressive organization that seeks conquest over cooperation. Burnham and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery want to return home. That's fine and it makes sense. But Burnham has just attempted to save her own life and the crew of a single ship by mortgaging an entire universe's security. To be clear; following "Vaulting Ambition," there is no sensible reason why the Star Trek Universe would not be facing a constant menace of open warfare from the Mirror Universe's Terran Empire. Between surveillance devices, untrustworthy characters and more people who have the actual technical information on our universe, the Mirror Universe is now an imminent threat to the Star Trek universe . . . and Burnham told them about it!

But then, the episode progresses to its end with one of the most asinine retcons ever to be created in the Star Trek Universe. Lorca's Big Secret is revealed, which feels lazy following Ash Tyler's big secret being revealed last week. In fact, Lorca's big secret is piggybacked on a revelation from the Emperor Georgiou that telegraphs Lorca's reveal . . . and makes no sense whatsoever in the Mirror Universe episodes. "Vaulting Ambition" creates a "tell" for the Mirror Universe characters and that sudden alteration to Mirror Universe human biology is laughably bad; it undermines both "Mirror, Mirror" (Spock would have seen a difference in how the four Mirror Universe characters responded on the Enterprise) and the two Star Trek: Enterprise episodes set there.

There is another huge issue with "Vaulting Ambition," which is much more subtle than in the previous Star Trek: Discovery Mirror Universe episodes. Burnham gives Georgiou information about our universe and that is horrible, but it plays off a conceit that has the potential to be ruinous for the entire plotline. The U.S.S. Defiant ended up in the Mirror Universe in the past - that was established on Star Trek: Enterprise. But the reason that was okay was that the Defiant's crew was long-dead and there would be no information on the ship about how the Defiant ended up in the Mirror Universe other than it fell through a hole in interphasic space. The U.S.S. Defiant has no information aboard it that would allow people in the Mirror Universe to enter our universe - that data was not aboard the dead starship. But now, characters from the U.S.S. Discovery know about how an entire starship worth of StarFleet officers will die horribly in the future. If the non-redacted information from the Defiant makes it back to our universe, the crew becomes complicit in one of the most gruesome death scenarios from Star Trek!

"Vaulting Ambition" continues the Star Trek: Discovery trend of presenting utter misery on screen. The murder in front of Lorca is grisly and his torture is known by the audience to be entirely pointless. The episode lacks the subtlety of other Mirror Universe episodes: in both universes Georgiou is a mother figure to Burnham, Stamets is virtually identical in both universes . . . the only real difference in characters seems to be the politics and the fact that Detmer actually gets lines in the Mirror Universe.

The unfortunate aspect of "Vaulting Ambition" is that it continues to play toward the most banal action-adventure type storyline as opposed to anything nearly as smart as . . . well, most of Star Trek!

For other Mirror Universe works, please check out my reviews of:
Dark Victory By William Shatner
Intendant Kira action figure
In A Mirror Darkly CCG

1.5/10

For other Star Trek episode, movie, and seasons, please check out my Star Trek Review Index Page!

© 2018 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Ash Tyler Is The Winter Soldier In "The Wolf Inside!"

The Good: Performances are all right, Good direction/effects
The Bad: Terrible character work for most of the episode, Continuity issues, Simplistic and somewhat ridiculous plot progression.
The Basics: "The Wolf Inside" progresses Star Trek: Discovery in the Mirror Universe as Michael Burnham tries to extract critical data and survive as Captain of the Shenzhou!


Last week's Star Trek: Discovery, massive fuck yous to franchise continuity aside, was a fairly decent episode. Sticking the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery in the Mirror Universe from "Mirror, Mirror" (reviewed here!) allowed Star Trek: Discovery to make an episode that was marginally interesting and reveal a few aspects of the characters that had not yet been dealt with. The Mirror Universe is a fun place for Star Trek writers and directors to play around and it gives the actors a chance to try some new things. Unfortunately for Star Trek: Discovery, viewers are still in the process of getting good characterization for most of the main cast to make the novelty of the Mirror Universe truly engaging. But, "Despite Yourself" was a two-parter and its second part is "The Wolf Inside."

