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

[keoluperalto]

... so what's up with that thing on the back of his neck? The admiral's friend, expert dude ... and the tense vibe around Book when called out on the DMA ... I swear, this whole thing of it being 'man made' has something to do with experiments around recreating 23rd century spore drive technology.
Which, clearly, the 32nd century Starfleet had no database knowledge of until Discovery popped into existence.

Somebody bounce it back ... I'm dying here! lol

 

[keoluperalto]

pretty much everyone, it’s the biggest criticism around about the new uniforms. The commbadges used by the cadets were much better in this regard, I hope they all switch to those next season.


Sure: a diagnostic that goes deeper than level 1! Easy!

It’s a callback to the original Star Trek pilots, both Kirk and pike do it. I kinda like it.
I hope not. Control needs to be forgotten.

... oh gawwd. Can we just not. If they recycle Control as some kind of manmade version of the DMA, I'mma sit this season out.

 

[cooleddie74]

Resurrecting Control would be the biggest cop-out yet for the series and this show turned Gabriel Lorca from an intensely interesting and complex man into a Mirror Universe bad guy. I'd hope the writers have learned their lesson after four years but...sigh.

 

[eschaton]

... so what's up with that thing on the back of his neck? The admiral's friend, expert dude ... and the tense vibe around Book when called out on the DMA ... I swear, this whole thing of it being 'man made' has something to do with experiments around recreating 23rd century spore drive technology.
Which, clearly, the 32nd century Starfleet had no database knowledge of until Discovery popped into existence.

Somebody bounce it back ... I'm dying here! lol

It's a reference to the slave devices the Emerald Chain uses. We saw an intact one in Scavengers last season.

 

[Vger23]

The season 4 trend is a very slow, gradual, barely noticeable creep upward. Each episode gets just a little better. So, this was my favorite one of the season, and the first to break the "8/10" barrier.

It still feels like a run-of-the-mill TNG episode (as did last week), so I'm conflicted. But, the story on this one was tight and it is elevated by the guest cast, who were all tremendous.

PROS:
1. The Risa Scientist Guy was fantastic. It's always fun when they have strong egos and personalities to bounce off of Reno and Stamets.
2. The Prison Guy was straight out of a TNG episode, but he was pretty awesome.
3. I liked getting back to the anomaly. The experiment was fun and interesting. Obviously, it's Nagilum or V'Ger.
4. We finally get more of Culber and Stamets together.
5. We didn't have to gut through any of Adira and Gray
6. Vance had some more time, as did Big Glasses Guy played by Famous Director Dude
7. Burnham telling that Magistrate to go crap in the warp core at the end of the episode was fantastic
8. Saru being Saru....love it.

CONS:
1. I'm tired of Book being a baby.
2. I'm not surprised or wildly disappointed, but I was hoping the DMA would be a naturally-occuring phenomenon
3. I miss Tilly, but in all honesty, this episode felt tighter and more focused because without Tilly, Adira and Gray, they could focus on 4-5 main characters and the 2 key guests, and it felt much more natural and cohesive than when they try to give everyone something to do.
4. I've started to dread the obligatory Michael and Book scenes. I can't explain why...but I wish they had made a different choice here other than "let's have the captain do missions with her boyfriend rather then members of the crew"
5. I can't come up with a fifth thing right now, other than maybe...as much as I liked this....it still has drifted so far from the earlier DSC tone and so far toward "wanna be TOS/TNG" that I both love it and hate it simultaneously for that.

Overall, a highly competent and fairly entertaining hour of television...but nothing overly engaging or super-exciting. Elevated to an 8 purely on the strength of the guest cast and the absence of A and G this week.

EDIT: My biggest worry is, if they are going with this "episodic problem of the week overlayed on a light serialized storyline" format (which it seems they are)...what happens when SNW comes on the air and is basically exactly the same thing? I thought the whole idea of multiple shows at once was to have them all be distinctive from each other in significant ways. DSC S4 has felt more what I would expect SNW to feel like.

