Spoilers Star Trek: Discovery 3x07 - "Unification III"

[Nerys Myk]

Generally I can get by, but for some reason this episode just rubbed me wrong. Why would the Vulcans care about her and her connection to Spock? She had nothing to do with his actions later in life. When we think of famous figures, we don't think or care about their close family members. I would have found the episode more relatable if it had been Saru who had been able to get the information from them given his conversations and relationship with the president. That seemed to be a much more organic and fruitful relationship. I understand that Burnham is the main character, but there's a whole bridge crew of characters that are capable of leading an episode. Everything doesn't have to revolve around her.

They care because she's a connection to Spock. We care because it makes sense from a story standpoint. Saru doesn't make sense. He has no connection to Vulcan, Spock or the Romulans. His "relationship" with the President wouldn't get the ship to Ni'var, because that relationship doesn't exist prior to arriving. There's nothing organic about it.
Perhaps other characters can lead an episode, but not this one.

 

[Discofan]

...
Organizations in Star Trek have precise recording of everything ( that oddly looks liked filmed entertainment with blocking and close ups), except when they don't.

Well, for one thing, they seem able to conjure up holograms of anything that happened on board a shuttle when necessary, remember "Mortal Coil" for example.

 

[DaveyNY]

I've never trusted Star Trek fans, and I never will. I can never forgive them for the death of my joy.

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[Irvy]

Why would the Vulcans care about her and her connection to Spock?

Because she not only actually knew him, she grew up with him. To them, he's this great figure from long ago, the famous Ambassador, to Michael he's her kid brother, and that's shown in the scene where she points out that she really is in a position to talk about whether or not Spock knew love. From her perspective, it was a little over a year ago she left him in a damage shuttle craft floating in a debris field, and that parting was not devoid of emotion.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

I enjoyed this episode a helluva lot more than last week's. I may have to rewatch it again.

I do like that Tilly made XO. Was hoping for that but expecting them to use one of the other characters.

Still frustrated about Burnham being two steps back again. And the seemed to quickly dispense with her angst over being back on Disco. I'd have rather Burnham stayed on but didn't put on the uniform again, kinda like Georgiou. Because I still feel the writers are stunting Burnham's character growth.

However, I did like Burnham's story in this episode and the drama of the hearing. I'm a sucker for court room drama. Although I wished it was set on Vulcan instead of the mess hall. But I get it. The show needed a bottle episode probably for budgetary reasons.

I do love how they brought Burnham's mom back. Also why wasn't there a scene between her and Burnham's other mom, Georgiou?

I did get emotional along with Burnham at seeing Spock again. Although no mention of his sacrifice to save Romulus? And is Starfleet aware that Spock ended up in another reality because of the Temporal War?

Still not interested in the overall arc about the Burn. And I still don't get why Burnham is so obsessed with it other than the show needs her to be as the mani character. What does she have a stake with it? What does she have to lose by pursing it?

Also can we please please stop having Saru give a motivational speech saying, "let's show them who we are" every frickin' time they take on a mission. It's getting tiresome.

 

[Aragorn]

I hope the reaction to Unification III doesn't alter this show's plans to go ahead with Threshold II, These Are the Voyages II and Spock's Brain II.

 

[Discofan]

I hope the reaction to Unification III doesn't alter this show's plans to go ahead with Threshold II, These Are the Voyages II and Spock's Brain II.

How about Tuvix II?

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

I wanted Nilson to be XO honestly.

She could use more lines and build her character instead of being a background extra.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

I hope the reaction to Unification III doesn't alter this show's plans to go ahead with Threshold II, These Are the Voyages II and Spock's Brain II.

I'm all for "Spock's Brain II".

Burnham returns to Sigma Draconis to retrieve the remaining embers of Spock's consciousness in the Eye-Morg computer. She uses the teacher to do so and gets a glimpse into what caused the Burn.

 

[DEWLine]

Agreed on Nilsson. She deserves some attention too.

