Spoilers Star Trek: Discovery 5x08 - "Labyrinths"

[evilchumlee]

I will say, the Breen aspect of the story is fizzling for me. It's not very interesting and feels very one-dimensional. Discovery has never really succeeded in making compelling villains, in my opinion. At the very least, the Breen and the threat they pose has been fairly well-seeded, if not tepid.

Yeah. I really wish the villains didn't have the motivation of "haha mustache twirl", and instead just had perhaps a contrasting ideology as to why they wanted the tech. Like, maybe instead of Breen wanting it for some power play, have Romulans going after it thinking they can restore their homeworld? Have Tholians going after it, perhaps in hopes of reshaping the galaxy to have more silicon-based life. Have the whatever is left of the Dominion be trying to get it to secure the Founders. Just about anything is better than what is actually happening.

Unlike the previous seasons of the show, it never feels like time is being wasted. We've made progress on this storyline in every single episode. It has started to make me wonder that maybe 10 episodes should have just been the number of episodes per season previously. Nothing feels overstretched.

With you on this. There's very little meandering, and I haven't felt any "We have time for this?" this season.

Overall I like this episode. It was interesting enough, a good mix of action and moving along the plot. It took five seasons but I finally don't find Burnham to be absolutely insufferable. That's a plus. The episodes that lean a bit less on Burnham and give other people things to do are the best Discovery episodes, this one is no exception.

I thought the timeframes of things were odd, that Discovery can spore drive around... but then the Breen just catch up soon after. But I also had to take into consideration that this entire season is taking place over a relatively small area... they're basically running around the Alpha Quadrant, in an area 2270's ships could have reached easily enough.. WHILE the war was going on. So really, they're largely just running around the old Federation... still a large area, but it's apparent that 32nd century warp drives are much faster. So yeah, they can zip around the old Federation territory in a short time, while Discovery can do it... just a bit faster.

Definitely curious where the last location is.

 

[Lord Garth]

I agree, but then...why the heck did they get written off and / or sidelined?
And let's face it, Tilly's usage since coming back this season has been drastically reduced from what it used to be.

Sounds like behind-the-scenes reasons from what I can tell. I think it's amusing that Tilly wasn't around for most of Season 4, then Saru switched places with her and he hasn't been around for most of Season 5.

Season 5 has fared better in this regard. Rayner makes a MUCH better substitute for Saru than Adira made for Tilly. Mainly because they went as far away from Saru as they could with Rayner, but they tried to make Adira sound more like Tilly and it just didn't work.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I agree, but then...why the heck did they get written off and / or sidelined?
And let's face it, Tilly's usage since coming back this season has been drastically reduced from what it used to be.

Other projects is what I heard.

 

[Fateor]

So in the 800 years since we see the Defiant travel within the Badlands with not only no problems but could also be cloaked within it (like in DS9's "FOR THE CAUSE"... and in that same episode, a freighter was able to stay there for HOURS with no problems), Starfleet ships have become as fragile as paper airplanes when in the Badlands? (shakes head) Shaka, when the walls fell.

To be fair to Discovery here, it's a 23rd century hull paper mache covered with a programmable matter exterior.

It's probably nowhere near the durability of a proper 32nd century hull. Or even a 24th century hull.

 

[Tuskin38]

I agree, but then...why the heck did they get written off and / or sidelined?
And let's face it, Tilly's usage since coming back this season has been drastically reduced from what it used to be.

Saru this season was because Doug Jones was busy promoting Hocus Pocus 2
Tilly last season was because Mary Wiseman was doing a play IIRC. I don't feel that her use this season is any less than Season 3.

 

[Tuskin38]

So in the 800 years since we see the Defiant travel within the Badlands with not only no problems but could also be cloaked within it (like in DS9's "FOR THE CAUSE"... and in that same episode, a freighter was able to stay there for HOURS with no problems), Starfleet ships have become as fragile as paper airplanes when in the Badlands? (shakes head) Shaka, when the walls fell.

Have you considered that the badlands may have become even more volatile in 800 years? Or maybe they were just in a more dangerous part of the Badlands?

 

[Fateor]

Saru this season was because Doug Jones was busy promoting Hocus Pocus 2

Tilly last season was because Mary Wiseman was doing a play IIRC. I don't feel that her use this season is any less than Season 3.

That's only how actor contracts work if the Studio's specifically write up the contracts to work that way.

