9/10! Started off as an 7 because in the first five minutes, the two things that I didn't want (Michael being the Angel and an infodump from Section 31 to explain the suit) happened, but it turns out everything else was awesome and it was all a lie! This episode, even with all the important season long reveals...was all about its characters, and hell, those are my favorite episodes.
SMG: Her performances really drive the show for me, and this episode was her best, after her last best, after her last best. She
is Michael and I always feel what she's feeling. I love the nuanced microexpressions she pulls off. As Leland was telling her about her parents, this is the first that I can remember her playing it completely blindsided and was knocked all the way back down to the little girl in the closet. Even in her confrontations with Sarek, Amanda, and Spock, whilst caught off guard she could hardly be said to lose control of the situation. Here she looked completely broken...until she snapped out of it and went badass again. The same nuance, I felt in her scene with Spock. Once he accepts her apology, you can see the weight of her childhood pains just evaporate away. That was absolutely lovely. Her apology to Ash was delivered very methodically and nervously, as you could see a lot of things going on in her at once but she had definitely practiced what she was going to say to him at least a couple times. And later we see her lower her guard back down to childhood again when she see's her mom.
Spock and Michael: Just lovely. Their low key argument and bickering during their discussion with Pike and Cornwell, hilarious. And the amused glances between our captain and admiral were equally hilarious. Part of me wishes they were still fighting because that was wonderful. But it works great against their later scene. I have been wondering if they would give Spock some lines delivered in a more 'classic' version of Spock, and this was it for me. He felt so naturally tender in his own subtle way, closer to the version of Spock that I think of when I think of Spock (film era). And when they go back to Pike to discuss their plan, there's this tiny moment where Pike looks at Spock bemused and I read it as, in the middle of this crazy important explanation Pike stopped to think, 'OMG did they just make up???' <333333
Georgiou: I'm really gonna need them to reveal eventually that she wasn't the one that actually bombed her Klingons and she's just taking credit, because I can't stop being on board her redemption arc. I think a lot of us saw the sparks of Captain Georgiou during her one-on-ones with Michael, especially her thing about hurting those they care about with good intentions. That was definitely her playing it more like the Cap. When Michael explains her insane plan, Georgiou is the first (and
very quickly) to point out it's insane. It was motherly. I loved it. Her interest in Culber and Stamets relationship is also very interesting to me. I wasn't sure at first if she was just having fun making people uncomfortable, or if she was actively trying to make Culber jealous, and if so....why? Oh wait, we're suppose to like her (and dammit, I do! I totally do!) because that look she gave them later on the planet when Stamets had his breakup shields up, that was definitely the look of an Asian mom thinking, 'SHIT, I GOT SOME MEDDLING TO DO.' (Anecdotal evidence from my own Asian mom)
I'd love to see some whacky sci if twist that says something like the quantum resonance unique to the Mirror Universe affects humans over time and makes them have all the negative traits you see there and, once removed from that setting, you start to be influenced by THIS universe's quantum resonance and lose those traits.
I'd love to see Georgeau start to gravitate back to the original character, with a little vampy mischief still intact.
You and I are in agreement!
Culber: I'm glad they moved Culber's arc quickly in this episode with his conversation with Cornwell. I'm really hoping there is a throwaway line later on in the series about the admiral having the idea of placing counselors on ships, because its nice to
finally see some therapy go on with some of these PTSD heroes, even if it was literally a 2 minute session. Very well written and efficient. I've been hoping that their story would move on to 'falling in love for the second first-time' and I think that's whats going to happen. And as a side note, Stamets has the saddest sad face in all of Trek. When he rejects Culber at the end, it was heart wrenching.
Ash: I'm not huge on Ash/Michael but its fine. It's definitely okay. But what I think is funny is how Ash has been that character to go therapy on ppl outside of Cornwell; Ash laying it out to Pike about being a hothead and the reasons why, Ash making Culber see that they aren't that different, and now Ash pointing out to Michael that she takes it out on him because he's the only one she can take it out on without repercussions. It's a surprising, but very nice facet to his character.
For an episode that I'd been waiting for to deliver all the plot points and plot mysteries, it ended up being another fantastically character-driven story and the plot points seemed secondary. I still have questions about the plot but I feel like, given what we've seen all season, that the resolution to the plotty plot will be satisfying.
