Story: Saints of Imperfection
Written By: Kirsten Beyer
Series: Star Trek: Discovery
Year: 2019
I have a pretty mixed reaction to this episode. On the one hand, I love the extended stay in the Mycelial Network, the exploration of that psychedelic pocket universe. On the other hand...more Section 31 stuff and the increasingly tedious "we are just behind Spock!" nonsense. The new Search for Spock really needs to find a better angle.
So the main story of the episode is the rescuing of Tilly, who was kidnapped by a spore being at the end of the previous episode. After a lot of head-scratching, Stamets believes he can jump the ship partway into the Network, find Tilly, and they can go back to where they belong. Of course, only those who travel inside the Spore Drive tank will be able to walk within the Network safely, so a good chunk of the ship has to hang outside of the network. They have about an hour to find Tilly and go home. When they get there, however, they find a complication: Hugh Culber.
Dr. Culber was apparently manifested within the network through some space magic. This was the only element of the Mycelial plot that I actually struggled with. It's far more fantasy than I care for my Trek to dig in to. If this was Doctor Who, I'd say "sure! why not!" because the science in that show has always been flimsy and it is far more of a fantasy show. But I prefer Trek to have a more grounded science element to it. That is just a personal preference, and for me, the kissing of a dead man's tear reconstitutes him in a magic mushroom kingdom...we're really pushing the credibility on that one. They tried, and they've been working up to Culber surviving in this network for a while, I just don't completely buy the reasoning. At any rate despite a brief fake out with Culber, they manage to get everyone home safe and sound with the help of Section 31.
Section 31...I guess they are going to remain fairly present from here on out. The episode begins with Discovery hot on the tail of Spock's shuttle, only when they finally capture it, they find not Spock, but Georgiou on board. This leaves us with some banter between her and Pike and Burnham, and ultimately serves only one purpose: to make the shuttle that Discovery has been chasing for 3 or 4 weeks pointless. The stringing out of Spock's debut is getting tired. I don't mind if they wait until the final episode of the season to bring him in...but I don't want to be having a "there he is!" fake out for the rest of the season. I'm getting bored.
Anyhow Section 31 assigns a liaison to Discovery, new recruit Ash Tyler. Tyler murdered a crewmember and that is going to make the bulk of Discovery's crew distrust him. Pike doesn't trust him. Burnham has this will they/won't they boring mess with him. And the man he murdered has just been brought back to life. It is all going to be wrought with drama I can tell. I wish they'd found a way to do this season without Section 31 or the Klingons...a way to move beyond Season 1. I think it's holding this show back. Every time this show moves forward it succeeds. When it dives back into the story wells of the first season? It's less interesting. I wouldn't call anything here a failure, I just don't really find Section 31 that interesting, particularly when not handled by the writers of DS9.
NEXT TIME: Kelpian Genocide
Written By: Kirsten Beyer
Series: Star Trek: Discovery
Year: 2019
I have a pretty mixed reaction to this episode. On the one hand, I love the extended stay in the Mycelial Network, the exploration of that psychedelic pocket universe. On the other hand...more Section 31 stuff and the increasingly tedious "we are just behind Spock!" nonsense. The new Search for Spock really needs to find a better angle.
Dr. Culber was apparently manifested within the network through some space magic. This was the only element of the Mycelial plot that I actually struggled with. It's far more fantasy than I care for my Trek to dig in to. If this was Doctor Who, I'd say "sure! why not!" because the science in that show has always been flimsy and it is far more of a fantasy show. But I prefer Trek to have a more grounded science element to it. That is just a personal preference, and for me, the kissing of a dead man's tear reconstitutes him in a magic mushroom kingdom...we're really pushing the credibility on that one. They tried, and they've been working up to Culber surviving in this network for a while, I just don't completely buy the reasoning. At any rate despite a brief fake out with Culber, they manage to get everyone home safe and sound with the help of Section 31.
Section 31...I guess they are going to remain fairly present from here on out. The episode begins with Discovery hot on the tail of Spock's shuttle, only when they finally capture it, they find not Spock, but Georgiou on board. This leaves us with some banter between her and Pike and Burnham, and ultimately serves only one purpose: to make the shuttle that Discovery has been chasing for 3 or 4 weeks pointless. The stringing out of Spock's debut is getting tired. I don't mind if they wait until the final episode of the season to bring him in...but I don't want to be having a "there he is!" fake out for the rest of the season. I'm getting bored.
Anyhow Section 31 assigns a liaison to Discovery, new recruit Ash Tyler. Tyler murdered a crewmember and that is going to make the bulk of Discovery's crew distrust him. Pike doesn't trust him. Burnham has this will they/won't they boring mess with him. And the man he murdered has just been brought back to life. It is all going to be wrought with drama I can tell. I wish they'd found a way to do this season without Section 31 or the Klingons...a way to move beyond Season 1. I think it's holding this show back. Every time this show moves forward it succeeds. When it dives back into the story wells of the first season? It's less interesting. I wouldn't call anything here a failure, I just don't really find Section 31 that interesting, particularly when not handled by the writers of DS9.
NEXT TIME: Kelpian Genocide
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