Spoilers Star Trek: Discovery 4x11 - "Rosetta"

[Ghel]

So I sat on it for about 24 hours, and while the uneven pacing and space suit oddities aren't the best, they aren't really what is draining my interest in the end of the season. The problem is that most people familiar with sci-fi and Star Trek tropes already know the ending of this story. I hope I'm wrong, but this *feels* like the direction the season is headed which makes the pacing more paint by numbers rather than interesting character development:

*Possible spoilers (but not really since I know nothing about the future production)*
Series end. Book and Tarka follow Disco into the alien anomaly as time winds down. Though it's a close call, Burnham is successful in talking down the alien race. However, that isn't enough for Tarka who decides to destroy the "threat" anyway. Booker must choose between revenge for his race and new Federation ideals. After deep contemplation and a speech by Burnham about being your best self, Booker stops Tarka, returns Reno unharmed, and helps open up a new potential ally in the aliens. All his prior transgressions up to and including sabotage to Discovery are promptly forgiven.

The challenge with the end of this season is that I have simply been waiting for a variation on this conclusion for the past two weeks. Even the kidnapping of Reno in this episode doesn't really feel like much of a threat. I will watch to the end, and I hope I'm wrong (can I hope that they are setting up this predictable trope to throw us off a more creative season end?!?) but there is an awful lot of dialog and buildup to what appears to be a very threadbare plot. If your writing or plot falls out in big, doughy chunks, some revision may be needed.

 

[eschaton]

*Possible spoilers (but not really since I know nothing about the future production)*
Series end. Book and Tarka follow Disco into the alien anomaly as time winds down. Though it's a close call, Burnham is successful in talking down the alien race. However, that isn't enough for Tarka who decides to destroy the "threat" anyway. Booker must choose between revenge for his race and new Federation ideals. After deep contemplation and a speech by Burnham about being your best self, Booker stops Tarka, returns Reno unharmed, and helps open up a new potential ally in the aliens. All his prior transgressions up to and including sabotage to Discovery are promptly forgiven.

My issues with this is Tarka doesn't want to "destroy" 10-C. He doesn't give a crap about them really. He just wants the DMA knocked out to steal the power source so that he can go to whatever space heaven with his special friend. So they'd need to also establish that the DMA is absolutely needed in order for the species to survive, and they cannot (for some odd reason) build another one.

The challenge with the end of this season is that I have simply been waiting for a variation on this conclusion for the past two weeks. Even the kidnapping of Reno in this episode doesn't really feel like much of a threat. I will watch to the end, and I hope I'm wrong (can I hope that they are setting up this predictable trope to throw us off a more creative season end?!?) but there is an awful lot of dialog and buildup to what appears to be a very threadbare plot. If your writing or plot falls out in big, doughy chunks, some revision may be needed.

In general my feeling is ever since Michelle Paradise took over the reins fully at the start of Season 3 the show has made great steps forward when it comes to dialogue, characterization, and not having plots with holes so large you can drive a truck through them. The step back though is basically every plot point is derivative and repetitive of things we've seen before. It doesn't feel like the writing team are very creative, or particularly interested in SF in general.

 

[cooleddie74]

A soft 8.

Reno and learning more about Species 10-C and their chemical makeup elevated an otherwise ho-hum episode that didn't otherwise blow me away. It was nice to see the United Earth General and Book conspiring together and the former displaying appropriate fear and paranoia over the DMA threatening Earth.

 

[Quinton]

A soft 8.

Reno and learning more about Species 10-C and their chemical makeup elevated an otherwise ho-hum episode that didn't otherwise blow me away. It was nice to see the United Earth General and Book conspiring together and the former displaying appropriate fear and paranoia over the DMA threatening Earth.

It's been neat seeing you warm up to the show some more this year.

 

[captainkirk]

Did anyone else notice Dr. Hirai mentioning that Kovich introduced him to the "ancient Earth" puzzle? If they're not hinting at Kovich being a time-traveler then I don't know what they're building towards.

