Spoilers Star Trek: Discovery 2x11 - "Perpetual Infinity"

[DaveyNY]

It's called an "opinion" and we all have them. They can be more or less informed, so I would really be interested to hear what could possibly top a storyline with these kind of stakes involved.

How I choose to spend my time is of no concern to noone else though. It's hardly not something to require you to think to follow or with many characters and twists (such as GoT or The OA) so you can do other things when watching it in the background. And it still bears the name Star Trek (even if it has very little in common with it).

The double negatives you chose to employ in your post completely change, what I'm assuming you actually wanted to say, so I guess your "opinion" even escapes you and is less informed than you know.

And contrary to what you apparently would like us to believe, most folks do not really waste their time watching something they don't enjoy, even if it is playing in the background while they are doing other things.

Unless of course, they just want to be able to 'say' they 'watched' something, while all the time only fooling themselves.
But c'est la vie, who am I to try and understand an expressed "opinion", of which the person expressing it, isn't really sure about it themselves.

 

[cooleddie74]

Some good moments but not one of my favorites from this season. Once again Ethan Peck's Spock was the best thing about the new episode.

 

[Roald]

Loved the ep. The acting is amazing, this is by far the best acted ST series ever!
If Leland DOES turn out to be the origins of the Borg, I wouldn’t mind. As long as he somehow travels back in time to the Delta Quadrant.. I think that would be cool and ironic.

 

[Lakenheath 72]

The Star Trek Writers twitter account has an image of books said to have been in the episode. It makes one wonder how much of canon they know. There is a Fizzbin Instruction Manual, another about Pon Farr, and there is a book about games played on Terra Prime. Terra Prime was a terrorist organization from the last season of Enteprise.

 

[Turtletrekker]

The Star Trek Writers twitter account has an image of books said to have been in the episode. It makes one wonder how much of canon they know. There is a Fizzbin Instruction Manual, another about Pon Farr, and there is a book about games played on Terra Prime. Terra Prime was a terrorist organization from the last season of Enteprise.

I wouldn't read too much into that. In The Vulcan Hello, Georgeau's office had a bookshelf filled with books named after old original series episodes. Easter eggs. Nothing more.

 

[Cyrus]

As usual for Star Trek the data in computer memory is treated weirdly. The Sphere data cannot be deleted but can be moved to another storage device (the RA suit). Yeah I know the sphere data was acting like an AI itself, knew the difference between move and delete.

Kind of like the EMH on VOY, its program could be moved but not copied. So they had to send it (instead of copying it) via a message to Alpha Quadrant and risk losing it. And this was later contradicted as it had a backup copy.

 

[Jbarney]

The ep was okay. Not bad. Not great.
For me the problem was the ad for the next show. I can't believe they are going to go back to the Klingon baby story line. I had honestly hoped there was friction in the writer's room and it was one writer's turn....and well that was the story he wanted to tell. Half Human/Half Klingon male, with former Empress from another universe, get involved in Klingon politics after joining super secret security organization. He finds out he is a father after a medically supported pregnancy with the new Klingon leader.

It was so bad it goes up there with "Home Soil", "Charlie X", and "Spock's Brain" in my opinion. Like I hated that episode.

I have to admit......I am not looking forward to next week. I hope the writers prove me wrong, but this subplot is just bad in my opinion.

 

[SpocksOddSocks]

Anyone else lol at "struggle is useless"? I think they might be trolling us with the potential Borg stuff.

Edit: yes, I realised it was "struggle is pointless", but I was just going from memory straight from watching the episode (before catching up with the rest of the thread.)

 

[Cyrus]

It was so bad it goes up there with "Home Soil", "Charlie X", and "Spock's Brain" in my opinion. Like I hated that episode.

I have to admit......I am not looking forward to next week. I hope the writers prove me wrong, but this subplot is just bad in my opinion.

I have never seen "Charlie X" being referred as a bad episode, but OK if you think so.

As for next week episode, it's not just about Klingons. The red burst is back, and as we found out this week may not be related to the Red Angel.

