Spoilers Star Trek: Discovery 1x13 - "What's Past Is Prologue"

[lawman]

Doesn't mean [the Buran's descruction is] when Lorca switched over, he could have been on the Buran for a long time before that - he may even have brought about its destruction in order to get a post on Discovery with the spore drive.

Fair point, I guess. I'd just figured it would be most reasonable to assume that Lorca's universe-switch corresponded to the destruction of the ship, if only because that would be the point at which it would have been easiest for him to fake his way through the switch without detection. After all, if everyone who's known or worked with you any time recently is dead, you can get away with a lot more in terms of papering over minor personality inconsistencies. (Which, okay, would be very convenient for the writers, but they're not above that.) So if the Buran's destruction occurred early in the Klingon war (IIRC), wouldn't it have been easier just to have him mention a span of less than a year?

Further thought: on the MU side, maybe I'm misremembering, but weren't we previously told that it was Burnham and the Shenzou that were present for the battle after which Lorca was presumed dead — not the Charon, as in this episode's flashback? If so, that means the PU Lorca must have survived for at least some amount of time in the MU before its final destruction, also apparently without being detected as a substitute. How plausible is that? (And if we do accept it, does it increase the odds that he's managed to survive out there somewhere?)

Basically, the whole backstory on the switch is still seeming like an afterthought on the writers' part, which is frankly inexcusable.

Or he may have been saying "One year - strike that, 212 days to be accurate". Seven months of Lorca aboard the Discovery would suffice for our dramatic needs nicely enough.

Maybe. But that would be one really weirdly specific-yet-ambiguous bit of dialogue. Not the sort of thing an actual person would be likely to say, yet also not relevant to the plot, so one is just left wondering...

 

[Hythlodeus]

It also occurs that the Discovery brig is going to be a hell of a party. L'rell, Tyler, and mirror Georgiou all just sat around chatting. Like Waiting for Godot, but evil.

Like Huis Clos then? L'enfer c'est les autres?

 

[Tomalak]

Well Jason Isaacs kinda spoiled it on Twitter, but having watched it I still enjoyed the episode.

I assumed the tease about a temporal shift was going to be a reset button with Discovery popping up before the pilot, so I preferred the ending we got. I thought it was a satisfying conclusion to the MU arc, made perfect sense that Burnham would want to "save" Georgiou, and it's a fairly typical Starfleet response not to let someone die a pointless death, regardless of who they were.

Loved Saru in this one, he's really grown to be a captain. His motivational speech was pretty great - a big fuck you to Lorca's values and a nice reassertion of Starfleet ideals.

I thought Landry might be the Prime version. I guess the our Landry was just a complete idiot then. Oh well.

Lorca's plan didn't turn out to be too brilliant. Didn't he know where Georgiou's 'sanctuary' was? Michael found her pretty easily.

It's all gone a bit Yesterday's Enterprise with the finale. Saru was a bit of a drama queen in his assessment, as clearly the Klingons haven't won yet. I wonder how it's going to work out for them?

Clearly Georgiou is going to help them fight like Mirror Universe fascists, but I don't think this show is going to be about a military victory. L'Rell and Ashvoq are going to be pretty integral.

 

[cultcross]

Saru was a bit of a drama queen in his assessment, as clearly the Klingons haven't won yet.

The teaser for next week doesn't really line up with the ending of this week on that score. The Federation have no ability to respond to a signal, not even an automated beacon.... but actually are two thirds still armed and 80% unconquered? Based on what Saru saw, his assessment is accurate. But it seems that the show decided not to be quite so desperate after all.

 

[Tuskin38]

If you look at the map shown in the preview for next week's episode, the Klingons haven't taken much, but of the territory is on their border.

I think they're going to push them back and establish the Neutral Zone.

 

[Tim Thomason]

Yeah, Burnham is going to use all the generic knowledge (with appropriate flashback) she picked up from her six-second discussion with the Fire Wolf to convince the Klingons to stop fighting and try peace for the next nine years.

I'd like Dennas of the House of D'Ghor to be the next big Klingon baddie. It might be nice to have an evil woman dictator for a villain.

