Star Trek: Discovery -- Season 2 Episode 11 (Perpetual Infinity)

We were given a lot to process in the previous episode of Discovery.  It was assumed that the mysterious Red Angel was Michael Burnham.  The assumption wasn’t far off.  It turns out that The Red Angel is actually her mother, Dr. Gabrielle Burnham.  This is a big shock, considering that Dr. Burnham and her husband were killed by Klingons, leaving Michael to be raised by Sarek and Amanda on Vulcan.

Gabrielle has been living more than 900 years in the future.  In that future, Control has taken over and killed all organic life on every planet she’s seen.  She’s been making trips back to Michael’s present so that she might prevent this.  Unfortunately, Gabrielle can’t stay in the present for more than a few minutes.  She’s sucked back, making meaningful change difficult.

This is where Discovery comes in; they’ve found a way to trap the Red Angel.  The bad news is that this only delays the inevitable.  It becomes apparent that Gabrielle will eventually return to the future.  Even worse, she doesn’t want to talk to Michael, her only child.  That’s how focused she has become on preventing this disaster.

Control is after some important information.  The data can’t be deleted.  The best plan is to move it into Gabrielle’s suit and send it into the distant future, where it will be permanently hidden from Control.

With three more episodes left, one can assume that the plan doesn’t exactly work out.  Gabrielle does go back to the future by episode’s end, leaving the crew to find some other way to deal with Control.

It occurs to me that since Control is a computer program, it could effectively wait the 930 years.  But that would be 930 years for humans to deal with Control.  It might also have served as the impetus for Control to wipe out all life anyway.

We also learn that Gabrielle didn’t just make a few trips to the present.  She had logs for over 800 trips.  She even hints at Captain Pike’s fate.  It’s no wonder she’s so focused.

There’s also the question of whether or not Control will become The Borg.  Both seek perfection.  Both are capable of assimilation.  “Struggle is pointless,” as Leland puts it.  Gabrielle has invented time travel.  Discovery has a spore drive that can go anywhere in an instant.  It is conceivable.

Alas, it doesn’t look like this is going to happen.  I’ve already finished the season and it looks like Control will be dealt with some other way.  Then again, anything’s possible.  I’ve noted before that nothing ever truly stays dead in the Star Trek universe.

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Star Trek: Discovery -- Season 2 Episode 10 (The Red Angel)

SPOILER ALERT:  I’m going to give away major surprises here.

There’s a line of thought that most mythology has some basis in reality.  Gods and angels could be powerful aliens.  Bigfoot could be any number of real-life animals, such as bears.  There’s even a word for it:  Euhemerism, which is the belief that actual events are distorted to the point where they become legend or myth.

In Discovery, there’s The Red Angel.  Spock saw it as a child.  The Red Angel even helped Spock.  He drew pictures of it, but it was dismissed as the product of a child’s active imagination.  Come to find out a few episodes ago that The Red Angel actually exists.  And it’s assumed to be a humanoid in a mechanical suit.

At the beginning of the episode, something comes to light:  The suit contains a bioneural imprint.  But it’s not any bioneural imprint.  It belongs to none other than Michael Burnham.  So, the crew sets off on the assumption that The Red Angel actually is Burnham.  It’s kind of a flimsy case, but whatever.

Here’s where the crew makes its next logical misstep, though.  They reason that since The Red Angel is Burnham, she’ll act to save Burnham.  Thus, putting Burnham at mortal risk will serve as bait so that they might capture The Red Angel.

Um, ok.  Is it really wise to have Burnham present during these discussions?  Wouldn’t it kind of give their plan away?  I would think they’d have her wait in the next room or something.

There’s also the cliché of having to possible actually kill her for the plan to be effective.  We all know that they’re not going to do that to such an important character.

Despite a few weaknesses, the episode serves as a good transition from Project Daedalus to Perpetual Infinity.  That may be its greatest weakness, in that the series had to get from one point to another and didn’t really have a great way to do that.  The Red Angel has to be drawn out somehow and there’s really only one way to do that with any certainty.  It’s not a great plan, but it’s hard to come up with a better one.

Dr. Culber also talks to Admiral Cornwall, who was a psychologist.  She doesn’t offer her a session, per se, but it is nice to finally see that he does recognize the need to reach out to someone.  I suspect it’s going to be a long road back for Culber.

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Star Trek: Discovery -- Season 2 Episode 8 (If Memory Serves)

On the one hand, I was really excited that Star Trek: Discovery went back to Talos IV.  This was the site of the very first Star Trek pilot.  It makes sense, given that Captain Pike has taken command of the ship and Michael Burnham has finally found her foster brother, Spock.  I mean, it would have been a minor disappointment if they hadn’t at least mentioned the planet.

Add to this the buildup of the fractured relationship between Spock and Burnham.  We know it was something serious enough that they haven’t spoken in years.  But what is it?

This is one of several storylines going on.  Burnham brings Spock to Talos IV to get him straightened out.  The Talosians make a deal:  If they help Spock, Burnham shows them what transpired between them.  She reluctantly agrees.

