It is time again to venture out with Discovery through its final season. The crew is on the track of finding an ancient device that might be the origin of life in the galaxy. It takes them to Trill where another clue is to be found. A former host of a symbiote holds the knowledge, and Dr. Culber volunteers to go through a procedures which will send the host/Jinaal’s consciousness to him. Culber/Jinaal takes Booker and Captain Burnham into a canyon to retrieve the next clue. The trio find that it also is a home to a couple of hostile creatures. Meanwhile, new Commander Rayner is assigned to get to know his new crew. Tilly is to assist, but Rayner just wants about a minute with each crew member to hear a few words and then get back to tracking L’ak and Moll. Tilly finds that he is not earning the trust and respect of the crew, and lectures him on how it would help his new assignment. It seems to hit home with Rayner by the end of the episode. Also while all this is happening we see Saru getting used to his new role as an ambassador and his recent engagement to T’Rina. They have a small conflict when T’Rina wants to send out their engagement announcement, but Saru has heard from her political assistant that it would damage her position as president. T’Rina thinks differently, and Saru acknowledges that she has thought through the implications and proceeds with the engagement. Back on Trill, Jinaal leaves Burnham and Book to try to retrieve the clue while being attacked by creatures. They figure out the creatures are watching over eggs, and Book is able to communicate to them that they are sorry and will leave. They meet up with Jinaal again and they find that it was a test by Jinaal to see if they were peaceable enough to eventually obtain the device. Jinaal has the next clue and hands it over to them. The group heads back to Discovery while Adira (who had accompanied them) stays for a little more time to say good-bye to Gray. As she is saying farewell to the Trill group, Moll disguised as a guardian seems to put a tracker on her sleeve.
And here we go with our thoughts!
Music
Mr. Daps: “I continue to enjoy this season’s musical score. It adds to the story, it feels very Star Trek, and it feels very grand in scope. While it hasn’t reached the level of the final season of Star Trek: Picard, they are doing a good job.”
Murray: “I enjoyed the music in this episode. It made it feel like a full movie with its sweeping themes and intense orchestrations. It really adds value to both the series and episode. I noticed it most as Discovery was departing for Trill, and it enhanced it to be more of a film than just a tv episode.”
Design
Mr. Daps: “I thought, for the most part, the design was pretty good in this episode. It wasn’t as exciting or diverse as other seasons. I wasn’t blown away by Trill but I also wasn’t put off by it either. In the grand scheme of Star Trek planetary design and sets, this was better than most. It did feel like perhaps this episode was one that they didn’t want to spend as much budget on though.”
Murray: “The one production design I noticed, and had a little trouble with, were the ships docked at the Federation HQ. They are great looking, but I think as ships in another type of sci-fi show. It’s hard for me to see Starfleet going to just a saucer-like design for almost all its fleet. I think other variations could be used, especially when we’ve seen other planet’s ships be more advanced in this series. Those ships have a more traditional look, yet have been shown as giving Starfleet vessels a run for their money.”
Story
Mr. Daps: “I think the story for this episode was good. I kind of wish they had focused on more story instead of stories as there were a lot of secondary stories happening in this episode. I’m sure they are important but it did feel like a bit much. Without knowing how these stories play out or how they impact the rest of the season, I’m not sure what I would have cut. I hope they don’t try to cram too much in this season, however. The big picture main storyline of the treasure hunt should be kept the main thing, even if that means we as fans don’t get all of the side stories wrapped up by the end of the season. Perhaps those could be done with shorts or books or something.”
Murray: “I enjoyed the main storyline and the characterization throughout. The tension of finding this clue and what Burnham needed to reveal was a great plot that fits within all of Star Trek. I had more problems with the B storylines, and I think they were too jammed in. They weren’t bad, but some needed more to be fully fleshed out. The Adira/Gray story felt too inserted in, for example. It was more exposition to explain Adira’s new role, and it could have just been a quick letter or something while on the ship. The Rayner story would have been an excellent one to expand on and really show how his non-interaction was affecting the crew. But, we only got a lecture from Tilly. The strongest B-story, or was it D-story because of how many there were…was with Saru and T’Rina. I like their interactions with each other and I think it shows how relationships grow and handle conflicts. It didn’t need a lot to it, so it was just enough to fit in as a side-plot.”
Hit or Miss?
Mr. Daps: “I thought this was a decent enough episode but I’m going to go with a miss for it. The first two episodes of this season I’d be completely happy rewatching. This one, by the end of it, I was ready to move on. I didn’t think it was a bad episode but I also just felt like it tried to do too much. That ended up being to its detriment. I am guessing/hoping there were things in this episode that will help build the bigger picture and story of the season which makes it worth watching. After the first two episodes being so much fun, this one was a bit of a letdown. However, I can’t wait for next week and the rest of this season!”
Murray: “As usual, I enjoyed the episode and the chase for the season is very fun. However, I have to say this episode was a miss for me because of having so many stories to fill it out. Like I was saying, I wish there was more to at least one of the side-plots to really showcase the crew. The main story was strong, but it felt like a Star Trek trope in order to serve the greater season. Still, worth watching, and I am hopeful for the rest of the final season!”
