Spoilers Star Trek: Discovery 1x06 - "Lethe"

[Vger23]

Oh don't get me wrong, I don't think they are responding to us, it's just that the points we make about each episode, positive and negative, are consistently addressed in the show itself. Burnham's dubious blame, the tardigrade's sentience, Lorca's charming nuttiness, even Burnham's odd route into Starfleet. The writers are pretty self aware about what it is they're writing, and throw very little out there they're not intending to address.


Which would be a lovely new thing for Trek to try

I actually have a theory that the writers KNOW damn well what's going to cause controversy and heated debate. They throw that out there initially...and then they wait an episode or two to address it in a way that will please most fans...but in the same episode they re-introduce something else they know will infuriate people.

If you think about it...it's a great way to keep the chatter going.

 

[Jadeb]

The Sarek (Serk!) storyline felt very TNG to me. It was fine, maybe a little dull. I somewhat question the call to focus Sarek's not-really-dying wish on Michael. Seems a bit of a Mary Sue maneuver that his greatest regret hinges on a ward we'd never heard of before this series. You'd think Sarek would learn something from this episode -- that it would make him re-evaluate his behavior with both Michael AND Spock -- but Vulcans aren't good at changing their ways in general. A stubborn lot, those Vulcans.

The Lorca storyline continues to be the show's strong point. I liked the ambiguity of his decision at the end. Is he deliberately facilitating the death of his lover to save his captaincy or is he simply respecting her wishes? Does he even know? He asks Starfleet for direction, rather than just leaving her to die, so it's nicely muddy in terms of morality.

As much as I'm enjoying the fan service, we've had two eps in a row built on TOS characters. And we've also had the rather rote "Tardigrade is a living being and must be freed" Trek trope. Plus, the Mirror Universe is coming up. If it weren't for Lorca, I might be feeling that things were already getting tired.

So who's doing duty in the spore drive now? Are they taking turns? I was surprised they didn't follow up more on the freeing of the Tardigrade. Similarly, you'd think that someone would have previously mentioned that going into a nebula would cause the ship to explode. Might be a good thing to tell the captain.

This show is really fixated on terrorism, isn't it? First the Klingons are an ISIS metaphor, now the Vulcans are at it.

I'm tempted to say the show is hitting its stride, but it may just be better than it started out. They've yet to knock it out of the park for me.

 

[Vger23]

Oh I took the ominous ending with him and the phaser to mean that he's intentionally leaving her hostage so he can keep his ship.

I'm not sure that's true about Lorca.

There's been a lot of disucssion that Lorca set Cornwell up purposefully. I actually don't believe that quite yet (although I fully admit it COULD be true). He would have had no way of knowing it was an ambush. For all he knew, this was a fully vetted mission that a top Federation Ambassador was about to undertake.

I think Cornwell legitimately got to Lorca and he's fighting to regain some of his humanity (he truly values his ship and his crew)...but he still has major issues...hence the phaser.

I guess time will prove me right or wrong though.

 

[Charles Phipps]

This show is really fixated on terrorism, isn't it? First the Klingons are an ISIS metaphor, now the Vulcans are at it.

It's a good thing DS9 came out when it did as they could never get away with a terrorist protagonist nowadays, no matter how hot and feisty.

 

[Charles Phipps]

I'm not sure that's true about Lorca.

There's been a lot of disucssion that Lorca set Cornwell up purposefully. I actually don't believe that quite yet (although I fully admit it COULD be true). He would have had no way of knowing it was an ambush. For all he knew, this was a fully vetted mission that a top Federation Ambassador was about to undertake.

I think Cornwell legitimately got to Lorca and he's fighting to regain some of his humanity (he truly values his ship and his crew)...but he still has major issues...hence the phaser.

I guess time will prove me right or wrong though.

I think Lorca doing it Uriah style is what fits most as it illustrates he really does know Klingons THAT well--at least the honorless trash which make Admiral Cartwright's actions seem reasonable.

It is a Moral Event Horizon, though, given their relationship.

 

[Vger23]

I think Lorca doing it Uriah style is what fits most as it illustrates he really does know Klingons THAT well--at least the honorless trash which make Admiral Cartwright's actions seem reasonable.

It is a Moral Event Horizon, though, given their relationship.

Hmmm...we shall see. I really like the character and I'm rooting for him to be redeemed. I'd be disappointed (but not surprised) to see that not happen though.

My guess is that at the end of the season, he will be relieved via Cornwall's wishes. That would facilitate Burnham or Saru moving up (and/or a new CO for season 2) and it would free Isaacs up to be a guest actor in future seasons without needing to commit to all the episodes.

Again....just a guess. I actually hope he stays aboard as the full-time CO.

 

[Mr Awe]

Perhaps, but there was that interesting beat in which the Vulcan leader challenged Sarek about why he hesitated to choose between Michael and Spock. Saying Michael would have betrayed that he felt more than he should, that his involvement in her life was more than an experiment. And over time, it proved to be a moment that Sarek didn't know Spock as well as he believed.

That was an interesting scene. For me it brought to mind the illness he is revealed to have in TNG. Are his actions now early symptoms of the disease? I don't remember enough of TNG story to know if that's even possible.

 

[Charles Phipps]

Hmmm...we shall see. I really like the character and I'm rooting for him to be redeemed. I'd be disappointed (but not surprised) to see that not happen though.

My guess is that at the end of the season, he will be relieved via Cornwall's wishes. That would facilitate Burnham or Saru moving up (and/or a new CO for season 2) and it would free Isaacs up to be a guest actor in future seasons without needing to commit to all the episodes.

Again....just a guess. I actually hope he stays aboard as the full-time CO.

