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Spoilers Star Trek: Discovery 4x02 - "Anomaly"

Rate the episode...


  • Total voters
    136
I don’t think the thing is Vger/Decker. But it could be another thing from the machine planet. I would think that the spacecraft and its resulting energy field that they built for Voyager was a token example of their abilities, built to help out a kindred spirit. This new thing could be an example of their REAL tech. Some kind of gravity drive that can hurl solar systems through space. Perhaps a scaled down version of this tech will eventually be the answer to the UFPs propulsion issues.
 
Flamethrower reason:
They’re trolling us. We accepted the turbolift pocket dimension too easily, so now they’ve got to up the ante.

;)
Its certainly nowhere near that level. Ya it looks like a Rammstein gig but its only a small background thing where as the turbolift caverns change the whole physics of the ship.
Also honourable mention goes to the asteroid that "snuck up" on the generation ship for Greys death
 
Saru's suggestion was far worse. He recommended that sensor packages be added to the maintenance droids and then have them sent into the anomaly. These are the droids. smh

R.f3795dd9fb458d71b0e51d60521248b6
 
While I understand the reason to mention Grey's transition in terms of real life representation, considering gender confirmation surgery was available in the space of a few hours in the 24th century, it's hard for me to imagine the transition process being anything like what trans people experience now.

Of course, I can headcanon this as being because they were on a relatively low tech generation ship.
Why would it be different? You're just changing the hormones and changing your genes wouldn't radically re-sculpt your body, it wouldn't really do what hormones don't already do. The human body (and likely any other humanoid species in Trek) is already pretty good at dealing with different hormones. Once the hormone balance shifts in a person, genes just express themselves based on that hormone. A trans person on hormones goes through the puberty of their gender. The only advances that would make sense would be some way to fully change the reproductive organs, you could do showing a pregnant trans female character.
 
They have... Star Trek VI... The Undiscovered Country ring a bell?

Also the animated series and Enterprise.

Also we got a little scene in DS9 with Bashir

Well, that was no malfunction.

Anyone else find it really weird how blasé everyone is about it. I mean it raises a ton for practical and ethical questions and the captain is just like "oh that's cute"

What would you have them do?

And ffs, why does the bridge of a 23rd century starship, modified in the 31st century still emit fire from its walls? Looks like a 90ies Universal Studio live action attraction…

Agreed.

He could have at least left her on Discovery for the mission. Unless of course she has magic powers we don't know about yet

Flerken? Tendi style experiment?

Picard's fate as a Synth is his only footnote in history?

It has been nearly 1,000 years...

Janeway in "Concerning Flight(VOY)" only remembered that James T. Kirk once claimed to have met Leonardo da Vinci, nothing else about his career.

Only mentioned that, but clearly knew more as she mentions Kirk at least twice more (once to laughably assert he'd never make it in 24th century Starfleet).
 
Fire shoots out because it's visual storytelling and they need to show the ship got hit and it's it bad. There would be no sense of danger if they just all leaned to side suddenly and kept saying how low the shields were. It's a tv show, not a physics demonstration.
My main problem was that the bridge was still belching fire randomly even when the ship wasn't shown as being hit by anyting; not to mention the fact that the resolution was high enough that you could tell there was just a port there that looked like it was designed to shoot a flame out.

Good storytelling means you should only use something to enhance the effect, not because you have a button you can push every 10 seconds. To me it appeared whoever was in control of the Practical effects was doing the latter and not the former.
 
Better than last weeks episode. Book's mental health issues and his PTSD were handled pretty well. The rest of the episode didn't interest me. I find the whole anomaly mystery boring.
 
Finally got around to watching the episode. The plot is still rambling, I'm not liking the characterization, and the episode did not leave an impression on me at all. About as original and innovative as its reused episode title. Hopefully next week is better.

10/10!
 
This episode is a significant improvement over the first, and is good enough I would prefer it as a first episode over the actual first episode.

The bridge crew actually contributed. For the first time I actually found them believable as a crew and not set decorations. Not only did black guy get characterization for the first time ever, he kind of saved the day, and had his name said about three times within a single episode, instead of once in a season. I need about 30 times until I can remember a name but it’s a start.

Too bad all those flame throwers are so distracting.

Also looks like he may be the next Detmar. Hopefully Asian guy is next and doesn’t have to wait a year.

