This one gets a
7 from me this week. (I almost gave it a 6, but the stuff with Amanda and Pike caused me in the end to bump it up one.)
Liked:
- That Amanda STOLE Spock's medical records when SB5 woul;dn't give even his own mother any info
- That Burnham (even though conflicted) still followed protocol and Reported this all to Pike
- Pike didn't just immediately jump to "Okay, open teh file up"; he also stuck to trhe book, made everyone aware of the ramifications; and tried hard to go through proper channels to get some actual info...
- That Pike ultimately (because of his relationship with Spock for years; and knowing Spock well) didn't believe the story being spun by his Starfleet peer at SB5 and agreed Burnham should hack the file and see what's there.
- Michelle Yeoh in general. She was the ONE bright spot in all this episodes Klingon nonsense (I'll get to the Klingon stuff in the "Disliked" portion of this post). I LOVED her treatment of and speech to L'Rell after she saved them; and I LOVED the subtle looks and body language she was giving on the Section 31 ship When Tyler was holding his Klingon son and she knew he wasn't paying attention to her. If they give her a "Section 31" series I'll enthusiastically watch it.
- That they're taking steps to retcon a lot of the changes to the Klingons (including the D7 - even though as others have stated, they had a Starfleet computer mention it was a 'D7' that was tractoring and captured Lorca's shuttle in a S1 episode; but hey, it's not like Star Trek hasn't had and done similar stuff in other franchise series. So it's a wash here for me.)
Annoyed:
- That Michael won't just come out and point blank tell Amanda exactly what she did/said to create a rift with Spock (Yes, I'm sure it will come out in a BIG "surprise" reveal at some point
); because if there's ONE person she should/could tell it to at this point with the story the Doctors are spinning bout Spock) it's her foster (and Spock's Human) mother. (I did like the way they did Amanda's response to Micheal admitting she did something terrible - but not willing to state exactly what, as it left me with the impression that it may have created a small rift between Micheal and Amanda - and Burnham appeared to pick that possibility up as well.)
- The resolution to the whole "Tilly/Spore Infection" subplot (that started at the end of S1). Like others above have said, I too wished that they had gone with "It's an aspect of a 'Red Angel' communicating with her" rather than the old and oft used Trek trope of, "Hey, it's another weird alien just manipulating her mind...". I get why they did it as it throws Stamets' belief that "Definitely, Hugh is somewhere 'alive' in the Mycelial network..." - but for me, tying it more directly to the whole "Red Angel" aspect would have been more satisfying.
Disliked:
- The whole "Discovery Klingon Politics Arc™". At this point I really wish they'd drop the whole damn thing down a toilet and flush it. It also shows in glaring detail that Shazad Latif can't act (although to be fair to him, maybe it was his reaction to the crap material he was given here in the script.) Also, for a Klingon Warrior and one whose House is known for being excellect Spies; she sure acts like an idiot in that IF she knows (and it appears she did) once she goes to Kol to "save" her child; and signs the "Transfer of Council Power" form (although WTF happened to just openly CHALLENGING an unworthy Leader?); she has made NO PLAN to save herself or Tyler (Hell, she doesn't even use the 'threat' of blowing up Q'nos in any way); and 'luckily' The Terran Empress is there to pull her ass out of the fire. (This DID lead to a GREAT scene and speech I loved by Michelle Yeoh, but still you'd think a Spy from a long house of Spies; and someone who now leads an Empire would have SOME brains...Oh, wait, she did actually say to the Klingon High Council - "Call me MOTHER!" (My reaction to that scene/line:
)
^^^
But hey, maybe this is WHY by the 24th century Gowron says: "Women may not serve on the Council..."
<--- So, yeah, if they go down this path, I hope the show L'Rell blowing it big time (and she's well on her way here IMO) - but in the end, I wish they'd just DROP and BURY this particular "Discovery Klingon Politics Arc™" and never mention it again. I also pray they NEVER show either Kor of Kang (those are the only two TOS era Klingons worth mentioning - and Micheal Ansara's performance of "Kang" in TOS - "The Day Of The Dove" is the BEST Klingon portrayal in the TOS era IMO - I really pray they don't use that character and f**k him up.)
