Spoilers Star Trek: Discovery 4x05 - "The Examples"

Btw, I had real trouble understanding some of Reno's lines, and some of the stuff Burnham and Book said on the asteroid

 

My current theory is that he's going to be a recurring character going forward this year, the real Ahab of sorts that Book almost becomes before it's all over.

The creators of the DMA believed firmly in what they were doing, either incapable of comprehending what it means to life in our dimension (or whatever the rift is between us) or so convinced in the honorable intentions of their actions (recreating their own universe, perhaps?) that this is ultimately a recipe for a huge "we need to find a way to understand each other" showdown.

But our newfound frenemy will keep experimenting, with Book by his side, and he's going to attempt to create an anti-DMA DMA of sorts with the intention of using it against the other side in the season finale. Michael has to break through to Book, who puts an end to the madness, in the middle of tense negotiations with this unknown assailant. We'll find out there are a ton of innocent lives on that end of the equation as well, or something to that sympathetic effect.

 

New guy is Walter Bishop?

 

We don't know. I can tell ya my roommates are already nervous. They're both tremendous Tilly fans. One just asked me if Wiseman's temporarily out due to health issues or something. lol

 

A beautiful fringe realization.

 

‪‪I really enjoyed this one overall. Michael Greyeyes is always excellent, as he was here as Felix. ‪‪I feel like Olatunde Osunsanmi may have accidentally let a little bit of a hint about the DMA slip at the end of tonight’s chat at NYC’s 92nd Street Y ahead of the episode, as @Quinton called in the General Disco Chat thread. Ruon Tarka, Stamets, Reno and Saru’s scenes were a lot of fun while moving the season arc forward.

And Culber and Kovich’s meeting was a powerful one, Wilson Cruz was fantastic, and ‪‪I could feel Hugh’s emotions in that scene. It hit really close to home. Survivor’s guilt is real, and it can at times be debilitating.

 

Haha, yeah.

It's too soon to tell, but I'm feeling pretty good about that theory thread I made last month. Everything boiling down to a colossal misunderstanding on both sides. Perhaps the DMA creators are nigh-incapable of understanding what this is doing to us, but Burnham must find a way to fix that. Or perhaps we're oblivious to what we're doing to them, and they are acting out in self-defense; though that's maybe too on-the-nose with the JaSepp from season 2.

In any case, I'll be shocked if Ruon doesn't become the devil on Book's shoulder.

 

This is my favorite episode of the season, for a whole host of reasons I'm too tired to post right now. I'm going and ahead and giving it the 10.

 

I'll probably like it more on rewatch. I'm one of those weirdos whose opinion on media tends to improve with a second viewing, rather than depreciate.

It's still a very solid 7, but there was something off about the directing/editing to me on first watch? Some skips and hiccups, and some big weight on certain dialogue from the non-Felix prisoners that felt sorta awk.

Regardless, I love where it leads!

 

Another perfectly solid episode of Discovery. It's not great, but it absolutely isn't bad. Its probably a 7.5. I thank the A,B and C plots worked better this week, and all the primary actors of the episode did solid work. Not bad.

 

So given the current year of Season 4 of DISCO is in 3190.
That makes the last known contact of the Q with the UFP/StarFleet to be stated in 2590.
That's very late 26th century, almost 27th century once the years go to 2600.

2399 - Star Trek: Picard S1 - Show Starts

I guess Q must've gotten bored of Humanity or something.

 

‪‪I think ‪‪you were definitely on to something there! ‪‪I think ‪‪I took the things the creators said about the season being inspired somewhat by the pandemic, and the anomaly itself being likened to a force of nature, a bit too literally. ‪‪They did emphasize that it was inspired by the pandemic, but not really a direct translation/metaphor for it, and ‪‪in retrospect the “force of nature,” descriptor is meant in terms of scope, not in terms of origin.

With what Olatunde Osunsanmi said I’m curious to see how the creators of the DMA feel justified, exaclty, and if it’s a matter of total misunderstanding/ignorance of its ill effects, or just a matter of a difference in perspective.

‪‪I mean, once his best buddy Picard dies, what’s there to go back and bug humanity for?

 

I'm sure JLP can't be the only human that Q finds interesting.

 

Why not just beam them into the turbolift chasm?

 

Poll's open now, if you want to vote.

@Commander Richard , for future reference, you might as well just set the poll to open the day before the episode airs. Yeah, some idiot might be tempted to vote negatively (or positively) before seeing the episode, but so what? It's not like this is some kind of crucial scientific polling we need precise data on. We can just disregard a couple bad faith votes.

Anyway, I gave this episode a '9'. Probably my favorite of the season so far.

 

Great episode. I gave it a 9. BTW, what was on the back of Ruon's neck? Was that a sign that he has a terminal illness or was that the sign that he had one of the Parasites from the TNG episode "Conspiracy"? If it was one of the Parasites, did he infect Book with it through the whiskey?

 

This was a well written episode with emotional depth and psychological and philosophical complexity.

The Akaali struck me as an appealing civilization in the Star Trek Enterprise episode and I was glad to see it revisited. Their kangaroo court and draconian punishments for prisoners are hopefully not universal, though I like the electronic family tree.

I’d like to see them give the bridge crew more front and center moments like they did with Rhys. Give Nilsson a first name, for a start.

I really enjoyed Ruan Tarka, the misfit Risan scientist. Stamets could use another mad scientist buddy. The Q Continuumnis the obvious culprit here.

 

The Conspiracy parasites were noted by a spike/stinger on the back of the neck, so ‪‪I don’t believe that was the intention of drawing attention to the mark on the back of Tarka’s neck here.

‪‪I thought it was probably a reference to the Emerald Chain’s neck-implants, he did mention that he’d endured the Chain’s neural locks to Stamets, and he’s working with Aurellio, so he maybe it’s hinting at him being motivated by vengeance against the remnants of the Chain?

Or maybe, thematically connecting to the storyline on the colony’s surface with the rescue of the prisoners, the prisoners ask the Federation why they didn’t do anything before now, perhaps the emphasis on Tarka’s neck was to bring up his past abuses at the hands of the Chain, and a similar resentment towards the Federation?

 

I enjoyed it. I always wanted to see the Malcorians and that alien race from The Communicator in ENT too. I believe the race was never named. They definitely should have been going to the stars for centuries by the 32nd.

It would be nice to see the Mintakans, but they should be still prewarp...unless the Emerald Chain got to them...