 

[cooleddie74]

This is the best season thus far. I've given the series credit when it knocks episodes out of the park or at least gives me solid entertainment. They've obviously been making more effort in Seasons 3 and 4 to make up for the general reaction to the first two seasons.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

I do like the Color Coded EV Suit design in general, although, it has too many glowing LED's embedded in places where it doesn't make sense and not enough basic Flash Lights built into the suits and placed where they need to be.

Also, SMG (Sonequa Martin-Green) knows how to hold a pistol properly and not "Flag" anybody with the muzzle on her team by lowering her pistol when turning past a team-mate.

HUGE Props to SMG for getting the basics/fundamentals of "SAFE" FireArms handling down right.

Doug Jones doesn't seem to know what he's doing and flags his entire team repeatedly.
That's a MAJOR safety protocol violation in the FireArms handling world, especially when he's under the affects of the empathic dust on the 10-C planet. One wrong move and he would've shot one of his allies.

 

[fireproof78]

Firearm safety in Star Trek?

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Firearm safety in Star Trek?

SMG did a good job, credit where credit is due.

Can't say the same about Doug Jones.

 

[captainkirk]

I do like the Color Coded EV Suit design in general, although, it has too many glowing LED's embedded in places where it doesn't make sense and not enough basic Flash Lights built into the suits and placed where they need to be.

Also, SMG (Sonequa Martin-Green) knows how to hold a pistol properly and not "Flag" anybody with the muzzle on her team by lowering her pistol when turning past a team-mate.

HUGE Props to SMG for getting the basics/fundamentals of "SAFE" FireArms handling down right.

Doug Jones doesn't seem to know what he's doing and flags his entire team repeatedly.
That's a MAJOR safety protocol violation in the FireArms handling world, especially when he's under the affects of the empathic dust on the 10-C planet. One wrong move and he would've shot one of his allies.

I was wondering why they had their phasers out constantly. I understand that they have to be prepared for anything, but considering they never had to fire them it feels like it would make narrative sense to holster their weapons once they realize they're hallucinating.

 

[fireproof78]

SMG did a good job, credit where credit is due.

Can't say the same about Doug Jones.

She did fine.

I don't expect it to be repeated.

I was wondering why they had their phasers out constantly. I understand that they have to be prepared for anything, but considering they never had to fire them it feels like it would make narrative sense to holster their weapons once they realize they're hallucinating.

So, people hallucinating and struggling with emotions should do the rational thing?

Got it. Duly noted.

 

[JoaquinSlowly]

Did anyone else notice Dr. Hirai mentioning that Kovich introduced him to the "ancient Earth" puzzle? If they're not hinting at Kovich being a time-traveler then I don't know what they're building towards.

It could be, but ‪‪I don’t think they’re building towards anything at all. I think it’s much simpler than that, and they’re just showing us who the character is.

Kovich is a Federation “cultural historian,” according to Cronenberg himself in a StarTrek.com interview from last November.

It’s why he was brought in for the Discovery crew’s debriefing/interrogation, and to deal with Georgiou, his expertise in the Federation’s past made him familiar with their native 23rd Century era, and the long inaccessible Mirror Universe.

A lover of history could easily be familiar with ancient Earth puzzles and pop culture references like “a three hour tour.”

 

[Deledrius]

I really do enjoy the fact that Discovery is taking advantage of the strategy DS9 employed to flesh out its world with recurring guests that appear as needed and slowly get developed into interesting people in their own rights. I do wish they'd spend more time with the secondary cast, but I'm still happy we've got a decent primary cast and an interesting recurring world of guests here in this new century.

 

[captainkirk]

It could be, but ‪‪I don’t think they’re building towards anything at all. I think it’s much simpler than that, and they’re just showing us who the character is.

Possible, but given the mention of his secret project, I'm not ruling anything out just yet.