Saru. Do I need to say more? I wish he were captain, and not holding the idiot ball to make Burnham look better for command really suits him.

Stamats’ and Book’s little arc is great, the only genuine piece of emotional content in the episode. The difficulty and success they both have in connecting is perfect. The only improvement would have been if Stamets had actually been there.

Considering the link never broke it didn’t make sense the information was stuck, and if the link broke the hologram should have too. It’s obvious Stamets was holographic so Burnham could speech Book back to life instead of Stamats. If he were really there then it would have made the most sense for him to talk Book into saving himself.

So, Satemets should have been there, the link is lost, the data is not fully transmitted, just enough comm clarity is left to transmit the wave idea, Book fails the first time and gives up, Stamats convinces Book not to give up, they make it.

The bigger deal this episode is the mystery box isn’t so obnoxious. For what ever reason the mystery of the season really does seem like something they’re unraveling with scientific inquiry instead of something which will be unraveled at the last disappointing moment with a dozen loose ends never to be solved. I have the impression there is a chance they will for the first time gradually build up information which informs the conclusion, but I’m not counting on it. Quality was so variable last season making a prediction as to quality trends is pointless.
 
I liked this episode. Nice slower pace, everything had time to breathe.

The one time someone has suffered enourmous trauma and needs to see a ships' councillor ASAP, they of course leave him to his own devices:lol:

Gray is now explictly trans in-universe. And that thing that annoyed so many at the end of Picard season one is being used to give him a new body. Awesome! Now remember transwarp beaming.

Exploding bridge sets are way overdone, I much preferred the Kelvin movie version of things where you'd watch the bridge shake then cut to massive explosions and/or hull breaches belowdecks. But of course on a TV show budget that's likely impractical. So we're back to rocks stashed in exploding panels and new WWE Booker T ring entrance flame spooters. It looks cool the very first time, but 2 episodes in and it's overdone already.
 
Maybe we got it wrong and in the 32nd Century when the REALLY critical situations get bad the ships goes to Flame Alert.

They should also update their data channels to use the same one that they use to maintain the holo connection.

I wanted to slap Book when Michael said on her mark and he's like wait, are you sure?

I can't even remember how the transfer thing with Gray is supposed to work but that could be interesting.

Lots of razzle dazzle in these first two episodes but I wouldn't mind a little more steak with the sizzle. Still, the gravity thing was fun, they don't mess with that much. Can't really complains about the quality of the FX work.

Saru is natural as second in command but I think the dynamic was more interesting when he was the captain against type with hot-headed Michael challenging him.
 
Okay, my thoughts...

Loved the episode overall, especially after seeing it a second time!

The slow character moments were great, and even though it didn't propel the story forewards a lot, it did do a lot of good in terms of expanding the characters. Tilly was great, as always... Saru, Culber... all great work..!

I must however also mention something I did NOT like, and that's rare for me. I think the producers made a huge mistake with Gray... Ian Alexander is a great actor, I know that, but the way he plays Gray just doesn't work, at least for me. The insecure, shy way of talking, the way he constantly frowns... I don't know, it seems to me the producers should just reinterpret the character altogether. And that includes visually! The blue hair, the leather-looking jacket, the ear piercing.. It looks like someone from an alternative Japanese band from the early '00's... Gray could still work, but I found his scenes in this episode close to unwatchable. Especially the whole 'will this body get old?'-joke exchange between him and Adira; that was actually pretty funny dialogue, but the way it's played out is just not gelling... I love Adira, but just not when they're together with Gray... I really hope that when Gray finally gets a new body, he will get an edge as well... I really hope that the dynamics will change between him an Adira..! Anyone else feel the same way??

Oh, and those explosion puffs need to be toned down....

Still a strong 8 for me..! Looking foreward to next weeks episode..! Looks like some seriously cool martial arts..!
 
Much better than week one, this one has a heart to it and lots of good character beats. Book's portrayal of grief is strong and the moments with Saru and Tilly were very nice.

The anomaly itself isn't that interesting a mystery - the planet killer with better effects which I'm sure will strangely go largely for worlds we've heard of. My money is on Trill given how often the Guardian pools got mentioned. But this particular use of it was quite compelling, although I wish they'd tone down the exploding bridge thing.


How many commanders does this ship have now?! Opera has been handing out commanderships again.
 
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