 

[Campe]

The Star Trek Writers twitter account has an image of books said to have been in the episode. It makes one wonder how much of canon they know. There is a Fizzbin Instruction Manual, another about Pon Farr, and there is a book about games played on Terra Prime. Terra Prime was a terrorist organization from the last season of Enteprise.

The art department is not the same as the writing staff. In TNG, you had displays with references to Gilligan’s Island and MASH. Unless you believe there actually was a giant duck and mouse on the Enterprise-D?

These are called inside jokes. Things you’ll never see onscreen but are there just for a little fun. Not everything is about the almighty canon.

 

[IMC Headquarters]

Um...why isn't Spock wearing a uniform? Is he on vacation? Or do all his scenes take place off duty?

 

[Turd Ferguson]

Agreed. Besides, the Borg are about assimilating all life, whereas Control is about eliminating it.

You could say Control....... ADAPTED

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

A 7/10 this week

Save Mama From The Time Machine

Well, well where do we begins. No funny Tilly scenes this week but a fast episode. They have mama Burnham inside the containment field but problems above. Their main problem is that the suit and mama are linked to the future despite severing the wormhole because reasons. They severed the wormhole that should be the end of it and that's what I was thinking but hey Star Trek and reasons. Seems that despite that the future wants the suit and her back. Some link still ties them together. So they devise a plan which revolves around "more power" yep shove more power into the containment field that will fix it.

But after watching the episode I get the impression shoving more power into it is causing the pull to increase more from outside and yeah sure enough the wormhole reopens sucking the suit and mama Burnham into it.

Leland has been nanofied. The effects used keep making me think of Borg nanites but we know this isn't that but anyway he's nanofied now and is now NanoLeland. I'll just call him Nano.

He wants the sphere data but when the crew of Disco try to delete the sphere data it protects itself by shitting out what looks like a wall of encryption. Bet you wish you still had Airiam onboard hey? Anyway they can't delete the data and Nano wants the data so he gets devious gives Voq-boy a mission to plant a thingy near the suit to siphon off the data that Disco has decided to send to the suit instead because it's got unlimited storage. Must be new ram chips.

Anyway Michael's other mama Georgiou pops by and shuts off the thingy that is siphoning the data. Nano then realizes what's going on and beams down and then lots of kungfu fighting happens. Georgiou is good at the kungfu stuff. She's fit.

That scene was actually lots of fun to watch and was fast. Michelle Yeoh did an amazing job with the fight scene.

While all this is going on the super duper wormhole of wonder opens and sucks up the suit and mama taking them back to the future.

We're left hanging till next week and this season is exciting.


Thinking about some things.

I knew something was up when they first encountered the sphere. Seemed improbable that they would just bump into that in the middle of space and even back then I got the impression something put it int he path of Disco. It was just way too convenient that in the middle of interstellar space they'd bump into such a random object as that without some kind of assistance, and now we know it was mama B doing her time thing.

The suit does seem a bit more advanced then the era they seem to live in would suggest. Still this is Star Trek where anything can and does happen.

Control using Leland as an avatar was a path I didn't expect. So when he's talking he's just a meat puppet for the moment so I'm wondering like others too if he's dead and just a meat puppet for the A.I. or that he is in there somewhere but can't consciously present himself to everyone else because Control has locked him away and his mind can't do anything. I'm thinking he's now to far gone and can't b saved and think his brain and mind are now long gone with the nanite infestation in his body. I'm not so sure he can be saved if at all.

Three more episodes to go and I'm really getting excited to see how they wrap the season up..

 

[rahullak]

Funny how Spock just seems to pop-up where required.

This episode answered some questions but threw up some others. It's more on the fantasy side of Trek this one.

 

[StarMan]

I felt Discovery had finally hit it's stride after the Talosian episode. It hasn't taken long for it to fall back into forgettable mediocrity. The plot over the past two episodes has gotten too convoluted for my tastes. Plus, we know full well all sentient life in the galaxy won't be wiped out so... *shrug*... the stakes aren't real. What's real is we'll be put through the churner to get to the start off point of S3. Hey, at least it's just the galaxy at pretend stake this time round, instead of the whole fucking multiverse.