"The Wolf Inside" picks up right after "Despite Yourself" (reviewed here!) and it is impossible to discuss the new episode without some references to key events in the prior one. After all, "Despite Yourself" had the death of a key character - the Chief Medical Officer - at the hands of Ash Tyler and Tyler was revealed to be a memory engram implanted atop the memories of a Klingon spy whose physiology was altered. So, while Michael Burnham, Lorca and Tyler are impersonating their alternate universe selves aboard the I.S.S. Shenzhou, the key plot events of the prior episode resonate into "The Wolf Inside."

Aboard the U.S.S. Discovery, Stamets cradles his partner's body. On the Shenzhou, Burnham meets the Mirror version of Saru, who is her personal slave. Burnham keeps Tyler close and she lies to Saru when he contacts her about her lack of contact with her doppelganger. Saru has Stamets restrained during the investigation into Culbert's murder. Tilly advocates to take over Stamet's care while Burnham tries desperately to find a way to break the Imperial firewall to be able to transmit data on the U.S.S. Defiant to the Discovery. When Burnham is tasked with hunting down the Fire Wolf, the Klingon leader of the Resistance, she decides to personally infiltrate the Klingon base.

After meeting with Lorca, Burnham beams down to meet with the Fire Wolf. On the Discovery, Tilly floods Stamets's body with spores in order to try to restore Stamets's brain. Meeting with the Fire Wolf, Tyler is shocked to recognize Voq. Burnham is equally shocked when Voq brings out Sarek to determine her honesty. While Sarek is able to determine that Burnham is telling the truth about her peaceful intentions, Tyler snaps and attacks Voq. Returning to the Shenzhou, Tyler's conditioning unravels and he reveals his true nature to Burnham. Tilly manages to treat Stamets in such a way that he encounters his Mirror Universe counterpart. And as Burnham prepares to complete her mission, The Emperor arrives!

The essential conflict within Michael Burnham in "The Wolf Inside" is a problematic one for her established character. Burnham monologues early in the episode about having to supress her emotions and adopt what is needed to survive in the Mirror Universe. The issue with this conflict coming from Burnham is that she was raised as a Vulcan and has been supressing her human emotions almost the entire series so far. If anyone could repress their natural instincts without discomfort, it seems like it would be Burnham. So, the sudden conflict with her emotions feels forced. As the episode progresses, there are key moments when Burnham's upbringing as a Vulcan would seem to allow her to compartmentalize when she is left to make difficult decisions.

The positive aspect of Burnham's character in "The Wolf Inside" comes in her advocacy for the Resistance. Burnham argues that the Resistance in the Mirror Universe represents the closest to the Federation that the Mirror Universe is likely to get. She argues to interact with the Fire Wolf because it might give her the clues on how to interact with Klingons that she might be able to take back to her native universe to make peace with the Klingons. That is an honorable goal and a clever twist from the somewhat mundane direction of the rest of the character arcs in "The Wolf Inside."

"The Wolf Inside" seems to be predicated on the idea that only the main characters are at all competent. Tilly is a cadet, yet is the only member of the science, medical and/or engineering staffs who is able to treat Stamets?! Tilly is decent at solving a scientific problem, which she tries to parlay into a role in command training with Saru?! The Resistance includes most Federation races, but has Klingons swapped in for humans, which is terrible continuity with the established Mirror Universe of Star Trek and Star Trek Deep Space Nine. And when The Emperor is revealed, the character is hardly a surprise given how the show has stuck with established characters - Sarek, Voq, etc. - for the big reveals.

Tyler is arguably the least-competent spy the Klingons have ever put in the field (presumably, had he witnessed any library footage of his Klingon self, his training would have similarly unraveled). The Mirror Voq is strangely spineless and "The Wolf Inside" misses a critical opportunity to use the Mirror Sarek to reveal - and possibly mentally stabilize - Tyler's true nature.

Ultimately, "The Wolf Inside" springs a number of narrative traps laid in the early episodes, but it does so in defiance of the established character traits or in an interesting way. Even the episode's final two reversals are unsurprising and they fall flat as the music telegraphs that they are Big Moments. The result is a middle episode in the Star Trek Discovery Mirror Universe Saga that is simplistic and surprisingly dull.

For other Mirror Universe episodes, please check out my reviews of:
"In A Mirror Darkly, Part 1" - Star Trek: Enterprise
"Crossover" - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
"The Emperor's New Cloak" - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

3.5/10

For other Star Trek episode, movie, and seasons, please check out my Star Trek Review Index Page where the works are organized from best to worst!

