If there's one thing Discovery loves to do each season, it's to seed upcoming story twists not-so-subtly in the early hours so that we can all sorta pretend we didn't see them coming. (I love the show wholeheartedly. These characters and their actors rule. But it's so true.)
"Why does Lorca respond poorly to the light?" Symbolism! "Why did Tyler just name-drop Control twice in one episode, making sure to clarify what it is on both occasions?" Foreshadowing!
That sort of thing.
So, what do you suppose these first two episodes intend to symbolize for future bits? Where's the winking foreshadowing? I've got a few thoughts.
Both episodes feature at least one instance of a species language expression not quite translating into something sensible for others. The opening adventure sequence with the whole "monarch" joke. Commander Nalan not understanding the term "shit-show" and then using - what was it, "squagging," something to that effect? - and confusing some of the crew. And then, in "Anomaly," Tilly bewilders Saru with "Everest."
Misunderstandings through cultural-linguistic barriers. I'm sure this has probably happened before in the previous 42 episodes, but even so, it's thick here. It's very thick.
I feel like there's a pretty solid chance this is going to factor into things regarding the distortion's "intent." If there is a semblance of sapience behind it, it doesn't see itself as destroying so much as creating. Alternatively, it's doing all of this due to a massive misunderstanding in the distant past, future, or interdimensional crossing.
Even if it isn't sapient, perhaps there is a fundamental misunderstanding between "our" side and some unseen force that is (or was, if they're long gone) reliant upon some aspect of the distortion.
This could play into sub-arcs as well. I already have a hunch the Qowat Milat foe in the next episode believes they're doing [whatever it is they do] for a just cause, and this misunderstanding could have been avoided had x, y, and z not occurred. Granted, this is a very vague thing to predict, and also quite common in fiction, regardless.
I've taken the long route toward explaining something short and simple, which is that critical misconceptions could somehow be fueling the gravitational distortion. And, to keep things nice and blunt, the same thing might happen to some of the crew as well, on an obviously less macro scale, ha.
I'll preempt anybody who reads all that and says "god, no, please don't make the science-based seasonal threat sentient" etc by saying duh! I could be entirely off-base. I'm simply applying what I think I know of Discovery's literary tropes to a pet theory.
Anyone else pick up on stuff you think will come back in a big way later on?
"Why does Lorca respond poorly to the light?" Symbolism! "Why did Tyler just name-drop Control twice in one episode, making sure to clarify what it is on both occasions?" Foreshadowing!
That sort of thing.
So, what do you suppose these first two episodes intend to symbolize for future bits? Where's the winking foreshadowing? I've got a few thoughts.
Both episodes feature at least one instance of a species language expression not quite translating into something sensible for others. The opening adventure sequence with the whole "monarch" joke. Commander Nalan not understanding the term "shit-show" and then using - what was it, "squagging," something to that effect? - and confusing some of the crew. And then, in "Anomaly," Tilly bewilders Saru with "Everest."
Misunderstandings through cultural-linguistic barriers. I'm sure this has probably happened before in the previous 42 episodes, but even so, it's thick here. It's very thick.
I feel like there's a pretty solid chance this is going to factor into things regarding the distortion's "intent." If there is a semblance of sapience behind it, it doesn't see itself as destroying so much as creating. Alternatively, it's doing all of this due to a massive misunderstanding in the distant past, future, or interdimensional crossing.
Even if it isn't sapient, perhaps there is a fundamental misunderstanding between "our" side and some unseen force that is (or was, if they're long gone) reliant upon some aspect of the distortion.
This could play into sub-arcs as well. I already have a hunch the Qowat Milat foe in the next episode believes they're doing [whatever it is they do] for a just cause, and this misunderstanding could have been avoided had x, y, and z not occurred. Granted, this is a very vague thing to predict, and also quite common in fiction, regardless.
I've taken the long route toward explaining something short and simple, which is that critical misconceptions could somehow be fueling the gravitational distortion. And, to keep things nice and blunt, the same thing might happen to some of the crew as well, on an obviously less macro scale, ha.
I'll preempt anybody who reads all that and says "god, no, please don't make the science-based seasonal threat sentient" etc by saying duh! I could be entirely off-base. I'm simply applying what I think I know of Discovery's literary tropes to a pet theory.
Anyone else pick up on stuff you think will come back in a big way later on?
