Spoilers Star Trek: Discovery 1x08 - "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum"

[cooleddie74]

2303. THERE. IS. NO. FINER. VINTAGE.

Wait, we're still forty-six years away from that vintage? Screw it. Break out the warnog and cheap toilet whiskey.

 

[bookworm8571]

Voq/Tyler obviously sent the signal. I question why he isn’t showing up as Klingon on the Discovery’s medical scans. How good is that Klingon technology? L’Rell must be trying to set up a rendezvous with Voq.

Lorca’s pet Tribble is still alive. How would it react to Voq/Tyler?

The cadet is going to be a captain and Stamets might survive long enough to see her become one. I think he is zapping in and out of time as well as different dimensions.

The planet reminded me of the one in Avatar, whatever it was called. Beautiful imagery.

I like the Admiral. I hope they don’t kill her.

Burnham obviously isn’t going back to prison. Can she do something heroic already so she can be granted clemency and a restoration of rank?

 

[Agony_Boothb]

After an extremely shaky start, it feels like Discovery has found is legs. I'm willing to see the season out before giving the Roman thumbs up or thumbs down.

For some reason your comment made me think of this:

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[cooleddie74]

The tribble's back in Lorca's ready room. At least we know he's not the Klingon agent or spy, not unless the tribble was surgically or chemically altered so as not to respond to the proximity of a Klingon.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Klingon senses are high? Closer to Kelpian than Human?

Saru got drunk.

The Klingons are going to get wasted, agree to all sorts of things, that are anathema to their real agenda, and reneg on all treaties as soon as they sober up... This happened in Farscape.

It's a dishonest rohypnol planet.

This is not going to end well.

Also... The Klingons are not Remaining Klingon.

Altered Klingon's are going to be executed/slaughtered from orbit, if the effects are registered as anything less than very temporary, just like with how, the Klingon augments got blanched, to stop the spread of infection.

 

[Succubint]

Did we just see the Lorca Maneuver? That was a good tactical move to make, I think. What do the "Lorca is a villain/evil mirror" crowd have to say?

 

[marsh8472]

I liked that they had multiple storylines going on. Exploring a planet, a new lifeform, and first contact procedures was a nice star trek touch. It reminded me a little bit of TOS "This Side Of Paradise". We received confirmation that the stardates are nonsense. I'm glad they mentioned the universal translators. I was beginning to question whether they even had universal translators. Is the admiral dead? Hope not. The admiral said star fleet does not have the death penalty but that's not quite true

KIRK: Enough to convict you of conspiracy with mutineers. And you're so charged. The sentence, death. Mister Lemli.
CHEKOV: Starfleet expressly forbids the death penalty.
KIRK: All my senior officers turning against me?
SULU: The death penalty is forbidden. There's only one exception.
CHEKOV: General Order Four. It has not been violated by any officer on the Enterprise.

We learned more about Saru which was nice. I had assumed he was a wimp from being so skinny. We got to see a little dialogue from the "secondary characters" on the bridge which was nice. I gave the episode an 8 out of 10. I think it was better than last weeks which was also an 8 out of 10 but not quite worthy of 9 out of 10.

 

[David cgc]

The cadet is going to be a captain and Stamets might survive long enough to see her become one. I think he is zapping in and out of time as well as different dimensions.

It's also possible Stamets was just seeing another time/timeline where Lorca was in the room. I know him seeing Captain Tilly From the Future ties in better with her character and pays off what she said to Burnham months ago, but it seems I'm still scarred from when Enterprise hurt me, and we spent season one and two grasping and straws begging for even the mildest competent character continuity. "Ooh, T'Pol helped Hoshi calm down by teaching her Vulcan meditation in 'Sleeping Dogs,' this must be playing off their antagonism and Hoshi's fear of space in the pilot, and now their going to start building an odd-couple friendship over the coming episodes." Ha. Nice wish. Or when Five Minute Enterprise had a running subplot with Hoshi and Travis having a torrid love affair simply because they weren't getting anything to do in the actual episodes?

So, yeah, he probably saw Tilly's future, but I can't forget how blandly mediocre and half-assed Star Trek can really be.

 

[Vger23]

Some of the Klingon ships were much more clearly visible in this episode. Anyone get some screenshots?

 

[STR]

I agree with others who said this episode veered from amazing to bad on a scene by scene basis.

On the other hand, the 8th episode of TNG was "Justice" which makes this whole episode look a lot better by comparison.

 

[cooleddie74]

The death penalty line is more likely than not just a continuity error but it is possible that as of late 2256 or early 2257 Starfleet has not yet enacted General Order 7 in response to Pike and the Enterprise visiting Talos IV. I find it highly unlikely it would take admirals at Starfleet Command nearly three years or longer to institute such a harsh penalty for encountering such dangerous psychokinetic abilities but, hey, bureaucracy. If humans had abolished all other capital punishments by the time the Federation was founded in the 22nd century it may have taken some real wrangling to convince Starfleet to institute such a harsh penalty for visiting a dangerous planet.

 

[Vger23]

Was this the first official mention that Universal Translators in some form are built into the communicators?

 

[The Memetic Susurrus]

This episode was a bit uneven, with moments where I thought I could cheer juxtaposed with moments I found myself rolling my eyes.