 

[Jayson1]

New theory. The anomaly was created by Androids. I mean where are all the androids in the future. This will tie into the AL that is used on the ship that can now express feelings.

 

[Photoman15]

Well, there ya go. The Risan guy and Stammets tried again. Discovery goes into the Mycelium network and they have to eject the test which does not shut down. That's how it can appear/disappear. It changes direction looking for Stammets/Risan Guy. Stammets feels REALLY, REALLY bad about Books' planet now.

 

[Vger23]

New theory. The anomaly was created by Androids. I mean where are all the androids in the future. This will tie into the AL that is used on the ship that can now express feelings.

Androids suck. I like synths, cyborgs, robots, and replicants better.

 

[Jayson1]

Androids suck. I like synths, cyborgs, robots, and replicants better.

What about Terminators? They can be nice if you reprogram them.

 

[Vger23]

What about Terminators? They can be nice if you reprogram them.

Oh, definitely. I've accounted for them in the cyborg category.

 

[Jayson1]

Also got to factor in nanites and droids.

 

[TimeIsAPredator]

Well, there ya go. The Risan guy and Stammets tried again. Discovery goes into the Mycelium network and they have to eject the test which does not shut down. That's how it can appear/disappear. It changes direction looking for Stammets/Risan Guy. Stammets feels REALLY, REALLY bad about Books' planet now.

It is possible that the experiments are the cause in some weird time loopy kind of way. More likely that the welwala scientist created the first one as an attempt at a new energy source for the chain

 

[1001001]

That was pretty good. I'm glad to see Reno, she's one of my favorites.

I miss Tilly though.

8

 

[Locutus of Bored]

New theory. The anomaly was created by Androids.

Can they be giant space fetus Nagilum androids?

 

[TimeIsAPredator]

Can they be giant space fetus Nagilum androids?

Maybe Nagilum, Decker and Ilia had a child and the DMA is a baby

 

[Jayson1]

Can they be giant space fetus Nagilum androids?

Maybe. Nagilum makes love with V'Ger. Nagilum becomes with children of androids. Our minds are blown and Discovery ends on a great episode or episodes. I noticed TimeisApRedator beat me to it. I guess I got to toss in another idea. Guardian of Forever and Nagilum have fallen in love. Same result.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Maybe Nagilum, Decker and Ilia had a child and the DMA is a baby

And inside the DMA are are "crew of a thousand, ten miles tall" cute Lil' Nagilum-bots with a red light in their throat and an uncomfortably visible bulge.

 

[shapeshifter]

The Emissary has had enough of non-linear time and he wants out?

I kept expecting Sisko to step out of the experiment and thank them for opening the way.

And David Cronenberg's Kovich, started off looking like an older and wiser Odo but now, now it seems he is channeling Rene for Odo's mannerism and speech patterns!

Laughs, drama, excitement. It's got it all. 9

 

[cooleddie74]

Kovich could be the new Garak if they try, only with the emotionless, dry way Cronenberg plays Kovich we'll never get too much emotional satisfaction out of his role.

 

[Jayson1]

Discovery which now has a AI controlling the computer system is talked into killing the crew and replacing them with robot replacements. The fate of the universe comes down to Burnham fighting a robot copy of herself on the bridge. Thankfully Culber has been getting in touch with his counseling skills and is able to talk the ship down from killing the crew with the robots.

Meanwhile Stamets and the new scientist are able to create a stable wormhole that sucks Nagilum and V'Ger into a distant galaxy. Adira is killed sort of in a fight with They's robot copy but when the robot is shutdown after Burnham kicks the ass of her copy the Doctor is able to transfer They's body into the robot copy were Adira and Gray now both have a shared experience of dying and then coming back as robots.

The Federation President invites the crew to speak in front of the Federation council. At which point they all get up and give a standing ovation to Burnham for her heroic ability to save the galaxy again. Book learns to move on and joins Starfleet. He is the new bridge officer replacing Tilly who comes back to say she wants to stay at the Academy because she thinks it's cool they are giving her a tv show to do it.