Spoilers Star Trek: Discovery 1x04 - "The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry"

Can we ditch all the "haters" stuff, please? This forum would get really boring if the posts were nothing but glowing praise all the time.

Mr. Awe made a good post about respecting the perspectives of the people who enjoyed the episode/show above, and it would be nice if the same could be done with the opinions of those on the other side of the fence as well.

 

I don't think we even need a universal translator. Just translate the scenes where only Klingons are present. If/when Klingons and humans are in the same room together, you can keep the Klingons subtitled. But there's no reason to not have them speak English when you're looking into a Klingon-only scene, because you don't need to distinguish between the words that the Starfleet characters would understand versus what they would not.

 

Lookin forward to seeing it later this evening, I have seen the teaser for next week and I must admit I would prefer to see more character interaction before such a kidnap event occurs, on saying that could it be an intentional setup.

I am happy to hear that the spinning saucer also serves as a weapon as well.

 

Why don't you watch This Is Us? I do. I like both genres.
I suppose the overpowering tech and science is the downside to having a lavish, movie-like production. If all they could afford was dialogue, we'd get more social and interpersonal stuff. As in evey Trek TV show that came before. I welcome the change. It appeals to our scientific curiosity and makes us identify with Burnham.
I think Discovery is boldly going where no Star Trek show has gone before. Is that the Star Trek spirit, or just its motto?

 

I agree. We're talking about The Next Genetation, right?

 

They do ... remember the 'drills' Bailey was running in "Balance of Terror"?

We've just never seen them before.

 

It's all in good fun,

Half of keeping light hearted is laughing at ourselves.

Trek is a community of nitpickers.

Shining a little lighthearted light on that here or there never hurt anyone.

 

Hopefully this isn't a trend. Last episode wasn't great and this one was worse - really stupid. Alien life form navigating ship with spore drive is so random and ridiculous, but mainly boring. It also simply has to be a direct take from Capt. Ransom (voyager). This is no better than a "wet sand" TNG new life form episode. Enough with the stupid stuff, it's boring. But wait it gets worse. Apparently Ransom is the main captain on the show? Wow.

 

Fair point. However, you seem to be conveniently forgetting a lot of other instances of risky behavior by Trek crew. The one of Scotty starting a fight with the Klingons in Tribble (and risking a war) because the ship was insulted is a prime example. Worf going on a killing rampage after Alexander's mother is killed is another.

Again, I'm not trying to chill criticism of the show. There are certainly holes. However, what irks me is criticism along the lines of "this is not Trek" or "no Trek officer would ever do that" that ignores multiple blatant examples of folk doing exactly that.

When that line persists and ignores or fails to address the examples cited, I tend to jump to conclusions about poster's motivation. Sometimes erronously. I will try not to.

So I ask again, what about Scotty & in particular, Worf. Worf killed for revenge and risked a war within the empire? So is TNG not Trek & stupid? Why or why not?

 

Maybe if it didn't absolutely melt two of the Klingon ships in a second I could buy having to do something like that and not see it as showboating.

 

I thought it was pretty good again. 8/10.

The characters are all starting to become interesting in their own right which will keep it worth watching. The idea of a misunderstood monster isn't exactly original but the Ripper stuff was still interesting and the Klingon stuff was easier to watch than in the pilot too.

The Corvan II stuff was a bit throwaway in the end though. I know that it was about the journey more than anything and getting in and out quickly but it would've been nice to see a bit more of the situation and the stakes before they arrived maybe, which is probably one of the disadvantages of being serialised/standalone at the same time.

 

Sure, Lorca couldn't wait to show off. But I choose to credit him with a keen strategic sense.

 

I'm not interested in going tit for tat through Trek history. From my perspective, there are three significant differences here:

1. We're not just talking about a foolish decision with potential consequences that could lead to conflict. Burnham had one and only one chance to prevent all-out war. Her mentor died for that plan. But this supposedly stoic ward of Sarek throws all out the window for revenge. She makes a conscious decision to murder, regardless of cost, not an impulsive move that leads to trouble.

2. This is after she mutinies against her beloved captain. So we have not just one terrible impulsive choice, but two in a row. How many terrible impulsive mistakes does she get to make before she shouldn't be trusted on a starship? We're not talking about some green kid -- she's a first officer, and she's unsuitable for command.

3. This isn't a standalone episode from the days when what happened last week is forgotten. This is the narrative throughline for the entire series. It's the very essence of the show, and, to me, it runs against the fundamental message of Trek. She'd have been a villain on TOS, and now we're supposed to root for her?

YMMV, of course.

 

That is a particular peeve of mine as well. "This never happened in Star Trek!" or "No officer would have done this" absolutely denies, or ignores, 50 years of Star Trek where it has done exactly that. The exhaustion comes when one points it out and is followed up by "this is different," when it's not different at all aside from being from another Trek series. It's frustrating, and it's understandable when one has to rethink the original poster's motivations.

 

Agreed, the pointless physical changes and decision to show all their scenes inKlingonese is hamstringing the actors and the viewers ability to engage with them as characters,none of these "Klingons have an iota of the charisma we've seen from some past Klingons, these are gibbering monkeys

 

There's no reason to assume that Ripper is sentient just because it suffers and has a lot of coordinates in its head. A 10 year old GPS can find its way around, but I still don't think it suffers if the battery alert comes on.

 

True, but it should make one pause and wonder if it is being harmed when it thrashes around in what appears to be pain. Maybe it's something akin to sexual arousal for Ripper, and activation of the spore drive makes the tardigrade climax. "Dude, you've got to get an assignment on one of those human ships ... they have tech that is SO much better than a fleshlight!" If that's the case, let's spread the tech through the galaxy!

But I want to check, first, to make sure it's not being harmed.

EDIT TO ADD:
Did I just channel my inner Guy Gardner?