© 2018 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Themes And Lack Of Character Realism Kill "Into The Forest I Go"

The Good: Ash Tyler realistically embodies the effects of a (modern) rape victim, Latif's performance in the last half
The Bad: Every character in the episode is horrible. Seriously, every character. Very basic plot, Troubling thematic issues, Some stiff performance moments
The Basics: "Into The Forest I Go" might not be, objectively, the worst episode of Star Trek: Discovery but it is the most unpleasant hour yet produced within the entire Star Trek franchise.


For the bulk of the Star Trek franchise, midseason finales have not been a thing. Midseason finales are, however, a big deal in the television industry now and Star Trek: Discovery arrives at its midseason finale with "Into The Forest I Go." It is hard to rate which is a more audacious move: CBS hoping its All Access clients won't jump ship and unsubscribe from their service during the hiatus of Star Trek: Discovery or just where Star Trek: Discovery leaves the show at the end of "Into The Forest I Go." One of the keys to a midseason finale is to end the plot at a point where the viewers will be eager to return to the show after the hiatus and "Into The Forest I Go" does that. But herein, Star Trek: Discovery comes into conflict with making great television: characters on great shows make the viewer want to tune in to see what happens to them. So, "Into The Forest I Go" might end at a point of intriguing peril for the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery, but by this point - 9 episodes in - it's virtually impossible to muster up the enthusiasm to watch because the characters are so universally unlikable and miserable to watch.

"Into The Forest I Go" picks up right after "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum" (reviewed here!) and it is impossible to discuss the midseason finale without some references to the prior episode. After all, Discovery was most recently at the planet Pahvo where Saru was altered by the living planet and the life forms there sent a signal out to call both the Klingons and the Federation. While the Discovery once again found itself staring down the barrels of Klingon weaponry, L'Rell found all of her allies killed by Kol.

The Discovery is contacted by an Admiral who orders the Discovery to retreat from Pahvo. As Lorca appears to comply to the order, he tells his bridge crew that he intends to return to Pahvo once the crew has a solution to defeating the Klingon cloaking device. Michael, Saru and Tyler figure out that they can beat the cloaking device by placing transmitters on the Klingon Ship Of The Dead. Lorca orders Stamets to get a medical exam and Dr. Culber discovers the damage to Stamet's brain. Lorca orders Stamets to perform 133 jumps in order to calibrate the devices Tyler and Burnham will place on Kol's ship.

With a plan and Stamets prepared, the Discovery returns to Pahvo. Tyler and Burnham beam to the Klingon ship with the sensors. After the first sensor is placed, Burnham detects a human life sign elsewhere on the ship. She discovers Admiral Cornwell alive and revives her, but Tyler - having seen L'Rell - goes into shock. While Burnham confronts Kol on the bridge, Cornwell tries to inspire Tyler to resist the Klingons who are coming to kill them. With the mission a success, the crew reflects upon the horrors they have encountered.

"Into The Forest I Go" introduces the idea, quite casually, of alternate universes. Stamets is thrilled by the idea, but given that the concept was still fairly fresh when Kirk reasoned out where he was in "Mirror, Mirror" (reviewed here!), it is yet another issue with continuity in Star Trek: Discovery. The idea seems to support the fan favorite theory that Star Trek: Discovery is set in an alternate universe relative to the Prime, Kelvan, or Mirror Star Trek universes.

Those who truly love Star Trek will find Captain Lorca to be utterly reprehensible in "Into The Forest I Go." While there have been many great acts of sacrifice in the Star Trek franchise, usually those acts are also acts of defiance against the orders of the Captain. Lorca demands, then entices, Stamets into acting as navigator for the dangerous maneuver with the Spore Drive . . . despite the fact that his life is being put at serious risk. Moreover, putting Ash Tyler back in jeopardy among the Klingons shows a severe lack of judgement on Lorca's part.

Similarly, Dr. Culber now stands as the worst doctor in StarFleet history. Not only is he willing to allow his partner to be absolutely tortured, Culber has completely failed to recognize the damage done to Ash Tyler. In a similar way, Admiral Cornwell loses serious points in "Into The Forest I Go" for recognizing Ash Tyler is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, but not having the clinical skills or taking the time to get him to admit to his rape.