Couple of notes:
-Finally, a battle worthy of the name. RIP, Gagarin. Once more, Lorca showing us that he is both a wartime commander and that he is willing to push hard to get what needs to be done finished. Sniping at the bridge crew may not get him any awards but it's very much in-line with commanders I've had throughout my career.

-L'Rell is playing both the admiral and Kol. Shifty but it may just have gotten her a few extra scars... Note, she elliptically referred to Voq as having been tossed aside and not killed. More evidence that Voq is out there, still. Also, funny that Kol did not ask how L'Rell survived nor what happened to Voq (unless he was aware of what happened to Voq when he called her on her deceit, which implies he is smarter than he's been heretofore portrayed; a bug in the Shenzhou, perhaps, when he beamed them there...?)

-Saru's character arc in this episode was somewhat uninspiring to me. I get it: Kelpians are prey-species. So it stands to reason that every moment of their lives is filled with fear. No big surprise. That removing that fear would compromise Saru as it did, though...eh. Didn't do much for me. He was, essentially, drunk on the experience.

-Shippers away. As if last episode wasn't enough, Tyler/Burnham is a thing. Sucks to be her. I find the relationship trite and artificially crafted to inflict the maximal amount of pain on fans of it when the inevitable happens. Now, surprise me and make him a Manchurian Candidate that is still salvageable at the end instead of it all being just Voq and I might change my mind. Also, his blood is red. Klingon biotech must be a tad better than we've surmised if he truly is just Voq in disguise.

-Stamets is in deep kimche. And Tilly still is Wesley, Jr. I am beginning to wonder if Stamets will survive the season. It would be a shame if he doesn't. He's actually the only character who has actually grown on me and who I can see a discernable arc. Lorca is still my favourite (by far) but Stamets is my second.

 

[cooleddie74]

Was this the first official mention that Universal Translators in some form are built into the communicators?

Well, we know that a decade later UTs also exist as handheld devices of their own with a cylindrical shape. Kirk's communicator in "Metamorphosis" wasn't equipped with one, although if the Companion disabled their communicators the way it neutralized the engines of their shuttlecraft it's possible that Spock had to improvise a Universal Translator out of parts stored aboard the shuttle as well as in Zefram Cochrane's home and thus the UT in that episode was a makeshift gadget cobbled together from junk.

 

[marsh8472]

 

[USSPhilippi]

"The U.S.S. Discovery is tasked with a high priority mission to planet Pahvo and learn the science behind the Klingon’s cloaking technology." - TrekSpace

The episode title is a latin adage, often translated as "If you want peace, prepare for war". It's also one of nine Star Trek episodes with latin titles. The others are "Sub Rosa", "Dramatis Personae", "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges", "Ex Post Facto", "Non Sequitur", "Alter Ego", "Terra Nova", and "Vox Sola". - Memory Alpha

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Simply put, I felt it was the most "Star Trek" episode to date. Exploring strange new worlds, and all that jazz. 10 from me.

 

[eschaton]

Reading through the comments, I guess I misinterpreted the scene where L'Rell drags Cornwell (who may be alive or dead) into that room. Initially I thought it was part of her ship that was docked with the sarcophagus ship, and she found her crew brutally murdered and dismembered. But others seem to indicate it was a...feeding room? Basically, that those were acquaintances of hers from the days T'Kumva was in control of the ship, and they have been killed and are being slowly dismembered for eating?

If this is the truth, then the Klingons are much more fucked up than was thought. Ritual cannibalism is one thing. Engaging in cannibalism while starving as well. And it could be argued that eating Georgiou isn't cannibalism because she's not a Klingon. But killing and eating other Klingons when there is plenty of food to be had? Nothing in cannon suggested this before.

 

[Vger23]

"The U.S.S. Discovery is tasked with a high priority mission to planet Pahvo and learn the science behind the Klingon’s cloaking technology." - TrekSpace

The episode title is a latin adage, often translated as "If you want peace, prepare for war". It's also one of nine Star Trek episodes with latin titles. The others are "Sub Rosa", "Dramatis Personae", "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges", "Ex Post Facto", "Non Sequitur", "Alter Ego", "Terra Nova", and "Vox Sola". - Memory Alpha

TrekMovie.com | IMDb Page
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Memory Alpha Entry | Wikipedia Entry​

Your poster graphics are cool btw

 

[eschaton]

Also, Burnham and Tyler reciting the most notable quote from Wrath of Khan was eye-rollingly awful. If you're going to put in an Easter egg, don't make it the most blatantly obvious one imaginable. Will the next episode feature a "resistance is futile?"

 

[marsh8472]

Also, Burnham and Tyler reciting the most notable quote from Wrath of Khan was eye-rollingly awful. If you're going to put in an Easter egg, don't make it the most blatantly obvious one imaginable. Will the next episode feature a "resistance is futile?"

yeah "needs of the many" shit was disappointing to hear.

Obviously we know the federation will not lose the war to the Klingons since its a prequel. At least with enterprise we knew the possibility of losing to the Xindi was there because of the time travel involved in the story. It's unfortunate to be presented with a storyline that has such a predictable conclusion.