Iâll try not to spoil too much, but the benefits of planning a whole season, as opposed to a series of individual episodes. Last nightâs episode was a joy to watch in itself. Itâll be easy to be accused of hyperbole, but again, itâs some of the best Trek Iâve ever seen. Itâs the planning that really impresses.
Iâm listening to Permanent RCRDâs Trek podcast at the moment. I recommend it highly, because they nail just exactly how clever this show has been in terms of plotting and foreshadowing. âCaptainâ Tilly has been a thing throughout, ever since she stated her ambition to be one, and being called âCaptainâ by Stamets after one of his tardigrade trips. I guess we have an idea of where his mind went now.
The boys on the podcast talk about how well the theme of duality has been nurtured all along; the opening episode was called âThe Battle of the Binary Starsâ, Tylerâs got a duality all of his own, youâve Lorca, the most unStarfleet Captain ever to have existed (this episode does fuck all to refute the theory that he is Mirror Lorca) and then youâve got the conflict between the values of Starfleet and the Federation and the things it is prepared to do in its name for its survival. Mirror Lorca probably doesnât help.
Standalone, itâs one of the best Trek episodes I have ever seen. Considered in context, both in this show, and the way it seems to be tying up with Star Trek: Enterprise canon, and itâs fucking magnificent.
Agree with mostly all that, didnât really watch enterprise so canât comment how it ties in so Iâll take your word. Iâm looking forward to meeting mirror Burnham as I will surely like that one if she is the opposite to the one we have.
Super stuff, as usual, with only one plot line floundering a bit. Another big fan theory finally confirmed; thereâs simply no way back. The Mirror Lorca theory gets yet another boost in the opening monologue when Burnham, considering her situation after some time commanding an ISS ship, says âeven the light isnât the same hereâ.
I do however, have a big problem with the internal logic of this episode. Without saying who, the identity of the Terran Emperor is revealed in this episode. Itâs a big moment. Itâs a great moment, and in the moment, the Rule of Cool completely overtook me. As I lay back in the Star Trek equivalent of post coital contemplation, Iâm somewhat more critical.
Last episode, they theived a data module from the wreckage of a starship. Damaged as it was, this module contained vital information, such as who the Captain of the ISS Discovery was, the fate of Mirror Burnham and Mirror Lorca was known, and indeed became an integral part of the plan, driving plot arcs forward.
They know a LOT about the Mirror Universe.
So how comes they didnât Stargoogle who the fucking Emperor was?
I know _why _they did it dramatically, but itâs a plot hole the size of a black hole. I darenât look on Twitter.
I like most trekkies rejoiced at the release of the Kelvin timeline movies. We finally had Trek back. It had faults but we loved it.
Then we got Star Trek Beyond. No not Simon Peggâs perjury, I mean next level. Game Over Beyond.
No spoilers - too early in the week, but as the strands come together in Discovery (papâs plot hole not withstanding) we are seeing just how good this new iteration is.
It is Epic
Hard to see how the Movie franchise with itâs bad guy formula can hope to compete.
Spoilers ahoy
That was pretty special, and yes, I agree with Philâs comments about Discovery nurturing the ultimate Star Trek villain.
Iâm not as arsed about the plothole. I went back and rewatched the Mirror Universe episodes before now, and to be fair to them, they referred to the Terran Empire having a faceless Emperor. Good enough for me, especially given how cool it was to see Georgiou again, now in Emperor form.
The big B plot was Stamets finding his way out of his mycellium-induced coma, which was very sweet. The C plot was Tyler, and Saruâs attempts to enlist a reluctant LâRenn in his treatment.
However, itâs the main plot that really delivered this week, mostly because it drops the bombshell on the audience that theyâve been watching it all along. Alright, the clues have been copious and much discussed online, but no-one is going to finish this season thinking the writers have been pulling this shit out of their arses at random. No-oneâs going to write angry letters saying âyou pulled some LOST level shit there, dudesâ.
Kudos to the writer. Theyâve layered the show like an especially fine lasagne, except when you see this episode, look at those that preceded it, youâll realise that unlike the insta-gut Italian dish, thereâs no fucking fat in this at all.
Hey Pap. Like your write ups. Donât suppose you could hold off until the Sat after the new episode. The C_Sâ watch the new episode on a Friday so it spoils it a bit if you include spoilers (!!!) on a MondayâŚI could of course not read your updates, but that ainât gonna happen is it?
If heâs like us he will be incapable of typing sense on a Friday due to the withdrawal symptoms!
Got to give a shout out as well though to After Trek. The format and accent of Mike Mira was really annoying as was the Lucie attitude, but with time it has been excellent at going into the depths of character that we may have seen but didnâ fully understand.
What is now so clear is that Disco while being excellent TV is also such a Labour of love