 

[Vger23]

No problem with seeking greater understanding. It's the phrasing of the question, and I wasn't seeking apology or responsibility. Just stating my opinion on how it was phrased.

I appreciate the clarification on your end, as I hope you understand my own. Also appreciate you rephrasing the question.

No problem...and completely understood.

I actually enjoy a lot a great deal of the franchise. I'll watch any Trek and give it a chance. It's my first love franchise. Only parallel to Superman. And I have strong opinions and critics of that property as well.

Same here. Trek is definitely my first-love franchise.

As critical of Disco as I can be, I'm also critical of parts of TOS and the following films. And TOS is my jam. My first Trek love. I love the first three seasons of TNG, hit or miss for the rest of it. Love parts of DS9, dislike others. Same with VOY (Janeway is my second favorite captain after Kirk). I only like a few episodes from ENT early seasons and a majority of season 4 (T'Pol is a favorite character).

I’m a TOS-first guy as well. I feel exactly the same about TNG, although I’d say I like S4 pretty consistently as well.

I do like Disco a great deal. I'm hyper critical of it because I see a lot of wasted opportunity with such great characters played by talented actors. Season Two was fantastic, fun and adventurous even if I don't think the overall arc holds up. Burnham is one of my favorite Trek characters. Kirk, Spock, and Uhura all in one person.

I agree with this to some extent. I think DSC is great, but I admit that it is hard not to look at it from the perspective of how some minor tweaks could make it truly exceptional, and that can be frustrating.

Picard, on the other hand, is just a huge disappointment for me. It didn't hold together at all for me. Except Laris. She's one cheeky feeker!

I liked PIC, but not tremendously. It was good and entertaining...but not great. I think in retrospect it tried to do too much And that hurt it.

And I'm a HUGE fan of the Kelvin films. The feel like TOS writ large on the big screen for me.

With the exception of the last 1/4 of STID, I adore the Kelvinverse films and I really wish the studio had more competently managed these movies....the potential was almost limitless and I think time between releases and weak marketing caused them to under perform.

TMP is my favorite Trek film, however.

I love TMP. I always think it’s funny when people love TMP and the Kelvin films, as they are so very different. I personally fall into that category and have no explanation. Lol

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

No problem...and completely understood.

Same here. Trek is definitely my first-love franchise.



I’m a TOS-first guy as well. I feel exactly the same about TNG, although I’d say I like S4 pretty consistently as well.



I agree with this to some extent. I think DSC is great, but I admit that it is hard not to look at it from the perspective of how some minor tweaks could make it truly exceptional, and that can be frustrating.



I liked PIC, but not tremendously. It was good and entertaining...but not great. I think in retrospect it tried to do too much And that hurt it.



With the exception of the last 1/4 of STID, I adore the Kelvinverse films and I really wish the studio had more competently managed these movies....the potential was almost limitless and I think time between releases and weak marketing caused them to under perform.



I love TMP. I always think it’s funny when people love TMP and the Kelvin films, as they are so very different. I personally fall into that category and have no explanation. Lol

We agree more than disagree it seems.

Thanks for sharing that and I totally agree about the last 1/4 of Into Darkness. Oh, man. What a mess of a third act.

 

[SJGardner]

This was a veritable emotional rollercoaster. Of course, as someone who identifies with Michael Burnham a lot, this is really not surprising. Most of what she said and did in this episode felt personally familiar, to be truthful. I'm ultimately glad that the gambit paid off, and if you think about it, Gabrielle was right. Michael didn't actually need to convince the Science Academy, she needed to convince the head of government who actually has the authority to share the data. And, with absolute candor, she did. As a side note, Momma Burnham showing up as a Qowat Milat member was truly a surprise, but she worked really well and made her daughter receptive to a lot of hard truths she had to hear. Pseudo-science or not, Michael is an INTJ personality like myself and she needs to hear these things from a trusted source, otherwise they wouldn't stick. Her invocation of the T'Kal-in-Ket was very much in character for her as well: she knows the basic big picture of what she needs to do to get what she wants, but doesn't stop to think about the details, especially when she quickly needs to make a decision on the spot. It was another deeply familiar thing for me.

