Well, for me, that was a step in the right direction. I really enjoyed the first two episodes, but this one felt like it put a lot of pieces into play that have been missing thus far. It was never going to have the emotional satisfaction of, say, New Eden, as it is not a self-contained story, and has neither beginning or ending. To expect such would have been rather unfair; like so many prior episodes of Trek throughout the years, how this one ranks will depend on how further beats in the story unfold. But it did add a slew of new pieces to the game board.
If there is a weakness here, it's the direction. The camerawork was distracting. There's an art to framing character beats to sell them, and the direction didn't support them as well as it could have, particularly during Amanda's walk away from Michael and the scene with Stamets, Tilly, Michael, and Saru. In those moments, the beats that mattered got swallowed in the staging. Similarly, the staging of the Klingon fight left something to be desired compared, for instance, to the staging of the final fight scene on board the Charon.
It's so great to see the Klingons again, as they're the element I can now see I've been missing this season, and wow--that was some gorgeous production design and costuming. The prostheses for L'Rell allow greater expression, which is also nice. I'm curious to see where the infant story goes, but mostly I just want more L'Rell.
I like the May story thus far, as it seems clear that this isn't just an alien invasion/possession story and will feed into a bigger story. I'm curious where it goes.
Also, Michelle Yeoh is a delight. I could watch a whole show about her. Oh wait...