Putting aside the face palming plot ... I did like the actress playing Michael's mother. Ethan Peck and Michelle Yeoh also continue to impress.

5/10.

 

[saddestmoon]

I gave that a 9!


Loved it all! Mama Burnham's reveal and backstory, Mirror 's Georgiou's revealing of her true colours / motivations, ControLeland was great in a T-1000esque way - and more badass than Leland ever was (Leland who was morally compromised, but not 'EEEEVIIILLLLL' as such - unlike Control).

Couple of points:

- When Michael came to at the beginning of the ep, did I hear Pike address her as 'Amanda'? Pretty sure he said that...

- This ep had the right amount of action, intrigue, twist, suspense and character development.

- Interesting to learn that Gabrielle Burnham had no idea of the red bursts... that was an extremely significant plot point slipped in, I reckon!

Not too blow one's trumpet, buuuuut I think I was sorta on the right track (maybe) in my thoughts around Gabrielle being trapped in the suit, and Spock's suitability in terms of Gabrielle being able to communicate. I'll just leave this here...

Red Angel Theories- Post Here

New thoughts, I think (unless someone has posted previously?)

Might the person inside the suit be perhaps trapped and can’t escape from it?

Maybe the RAs abilities are limited to travelling / being sent transported, in the suit (through time / across vast distances) but not being able to talk, or exit the suit? A prison of sorts...?

In other words the RA needs Spock because:

- he can mind meld with the RA and she can communicate with him via her thoughts / memories (of future events yet to transpire). Spock has said that the person inside the suit is lonely, which implies isolation (through perhaps being trapped).

And

- because he’s half human, which may set him apart in terms of resilience / mental fortitude / and possessing a very direct connection to humanity and to Vulcan which may be essential to his receiving the RAs ‘messages’ etc. Maybe his upbringing makes him more receptive to the existence of the RA (and perhaps even time travel itself as a concept)?

If the person in the suit is trying to escape, it would make sense for her to seek out a Vulcan who can mind meld, as she is unable to communicate directly, but not one so set in their ways that they hinder the RA from achieving its mission, and finding escape?

I do believe it’s Spock’s shared heritage of being half human, half Vulcan that is the key reason why he was chosen - and also going off the plot points introduced around Vulcan Extremists not accepting him and trying to kill him and his family.

In other words the perceived ‘weakness’ of him being human and Vulcan (according to the Logic Extremists and prejudiced Vulcans, and humans alike) is ultimately what makes Spock the sole candidate for the rescue of the person inside the suit, and gives him the strength / insight to find a solution to the Angels predicament.

Anywho, just some thoughts around this...

 

[cultcross]

Well this week wasn't one massive logical contradiction like last week, which is good, but that's about where the good stops, unfortunately.

Last week had a lot of good scenes and good performances which helped improve my impression of it, I can't say the same this week.
The first three quarters were talky technobabble that was like a Futurama spoof of a Trek stereotype. If we modify the transporters with the dark matter! Jesus. Voyager level bad, with fewer tachyons (not zero though). There's no substance, no theme or narrative, it's just tech the tech to avoid this tech jeopardy. And of course There's only enough power for one attempt!

The data stuff made no sense, as others have said. Star Trek always made this mistake in the Berman era, as though data is like a box of stuff you physically move around.

Why is Spock the "only one in the whole of time" who could understand her? He's not the only half Vulcan half human in existence I'm sure, and how complicated can it be? We understand it.

They didn't beam up the landing party because they were defending Burnmom, cool, ok. Why don't they beam up Leland? Or beam him into space or to the other side of the planet, or something? This show's selective transporter use is becoming a thing.

I don't get why Control needs the data anyway, it already appears perfectly capable of planning, deception, manipulation, anticipating others, desires and goals. What more does it need to be an AI?

Then the episode ends with pew pew and a completely unearned bonding scene with Burnmom. What made her suddenly be all emotional after all that stuff about giving up on hope? The episode running out?

Seems Burnham is the only main cast regular to be getting any screen time, Stamets, Saru and Tilly have been relegated to button pushers while Pike Spock Leland and Georgiou take up the bulk of the action.