Here's the thing, "Into The Forest I Go" actually manages to characterize realistically the effects of rape. Ash Tyler is a rape victim and while I was incredibly bothered by the fact that no one has yet explicitly said he was raped (Lorca must have figured this out when they first met by Tyler telling him that L'Rell had paid special attention to him and yet he had no real external damage), the fact that he is doing things that many rape victims and survivors do - jumping into new sexual relationships, having flashbacks, etc. - is realistically portrayed.

But that leads to two incredible and severe issues with "Into The Forest I Go." First, in the Star Trek universe there is something utterly disturbing about the lack of medical/psychological progression. In two hundred years, rape victims are not treated any better by health care providers than they are in 2017?! In fact, we have regressed in a disturbing way; I was raised with rape education that stressed that the victims were not to blame (which is why it was important to come forward if one was abused). "It is not your fault" is not just a catchy mantra for victims, it's a fact and the circumstances of Ash Tyler's rapes make that statement absolutely undeniable. Captured, starved, and cut open repeatedly, Ash Tyler had absolutely no physical ability to resist being raped by L'Rell. It was not Tyler's fault. His unwillingness to disclose to any of the many people he has encountered since his rescue assumes a very now (2017) sensibility about his victimization.

Second, the producers of Star Trek: Discovery should be ashamed of their approach to sex in the show. Thus far, the most nudity and on-screen sex in Star Trek: Discovery was featured in "Into The Forest I Go" . . . and it was a rape scene.

The idea of the Klingon cloaking device in this era of Star Trek has been problematic; the solution to the Klingon cloaking device is equally troubling. While "Into The Forest I Go" is all about the Discovery finding a way around the cloaking device and cloaking technology might get altered in the future, the fundamentals for getting around the device are solidly created here and yet cloaking technology continues to be a major problem for the Federation for more than a hundred years after.

It's hard to bitch about any of these sorts of technical details after acknowledging that Shazad Latif portrays well a (modern) rape victim and that "Into The Forest I Go" absolutely fails to deal with rape in a forward-thinking or progressed way. "Into The Forest I Go" was easily, by a decent margin, the least-enjoyable hour the Star Trek franchise has thus far produced and it makes it virtually impossible to ever want to return to Star Trek: Discovery.

1.5/10

For other Star Trek episode, movie, and seasons, please check out my comprehensive Star Trek Review Index Page!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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An Hour Without An Enjoyable Moment: "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum"

The Good: Nothing
The Bad: No organic character development, Huge plot holes, Lack of impressive performances, Wonky science for the episode's many macguffins, Klingon portions are clunky.
The Basics: Star Trek: Discovery has a first contact situation in "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum" which introduces a colony-style life form that possesses Saru while Admiral Cornwell gets tortured.


It is hard not to go into each and every Star Trek: Discovery review without an opening complaining about how everything that came before is an insult to the Star Trek franchise and continuity. With "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum," that complaint would most certainly be that cloaking technology was not a thing in the Star Trek universe for about a decade after Star Trek: Discovery (though that had already been compromised by events in Star Trek: Enterprise) and Klingons did not have cloaking technology of any sort until after they made an alliance with the Romulans in the third season of Star Trek. So, as "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum" features the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery investigating Klingon cloaking device technology, it is hard not to kvetch right off the bat.

"Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum" continues where "Magic To Make The Sanest Man Go Mad" (reviewed here!) left off and revisits the idea that Captain Lorca set Admiral Cornwell up to be captured - if not outright killed - by the Klingons. And the Klingons have captives yet again.

A StarFleet ship is under attack by six Klingon vessels when the Discovery appears to attempt to save them. A Klingon battlecruiser decloaks and when the Gagarin is destroyed, the Discovery flees. Saru, Tyler and Burnham are dispatched on the planet Pahvo where there is a crystal transmitting a signal that they believe will allow them to see through the Klingon cloaking device. When the Away Team discovers a native life form on Pahvo, their mission changes and they are forced to alter their approach in getting access to the transmitter crystal.

Meanwhile, Admiral Cornwell finds an unlikely ally in the Klingon prison; her interrogator does not want to follow Kol and pitches working with Cornwell to escape the prison. On Pahvo, Saru communicates with the alien life forms and he becomes obsessed with staying on the planet. Believing Saru has been infected, Ash Tyler takes over and begins to work on a way to get them off the planet.

