Spoilers Star Trek: Discovery 4x03 - "Choose to Live"

[Lord Garth]

Not a lot of time, so quick and dirty:

1. I love how they were able to take the Qowat Milot and use them in a very Discovery way.
2. Love the new lounge area.
3. Glad to see Gray finally corporal.
4. Book on Ni'Var was interesting. Seeing such an un-Vulcan character interact with Vulcans without their being a conflict felt refreshing. I'm glad they didn't go the Spock/McCoy route.
5. Stamets was definitely a fish out of water on Ni'Var.
6. I called it. Ni'Var will rejoin the Federation.

I give it a 9.

Less quick-and-dirty when I'm not on a rush.

 

[cooleddie74]

A solid 9. The Qowat Milat stuff can get tiresome fast if carried on too long but it worked here, it was a very Trek plot of saving an endangered species from destruction and everyone more or less came off looking good in this episode. I liked it a lot and at no point was I ever bored. Gray getting his new Synth body was pretty sweet, too.

 

[tomalak301]

I believe that the character was doing that to herself, as a natural progression of her doubts about her abilities and her place on the ship.
She went from Cadet to Number 1 to Lieutenant all in space of perhaps a year or two.
(plus losing her mother as a cranky old sounding board)

It is very much a lot to take in.

She was falling back on her silliness as a way to cope with all the changes that have happened since they got to the 32nd century.

Hopefully you are right and the rewards will be fulfilling. Right now though, it's a bit of a struggle.

 

[Yistaan]

Not really true. Book worked through more of his trauma related to losing his home/family, and Tilly is working towards figuring out...whatever she feels discontented about.

There was absolutely no forward movement in the main plot of the season though. It's most assuredly not an intriguing mystery box this season, which is different than seasons 2/3 (which were initially interesting, then didn't really pan out).

I just can't really buy Book's agony over a person who he was on very bad terms with and a kid he for the first time and then met all of a handful of times last season. Note he doesn't even seem to have any parents or anyone else he seems to miss, and this was a world he walked out on due to the Emerald Chain long ago. It all feels very forced to me.

 

[trek.]

This one is a solid episode though I coudn't care less about the Gray story. Also, why has tilly regressed to being far more irritating again?

edit spelling.

 

[Campe]

I just can't really buy Book's agony over a person who he was on very bad terms with and a kid he for the first time and then met all of a handful of times last season. Note he doesn't even seem to have any parents or anyone else he seems to miss, and this was a world he walked out on due to the Emerald Chain long ago. It all feels very forced to me.

Family. My sister and I have never been particularly close. We’re civil but have definitely had more than a few issues over the decades. But if she needed me there, I’d be on the first flight I could.

 

[Yistaan]

I actually took a look at Book's memory alpha article and just remembered--

Booker was born after the Burn to a family of "killers" and "poachers." However, Booker said that occasionally someone like himself is born into his family as some sort of "balance," and that his relatives no longer welcome him.

It's like the writers don't even remember what they wrote last season. These are the people Book misses so much?

Family. My sister and I have never been particularly close. We’re civil but have definitely had more than a few issues over the decades. But if she needed me there, I’d be on the first flight I could.

After my brother inflicted a hazing attack on me 2 years ago, he's banned from any contact with me or my wife on threat of filing a restraining order. And he's not some societal failure, but a medical doctor, and I made it clear any attempt at further contact and I'm letting the medical board know what kind of guy he is and he could lose his license to practice medicine.

I don't have any evidence he treats his patients the way he did me but sometimes I wonder.

 

[fireproof78]

Family. My sister and I have never been particularly close. We’re civil but have definitely had more than a few issues over the decades. But if she needed me there, I’d be on the first flight I could.

Same here. People truly misunderstand how much a small connection can mean. But, that is the nature of people.

Honestly, there are people I've known for a week but went through some deep emotional stuff that I would react similarly too. Some were not great to me but I still hold them with a measure of value.

Emotional connections are not always logical, no matter what Star Trek fans would like to believe about the world.

 

[eschaton]

I just can't really buy Book's agony over a person who he was on very bad terms with and a kid he for the first time and then met all of a handful of times last season. Note he doesn't even seem to have any parents or anyone else he seems to miss, and this was a world he walked out on due to the Emerald Chain long ago. It all feels very forced to me.

It's his friggin homeworld. He might be the last of his species for all we know.

 

[cooleddie74]

Tilly is being affected by something. It's been hinted at since the first episode of the season and her flakiness in this story might be related to something that's happening to her body or mind or both.

 

[Yistaan]

He might be the last of his species for all we know.

That actually brings me to another point. While I'm not exactly buying Book's angst given everything he told us about his people being "poachers" and "killers", I am shocked at the lack of angst from Rillak and Vance considering they said they're in the process of recreating the spore drive and you think the annihilation of an entire species (maybe the only species) that can use the spore drive would be a bigger deal in regards to their Federation rebuild plans.

 

[Finn]

I enjoyed it.

those aliens....look familiar though.

 

[Yistaan]

I enjoyed it.

those aliens....look familiar though.

I actually thought for a moment when they talked about the moon escaping a supernova that we finally were going to get closure on the Remans, who were MIA in Unification III. I guess we'll just assume now they were wiped out by the supernova.

 

[Amaris]

I trudged through this one.

3/10.

(2 of those points are for Tilly dropping the sword)

 

[SG-17]

It's his friggin homeworld. He might be the last of his species for all we know.

Kwejian aren't human/near-human?


Anyway for a hot minute I thought the cryo aliens might have been Iconians and the Anomaly was eventually going to be revealed as a weapon or something of their's.

 

[cooleddie74]

Now THAT would be cool.

I hope the writers this season do something at least that interesting with this whole anomaly thing. The Iconians would be a great twist.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

That actually brings me to another point. While I'm not exactly buying Book's angst given everything he told us about his people being "poachers" and "killers", I am shocked at the lack of angst from Rillak and Vance considering they said they're in the process of recreating the spore drive and you think the annihilation of an entire species (maybe the only species) that can use the spore drive would be a bigger deal in regards to their Federation rebuild plans.

I guess they'll have to re-create the genetic modifications that Stamets did and mass produce them along with the interface.

 

[DarKush]

This episode had literally no role for the "bridge furniture" did it? I'm not sure we even saw the bridge once, so it makes sense why we didn't see Owo/Detmer/Rhys/Bryce. How often (outside of DS9) has an episode gone by with no bridge scenes?

I think this season could have been more effective if they had some additional "uptime" characters transfer onto the ship and deal with the culture shock/generally stink up the joint, since the core crew has gotten too congenial for my tastes. So far, it's just the Federation president, and a bunch of familiar faces - sort of a "Season 3 greatest hits."

With your second paragraph I disagree with you slightly, only in that I wish that had happened last season. I think last season could've benefited from some time jumps and a less tight storyline as well to allow for them to explore some of that culture shock. And I still don't get why Willa (?) isn't aboard Discovery yet? I think she would make for an interesting security officer or first officer.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

It seems like security for hostile invaders beaming on board hasn't improved.

There are no automated defense systems.

 

[cultcross]

I've fixed the poll. Please my friends, choose to vote.