This post to be edited as I go along.
Observations for "The Kobayashi Maru"
I think I know why, in-story, Adira has become Tilly 2.0. They're a teenager and think Tilly is someone to look up to. They want to emulate Tilly and so is starting to act more like her. Tilly's well-liked and has the charm. So maybe Adira thinks that will make them as well-liked as Tilly. This might be how I'd think if I were in my teens and not my early-40s. Trying to be like the "cool kid" isn't something we'd do as adults, but it's something they'd do. Later on, after Tilly leaves, Adira looks up to Detmer. [EDIT: What I thought was reinforced in "Anomaly" when Culber tells Tilly flat-out that Adira looks up to her.]
The foreshadowing at the beginning of the season, when Rillak told Burnham she wasn't ready to command Voyager because she isn't ready to anticipate all possible outcomes (including the possibility of failure) and implementing a plan anyway. I thought this was about Burnham not being able to be everything to everyone, now I see it was really about Burnham having to make a decision where she might not be able to save everyone. A slight difference. By the end of the season, Burnham is willing to make the Tough Choice regardless of what might happen. The worst didn't need to happen, all that we needed to see was Burnham being willing to make the choice. That was the goal, and it's stated upfront.
Observations for "Anomaly"
David Ajala really sells it as a man whose planet was destroyed. That grief on Book's face, and the stone-cold numbness in his eyes while he's still processing it, looks spot-on.
I think Saru is like another Riker. He
wants to be on the Discovery, just like Riker wanted to be on the Enterprise. It's one of those situations.
Burnham talking to Saru about whether or not Book should pilot his ship to gather information about the anomaly instead of Detmer is the first instance in the season of Burnham having to determine what's best for a mission versus what's best for who survives. But, I do have to say Burnham would've been right to send Detmer instead since Book understandably is in such a shaken state of mind.
Stamets: "Book, are you okay?"
Book: "Don't ask me that again."
Given how every other character on the Discovery would tell Stamets whether or not they're okay, Book's response sets him apart from everyone else and shows that his mind is in a different place than everyone else's. He's on a different path... which will eventually lead to something Tarka will be able to think he can talk advantage of when he's introduced later.
Love the scene on the bridge with the Zero Gravity!
When Tilly is reminding Adira that everyone's analyses get double-checked no matter who they are, that's Tilly in "Instructor At the Academy Mode" and she doesn't even realize it yet. They're planting the seeds here.
Great insight at the end of the episode when Book finally tells Burnham about what he's thinking of when he thinks of what he lost with Kwejian.
They packed a lot of character-building into this episode. Especially for Book, but also for Stamets, Tilly, and Adira.
Observations for "Choose to Live"
This episode is necessary in order to show how the Federation can deal with Ni'Var and its combined Vulcan/Romulan culture and society. Rillak and Burnham walk a tight rope to show they respect Ni'Var's ways. If they didn't, then Ni'Var would likely change its mind about considering rejoining the Federation. With the ways of Qiwot Milot, it put the possibilities of Ni'Var rejoining the most in jeopardy, so I can see why they chose to tell the story, to show the bumps along the way.
I'm glad they had Gabrielle Burnham explain to Michael why J'Vini was so important to her. And it helped fill in some of the gaps for how Gabrielle ended up with the Qiwot Milot. They cared for her for a year and J'Vini selected Gabrielle as her Lost Cause. Gabrielle always came across as very frank, so a group of women who believe in Absolute Candor fits her like a glove.
Great fighting choreography in the middle of the episode, right before J'Vini tells Burnham, her mother, and Tilly, "Choose to live." I felt bad when the Nun played by Mimi Cote was killed. I liked her from what little we saw.
When Burnham questions how much honor J'Vini has, based on her actions, Gabrielle Burnham tells her, "The reasons matter." This comes up again later on, at the end of the season in regards to Book's actions, when Rillak tells Burham, "The reasons matter." Like trying to save a species from extinction. More foreshadowing and planting character seeds, using something unrelated to slip it in under the radar.
Great dark-comedy moment when Burnham said she wanted Tilly to stay as bait for J'Vini. Tilly did say she wanted to get out of her comfort zone.
I love new lounge area on Discovery. It feels very homey. That's some place I'd go during my off-hours.
The A-Plot with the Qiwot Milot was the strongest, but the B-Plot with Book & Stamets on Ni'Var, and the C-Plot with trying to revive Gray in a gollum body were good too.
Book getting a chance to "revisit" Kweijan in his mind allowed him to find
some degree of peace (emphasis on "some") and really hammers home what exactly it is Book lost and the world he lost.
Gray mentions having transitioned before, going from female to male. I think
Discovery transitioned as well: from a 23rd Century set series to a 32nd Century set series. It also transitioned from what Bryan Fuller conceived to what Michelle Paradise has turned into her own. So Gray is a bit of a metaphor for the show.
There was a lot more to this episode than I remembered or realized.
EDITED TO ADD (3/8/24): For detailed observations of episodes starting from S4 Episode 4 onward, skip ahead to Page 2.