It seems like they'll be doing the mutiny plot against him and Burnham being reinstated as Captain of Discovery. Which you'd think wouldn't be possible but this is the Starfleet where stealing the Enterprise and getting it blown up only gets you demoted to Captain.

I do hope they reveal he's somehow Garth of Izar, though.

 

[KirkusOveractus]

It seems like they'll be doing the mutiny plot against him and Burnham being reinstated as Captain of Discovery. Which you'd think wouldn't be possible but this is the Starfleet where stealing the Enterprise and getting it blown up only gets you demoted to Captain.

Yes, but Kirk saved the galaxy and Earth quite a bit. Burnham started a war.

 

[Charles Phipps]

Yes, but Kirk saved the galaxy and Earth quite a bit. Burnham started a war.

Well, she didn't.

They used her as a scapegoat.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

His dialogue with Cornwell, as I noted, was generally great (although the actress he was in the scenes with, not so much).

I have had a crush on Jayne Brook for close to twenty-five years, since her short stint on L.A. Law. I won't hear a bad word about her!

 

[Mr Awe]

True, although the writers are clearly switched on to what people pick up from episodes, as there is a growing trend of them addressing exactly what we point out week to week. I'm suspicious that it's too telegraphed at this point.

Having said that though, my IRL friends who watch Discovery hadn't picked it up at all, so maybe it is too much knowledge being a dangerous thing.

I'm loving that aspect where they telegraph things just enough that viewers pickup on it, but not so telegraphed that the viewers think they're supposed to pick up on it! This leads to "writers aren't thinking about X", but in the next episode it's a major point. They're clearly putting a lot of thought into it.

That does make me question the Voq theory. Will it truly be as straightforward as it appears at first glance?

 

[Saul]

Solid episode. In terms of storytelling it feels very much like a Star Trek show, just told in a new way. Next week looks good.

That holodeck though.... I'm finding it difficult to believe this is still Prime Timeline, each week there is something new. Klingons with multiple cloaks too is more than carefully walking the line of canon.

 

[Mr Awe]

Re: Tilly making captain

Tilly is too much of a spaz to command a ship. Unless Starfleet is really desperate to fill center seats because most of their senior officers end up being lost in the war, it really shouldn't happen.

Sulu was an excellent officer, on the command track, and it took him 25 years to finally get a ship of his own.

I interpret Tilly to be a representation of the future of the Star Fleet that we know is just around the corner. The optimistic positive version that is coming is thanks to people like Tilly.

Either that, or she will be killed for shock value at some point.

Those two points are NOT mutually exclusive either.

 

[Charles Phipps]

Tilly is a cadet.

She's got a couple of decades until Captain unless she accidentally finds herself in the Kelvinverse.

 

[urbandefault]

This made me laugh a little (paraphrased):

Spoiler: ;)

". . . a posting on a Constitution class ship like the Enterprise. Fast track to first officer, and boom! Cadet to Captain."

 

[Timo]

I'm 100% sure the writers had nothing in particular in mind when writing that line.

We should note that Arne Darvin was supposedly just a "boob job", a bit of plastic surgery that a tricorder picked up easily enough - but that the flatheaded Klingons in the ENT episodes were radically genetically altered and still instantly and unambiguously recognized as Klingons by Phlox and his 22nd century medical equipment. Supposedly, the likes of Kor from TOS are the same thing as the ENT flatheads, only without the superpowers and the fatal fever.

Recognizing a fake Klingon created by either of the above two ways should be relatively easy, then. But what's noteworthy is that those who read Archer's logs know that Klingons may look like humans, but Archer is a century in the past - while Kirk's log will only be written ten years in the future. Humanlike Klingons could well surprise our DSC heroes, then.

But that cuts both ways. In ten years, Kirk will be somewhat surprised by a human-looking Klingons. Thankfully, he doesn't outright declare that this would be the first time ever. Indeed, we may read the episode as indicating that this happens every six months or so, and that the people involved here were particularly careless and will hear of it yet...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Mr Awe]

I'm not sure that's true about Lorca.

There's been a lot of disucssion that Lorca set Cornwell up purposefully. I actually don't believe that quite yet (although I fully admit it COULD be true). He would have had no way of knowing it was an ambush. For all he knew, this was a fully vetted mission that a top Federation Ambassador was about to undertake.

I think Cornwell legitimately got to Lorca and he's fighting to regain some of his humanity (he truly values his ship and his crew)...but he still has major issues...hence the phaser.

I guess time will prove me right or wrong though.

I'm not sure if he knew it was going to be an ambush or not. Although, there's no doubt that it is a dangerous mission. However, I'm pretty sure he is at least dragging his feet with the rescue. He knows Star Fleet won't want him going in there with his ship based on what he learned from Cornwell herself. So, he can use the situation to look good in front of them and keep her out of the picture. Very calculating which fits his character.

 

[Manuuk7]

I am still waiting to rate this episode. I’m having trouble separating content (not happy about Sarek/Burnham thing) from form (already watched three times and can’t stop thinking about episode). So it will be a 7 or a 10.
I may be the only one who thought Sarek’s decision was entirely logical and of course he wouldn’t share it with the humans who will have problems with it.
I love Lorca and thought it was a hoot when he decided for once in his life to ask Starfleet. Part of me was ‘he wouldn’t dare, would he?’ I’d feel a lot safer with him as a captain than any of the admirals around him.

I ended up giving it an 8.
A question for canon folks out there: aren't Vulcans supposed to be much stronger than humans? how do you explain Burnham holding her own in hand-to-hand combat with a Vulcan male?

 

[MadeIndescribable]

I ended up giving it an 8.
A question for canon folks out there: aren't Vulcans supposed to be much stronger than humans? how do you explain Burnham holding her own in hand-to-hand combat with a Vulcan male?

It was taking place in Sarek's mind, and therefore merely representative of Burnham getting through to him.