"Hey, chin up. I know the night just got darker. But it won't last forever." I felt it appropriate to start with this quote from Fallout 4, and we're thematically at a similar point in this season to where this quote was said in the game. During the data-upload sequence I was feeling a gradually building sense of dread and I knew this was going to be a big win for Control in the end. 54% is terrifying, no matter how we put it.
I wasn't even halfway through the episode where I already rated it 10 and I don't see any reason to retract it. It was dramatic, emotional and tense all the way through, and I've even felt glee when they were theorizing how to stop Control, because so many things were brought in as potential elements to their plan that I've thought about using (sending the Sphere's data to the future, using dark matter, etc). Not to mention a bit of pride when at least one bullet point of my theory came kind-of true about Dr. Burnham intentionally putting the Sphere in Discovery's path. My thoughts were racing with new theories and possibilities the whole time and it'll take quite a while to sort everything through.
I had no problems with the probably intentional parallels between Control and the Borg. It might already have access to the NX-01's databanks so it's possible it already knows about them, even if it didn't learn their name. It doesn't necessarily have to be a Borg origin story. Even before acquiring more than half of the Sphere's data, it was becoming smarter and more dangerous with every second, as was shown by his decision not to push Tyler too hard when he began suspecting something was up. Its chilling description of Leland's habit of moral compartmentalization reminded me of Nineteen Eighty-Four, specifically Double-Think. I found the parallels between the Inner Party and Section 31 frighteningly appropriate.
The last scene with Burnham and her mother was absolutely beautiful. I'm convinced I had something in my eye as she started to recount how she's seen the important moments of Burnham's life despite her hostility before. Now that she's seemingly gone, I wonder if the red bursts are caused by someone who takes her place 1000 years in the future. But now I think one thing's for sure: the Prime Timeline is the one where Control's eventual victory is averted. To erase everything Dr. Burnham has done would inevitably lead to Control destroying sentient life. So I think in the 'final', 'correct' timeline, Burnham will have survived into adulthood.
Observations:
- OMG, Saru just namedropped the Bibliotheca Corviniana! Finally, my country gets recognized in international media for things other than goulash, Béla Lugosi and right-wing populism.
- Count on Spock to use the native pronounciation for Lǎozǐ. I loved that bit.
- "Struggle is pointless." - it's almost like they wanted to make a parallel to the Borg but they didn't want it to be too obvious so they took a thesaurus to it. I honestly found it funny.
- Poor Tilly... I can't help but love how Saru doesn't even bother to tell her to shut up anymore and just goes back to the subject without a word. Other than this however, she's steadily retreating into Mandatory Line Mayweather territory and I definitely don't like this development.
a really bad idea