I absolutely loved how Gabrielle's deconstruction of Michael was structured: Michael was starting with her canned panels about finding evidence. Gabrielle told her during recess that she wasn't truthful about her motivations and plainly told her that she can't be trusted until she opened up. When Michael responded by merely admitting to the quorum that she couldn't be sure about being right (how very INTJ of her, I've felt embarrassed by proxy because that's what I would've thought I should say too), her mom instantly tore her down by laying bare how she tends to make boneheaded, impulsive decisions because she's so convinced of being right she wouldn't stop to consider otherwise. Michael then lost her cool and demanded that she confirm her and her crew's commitment to the greater good and self-sacrifice in their service to the Federation and its ideals (still trying to argue with evidence and logic, still very INTJ). Gabrielle confirmed it, but then immediately stopped her right in her tracks with the armor-piercing question about feeling out of place. Then, and only then, did Michael state her true, personal reasons and emotional truth about the abject shock of a drastically changed world and her fear that she'll do harm and lose everyone.

And naturally, it was very satisfying to see Michael accepting that her stubborn "only I alone can solve this" mentality tends to have severe unintended consequences, and immediately withdrawing her FOIA request after it became obvious it would tear Ni'Var apart. It must have reminded her of the Binary Stars. I know quite a few viewers would criticize the episode for giving her what she wanted anyway, but I don't think this cheapens the lesson she learned, especially now that she seems to have found her resolve to try and reconcile her duties and her wishes. At least not until we see otherwise.

As for the other true surprise. My first reaction was the same one Tilly gave. Of course, these are uncertain times that call for unexpected measures, and I think Vance would leave them to their own devices because you weird stone-age people do you as long as you get me results. I'm glad Tilly has her obvious doubts, even though I'm cautiously optimistic that she'll be good for the role, but if you think about it, Saru didn't actually explain why he chose her. "You are what the ship needs right know" is not a full answer. Paul telling her that serving under her would be deeply weird felt like his trademarked rudeness at first, so I was glad that he actually meant it as the good weird, and got all her friends to come out and convince her to accept the offer. It felt a bit like a "please say yes because we already made the banners and chilled the champagne, and we don't want to look like idiots" ploy, to be honest. Of course, seeing her in gold in the trailer for next week melted my heart.

Observations:

• Ni'Var ("two forms") is a fascinating story of how a concept from fan fiction gets into published novels then eventually canonized. What other examples are there, other than Nyota Uhura?
• Stardate 45825 is just a few months after Unification II (45245), but the clip was Spock's parting words to Picard from that episode. Might be a small typo.
  
• Hearing Nimoy's voice again brought tears to my eyes. I loved Michael seeing him as her brother and also that Picard was namedropped as merely the random, unknown-to-her person whom the recording is sourced from. Also, Vance casually explaining the Romulan thing was probably the best way they could've handled this in my opinion. So much has changed already, this was probably just another drop in the ocean for them.
  
• Ni'Var's defense satellites gave off a series of Romulan computer beeps straight from the TNG audio library.
• I loved Keyla's "she's doing that thing again" eye roll when Burnham invoked the T'Kal-in-ket.
• V'Kir using logic to manipulate his peers to support his political position reminded me a bit of the Evil Vulcans from Enterprise.

 

[Xerxes82]

I really liked this one. One of my favorites of the season so far.

Burnham's mom was convenient, but I can let it go on account of how effectively the character was used. Seeing her go all absolute candor on her own daughter was fun, and the fact that she was using the entire experience as a teachable moment for Michael was great. I also liked that they finally forced Michael to directly confront her feelings of no longer belonging.

On the Tilly front, I actually think she's a really solid choice for Saru in this situation, rank notwithstanding. People keep calling her a "new ensign" and such. It's true that she has less experience than the rest of the crew, but at this point she has: served aboard the most critical ship in the Klingon war, been a critical component of operating an experimental FTL drive program, and helped save the entire galaxy from evil future AI. She's not exactly green anymore.

