Spoilers Star Trek: Discovery 2x09 - "Project Daedalus"

[LizStargaryen]

When they showed the memory of Airiam and her husband right after the opening credits, I thought it was a commercial for some Caribbean vacation. Had to rewind and watch again.

Same here. I didn't get it until it was obvious she was the one watching the "commercial."

Ha! I knew that Vulcan lady was Control.

I didn't. They got me.

That Airiam character doesn’t really mesh well here. She seems too advanced for 23rd century Starfleet and I doubt they would allow augmentation like that, even cybernetically.
So the Discovery is down to only 2 commanders now.

She worked very well for me. This is helping me reconcile in my brain how Starfleet gets from our present day, where I may have cyborgic eyes in 15-20 years (hereditary ocular issues) to
Airiam to the VISOR that LaForge had in the 24th century.

Of course, I know that our early 21st century is not the same as the 21st century in Trek's past. But as a viewer whose doctors have pretty much told me they'll have an artificial eye for me when the time comes, yes, I liked having a character who helps me understand why TNG has holodecks and Warp 9, but not enhancements.

I understand that the Trek backstory means no genetic enhancements, but I don't remember there being prohibitions against other kinds.

I'm signed up for the with commercials plan, but I didn't get a single commercial. Weird.

Same! I'd planned to check my bill, just in case. But I'm playing it back a second time and -- yes, I haven't seen a single commercial. Wonder what that's all about? Did they get more CBS All Access signups after the barrage of good news over the past few weeks, so we're all getting a treat?

Working with Spock was more efficient anyway. You can get things done three times as fast when you're not constantly arguing, like Stamets and Reno would've.

I thought it was a good callback to TMP, when Spock arrived and helped Scotty balance the warp engines.

"I have many talents." Spock has never been modest, that's for sure.

I mean, you’re not wrong. But it would have been nice to see at least a passing reference to Reno. We haven’t seen her in what? 4? 5 episodes?

Yes, agreed. That's the one thing that I want this Trek to do better. It wouldn't take a thing away from Burnham, who I actually like, to do more character centered eps like this one. (That's why I rated it so high. Loved the episodes that deviated from the Captains in earlier series to focus on someone else from the bridge crews. Wanted to reward them giving Airiam the A story -- and given this show's record, we don't know that she's gone forever.)

 

[Enterprise is Great]

While I would have liked to have seen a little more previous development on Airiam myself, I reject the notion that the impact of her death is lessened due to the lack thereof.

Lal? Edith Keeler? Tuvix? Sim? Amin Maritza? All done-in-one characters whose deaths had powerful emotional impact on the audience. In me, at least.

I agree. Also if characters that I really care about like Burnham and Tilly care about that character dying that makes me care.

I think that they left Nhan's status as a mystery so we'd think that Burnham was going to airllock Miriam only to see it was Nhan.

 

[Jaimito]

The anger between Spock and Michael is revealed further, and gives one reason why Spock never talked about her in the future.
The angry and emotional Spock was neat to see.

Liked the Stammets and Spock interaction.

Those space helmets were so cool. Michael is an action star now, she is almost more physical than Kirk.

Just when Airiam got interesting, they killed her off. Her ability to download memories was cool. In a sense she was the proto-Data. Tilly and her had nice moments. The emotions of the crew seeing her death were well acted. I thought the red shirt was going to die first.

 

[cooleddie74]

DSC isn't afraid to kill someone off. As much as I love Berman-era Trek there seemed to be a frequent reluctance to take life-threatening risks with many lead and supporting characters.

It took ENT until Season 3 and the Xindi mission into the Delphic Expanse to lose more than a small handful of crewmembers. UPN really cockblocked the producers and writers for the first couple of years and had them play it a little too safe for a mid-22nd century Earth vessel that was going where no human had gone before.

 

[Tuskin38]

There was a next episode preview on CBSAA. Didn't show much. Burnham saying she is ready and sitting on some metalic chair. She is either being executed or turned into Red Angel. Probably the latter given the title of the episode. There is also a Burnham monologue for those who love that stuff.

She's surrounded by Transporter dishes.

 

[cooleddie74]

Obsolete transporter projector technology. I wonder if those are stored at Section 31 headquarters for use by agents if they need to generate a transport beam with no available receiver pad nearby.

 

[Tuskin38]

Plus augmentating is a bit of a no no in Starfleet.

Generitc augmentation, not mechanical.

 

[Vger23]

I agree. Also if characters that I really care about like Burnham and Tilly care about that character dying that makes me care.

I think that they left Nhan's status as a mystery so we'd think that Burnham was going to airllock Miriam only to see it was Nhan.