 

[jackoverfull]

Aaaand...yet another filler episode for Discovery, where little of importance happens.

Instead of finally going for the missions they were given several episodes ago, burnham and friends go on a random planet and do drugs.

On other news, head of state commits treason for no reason at all, but only after saying she wants diplomacy tried first. As if discovery wasn’t trying to try destroy the power source if diplomacy failed anyway. I guess she trust burnham but only so much.

And we got an hostage. Whoooo, thrilling.

What irks me the most is that they are again operating under the assumption that the universal translator won’t work and the 10c would be incomprehensible. I’m sure they will be proven right (they always are) abs that love will be what saves them or whatever, but they have zero reason to assume this: Starfleet has dealt with extragalactic aliens before, the translator always worked fine and their psychology was often less alien than many “closer” alien we know of.

Ah, and Adira suddenly has a crush on Detmer. Because.

Discovery is really trying me this year and airing together with a splendid Picard episode doesn’t to it any favor. 5.

Forgot to mention: the supposedly most intelligent man in the galaxy can’t figure out a way to get in the bubble, so decides to catch a ride on discovery, knowing they will. Right.

 

[jackoverfull]

Where is the oxygen supply?

Replicated on the spot.

Why are there no waste-collection undergarments bulging out?

it’s turned to energy on the spot.

Why are there lights on the insides of the helmets interfering with peripheral vision?

stupid light inside helmets Hollywood trope.

Okay, so everything is programmable matter-this and programmable matter-that. That must take vast amounts of energy. Are batteries now atom-sized?

probably. I mean, the TAS EV belts in 23rd century are supposed to be canon and they are far less believable than these suits anyway...

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Ah, and Adira suddenly has a crush on Detmer. Because.

I don't think it's a crush, so much as admiration for a "Big Sister" figure.

Adira is the "Baby" of the family with a bunch of "Big Sisters" on the cast.

Look at the age range:
- Michelle Yeoh as Philipa Georgiou is 59 y/o
- Tig Notaro as Jet Reno is 50 y/o
- Oyin Oladejo as Joann Owosekun is 37 y/o
- SMG (Sonequa Martin-Green) as Michael Burnham is 36 y/o
- Mary Wiseman as Sylvia Tilly is 36 y/o
- Emily Coutts as Keyla Detmer is 32 y/o
- Blu del Barrio as Adira Tal is only 24 y/o

 

[Guy Gardener]

I just noticed that the President is a Quasi-Cardassian Totalitarian.

 

[Amaris]

S04E11, "Rosetta"

Pros:
* Visuals are fantastic.
* Saru/T'Rina Ship proceeding as planned.
* Jett Reno is always a pro.
* "Nothing like coming home to an unexpected hostage, am I right?" - Jett Reno, flawlessly delivered.
* Obligation.

Cons:
* Plot has stalled

Ruminations:
I vote we rename the series Star Trek: Empathy, and I mean that in the very best way. This show has spent significant effort in getting these characters to connect with one another on a more than superficial level. The writers clearly seek to explore that other vast frontier: the human heart. I enjoy watching them explore human empathy, and its often maligned child: fear.

This episode explored both of those using some valid scientific foundations, and using that science to delve into the realm of the philosophical. I approve of this and I'm glad there is a show doing this. Too many shows focus so heavily on creating human set pieces that we don't get to explore what makes them human, and Discovery has struck hard at the concept, and I hope they continue.

The only downside I can see is that it has caused the plot to essentially stall. They're dragging this season out in something that could have been accomplished inside of a trio of episodes, quite frankly, and that's with room to breathe. That would be my one real issue at this point in the story. We're in the penultimate episodes, and things still feel like a leisurely pace.

Still, that concern aside, there are many pluses for me, so this episode gets an 8/10.

 

[ToyBoxComix]

Communicating via powdered emotions is very on-brand for Discovery.