Everybody continues to be a dick in "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum." One of the real strikes against Star Trek: Discovery is that none of the characters are particularly likable. Anthony Rapp's Stamets is suffering the ill-effects of now being genetically-modified to interface with the Spore Drive and he treats the ever-nervous Tilly poorly. But it wasn't like Stamets was a nice guy to begin with and his altered personality is more that he has changed how he is an asshole.

In a similar way, Saru is possessed in "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum" and the traits that are brought out are only the most negative in his personality. "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum" is essentially the first episode of Star Trek: Discovery that deals with an alien first contact situation and unlike the best episodes in the Star Trek franchise, there is no well-developed theme in the episode that makes it relevant outside this particular story. Instead, in "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum" first contact is a desperate attempt to get new alien life forms to aid StarFleet in fighting the Klingons through their macguffin technology.

It is hard not to watch "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum" and wonder if the writer had ever actually watched any Star Trek. A Vulcan says "souls" in reference to casualties, the StarFleet admiral who was a counselor (a medical professional!) holds her own with a Klingon warrior in hand to hand combat and Saru is in telepathic style contact (what the hell is it with Star Trek: Discovery and telepathic contact?!) with a life form that is everything on the planet and he has to ask where Burnham went.

"Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum" feels like what happens when Star Trek writers just give up. The episode mashes together "This Side Of Paradise" (reviewed here!) and "Man Of The People" (reviewed here!) to make something that is just terrible on every level.

For other works with Jayne Brook, please check out my reviews of:
Boston Legal - Season 2
Sports Night - Season 2
Superman IV: The Quest For Peace

0/10

For other Star Trek episode, movie, and seasons, please check out my comprehensive Star Trek Review Index Page!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Harry Mudd And The Time Turner: "Magic To Make The Sanest Man Go Mad"

The Good: The acting is fine
The Bad: Humor falls flat, Neglect of organic character traits, Forced character problems, Recycled plot, Particularly lame macguffin to justify the plot
The Basics: Star Trek: Discovery seems to use up its budget on the long title when Harry Mudd returns in the "Cause And Effect" rewrite "Magic To Make The Sanest Man Go Mad."


One of the real issues with making a prequel series in a well-established franchise is there is an immense potential to undermine the works that were previously-created, but come after within the canon of the franchise. Doing a prequel right means that the creators have to come up with entirely new material that is not even tangential to what has come before. The reason behind this is simple; if the ship in the prequel survives whatever phenomenon it encounters and manages to survive the series without its entire run being undone, the logical questions fans would have for any repeated phenomenon later on in the series would be "Why didn't the computer [or Data or another character who studied StarFleet history] recognize the phenomenon they were encountering as identical or similar to the one experienced by [insert name of prequel ship/crew]?" With the Star Trek franchise in the hands of people who have no apparent care for continuity, Star Trek: Discovery continues to do whatever its creators want without any reasonable expectation that it will satisfactorily address fan concerns about how the show relates to all that comes after it. So, with the Star Trek: Discovery episode "Magic To Make The Sanest Man Go Mad," it is hard for fans of the franchise not to see it as a half-assed rewrite of the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Cause And Effect" (reviewed here!).

"Magic To Make The Sanest Man Go Mad" follows up on both "Lethe"(reviewed here!) and "Choose Your Pain" (reviewed here!). The most instant connection between the prior episodes is that Burnham has a relationship with Ash Tyler now and Harry Mudd returns.

Specialist Michael Burnham begins to bond with Tilly and Ash Tyler in advance of a party. Burnham feels like an outsider at the party and she is rescued from the awkward interaction when she and Tyler are called to the Bridge. En route, she runs into Stamets, who has become weird as a result of his interfacing with the Spore Displacement Drive. On the bridge, Saru recognizes an alien life form outside the ship as an endangered species. Burnham convinces Lorca to take the giant life form aboard and Harry Mudd comes out of the creature and kills a number of people before he contacts the Bridge. Mudd then destroys the Discovery, before creating a time loop.

When Tyler and Burnham are called away from the party again, the Discovery encounters the Gormegander after Stamets mentions one in the hallway. Mudd beams into Engineering where he tries to take control of the Spore Drive to sell Discovery to the Klingons. While Stamets is able to kill Mudd, the time loop reboots. The next time through the loop, Mudd captures Lorca and reveals that he has killed Lorca 53 times before. Stamets continues to reach out to Burnham to try to stop Harry Mudd from learning how to access the Spore Drive.

