"The USS Discovery is evacuated as Captain Pike prepares to self-destruct the vessel. The USS Enterprise arrives to combat the Section 31 vessels surrounding Discovery." - Memory Alpha
This season delivers again by giving us its take on Captain Pike's ultimate fate. We knew it was coming but for many it was still hard to watch. Was it a bit shoehorned in? For some it was, and the way it was handled creates some issues. First, why can't he just walk away from it? And second, since he supposedly can't, he'll have to go on living his life and doing his job knowing what's yet to come. It will always be in the back of his mind and ours. Mount played it well and you can hear and feel how shaken Pike was, well after the fact back on the ship. Now it remains to be seen how he'll continue to deal with it, in this and possibly the next episode, or even in the future spinoff that everyone is clamoring for. It also remains to be seen if Pike-in-the-chair™ becomes a popular cosplay thing at conventions. I don't know if it ever was but I can see it happening now, and if it does, we have Disovery and Mount to thank for making it so.
Nice dress uniform, by the way. Color it maroon and it would make a nice updated version of the movie uniforms.
And finally, the big event that everyone's been looking forward to for a while now… The Enterprise returns, bridge and all. It's amazing how we're basically getting a new episode of a 55-year old failed pilot. Trek has come a long way. Will we finally see Spock clean-shaven and back in uniform tonight? Hopefully. He's wasted enough of his vacation time on this Red Angel business. Will we also see more of the crew from "The Cage"? Possibly but maybe they're saving that for another time, like the future spinoff that everyone is clamoring for.
