Spoilers Star Trek: Discovery 1x02 - "Battle at the Binary Stars"

[Jayson1]

I think we might get lots of setup for one huge battle in the mid-season final. FIrst order of business is getting Burnham out of jail. I noticed in those preview clips that I think Mudd is also in jail so I suspect Mudd will have something she feels is needed to defeat the Klingons.. I'm sure we will get a POV episode with the Klingons as well and maybe a flashback story with Burnham and her previous captain. Also I suspect we might see something that was done on "Lost" and "Walking Dead" were characters go off on some mission and the mission doesn't end at the end of the hour so you might have your characters spread all over the place. Might have a few ep's with Burnham,Mudd on some planet and you don't see the ship and then the next week you see what is going on aboard the Discovery and you don't see Burnham and her team who hasn't returned.

Jason

 

[Amaris]

I seriously doubt that this is going to be SUPER BATTLE TREK IN SPACE. The writers involved are too good for that. This feels, to me, like Michael falling to her lowest point so we can see a redemption arc. I have a feeling the next few episodes will be quite a bit more on the hopeful side.

I sincerely hope so, and I do mean that. I'm not kidding when I say I want to love this show. As far as I'm concerned, CBS flubbed last night here in the U.S., which soured my perception of the pilot itself, and so I'm going to wait for episode 3 and see how it pushes the narrative along.

 

[doublegoodprole]

This was supposed to be a two hour premiere? No way. This was just the first two parts of a serial.

There's just something about this show that seems so...sluggish. The battle scenes, the dialogue, everything just feels like it's been slowed down somehow.

 

[Romulan_spy]

I realize this might be a nitpick but why do shows always have trials in poorly lit rooms where the judges are hidden in darkness and only the accused is lit up? This episode did this trope too. It reminds me of spy movies where the evil organization has the chamber where the council members are hidden in darkness too. It makes for a cool visual but it is completely unrealistic. No trial chamber would be set up that way. Why not just use a normally lit room?

 

[Borgminister]

I sincerely hope so, and I do mean that. I'm not kidding when I say I want to love this show. As far as I'm concerned, CBS flubbed last night here in the U.S., which soured my perception of the pilot itself, and so I'm going to wait for episode 3 and see how it pushes the narrative along.

Curious--did you enjoy DS9? Lots of war in that incarnation. Anyway, next episode is really another pilot of sorts since it introduces the whole cast...

 

[Amaris]

Curious--did you enjoy DS9? Lots of war in that incarnation. Anyway, next episode is really another pilot of sorts since it introduces the whole cast...

I did, I mean I'm a Niner for Gort's sake, but I wasn't a fan of the war arc itself. The longer the war went on, the more frustrated I became, and the more I relished the non-war episodes. I realize there will be war, of course there will, but I hope it's a rare thing, rather than an ultimate goal for a Star Trek series.

 

[doublegoodprole]

I realize this might be a nitpick but why do shows always have trials in poorly lit rooms where the judges are hidden in darkness and only the accused is lit up? This episode did this trope too. It reminds me of spy movies where the evil organization has the chamber where the council members are hidden in darkness too. It makes for a cool visual but it is completely unrealistic. No trial chamber would be set up that way. Why not just use a normally lit room?

I know! When the tribunal asked Burnham if she had anything to say I yelled out, "TURN ON THE LIGHTS! FOUR OR FIVE LIGHTS, I DON't CARE, TURN THEM ON!"

 

[Chekov's Phaser]

I realize this might be a nitpick but why do shows always have trials in poorly lit rooms where the judges are hidden in darkness and only the accused is lit up? This episode did this trope too. It reminds me of spy movies where the evil organization has the chamber where the council members are hidden in darkness too. It makes for a cool visual but it is completely unrealistic. No trial chamber would be set up that way. Why not just use a normally lit room?

Well most TV shows and movies do this for dramatic purposes. My favorite is having dim lighting on medical shows set in operating rooms. Who needs light in surgery so long as it looks cooler!

 

[doublegoodprole]

Prison for life seemed a tad excessive. Starfleet was pretty hardass until the 24th century.

 

[BillJ]

I thought less of the second episode than the first. How did Admiral Dumbass get to be an Admiral to begin with? The Klingons continue to be tedious. Georgiou is wasting time in a combat situation telling Burnham how disappointed she is.

Some of it comes across as mind-numbingly dumb.

 

[BillJ]

Prison for life seemed a tad excessive. Starfleet was pretty hardass until the 24th century.

Yet a few years later Spock steals the Enterprise, goes to the planet of death and doesn't even get a slap on the wrist.

