This was better than the previous episode, but still very much a mixed bag for me.
The Good:
The visuals were great. I also have no complaints about the Galactic Barrier whatsoever. Trek science.
IF they destroy Earth (without fakeout), it'll be a bold move. It might also lead to a less humanocentric makeup and depiction of SF/ the Federation, except for the fact that New Earth seems to be ready to take over, lol.
The tension held a bit better for me than last week, although the ship scenes were intercut with Tarka's scenes from the past.
Those scenes were very well acted. Kudos to both actors. I also liked that they kept it kind of open whether there was more than friendship or not; ultimately, does it matter?
The Dadmiral/ president scene was also great, both in content and acting. Those two are very well cast and I hope we won't have to part with one of them soon.
Kovich was even more intriguing as usual. Will we ever find out what's more important than the current, potentially galaxy-ending threat, or are they just teasing us?
My favorite slow burn romance felt better placed than last time. Poor Saru!
The President is still alive.
The Ugly:
We didn't find out anything really new from the Tarka/ Oros scenes.
In the previous ep thread, I wondered how many episodes were left, and the answer did not fill me with confidence. I get that they want to have the big confrontation in the end, but then they should have structured the season differently. Every episode since the hiatus feels like stalling. The first one was still an entertaining detour, for several reasons, but it's starting to grate. This is coming from someone who usually prefers any good drama or kammerspiel over action, so it's saying something.
So, of course now Book and Tarka have to pick up something else, again.
OK. Nobody thinks Burnham (and Nhan) failed in their mission when they could have stopped Book about 5 times. Yes, I expected it. No, doesn't make it better. At the very least, a mild chewing out by the Admiral would have been interesting, combined with a stern warning to not let their feelings cloud their judgment this time around.
And I appreciate that they're trying to give the bridge crew more to do (dramatic reaction shots again) but the Saru/ Bryce talk felt particularly inorganic.
The Burnham/ President scenes... I was fine with Burnham asking her not to be questioned in front of the crew. But as to the conflict about telling them ... Whatever may have been the right course of action, Burnham was right, and the president came to see the error of her ways. How nice would it be, for once, to see Burnham being convinced of another person's opinion? Then she went on to burnsplain leadership to our seasoned top diplomat and politician, who gladly accepted her superior wisdom and was happy to learn that the captain actually officially accepted her as her president.
In the first episodes of the season, it seemed the writers really heeded some of the constructive criticism. But now... I guess the just can't help themselves. They don't trust their protagonist enough to show her as flawed or even just being in the wrong and realize it, for once.
Small thing: Anthony's acting seemed a tad off to me.
Big thing: I feared Rillek might bite the dust at the end of the season as soon as I saw her scene with the admiral in the sneak peek. We even got personal background from her this time around! She might as well be the young soldier in a war movie who shows his mates pictures of his fiancée right before the big battle... On the plus side, she might get a nice parting speech about Burnham's awesomeness. The actress would certainly rock it.
All this after this season had actully been shaping up to be my favorite one. Oh well.
6/ 10
The Good:
The visuals were great. I also have no complaints about the Galactic Barrier whatsoever. Trek science.
IF they destroy Earth (without fakeout), it'll be a bold move. It might also lead to a less humanocentric makeup and depiction of SF/ the Federation, except for the fact that New Earth seems to be ready to take over, lol.
The tension held a bit better for me than last week, although the ship scenes were intercut with Tarka's scenes from the past.
Those scenes were very well acted. Kudos to both actors. I also liked that they kept it kind of open whether there was more than friendship or not; ultimately, does it matter?
The Dadmiral/ president scene was also great, both in content and acting. Those two are very well cast and I hope we won't have to part with one of them soon.
Kovich was even more intriguing as usual. Will we ever find out what's more important than the current, potentially galaxy-ending threat, or are they just teasing us?
My favorite slow burn romance felt better placed than last time. Poor Saru!
The President is still alive.
The Ugly:
We didn't find out anything really new from the Tarka/ Oros scenes.
In the previous ep thread, I wondered how many episodes were left, and the answer did not fill me with confidence. I get that they want to have the big confrontation in the end, but then they should have structured the season differently. Every episode since the hiatus feels like stalling. The first one was still an entertaining detour, for several reasons, but it's starting to grate. This is coming from someone who usually prefers any good drama or kammerspiel over action, so it's saying something.
So, of course now Book and Tarka have to pick up something else, again.
OK. Nobody thinks Burnham (and Nhan) failed in their mission when they could have stopped Book about 5 times. Yes, I expected it. No, doesn't make it better. At the very least, a mild chewing out by the Admiral would have been interesting, combined with a stern warning to not let their feelings cloud their judgment this time around.
And I appreciate that they're trying to give the bridge crew more to do (dramatic reaction shots again) but the Saru/ Bryce talk felt particularly inorganic.
The Burnham/ President scenes... I was fine with Burnham asking her not to be questioned in front of the crew. But as to the conflict about telling them ... Whatever may have been the right course of action, Burnham was right, and the president came to see the error of her ways. How nice would it be, for once, to see Burnham being convinced of another person's opinion? Then she went on to burnsplain leadership to our seasoned top diplomat and politician, who gladly accepted her superior wisdom and was happy to learn that the captain actually officially accepted her as her president.
In the first episodes of the season, it seemed the writers really heeded some of the constructive criticism. But now... I guess the just can't help themselves. They don't trust their protagonist enough to show her as flawed or even just being in the wrong and realize it, for once.
Small thing: Anthony's acting seemed a tad off to me.
Big thing: I feared Rillek might bite the dust at the end of the season as soon as I saw her scene with the admiral in the sneak peek. We even got personal background from her this time around! She might as well be the young soldier in a war movie who shows his mates pictures of his fiancée right before the big battle... On the plus side, she might get a nice parting speech about Burnham's awesomeness. The actress would certainly rock it.
All this after this season had actully been shaping up to be my favorite one. Oh well.
6/ 10