And I think people are underestimating Tilly. She knows that she doesn't know stuff. But she's NEVER been afraid to ask those who would know. Sometimes, leadership is surrounding yourself with people who have the answers you don't, and being willing to lean on them. And Tilly is surrounded by some truly wonderful officers, who have already made clear that they are all in to help her at her new job.

Plus, as Saru points out, she's a stabilizing force. Through this entire journey into the future, Tilly has been the one to acknowledge what she's feeling, and to keep moving anyway. She isn't locking up her uncertainty, like Michael, or insisting everything is ok, like Detmer, or pushing herself too hard to prove she's good, like Stamets. She's the one who has recognized that everything is messed up, and is able to both confront that, still do her job, and still remain positive and healthy in the face of things. If anybody is to serve as an example to the rest of the crew, or be in a position to help them with whatever they are going through, it's probably Tilly.

And to those who suggest that Saru may be unintentionally setting her up to fail. Yeah, maybe. Growth moments for both Tilly and Saru as they struggle with new jobs and new expectations. The greatest teacher, failure is. To quote a tiny green dude from another franchise. I don't fear what happens if Tilly fails. Because even in failing she'll find a way to do the best she can, and is smart and capable enough to ask for help from the more experienced if she thinks she needs it.

It's unconventional, absolutely. But Disco finds itself an unconventional ship, in an unconventional situation, in unconventional times. It may not need a chain of command so much as a family structure to succeed. And big sister Tilly might be just the thing.

 

[cooleddie74]

Stardate 45825 is just a few months after Unification II (45245), but the clip was Spock's parting words to Picard from that episode. Might be a small typo.

I noticed that, too. That or Picard didn't log that recording as part of his own "private" logs until Stardate 45825 later that year, the public logs either omitting the conversations with Spock or having different information since it was a covert mission to Romulus to locate a possible turncoat to the Federation.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

I noticed that, too. That or Picard didn't log that recording as part of his own "private" logs until Stardate 45825 later that year, the public logs either omitting the conversations with Spock or having different information since it was a covert mission to Romulus to locate a possible turncoat to the Federation.

Although, did Picard's combadge record that conversation? Man privacy in the 24th Century is practically non-existant. Everything is recorded in detail.

 

[cooleddie74]

Or the Romulan reunification movement in the caves had surveillance equipment set up to detect intruders and it recorded the conversations? I could see Spock letting Picard have a memento of his visit.

 

[Anduinel]

Things I liked:
- The Ni'Var president is too cool; loved her interactions with Saru
- Got legit teary-eyed over Nimoy's cameo
- Tilly being super awkward over her turbo-promotion - she should have been!
- Book and Michael being together together
- The look for the Ni'Var factions was soooo neat
- Grudge. I love Grudge.

Things I was not crazy about:
- Michael's mom as Qowat Milat; they were one of the coolest bits of world building in PIC, and I wanted to see more of that, not have it shanghaied by Burnham's family drama
- The unification took place centuries ago, but the world-building approached it like a treaty barely a decade old.
- Crediting more of Spock's character to Michael. Knock that tf off. It doesn't make her cooler.

All in all, though, I enjoyed it a whole lot. I hope we see more of Ni'Var.

 

[CorporalClegg]

I'll say one thing: we can finally put an end to the 'is Starfleet a military?' debate.

No military in it's right mind would ever put stammering, timid child in a position to take command during a crisis should the captain take an exploding console to the face.


This show is just completely taking the piss now.

 

[Lord Garth]

Man privacy in the 24th Century is practically non-existant. Everything is recorded in detail.

Unfortunately, given the direction things are going in, this is something I find very believable.

But, given Picard, it's more likely this scene was extracted from Picard's personal memories either from Picard 2 (I don't know what we're calling him) or from some database with Picard or Picard 2's memories.