Spoilers Star Trek: Discovery 4x02 - "Anomaly"

Discussion in 'Star Trek: Discovery' started by Commander Richard, Nov 23, 2021.

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Rate the episode...

  1. 10 - Excellent!

    6.7%
  2. 9

    15.6%
  3. 8

    31.1%
  4. 7

    19.3%
  5. 6

    9.6%
  6. 5

    6.7%
  7. 4

    1.5%
  8. 3

    0.7%
  9. 2

    3.7%
  10. 1 - Terrible.

    5.2%
  1. Timo

    Timo Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    ...Is this the very first time Trek reuses an episode name in full?

    That is, it's not even "The Anomaly" to separate it from the ENT episode. And, say, the movie with the name First Contact or Nemesis also technically comes with the preceding words Star Trek while the episode does not.

    Or is my Trek-Fu particularly weak before my third morning coffee?

    Timo Saloniemi
     
  2. mattman8907

    mattman8907 Commodore Commodore

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    It looks like an eye ball.
     
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  3. Quinton

    Quinton Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    It's the CBS eye...!
     
  4. NCC-73515

    NCC-73515 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Made me think of a whale's eye
     
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  5. KamenRiderBlade

    KamenRiderBlade Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    When Wil Wheaton interviewed SMG this season in his Ready Room show, they talked about how this seasons Big Bad was supposed to be different, in that the anomaly is supposed to be a reference to IRL COVID-19 crisis, and how it's a problem that you can't just solve via beating up some bad person like last season.

    It's the Graviton Ellipse's bigger, meaner, cousin.
     
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  6. NCC-73515

    NCC-73515 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    If it were something similar to the ellipse, they wouldn't say it doesn't match anything in the records. It's a black hole merger, something right out of LIGO's gravitational wave detections :D
     
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  7. KennyB

    KennyB I have spoken............ Moderator

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    8 from me. Open that poll!
     
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  8. Timo

    Timo Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    :rofl::rofl::rofl::guffaw::guffaw::guffaw:

    Basically the only time our heroes, any heroes, recognized a phenomenon they themselves had seen before was when the Crystalline Entity made a reappearance. And the only time they recognized something experienced by some other hero was "The Naked Now", thanks to Riker's vague recollection of something from Kirk's bestselling memoirs. Every hole in space is new and unprecedented, every natural phenomenon moving at warp speed previously unheard of.

    Apparently, the heroes simply are very exacting. "This gravity phenomenon is 11% blue-greener than the one NCC-74656 encountered - it sure doesn't match anything in our records!"

    Timo Saloniemi
     
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2021
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  9. Locutus of Bored

    Locutus of Bored Yo, Dawg! I Heard You Like Avatars... In Memoriam

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    The poll should be open now. Try it out and let me know if it's not working.
     
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  10. StarMan

    StarMan Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Jul 5, 2005
    Mr. Saru? Heh.

    Kept my attention for the most part; engaging up until the Captain's cone of silence dropped and things got a bit sappy.

    Stamets and Book starting out awkward and ending buds was very TNG.

    What's up with Tilly? Will this be tied up in a neat little bow ala. Detmer's S3 PTSD in a few episodes?

    I don't mind Adria at all; Adria / Grey on the other hand is not the most engaging aspect of the show.
    ----

    Ultimately, it's still the same ol' DIscovery, but perhaps with a bit more of an assuredness about itself. If there's been one constant in my lack of enthusiasm for the show, it's Burnham. However, I've got to say, she's fitting in well as Captain. It's a better fit for the series and so far, I've been pleasantly surprised by SMG's more tempered performance.

    Hopefully the eventual anomaly mystery reveal ends up being a woah / holy shit moment rather than an eye-rolling one.
     
  11. DaveyNY

    DaveyNY Admiral Admiral

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    V'GER Vibes for sure, but of course it's something else.
    (They wouldn't be THAT obvious)

    I gave it an 8.
     
  12. Deks

    Deks Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Oct 16, 2003
    The anomaly reminds me of the smiling Panda from Lower Decks when one of SF crew ascended... obviously this would be its eye.
    :D
    Though, whale like also comes to mind.

    Will probably turn out to be alive.

    Emotion heavy... heavier even than S3... hope it gets toned down a bit.

    EDIT: Correction... that 'panda' was supposed to be a 'koala' (thanks Finn for correcting me).
     
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2021
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  13. Finn

    Finn Bad Batch of TrekBBS Admiral

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    ^You mean koala?
     
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  14. Precious Tritium

    Precious Tritium Commander Red Shirt

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    Is it just me or is Saru’s makeup a hell of a lot more detailed this season? I mean, it was always top tier stuff, but it feels like they’ve added a few flourishes here and there.
     
  15. Finn

    Finn Bad Batch of TrekBBS Admiral

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    I actually was thinking the same as Tilly before she asked if he was taller.
     
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  16. Campe

    Campe Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Yeah, this episode? Very mixed feelings.

    There was something about the overall feel that didn’t jive well for me. Maybe it’s the overall Mystery of the Colliding Black Holes, but so far I’m not necessarily buying it. I’m not the most scientifically minded and it typically doesn’t bother me that much but the whole tether thing seemed strange to me. In the 32nd century, one would think they’d have better tech than that. But oh well.

    At the same time, the emotional part of the Book and Stamets storyline was well done. The Grey story also is fascinating and I look forward to seeing where it goes. I do wonder since the actor is not a regular how this is going to go. Again, these kinds of stories are where the show for me excels.

    6/10.
     
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  17. trek.

    trek. Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    Yikes this episode.

    the anomaly better not be another alien tantrum.
     
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  18. eschaton

    eschaton Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I personally thought that was an incredibly mediocre episode. Nothing actively awful, just...there.

    I'll start with what I liked: That the frame of reference for the episode was away from Michael, and placed firmly on Book and his trauma. It was appropriate given his entire homeworld was unceremoniously fridged last week. It would have been nice if he at least referenced in passing not just the death of his nephew, but his entire species (I think - it's one of those weirdly unpopulated Trek planets) but this is a small issue with the centering on grief. Book got a coherent character arc from start to finish, and I can't ask for much more in an episode of Trek.

    The downside was...basically everything else? The entire first half of the episode was an example of why you should show, not tell, with almost all of the run time given over to expository dialogue. I know this is a very old trope in Trek (TOS episodes had dialogue so expository you could follow the action just by hearing the bridge narration) but it didn't make for effective drama - at least for me. The scene at Starfleet HQ in particular felt like sitting through a powerpoint presentation, with the writer explaining what was happening to me via interchangeable cast surrogates. The other side of this episode was some of the character beats, but (IMHO) everything is just a bit too loving and supportive - as if everyone is just so afraid not to be the perfect listener. This is part of why the interaction between Stamets and Book stands out so well - Stamets may be trying to do the right thing, but he's not always succeeding, and he's working through his own shit as well.

    Regardless, this would have been a much, much better episode if it was told almost entirely from the frame of reference of Book and Stamets. Every time the story lost this focus, my interest waned.
     
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  19. Lonemagpie

    Lonemagpie Writer Admiral

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    This week's Discovery is good, but surprisingly MiSTable... And it's weird that Starfleet's scientists don't immediately recognise issues that blindingly obvious to me... But more of that anon.

    "There's only room for one guilt-fetishist on this ship..."
     
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  20. Charles Phipps

    Charles Phipps Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Sep 17, 2011
    Yes, but that was because it was a paradox. Since Sol wasn't "meant" to be destroyed.