Spoilers Star Trek: Discovery 1x05 - "Choose Your Pain"

[guyute03]

Watching right now.
Things I noticed:

- a Starfleet Command Vulcan
- Archer, Decker, April, Pike mentions
- Klingon supply line at Benzar
- REALLY like Dr. Culber? Seriously hope he becomes CMO
- a lot of background aliens I can't identify
- Orca's eye injections. Disgusting.
- Still love Lorca, such an interesting character
- Klingon D7 Battle Cruiser
- The Klingons who boarded Lorca's shuttle knew him by name
- I like Rain Wilson's Mudd
- Ash Tyler's bundled bits of saved food, like O'Brien in that DS9 episode when he's in a prison of his mind.
- Is Ash Tyler getting raped by a Klingon captain?
- Tilly cursing and Stemetz' look he gave her - PRICELESS
- Klingon map mentions - Rura Penthe, Mempa, Beta Lankal?, Morbika?
- Daystom mention
- "eugenics experiments are forbidden" - Saru
- Lorca blew up his old ship to save his crew from getting captured by Klingons! What!?
- heard a lot of TOS sounds this episode
- weird Klingon raider designs
- finally a good scene with Saru & Burnham at the end where I don't dislike Saru
- Black Alert toothbrush!
- Stametz horror movie mirror!

Another fantastic episode that works on many levels. An exceptional episode of Star Trek. Gave it a 9, easily. Ash Tyler & Dr Culber are standouts for me. Really great characters.

 

[Succubint]

Mudd was fantastic. I like how he still felt like Mudd, but without the campiness and rape-y drug dealing pimp vibe. Burnham is fine, she's sticking to her principles and acting with a conscience. What Saru said hurt her, but she accepted it. Saru was honest about his own biases and hurts. He clearly is not quite ready for command, but he's coming to understand what a burden it is, and I liked how he came around about the Tardigrade once he'd gotten over his insecurities about losing Lorca and how that compared him to Burnham. Stamets was awesome, he's fast becoming my new fave character. That said, I loved seeing more layers added to Lorca. I actually don't blame him for his decision, one that's been made plenty of times by other captains. To self destruct the ship rather than be subjected to even worse fates. His failing was to survive the loss of his ship with all hands aboard, a blame I am sure he carries with him every day.

Ash Tyler has to be Voq. But I do think he believes he is Tyler. The House Mokai really did a number on him in terms of his memories. We know he wasn't being subject to sexual assault by T'Rell for 7 months. Therefore they must be implanted memories.

I am glad that T'Rell survived, she needs to be front and center when Voq/Tyler finally gets activated. But by then, will he have been exposed to non-Klingon ways too much? What if he bonds with his new crew ?

Tilly was awesome. I don't care about her skin imperfections or snoring, or her use of the word fuck. She's a good egg. Loved how much she seemed to care about Ripper, but also the crew. Her lip quivering over Stamets was adorable.

The ending was heartwarming in terms of seeing Stamets with his beau and watching them banter as a normal caring couple. Then it turned twilight zone with that eery mirror after echo. Bring it on DSC!!!!

9/10 for the emotional gut punches, character development & bonding, lore building, intrigue, moral dilemmas resolved, final hook.

 

[KennyB]

Mudd was fantastic. I like how he still felt like Mudd, but without the campiness and rape-y drug dealing pimp vibe..

Agreed, and well put. Mudd has never been a favorite of mine. Really disliked the original Mudd, I like their take on him.

 

[Lakenheath 72]

The bristle toothbrush was invented in China in 1498.

https://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/tooth.html

 

[Agony_Boothb]

Don't Klingons have redundant internal organs, like 3 hearts and 4 livers? Makes sense that they would have 2 wangs.

 

[ScottJ85]

During the torture scene, Lorca makes a wisecrack at L'Rell regarding how she's having her way with Tyler and says that 'we don't even have the right number of organs for ya.'

Therefore the answer is >1.

There hasn't really been much contact between the Federation and Klingon Empire at this point. For all we know he could have just been trying to throw her off balance.

 

[Mr Pointy Ears]

It still feels like it only star trek in name at the moment

 

[Succubint]

I really don't get that sentiment. This episode felt like quintessential Trek to me.

 

[Charles Phipps]

There hasn't really been much contact between the Federation and Klingon Empire at this point. For all we know he could have just been trying to throw her off balance.

I took that as Lorca just being profoundly racist

 

[Jaimito]

good episode. Liked how Saru approaches his captaincy. Lorca is devious.
Think the tardigrade story is ok, though I like the spore drive scenes when the Disco takes off.

 

[Smoked Salmon]

It still feels like it only star trek in name at the moment

If you had said this after the first two festering turd episode I would have agreed. But since episode 3 the show had gradually been inching towards more familiar Trek territory and more sophisticated storytelling. If it can do that in 5 episodes one hopes that at the end of a season or two we will have progressed to pretty familiar ground.

 

[spinagogue]

I found this episode disappointing after the prior two, which I gave 8 and 9 respectively. This was a 5 for me. Somehow a lot of the character interactions just didn't ring true, for example, Saru's dramatic shift in attitude toward Burnham. And not just from previous episodes, but within the episode itself.

And it doesn't matter much to me if this series is in a "new" universe from all other Trek. But the tardigrade being warp-capable just seemed to me to violate continuity with . . . anything.

SPIN

 

[Lakenheath 72]

As the mycelial network is one of many subspace domains, and warp power is possible only because starships can travel through another domain of subspace, what is there that says there is a prohibition against an organism warping through subspace? Does that make sense?

 

[spinagogue]

As the mycelial network is one of many subspace domains, and warp power is possible only because starships can travel through another domain of subspace, what is there that says there is a prohibition against an organism warping through subspace? Does that make sense?

Okay, I didn't think of that, and granted that all that was stated in the episode. After watching it, I was wrestling with how to make sense of it.

I did really like parts of the episode, for example, the private "fuck off" meeting between the admiral and Lorca. Love his character. The last scene with the doctor and Stamets was well-done too, and the mirror part creepy.

SPIN

 

[Mudd]

Gave it a 4. Barely adequate, ho-hum television.

 

[Manuuk7]

Episode felt like Trek. I was a little aghast at first episodes that all felt dark and foreboding and was worried that series had lost the Trek touch and I would have to adapt to a brand new world without hope in it. Still rated the series highly because it's Star Trek and I'm anything if not loyal. Now I feel like the universe has shifted back to center. Tardigrade scene is when heavens opened up and harps started to play and I knew I was home.

 

[Refuge]

It still feels like it only star trek in name at the moment

I agree. It's a bit hard to follow. It's lacking direction. So there's this Klingon war and spores and.. yeah. I used to get a bit of a buzz when there would be a bridge scene from other Star Treks. Now the bridge is just a clinical blur. So is the whole purpose of the first season beating the Klingons?

 

[Gonzo]

Looking forward to watching it later tonight.

 

[Chekov's Phaser]

It's not at the end of the episode. Obviously they want to keep something quiet.

The trailer was at the end of the credits. At least it was for All Access.

 

[Guy Gardener]

This was a space fuller.

The Ripper story was set up last week, and the Voq stuff is for down the line.

They should have made more of the Eugenics issue.

Stamets on trial (by Section 31) threatened with sterilization if his genes are too atypical.