 

[Cyrus]

Those sentences don't sit well together, for me. A big temporal reset button as the solution? Even Doctor Who, a show about time travel avoids that one most of the time. I hope it isn't the ending, but I'm also pretty sure it is. The Federation being so defeated that they don't even answer by automated distress call? There's no way that's staying in the timeline.

i am not convinced a time travel is needed

Spoiler

Clips from next episode mention Klingons conquering 20% of Federation, and admiral Cornwell takes over Discovery, so Federation is still kicking and information that Discovery has about cloaking devices will help.

 

[Tuskin38]

The teaser for next week doesn't really line up with the ending of this week on that score. The Federation have no ability to respond to a signal, not even an automated beacon.... but actually are two thirds still armed and 80% unconquered? Based on what Saru saw, his assessment is accurate. But it seems that the show decided not to be quite so desperate after all.

They could have been out of range of any beacons that would have normally been there.

 

[Timo]

Lorca had a plan?

I mean, Lorca had Stamets. Stamets controlled the Palace. Was that the plan?

But either Lorca didn't have Stamets 100%, or Stamets didn't control the Palace 100%, considering the emergency transport and all.

Beyond that, I can't really see Lorca losing. He fought his way to the Throne, and had followers outside the Palace. As Georgiou said, this alone ought to suffice, as the subjects have now seen the previous Emperor demonstrate fatal weakness. So, little need for a plan beyond the long con that put Lorca inside the Palace alive and at relative liberty.

As for the UFP being a goner, well, we know that ships can get "outside communications range" pretty easily in Trek. If the former location of SB46 is deep within Klingon space now, it's only natural that most UFP subspace comms wouldn't reach that far. But going the extra nine yards and claiming with conviction that the silence is even more anomalous than the heroes can fathom is odd, and in need of explicit backpedaling.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[cultcross]

i am not convinced a time travel is needed

Spoiler

Clips from next episode mention Klingons conquering 20% of Federation, and admiral Cornwell takes over Discovery, so Federation is still kicking and information that Discovery has about cloaking devices will help.

There's no way they will ever synch that with the prime timeline though, and they've been harping on about how it will 'all fit together' for ages. I don't care that much if it doesn't, but a decent portion of their viewership will. There's also the Chekov's time machine they just introduced. That's there for a reason!

 

[Tim Thomason]

The teaser for next week doesn't really line up with the ending of this week on that score. The Federation have no ability to respond to a signal, not even an automated beacon.... but actually are two thirds still armed and 80% unconquered? Based on what Saru saw, his assessment is accurate. But it seems that the show decided not to be quite so desperate after all.

Vulcan, and possibly Andoria, appear to have been conquered (the trailer map will be deciphered soon). So, I assume Discovery just tried to contact a beacon from one of the conquered worlds.

Before this episode, I would assume that the Federation already lost 20% of its territory, so I see no issues.

 

[Tuskin38]

Discovery has the information on how to penetrate the Klingon cloak, so that will give them an advantage

 

[Cox of Seagulls]

When Stamets started mentioning time I was so sure they were going to end up in the 24th century. Kind of glad they didn't.

 

[Tomalak]

The teaser for next week doesn't really line up with the ending of this week on that score. The Federation have no ability to respond to a signal, not even an automated beacon.... but actually are two thirds still armed and 80% unconquered? Based on what Saru saw, his assessment is accurate. But it seems that the show decided not to be quite so desperate after all.

It's a fair point, but as Captain you'd think he'd try to be a little less alarmist until all the facts were established. But that's one of the things I like about Saru.

 

[Tuskin38]

Vulcan, and possibly Andoria, appear to have been conquered (the trailer map will be deciphered soon)

They haven't.

 

[Tomalak]

When Stamets started mentioning time I was so sure they were going to end up in the 24th century. Kind of glad they didn't.

Yeah I thought either back in time, before the war, or in the 25th century or something with Admiral Janeway on the screen.

 

[cultcross]

in the 25th century or something with Admiral Janeway on the screen.

And just like that I'd have had 45 minutes extra free time each week

 

[Tomalak]

And just like that I'd have had 45 minutes extra free time each week

Can you imagine the reaction online?

 

[Tosk]

And just like that I'd have had 45 minutes extra free time each week

Or maybe just 37.

 

[Longinus]

I was a bit bored. I went pretty much as I expected, aparth the Emperor abduction. Lorca turned out to be a one-note villain. Not what I wanted, but I was not surprised.

Glad that they're finally done with the mirror universe, not thrilled that they go into another dark timeline.

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