Positives, last scene with Spock and Burnham was good, those two continue to be strong. Effects were good and the acting is still very strong. Good choice of actor for Burnmom.

Liked the framing of the Klingon attack, it felt genuinely frightening, although why she wasted time putting Burnham in the closet if she was going to jump back an hour anyway I don't know. If she hadn't, her plan would have worked.

Overall, worse than last week and well below average for the season. Score 4.

 

[Zod]

I didn't enjoy this episode, did not enjoy the last episode either. I found it to be poorly written. I had such high hopes for where this was all going but I'm not in love where they have taken the red angel storyline. Its starting to feel like a weaker version of mass effect 3, hopefully it will get a better ending then that did.

Next week's episode looks terrible. Oh well. Im disappointed!

 

[Michael]

Oh gawd, why does it have to be so bad? Almost nothing in this episode (or this arc, for that matter) seems to make sense any more. Why is Gabrielle Burnham, and not the suit, tethered to the time stream? Wasn't it merely a time traveling device? What's the reason for initially being so cold to Burnham? Why wouldn't they not allow Burnham to talk to her mother in the beginning? How long – from her point of view – is Gabrielle stranded in the future? Why did she transplant the New Eden folks? And how the fuck did she do that? Why does a time travel suit have the ability to heal someone from … death? How did Gabrielle watch her daughter for all those years? Why did she appear to Spock? Why did Control plot this unnecessarily convoluted plan to get the sphere data? Why do the writers think any of this is good, intelligent drama?

It's interesting to see that for once most here seem to be in agreement that this episodes just wasn't very good. I don't know, feels refreshing to see that it's not just me (and a couple of others) this time. Hopefully they will save it in the last batch of episodes. Realistically, though, I don't have much hope left.

Man, I hope they don't try to shoehorn this into Calypso. That is so great, just let it be a short story based on DSC.

While on the one hand I think if handled well I wouldn't mind a tie-in to “Calypso”, I do on the other hand agree: “Calypso” was an amazing standalone episode and a half-baked follow-up could seriously undermine its impact. They would probably do well to leave the episode alone.

If they want me to care about Momham's journey, maybe dedicate an episode to her POV, and show us her journey from start to being captured by Discovery. Show us why she made the choices the made, and what they mean to her. Because right now this is gibberish.

Sounds like an amazing idea, but I'm sure they'd somehow fuck this up as well.

Yeah. People complaining how "talky" an episode is when, in previous episodes, they kept complaining about how fast everything was moving. The less I say about that, the better...

It's almost like people want episodes that are not, you know, one thing only, but exert a balanced mix of all those dramatic elements.

Not sure I agree with Stamets. They really didn't do his character justice last season either, since he mostly existed to spout technobabble and mourn Culber by the back half.

There were scenes showing Stamets mourning Cluber? You mean, like, multiple scenes? Are they in the deleted scenes section of the blu-rays or something, because I sure as hell don't remember him mourning the passing of his husband in any significant and visible way in season one.

It was interesting to hear Georgiou describe it as the Prime Universe on-screen. It doesn't seem to quite make sense for that to be terminology she uses, but OK!

I didn't hear that. She actually called it the “Prime Universe”?

That's exactly how it unfolded. Control knew just where to shoot it, such that the blast would pass through and destroy the crystal.

That's what happened? I didn't get that at all from the episode that the suit is now non-functional. Did they say that?

"Home Soil", "Charlie X"

So those episodes are bad now? Never seen people point to those episodes as particularly bad, I must say.

Funny how Spock just seems to pop-up where required.

Yeah, in the last scene he seemingly just enters Burnham's quarters without announcing himself first. Good thing she (or Tilly) wasn't in her undies.

 

[Lord Garth]

It's almost like people want episodes that are not, you know, one thing only, but exert a balanced mix of all those dramatic elements.

Yes, they can have a mix. They also have different episodes with different tones and different tempos. "Calypso" had one tone and did it very well. It didn't try to be all things, it zeroed in on what it wanted to do. Not every episode has to run the entire spectrum of tempos.