"Magic To Make The Sanest Man Go Mad" is what happens when Star Trek attempts to chase after the frat boy demographic. The party on the Discovery is very drunk college guy style and the lowbrow nature of it is embodied (surprisingly well) by Mary Wiseman as Sylvia Tilly acting like a drunk sorority girl.

The macguffin in "Magic To Make The Sanest Man Go Mad" is a Time Crystal, which is a ridiculous new magic crystal, which allows Mudd to create time loops. Burnham has heard of these magic crystals from the Vulcan Science Academy . . . which in the continuity of Star Trek: Enterprise did not believe in time travel. For sure, in Star Trek: Enterprise, the Vulcans were given irrefutable proof of time travel, but the viewer of "Magic To Make The Sanest Man Go Mad" is expected to believe that Vulcan scientists not only accepted that time travel was real, but they managed to discover artifacts of immense power, like the Time Crystal.

Fans of Star Trek are less likely to be upset by the plot of "Cause And Effect" being reused as a malicious device for the episode than the fact that Harry Mudd in this incarnation is characterized as malicious and murderous as opposed to the low-grade buffoon he was in the original Star Trek. Rainn Wilson does fine with the material he is given, but the character is written entirely differently from the one established in Star Trek. But, just as fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation might wonder how the crew of the Enterprise-D did not do a thorough search for a Time Crystal, they are likely to wonder why the hell Harry Mudd would have ever done another caper without acquiring another Time Crystal first.

As for the original aspects of Star Trek: Discovery, Lt. Saru is once again completely undermined in "Magic To Make The Sanest Man Go Mad." For an alien race that is entirely geared around sensing death and personal menace, the fact that Saru's "threat ganglion" are not going berserk in the episode makes no rational sense.

But, sensibility is not the hallmark of "Magic To Make The Sanest Man Go Mad" or Star Trek: Discovery. "Magic To Make The Sanest Man Go Mad" continues to characterize Michael Burnham as a forced outsider; a human who acts like a Vulcan for no clear reason (she was raised by a liberal Vulcan and a human after being rescued when her human parents were killed . . . but has been around humans for at least seven and a half years - more if she actually attended StarFleet Academy). Her rediscovery of human emotions is almost as problematic as Saru's threat ganglion not making an appearance even when Harry Mudd walks onto the bridge and kills Lorca in front of him.

The humor in "Magic To Make The Sanest Man Go Mad" falls universally flat and the attempts at the humor continue the episode's tone like the show is chasing after an audience nowhere near as smart as the Star Trek demographic.

1/10

For other Star Trek episode, movie, and seasons, please check out my comprehensive Star Trek Review Index Page!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Combat Sarek And Throat-Cutting On Star Trek: Discovery: "Lethe" Is Another Disappointing Episode!

The Good: Most of the acting is fine
The Bad: Acting is terrible for the emotional and racist Vulcans, Forced character development, Simple and ridiculous plot
The Basics: "Lethe" continues to undermine Sarek, Spock and Star Trek when Star Trek: Discovery tries to be edgy with its murderous captain and graphic on-screen throat slitting.


This weekend, I had my first chance to discuss Star Trek: Discovery with fans of the Star Trek franchise, which was very interesting. One of the people I spoke with had fallen behind on the show, but said he generally liked the first three episodes (his income is also dependent upon developing products for CBS, though). The other person with whom I discussed the show had given up on the new Star Trek works after Star Trek: Voyager and he had a lot of questions for me about Star Trek: Discovery. With virtually every objective answer I gave him, horror and shock registered on his face and he shook his head ultimately and said, "That's why I stick with Star Wars now." For all the issues with the Star Wars franchise, the people who continue to work on the franchise seem to care a great deal about how the new works fit in with the works that came before. With "Lethe," Star Trek: Discovery continues to illustrate that the writers and executive producers of the show do not care much about franchise continuity.

"Choose Your Pain"(reviewed here!) led into "Lethe" and it is impossible to discuss the new episode without referencing the events of that episode. While "Choose Your Pain" introduced Harry Mudd into the Star Trek Discovery narrative, the more significant aspect of the episode was that Captain Lorca broke out of a Klingon prison ship with another inmate, Lt. Ash Tyler. After losing its Tardigrade (the navigator alien that interfaced with the spore displacement drive) and rescuing the StarFleet officers, the U.S.S. Discovery was left in Klingon space. . . though Lt. Stamets appeared affected by his experience interacting with the drive.