That's how I feel as well. I don't need to be invested in Airiam for her death to work, because I'm invested in the other characters who do really care about her, and you experience the show through them. The performances sold it, and that's part of experiencing a televised story.

 

[Jadeb]

I thought this was clunky and dull, with a mediocre Terminator rip at the end. Suffered from one of the big problems of season one: sketching characters in too hastily and then expecting us to care about them. Would have worked much better had we gotten to know Ariam before this. As it was, it just seemed like a waste of a potentially interesting character. Like the Lorca reveal, the return wasn't worth the investment.

Very little in this ep worked for me, including shouty Spock. Though I did like his insights with Stamets. That was well observed -- a nice piece of character work in an episode that I found largely hamfisted.

 

[Jadeb]

That's how I feel as well. I don't need to be invested in Airiam for her death to work, because I'm invested in the other characters who do really care about her, and you experience the show through them. The performances sold it, and that's part of experiencing a televised story.

Then why bother with frantically sketching in her backstory at the last second?

 

[Uhura's Song]

DSC isn't afraid to kill someone off. As much as I love Berman-era Trek there seemed to be a frequent reluctance to take life-threatening risks with many lead and supporting characters.

It took ENT until Season 3 and the Xindi mission into the Delphic Expanse to lose more than a small handful of crewmembers. UPN really cockblocked the producers and writers for the first couple of years and had them play it a little too safe for a mid-22nd century Earth vessel that was going where no human had gone before.

TOS: None of the recurring cast was killed. Unless you count Spock in WoK or Kirk in Generations. One came back. One was already dead.

TNG: Yar killed in S1. Data in Nemesis. Both, sort of.

DS9: Dax the only casualty. Again, being a Trill, sort of. Not counting bad guys.

VOY: Sesca. Other than that, no one.

ENT: Tripp. Needlessly.

DSC: Capt. Georgiou (sort of), MU Lorca, Airiam.

 

[Vger23]

Then why bother with frantically sketching in her backstory at the last second?

Why not?

 

[cooleddie74]

I like the Discovery EVA suits. A nice blending of the ENT spacesuits from a century before and the TOS environmental suits with the latter's angular control plating just below the helmet ring. A good compromise between the 22nd century spacesuits seen on ENT and the 1960s aesthetic used on TOS.

 

[Vger23]

I can't believe Burnham got to use a patented Kirk-Fu flying dropkick.

Is it now canon that this is a skill taught in the Academy self-defense classes?

 

[Jadeb]

Why not?

Because it's crude and ineffective shorthand that doesn't really connect us to the character they're about to redshirt.

 

[JKM]

Well that was depressing episode. I'm loving Spock though. Initially I was really nervous on how he would be portrayed but I kind of feel like he steals every scene he is in. I loved the bit about the reason Pike was left out of the war also. I would so adore a show with this Pike and Spock.

Son of a bitch, that Airiam ending was...I did not see it actually coming.

Really? Hmm, I kinda expected this was coming since she got infected. Especially after I found out the main actress had changed characters in the show. That cinched my thoughts on it. I was just waiting to see if I was right. Guess so!

 

[Vger23]

Because it's crude and ineffective shorthand that doesn't really connect us to the character they're about to redshirt?

It honestly worked perfectly well for me. And that's not me being an apologist. I genuinely felt emotional.

But it wasn't because I was sad to see Airiam go. It was that I was sad for the main characters who had to let her go. Sometimes I experience the emotions in drama through your direct personal connection. Other times, it's indirect through other characters.

The performances made it work for me. I can see where others might not have a care. I'm glad it just happened to work for me this time.

 

[cooleddie74]

Ethan Peck is definitely channeling Leonard Nimoy's Spock and I'm really enjoying his performance so far. There were moments during his argument with Michael that reminded me of TOS Spock.

 

[thribs]

Generitc augmentation, not mechanical.

Mechanical can just be as bad. I’ve seen enough sci fi to know so.

 

[XCV330]

9.

thoughts:
Airiam's ease of hacking gives a good reason for Starfleet to be wary of such augmentation, and later of androids.

Sad to see her go. It became clear either Nhan or Airiam or both, weren't coming back from that mission. Also, nice to see Nhan officially mentioned as Barzan in dialogue.

They got close to the "Below decks" show they had originally talked about.

Can we please have Jett Reno back on the show? The ensemble cast thing means some people sit an episode out, but she barely has had a presence.

Even Pike gets annoyed with Tilly and gets her to get to the point. Extra points for Pike. And I like Tilly a lot.

Cornwell as a flawed admiral in extremely difficult circumstances is pretty much spelled out verbatim in this episode if it really wasn't apparent before, and I think that makes her far more interesting.

So I guess Sukar and Gorch were frozen?

Stamets just got relationship advice from Spock. That's awesome.