So saying "X actor was busy with Y" in this case, is the equivalent of saying the studio was okay with the actor just not being around for those episodes.

 

[Kaelef]

That’s true for all they know it might just be a recipe for biscuits!

The most amazing biscuits ever - the origin of all biscuits! This technology could be used for good (turning barren worlds into biscuit-bearing paradises) or evil (destroying once successful mom and pop biscuit shops across the galaxy).

Rare image of an actual progenitor:

 

[Kaelef]

It's sad that we've gotten so few moments like these for the other characters throughout the series.

 

[Cr0sis21]

Saru this season was because Doug Jones was busy promoting Hocus Pocus 2
Tilly last season was because Mary Wiseman was doing a play IIRC. I don't feel that her use this season is any less than Season 3.

Sigh...that makes no sense.
Like, Doug Jones can take off the WHOLE SEASON to do promo work for Hocus Pocus 2, and Mary Wiseman can skip a whole season to do...a stage play?

Do you know how often actors cancel convention appearances because they are filming and can't get out of it? Every single person from SNW who was going to be on the last Star Trek Cruise had to cancel because it cut into filming. I know conventions are different than film promos and such, but that still seems like a really unlikely explanation. Usually there are contracts to prevent exactly this from happening (See: Terry Farrell).

 

[ananta]

I agree TOS wasn't an ensemble show, but McCoy was central several times...

Good examples, he was featured prominently in many episodes. But I don't feel he got "meaty" storylines as somebody suggested. DeForest Kelley said as much himself. We really didn't learn very much about the character at all, which is a shame, because I loved the character and Kelley was a fantastic performer.

"Southern Californian accent"? The actress was born in Canada and has only appeared in Canadian productions. Where's this "southern Californian" business coming from?

You know exactly what I meant. She had that stereotypical "valley girl" vibe; the vocal inflections, the mannerisms. It was a stylistic choice I did not feel meshed with the character whatsoever. That's simply my opinion. End of story.

 

[Farscape One]

Have you considered that the badlands may have become even more volatile in 800 years? Or maybe they were just in a more dangerous part of the Badlands?

Yes, I did. And you would think the hulls, shields, and all the other technology they have would be able to compensate for that.

After Hurricane Andrew, building codes down here were changed to make houses better able to withstand storms, not keep them the same or worse. Same principle would be applied to ships, one would think. Space is dangerous, as we've seen time and time again.

So my point still stands.

 

[fireproof78]

Like, Doug Jones can take off the WHOLE SEASON to do promo work for Hocus Pocus 2, and Mary Wiseman can skip a whole season to do...a stage play?

So, they negotiated to complete work and be able to do more work.

Makes sense to me.

 

[Tuskin38]

Sigh...that makes no sense.

Here is Doug Jones confirming it
https://twitter.com/actordougjones/status/1784136793753042992

 

[Cr0sis21]

So, they negotiated to complete work and be able to do more work.

Makes sense to me.

Maybe they did.
I don't think that seems likely, though. It flies in the face of everything we've heard about working for an ongoing television show.

 

[fireproof78]

Maybe they did.
I don't think that seems likely, though. It flies in the face of everything we've heard about working for an ongoing television show.

Strikes change things.

 

[Tuskin38]

Strikes change things.

This was before the strikes.

 

[Fateor]

Maybe they did.

I don't think that seems likely, though. It flies in the face of everything we've heard about working for an ongoing television show.

Given what we've seen of the season so far, it's possible the studio choose to allow it as one of the numerous cost cutting measures.

 

[Cr0sis21]

Strikes change things.

Apparently so, based on that post from Doug Jones.
Good for them, I guess, but it does work to the detriment of the show. Saru is probably the most universally beloved aspect of Discovery, and ditching his character like that is not beneficial at all. MOST people won't know why, nor will they care. All they know is, suddenly their favorite character isn't there.
It's a point I'm seeing hammered again and again every week in different reviews of Discovery.

 

[fireproof78]

Apparently so, based on that post from Doug Jones.
Good for them, I guess, but it does work to the detriment of the show. Saru is probably the most universally beloved aspect of Discovery, and ditching his character like that is not beneficial at all. MOST people won't know why, nor will they care. All they know is, suddenly their favorite character isn't there.
It's a point I'm seeing hammered again and again every week in different reviews of Discovery.

It is too bad.

Means having to focus on other characters.

This was before the strikes.

It was a joke my friend.