Opening on Vulcan, Sarek and V'Latak wait for a shuttle. While Tilly and Burnham run around Discovery, Ash Tyler and Lorca participate in a holographic training simulation. Lorca promotes Tyler to Security Chief. Sarek is in the shuttle when he recognizes V'Latak as a fanatic, who blows himself up. That recalls Burnham to him through his katra and when Burnham wakes up in sickbay, she informs Lorca that Sarek is near death. Lorca contacts a Vulcan who informs him that Sarek was on a mission to meet with two ousted Klingon houses when his ship was ambushed.

While searching the nebula in which Sarek's shuttle is lost, Burnham re-establishes telepathic contact with Sarek. Meanwhile, Admiral Cornwell visits Discovery and she and Lorca share a bottle and discuss Lorca's position on Discovery. Burnham discovers the truth about her rejection from the Vulcan Science Expedition and in the process, she is able to locate Sarek. Cornwell sees scars on Lorca's back and she makes plans to relieve him of command. Lorca suggests to Cornwell that she finish Sarek's mission, knowing it is likely to get her killed and eliminate his problem of being forced to step down from commanding the Discovery.

"Lethe" continues to undermine the concept of the Vulcans . . . by trying to flesh them out more and make previously simple and fairly-well executed concepts complicated. The katra is redefined in "Lethe" as a long-distance homing beacon/simulator. "Lethe" illustrates the fundamental problem with using a known character like Sarek and trying to retcon a character into his backstory. As Sarek lays dying, his mind calls out to Michael Burnham . . . not Amanda. Really?! Sarek, who never mind-melded with Spock, uses Burnham as a katra receptacle, which seems ridiculously risky given Burnham's position, as opposed to his wife.

The Vulcans are characterized in "Lethe" as being willing and able to murder for a philosophy that is very much anti-IDIC. The food replicators make judgements on the food they serve and there is a holodeck on Discovery, making "Lethe" yet another episode that illustrates a complete disdain for Star Trek continuity.

The characterization of Michael Burnham continues to be muddied and made ridiculous in "Lethe." In order to give Ash Tyler more airtime, Burnham forms an inorganic relationship with him. Burnham has been slow to trust and untrusted by most of the Discovery crew and she and her roommate are finally getting along. So, of course, instead of unburdening herself to Tilly, she tells her deepest emotional revelation to the guy who still could easily turn out to be a Klingon spy.

Saru continues to be undermined in "Lethe" as well. Lorca's plan - letting the Admiral who is prepared to remove him of command finish a dangerous negotiations that is very likely to get her killed before she can pass that recommendation on to anyone at StarFleet Command - is instantly obvious. While Saru should have no specific knowledge of that, his plot-convenient "threat ganglia" are not activated by visiting Lorca when Lorca refuses to rescue Cornwell and has a phaser behind his back.

Sarek continues to be presented as far more emotional in "Lethe" than he ever was (outside his death arc on Star Trek: The Next Generation. This is especially problematic in the fight sequences in his own mind. In "Journey To Babel" (reviewed here!), Sarek is a suspect in the Tellarite ambassador's death because he knows a Vulcan martial art that can kill a person in a single move. How does Michael Burnham hold her own against a guy who knows a fighting technique like that? Come to think of it, doesn't the whole "Michael Burnham retcon with Sarek's katra" thing either completely undermine the peril of Sarek's heart condition or mean that Michael Burnham must die before "Journey To Babel?" In "Lethe," Sarek is laying near-death from an explosion and Burnham psychically saves him . . . a little heart issue ought to be no problem for her to keep him alive through with her newfound powers.

Even without all of the continuity issues, "Lethe" is a dull episode. An Admiral visits Discovery to do a clandestine psychological exam and Michael Burnham goes on a rescue mission for a character who the viewers know must survive. This is hardly exciting or compelling television on its own . . . and when the problems with how it relates to anything else that has come before, "Lethe" is downright terrible.

For other works with Mia Kirshner, please visit my reviews of:
The L Word
Not Another Teen Movie

1.5/10

Check out how this episode stacks up against other Star Trek episode, movie, and seasons by visiting my Star Trek Review Index Page for a listing from best to worst!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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