On Discovery, Ash and Culber are each still at a loss to fit in.  In fact, it comes to blows, as Ash was the one who sent Culber to the Mycelial network.  Both walk away from the fight and Saru has to explain why, as first officer, he allowed the fight.  But it’s all good.  At least for now.

To the show’s credit, they made the Talosians look like they should have, given the increased budget.  They’re true to the original show’s look while not looking as childish.  They have the menacing look you would hope for in a race that has extreme telepathic abilities.

I’m several episodes ahead of this, so I know that Culber starts to reach out for help.  Come to think of it, Ash is also in a difficult position.  Both have been isolated for a long time.  Culber is in a different state, mentally, but both really need someone to talk to.  Culber is distancing himself, though, whereas Ash is distanced because of his actions and what he is.

I still say that the show doesn’t really use this aspect of the story to its fullest potential.  I’m seeing the inner struggle, but not so much the potential for help.

The actual rift between Spock and Burnham seems to be a letdown.  I kind of get it.  We’re being shown what kind of person Burnham is.  It also might explain why Spock never spoke of Burnham.  This is done more to set up later episodes rather than to be a major lot element in its own right. 

Still, this is one of the most continuity-heavy episodes in recent memory.  At this point, it would be safe to say that you have to have a heavy understanding of Trek to appreciate what’s going on.  Yes, it’s true to the rest of the season, but to a lesser extent.  Overall, it’s a pretty good episode.

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Star Trek: Discovery -- Season 2 Episode 5 (Saints of Imperfection)

Some episodes are pretty straightforward.  There’s one main story and maybe a side story.  It might be personal growth that parallels a major conflict.  It might be a minor conflict that interferes with a normal mission.  Then, there are episodes like Saints of Imperfection.  It’s like, “Ok.  Put down what you’re doing.  I need you to pay attention.”

The main thread here is that Tilly, the overeager captain-in-training, is trapped in mycelial space.  It’s up to Stamets to save her.  Ash Tyler is now posted to The Discovery as a liaison to Section 31.  The ship finally catches up with Spock’s shuttle, bring it on board and…it’s not Spock.  Instead, they find Georgiou, who’s also looking for Spock.

So, the reason that Tilly was brought to mycelial space was that the spores needed her to slay a monster.  It’s not clear why Tilly, specifically.  However, this monster is killing mycelial life forms and has to be stopped.

Stamets finds a way to bring the Discovery into mycelial space and rescue Tilly.  Before going back, they find this monster that the spores want killed.  As a click-bait article might promise, you won’t believe who the monster is!

All of the story lines are tied together by things that are out of place.  Georgiou is not of our universe.  Tilly is trying to find something not of the mycelial universe.  Ash appears human on the outside, but is really Klingon on the inside.  He’s not really welcomed in either world and it’s about to get more complicated.

Speaking of the mycelial network, it seems like we’re never really done with that.  We get a full-on promise never to go back…until we have to again.  Then, that’s the last time…until the next time.  But this is the last time.  We mean it!

And for those of you reading these reviews as you’re watching the series, I feel your pain.  You can’t wait to see Spock.  I’m a few episodes ahead of you.  You’re not going to have to wait long.

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Star Trek: Discovery -- Season 2 Episode 3 (Point of Light)

There’s that line: Hell is other people.  It’s not what other people think of you, but rather, what you think other people think of you.  That seems to be the theme for this episode.

Ash/Voq is having a hard time being accepted as a Klingon since he looks human.  Tilly thinks she’s going crazy because of what’s ostensibly a hallucination.  So, of course, she hides it for fear of the straight jacket.  Also, we learn that Spock lacks empathy and Burnham feels like she’s responsible, due to some untold transgression against him when they were children.  She can’t even bring herself to approach or contact him.

The story progresses on these three fronts.  Ash learns that he has a son, which T’Rell, the mother, saw as a liability.  Her association with Voq has made her tenure as chancellor a difficult one.  Having a kid wouldn’t make that any easier.

Tilly’s hallucination isn’t making things easier for her.  It’s taken the form of an old friend, May and pseudo-May is persistent.  This might be all good and well, but Tilly has training to undergo and she nearly has a breakdown in front of the captain and the rest of the bridge crew.  But, there’s hope.  May could be the result of a parasite.

As for Spock, it looks like it may be a few episodes before we see him.  Burnham gets a visit from Amanda.  Amanda may not have been the best mother to Spock and Burnham, but she tried.  Still, it’s difficult to think of Spock being in a mental institution.

I mean, he was seeing the same Red Angel that Burnham saw, so there’s that.  The big thing is that Burnham committed some undisclosed transgression against Spock that may or may not explain everything.  Either way, Burnham feels guilty.

The second season is doing a pretty good job of building a cohesive story.  There are a few missteps, like Klingons having hair now.  (Apparently, they were shaving it before.)  And everything is tied together.  Spock knew about the Red Angel.  The Klingons do, too.

I have only one really big complaint.  I know I keep harping on this, but what’s with the whole Disco thing?  Couldn’t they use Dis or Disc?  I mentioned this with the first episode.  I was hoping not to see it again.  I really want to know why the first five letters of the ship’s name.  We never saw Voyag or Enter.  Could someone explain this to me?

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