Spoilers Star Trek: Discovery 5x07 - "Erigah"

[Rahul]

The Moll/La'k dynamic in particular is reminding me more and more of Ruon Tarka's (potentially platonic) romance with his "friend." Moll is willing to let the galaxy burn to be reunited with her love, just like he was.

That is true - even the main antagonists' motivation comes down to "connection" (the writers favourite word). On one hand I like this - people care more about the ones immediately around them, to the point of letting the whole world go to shit over it. It feels more personal than political goals or pure revenge as motivation. On the other hand - both these relationships are undercooked at best, and the sci-fi twist - resurrecting the dead, or travelling to a parallel universe to the partner - edges very hard on my suspension of disbelief.

I do however very much like the Breen as antagonists. Yeah, the power scale is way off, and they're not very deep developed. However I think they come across very well as pretty mean guys, no-nonsense attitude, with a clear goal, but not immediately go to galactic war or cartoonish over-the-top villainy. I think they work pretty good as the "evil" threat in the background, like the Nazis or Soviets in Indiana Jones, or the Klingons on TOS & the Romulans & Cardassians on TNG.

 

[Yistaan]

So did Star Trek, with the relaunch books in the late 90s, early 2000s. And the powers that be tossed it all in the dustbin because of the new shows.

That was different as idw didn't really tie in with those and star trek online definitely didn't. Compare that with say the mmo the old republic

 

[fireproof78]

I don't see how this is any different from what we saw in TNG often, where it seemed like there were never more than a handful of ships available save for perhaps the battle of Wolf 359.

Trek has always, always massively screwed up the sense of scale of interstellar powers, the number of ships they should have available, the size of offworld colonies, etc.

Probably due to budget and not expecting people to analyze their fleet movements like a foreign intelligence agency.

 

[Yistaan]

I don't see how this is any different from what we saw in TNG often, where it seemed like there were never more than a handful of ships available save for perhaps the battle of Wolf 359.

Trek has always, always massively screwed up the sense of scale of interstellar powers, the number of ships they should have available, the size of offworld colonies, etc.

Well the Fed is still recovering from the Burn so here there is an in-universe reason.

It hasn't gotten quite as bad as the new SW movies yet, where literally all the New Republic's fleet is conveniently stationed at Hosnian so they can all be taken out in one go, and then happens AGAIN 2 movies later where all the First/Final Order's fleet is conveniently at Exegol so they can all be taken out in one go.

 

[Tuskin38]

I see Shin Hati from Ahsoka.

It’s real big coincidence. Both shows filmed at roughly the same time

 

[Tuskin38]

Interview with the actor who plays L’ak

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[Yistaan]

Interview with the actor who plays L’ak

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So does the press the actor's doing prove "He's dead Jim"?

 

[Jag2112]

Screencaps gallery now online:

https://www.cygnus-x1.net/links/lcars/sc-DSC5-7.php

 

[eschaton]

Well the Fed is still recovering from the Burn so here there is an in-universe reason.

It hasn't gotten quite as bad as the new SW movies yet, where literally all the New Republic's fleet is conveniently stationed at Hosnian so they can all be taken out in one go, and then happens AGAIN 2 movies later where all the First/Final Order's fleet is conveniently at Exegol so they can all be taken out in one go.

On maxim I've come to believe is true in fiction is the bigger the characters, the smaller the world.

The more you make it so that the protagonists can solve every issue (even those of epic scope), and repeatedly run into a recurring cast of characters, the more small and stagey the setting feels.

This is one reason (aside from being so unformed) the TOS universe felt so big and wild. Kirk almost never met the same characters twice, and was basically dealing with crises of the week on a single solar system or planet. It made it feel like there the rest of the dozen connies had room to have adventures just as wild that remained just beyond the camera's reach.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Not really, in past Trek's there would have at least been believable reasons behind things happening.

Now pull the other leg.

 

[Yistaan]

On maxim I've come to believe is true in fiction is the bigger the characters, the smaller the world.

The more you make it so that the protagonists can solve every issue (even those of epic scope), and repeatedly run into a recurring cast of characters, the more small and stagey the setting feels.

This is one reason (aside from being so unformed) the TOS universe felt so big and wild. Kirk almost never met the same characters twice, and was basically dealing with crises of the week on a single solar system or planet. It made it feel like there the rest of the dozen connies had room to have adventures just as wild that remained just beyond the camera's reach.

What about Dr. Who, whose 60 year run has depended solely on one character?

 

[cooleddie74]

Even Trek's "believable" reasons for things happening aren't believable.

 

[Tuskin38]

Nhan's makeup seemed to be less detailed than in her earlier appearances.

 

[cooleddie74]

Didn't they let her Barzan breathing apparatus be removed now that she's in the late 32nd century and she no longer needs it thanks to newer technology? I thought that was the only thing they changed.

 

[Tuskin38]

She still has devices attached to her cheeks, there's just no tubes going to her mouth.

Edit: well not on her cheeks, they're further back near her ears

 

[fireproof78]

Even Trek's "believable" reasons for things happening aren't believable.

Well, what do you expect with a franchise that has an alien say thought is the basis of all reality?

 

[Fateor]

All of that is just kicking the can further down the road. Burnham knew what the Breen Dreadnaught was potentially capable of from her glimpse into the Future. It's also mentioned multiple times that the last time the Breen violated Federation territory, they immediately attacked a planet. Having L'ak onboard a Federation Starship where the Breen could at least talk to him, but also couldn't attack without risk of killing him was the lesser of two evils. It kept the Breen focused on Federation HQ and necessitated the risk that the Breen would have just started carpet bombing planets to draw the Federation out of hiding. Also, if the Federation has been dragged into a shooting war they had the chance for further reinforcements to arrive and consolidate the fleet. That's far better alternative than taking a chance of the Breen finding Federation HQ or Discovery out in the middle of nowhere, where the rest of the Federation Fleet can't provide aid in time.

Neither solution is perfect but I think it was better for the Federation to stand it's ground with Breen than to just delay a confrontation which may have ended up far worse.

In the 25th century the Federation was capable of building a planetary shields capable shrugging off hours of a full fleet bombardment. If the 32nd century refuses to do similar, that's on them.

Originally they just seeded oceans but we're being told it can do other things, it could even be a series of tech.

Genesis was a tech that didn't work. It couldn't do any of these things successfully except destroy a planet. It's useless as a repeatable, reliable device...and that was with the benefit of 4 billion years of evolution. A remarkable thing indeed this Progenitor tech.

Genesis was a tech that didn't work perfectly in it's original iteration.

Future iteration's however did, as we found out in Lower Decks.

 

[fireproof78]

Genesis killed the person who activated it...twice.

I wouldn't call that "working." Much less perfectly.

Genesis as a device is best left alone in the warehouse with transwarp beaming, curing old age, beaming a person in to their past selves, going Warp 13, meeting Lucifer, the ability to breath underwater, mind transference.

 

[Tuskin38]

this weeks ready room has a segment on the props for the clues

Also Wil interviews Eve and Elias

 

[Fateor]

Genesis killed the person who activated it...twice.

I wouldn't call that "working." Much less perfectly.

Genesis as a device is best left alone in the warehouse with transwarp beaming, curing old age, beaming a person in to their past selves, going Warp 13, meeting Lucifer, the ability to breath underwater, mind transference.

User error isn't the fault of the technology, it's the fault of the person using it.