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

Rate the episode...


  • Total voters
    266
Look...I enjoyed the ep...I'd give it a solid 8...But after the hype about people crying on set and David Mack's big-up it wasn't quite as amazing as I'd hoped! The visual's on the planet were outstanding! L'Rell's stuff with Cornwall in the cell was intriguing, but I'm utterly bewildered what her plan was /is regarding her...Seems clear from her comments though that either
Lorca
or
Ash is Voq
. The editing as many people have mentioned seemed to make things a bit confusing. It was a pretty short ep really for a cable show - I wonder if the final ep of this run wil be significantly longer? Still... a very Trek feel to the ep!
 
Look...I enjoyed the ep...I'd give it a solid 8...But after the hype about people crying on set and David Mack's big-up it wasn't quite as amazing as I'd hoped! The visual's on the planet were outstanding! L'Rell's stuff with Cornwall in the cell was intriguing, but I'm utterly bewildered what her plan was /is regarding her...Seems clear from her comments though that either
Lorca
or
Ash is Voq
. The editing as many people have mentioned seemed to make things a bit confusing. It was a pretty short ep really for a cable show - I wonder if the final ep of this run wil be significantly longer? Still... a very Trek feel to the ep!

I think we can rule out Lorca,

his there was no trouble from his tribble.
 
I thought this episode was pretty weak. It felt like multiple episodes crammed into one, coming off as rushed. It had some good ideas but I felt like they were glossed over and squandered. Lots of missed opportunities for sure.
 
I thought this episode was pretty weak. It felt like multiple episodes crammed into one, coming off as rushed. It had some good ideas but I felt like they were glossed over and squandered. Lots of missed opportunities for sure.

Reminded me of "The Butchers Knife..." honestly, because that episode had the same structural weakness. Constantly jumping between four or more different plots, huge pacing issues, and enough content to stretch across at least two episodes.
 
Reminded me of "The Butchers Knife..." honestly, because that episode had the same structural weakness. Constantly jumping between four or more different plots, huge pacing issues, and enough content to stretch across at least two episodes.
Agreed, That was another episode I felt was weak.
 
I had no problem with the pacing or the juggling of plotlines. I thought they handled at all quite well and was interested through out the episode.
 
Look...I enjoyed the ep...I'd give it a solid 8...But after the hype about people crying on set and David Mack's big-up it wasn't quite as amazing as I'd hoped! The visual's on the planet were outstanding! L'Rell's stuff with Cornwall in the cell was intriguing, but I'm utterly bewildered what her plan was /is regarding her...Seems clear from her comments though that either
Lorca
or
Ash is Voq
. The editing as many people have mentioned seemed to make things a bit confusing. It was a pretty short ep really for a cable show - I wonder if the final ep of this run wil be significantly longer? Still... a very Trek feel to the ep!

And yet Tyler is scanned and treated at sickbay with no issues whatsoever. No 'heartbeat's all wrong, his body temperature is...' The monitor over his bed - human organs, all where they should be and looking correct. (And what little we see of Saru's monitor shows a totally different anatomy, so they weren't just cut-and-pasting.) The blood coming out of his mouth after Saru belts him - human crimson, not Pepto Bismol pink or even semi-violet. So if he is you-know-who, he hasn't simply had his head ridges and teeth filed down; he is literally in a fully human body, to the point scanners can't pick him up.
 
The planet side stuff was brilliant. They did a great job creating a realistic alien world and a cool environment with unique properties. I thought the Pavans were a fascinating life form. I liked the twist that Saru wasn't being purposefully or malevolently manipulated (like most other Trek stories would have done) and it was truly his reaction. Doug Jones blew the doors off it in this episode. I'm not really sure where the random wigwam came from...that threw me for a bit of a loop. The whole thing felt very VERY TOS.
I hadn't been liking the way Saru was being written which, I think, may have inhibited my view of Jones' performance. It is great. Watched Jones on that episode of After Trek and he was like 100% different from Saru, voice, mannerisms, body language, personality, everything. He really has created a character rather than just play a role. Agree also, that it was refreshing that he wasn't being controlled by Pahvos. Give credit to the Beyer for this.
* Mary Chieffo has quickly become my favorite Klingon. Aside from the fact that she's clearly much better at speaking in those prosthetics (her dialogue is much more fluid), I like that she's far more complex than many of the other Klingons. She really does believe in honor. Plus, I can't wait until L'Rell kicks Kol's ass.
L'Rell is without question the most charismatic of the Klingons. With all that make-up somehow Chieff is managing to convey much about the character, not just with her voice and words, but also with her eyes. More her, please.
2 things I want to see:
More screen time for Detmer and Airiam. I want to see their characters' development instead of a few teases each episode.
I wouldn't hold my breath on that one. They are telling a story in only 15 episodes, with the emphasis on Burnham. This isn't TNG/VOY. Just because these two are bridge officers doesn't mean they're going to get screen time. However, if they DO decide to go that route, I nominate Owosekun for a storyline that somehow involves those cute dimples.
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?"
Yes, as someone further up thread pointed out, this wasn't an easter egg. This is a saying that Vulcans believe in and thus are wont to repeat at times they think it's appropriate. We've seen Spock, T'Pol, and now (semi Vulcan) Burnham, use the expression when the situation involves sacrifice.
He says at the end - "I was not myself..." - controlled/influenced, it's an OLD Star Trek (and Science Fiction in general) trope. And yes, he did expect Burnham and Tyler to stay on the planet with him and 'commune' with the lifeforms (which is why he took and crushed their communicators) - so yeah, those things did happen in this episode.
Agreed. I took that statement by him to mean, not that he was controlled by another, but that because of the euphoria of being free of fear for the first time, he behaved in a manner that was uncharacteristic.
Sonequa and Jason were on a show here in the UK on Friday, so they showed a clip of Burham and Lorca. Afterwards one of the hosts was commenting on the sexual tension between the characters. The actors were so shocked. :lol:
I think Tyler and Burnham do show sexual tension. The question I have is, is it romantic as well?
Look...I enjoyed the ep...I'd give it a solid 8...But after the hype about people crying on set and David Mack's big-up it wasn't quite as amazing as I'd hoped!
I was a bit puzzled myself. Enjoyed the episode, especially the L'Rell and Kat part, but I was expecting a lot more emotion based on what Mack said, to the point that I was thinking it may be a two parter. Is it a two parter?
 
^The way the episode ended, I would say yes.

And yeah ... ummm, don't really see anything worth hyping - let alone crying about ... :confused:
 
And yeah ... ummm, don't really see anything worth hyping - let alone crying about ... :confused:

I cried at the end....because I thought the episode sucked. I was kind to give it a 5.

OK Discovery, you had your throw-away episode, now let's get back to some decent stories!
 
I overall enjoyed the episode, but it did feel weaker than the last few and pacing seemed off. The Klingon scenes were okay in plot terms, assuming L'Rell has a real plan that pays off, but the language continues to be an issue. It definitely feels like there were some bad editing choices and I don't understand why apparently number of scenes were cut when the result was so short. I get that it might have made pacing even worse but it's hard to judge without seeing the alternative. The fact that it was apparently more between Cornwell and L'Rell, which needed more conversation, feels like a poor choice, as does cutting a scene with Stamets and Culber when the effects of the spore drive are clearly going to be important going forward.
 
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