 

[CorporalClegg]

How did Admiral Dumbass get to be an Admiral to begin with?

Starfleet, Dude. It's kind of a thing.

 

[Romulan_spy]

Prison for life seemed a tad excessive. Starfleet was pretty hardass until the 24th century.

Yeah, this is definitely not the enlightened starfleet of Picard's day.

 

[Nerys Myk]

No, that's the first time they had it.

The Animated series was very specific in that given it was the main plot point of the episode.

The Time Trap?

KIRK: Fire.
SULU: Firing phasers.
(A hit. The Klingon ship vanishes)
KIRK: Mister Spock, did you see what I think I just saw?
SPOCK: Yes, Captain.
KIRK: Explanation?
SPOCK: I can offer none at this time. However, the Klingon ship was not destroyed by our phaser fire. Its shields clearly deflected the phasers. Nor was its disappearance the type that would have been affected if it were using its cloaking device.

TheTime Trap say anything about Klingons using the cloaking device for the first time. Though from Spock's comment it doesn't seem unusual that they have one.

And, in case you don't count TAS, Kor mentions it again in "Once More Unto the Breach".

KOR: Well, there's not much to tell really. The battle was over almost before the Federation knew it had begun. I commanded the first division from the Klothos, one of the old D Five cruisers. Kang commanded the second division. Now, you must remember that in those days, the cloaking device was a new piece of technology. There were only a handful of engineers in the Imperial Fleet who knew how to operate them. Before we left Chronos, I spent three days in the engine room taking the device apart with my bare hands and then putting it back together again. Now this would come in handy later in the battle, as you'll see.

Inconclusive as no dates are given for the battle at Caleb IV. It could be a battle during the Klingon War that DSC is about.

 

[Fateor]

Inconclusive as no dates are given for the battle at Caleb IV. It could be a battle during the Klingon War that DSC is about.

The Battle of Caleb IV was in the late 2260s.

 

[Nerys Myk]

The Battle of Caleb IV was in the late 2260s.

According to who?

 

[Chekov's Phaser]

According to who?

Future history, of course!

 

[Nerys Myk]

Future history, of course!

Future History will be written by Discovery.

 

[Jim MacKinnon]

pretty disappointed overall, but i understand it will take sometime to settle in as they really didnt do much for character dev. Did Michael attend star fleet? Did she just step in as first officer? pretty young to be talking about first command. Hoping writing really improves. Space walk that takes 8mins to get to object leaves 3mins to look around, then 8mins back for a 1min window of safety? not very responsible for a captain to allow. Then even if we ignore the horrible breakdown of mutiny events, the enemy vessel boarding party is just the captain and the first officer? really? ..anyway i hope it turns around because i miss star trek.

 

[sttngfan1701d]

After watching both episodes again, the pilot is even worse (and last night, I gave it a 3 out of 10!), but the 2nd episode still holds up as an improvement. My god, what were they thinking with these Klingons? I'm saying this as someone who watches MOSTLY subtitled films...those portions bored me to death and I was completely apathetic toward these Klingons.

I liked Michelle Yeoh. I'm sad she got killed off but hopefully we see her in flashbacks. Michael is completely full of herself, and yet again, I was yelling "throw her ass in the brig!" but there is definite potential to her character. Saru left me cold, as did this portrayal of Sarek (and I'm wondering why it couldn't just be a new Vulcan character....why Sarek? I know they're banking on character familiarity, but still...). Admiral Whatshisname continues the tradition of Starfleet admirals who show up to battle just to be killed, but he also made me wish that we get an admiral who's a thoughtful person and not an idiot.

Overall I love the visual style and the set design. I love that they have taken parts of JJTrek and added their own spin on the aesthetic. But I will still dig my feet in and say the hyper-HD special effects looked like a video game. I don't care how much money CBS is throwing at this, it looks silly. Those creatures on the planet, Michael in the space suit....it really took me out of it. I did like the ships, though. For $8 million per episode, you'd think they'd have a cleaner look to this....not screaming "LOOK! CGI!" Game of Thrones operated for years on an $8 million-per-episode budget and their CGI was always so much....cleaner. It enhanced environments, rather than screamed out loud. Environments and stuff looked real, not like they were trapped in a video game.

Aside from the space battle, the best part of the episode was Michael in the brig. I loved how she was stuck there, waiting to die, and then tricked the computer. That was a cool scene.

I'll give it 2 more episodes to grab me, though. If it doesn't, I won't be paying for CBS All Access. The potential is there....we'll see.