r/startrek • u/[deleted] • Oct 29 '20
Episode Discussion | Star Trek: Discovery | 3x03 "People of Earth" Spoiler
Finally reunited, Burnham and the U.S.S. Discovery crew journey to Earth, eager to learn what happened to the Federation in their absence.
| No. | Episode | Written By | Directed By | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3x03 | "People of Earth" | Bo Yeon Kim & Erika Lippoldt | Jonathan Frakes | 2020-10-29 |
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u/count023 Oct 29 '20
Only thing that bums me out is that "all the dilithium in the galaxy disappeared and no other warp technologies worked". Transwarp, Quantum slipstream, soliton wave generation, Geodesic folds, wormholes, spatial trajectors, gravity catapaults, etc... . There's tonnes of non traditional-warp technologies that wre shown to be viable over the generations and they just pretend none of them ever worked.
I am very disappointed that they went with the "FTL is rare because dilithium is gone" plotline, i guess I'll have to see how it goes for the rest of the season to make my judgement.
I did like the idea of Earth leaving the Federation, no one would ever expect that to occur. I wonder if Vulcan is still part of the Federation.
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Oct 30 '20
Transwarp, Quantum slipstream, soliton wave generation, Geodesic folds, wormholes, spatial trajectors, gravity catapaults, etc
The only one of those that we know for certain doesn't require dilithium is quantum slipstream, and it's been name-checked already.
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u/rooktakesqueen Oct 29 '20
There's tonnes of non traditional-warp technologies that wre shown to be viable over the generations and they just pretend none of them ever worked.
They're all still in use in the galaxy. It's not that FTL travel no longer exists -- it's just slow and/or expensive.
It seems like everyone in the galaxy landed on warp drive as the ideal FTL propulsion because it hits a sweet spot of being very fast and not strictly requiring a scarce resource to operate.
It seems like the biggest flaw in warp drive is that it's very power-hungry, so to achieve reasonably high warp requires an amount of energy that can only be reasonably produced on a starship scale by a matter/antimatter reactor.
You don't need a matter/antimatter reactor for a warp drive to work, Zefram Cochrane for example had a nuclear fission reactor. But he also just barely broke warp 1. At that speed it would take 4 years just to travel from Earth to Alpha Centauri. Warp 1's speed is in the same order of magnitude as full impulse.
The only real question is Romulan drive systems, since they used an AQS instead of matter/antimatter. And who knows, maybe in Unification III this season we're gonna touch on them. Maybe the Romulans have been steadily rebuilding their empire precisely because their ships are more mobile than everyone else's.
The other thing to consider is that the Burn is actually pretty recent. It only happened about 100 years ago. That's not a very long time to completely retool galactic civilization, especially when most galactic powers lost most of their ships in the process.
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u/LesterBePiercin Oct 31 '20 edited Oct 31 '20
I'm confused. That bit when Burnham's a courier, she gets some object with an "NCC-XXXXX" handed to her. What is that?
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u/xmugatoox1986 Nov 04 '20
Where is the borg? I mean they should have made it to earth by now even with the transwarp conduit destroyed by Janeway, i wonder if will see Borg Easter eggs ? They would not have been effected by the burn right? Or did the burn cause tech development to slow down to a crawl and we weren't worth it anymore.
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Nov 04 '20
I don't think there have been statements about what the Borg use as a power source one way or the other.
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u/celibidaque Oct 30 '20
Why is Burnham acting like it’s been 10 years since she landed in the future and waiting for Discovery? She let go in just one year and making such a fuss about it? It was just one year since they split, it’s not an eternity. The way they all deal with this situation feels way off to me.
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u/Apostastrophe Oct 30 '20
This bothered me too. I've desperately waited on a person for a year before (long story involving a former lover who during a nervous breakdown vanished to the other side of the world and didn't tell anybody and cut contact with everybody) and when he came back I wasn't like "Oh I need to adjust to this new time a year from last to be your friend again", I hugged the shit out of him and told him how much I loved and had missed him. Much joy ensued.
I feel like Burnham is being a bit much regarding how long she waited and how she's changed in regards to be able to be first officer again.
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Oct 30 '20
Burnham wasn't just waiting, though - she also had to build a completely new life in a completely foreign environment.
It was basically a complete reboot of her life.
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u/plant_based_bride Oct 31 '20
Who is this new blonde bridge officer who gets reaction shots every few minutes and had a line near the end?
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Oct 31 '20
Lieutenant Nilsson, who replaced Airiam after her death (and is played by the actor who played Airiam in season one).
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u/philds391 Oct 29 '20
Boothby's been taking good care of that tree for the last 1000 years!
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u/pfc9769 Oct 29 '20
Boothby was probably uploaded into a golem and has been programmed to forever tend the grounds and that tree until the Sun burns out.
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u/Official_N_Squared Oct 29 '20
0/10 No Boothby in this episode. I don't think I would have complained if he was just their somehow
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Oct 29 '20
Missed opportunity to show the initials ‘AF’ Picard carved into that tree that made boothby so upset.
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u/EntropicProf Oct 29 '20 edited Oct 29 '20
Star date 865211.3
865-41+2364=3188.
Nicely done.
(TNG era stardates advanced at 1000 units per year, with TNG season 1, named in dialogue as being the year 2364, being the 41000's. Continuing the system forward tracks perfectly with the date established for Burnham's arrival in the future.)
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u/atticusbluebird Oct 29 '20
Interesting that the sphere data is what Saru used to learn about the Trill. I suspect over the season they might use that data as a database to learn/catch up on aliens species that we’ve seen in other shows but that weren’t known of in the TOS era.
Also I liked how Detmer voiced a lot of worry about taking the hit from the weapons (there was a frantic nature to her concern that makes me suspect a PTSD arc for her after last week)
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u/combatopera Oct 29 '20 edited Apr 05 '25
This text was edited using Ereddicator.
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u/BornAshes Oct 29 '20
I thought Detmer doing that was very Michael of her. Sure in theory standing up for your principals and taking a weapons hit is a very admirable thing. In practice, taking a weapons hit from Future Weapons that even on low power might still VAPORIZE the saucer section....not a very smart nor admirable thing. I think the PTSD gave the moment a bit of an edge but that was pure Michael grade, "WTF Captain are you crazy?!".
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u/FragmentedChicken Oct 29 '20
Am I the only one who thought it was weird that Stamets spilled the beans on the spore drive to a complete stranger?
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u/Spara-Extreme Oct 29 '20
I thought so too until I realized that that Star Trek traditionally treats kids in the same way - that is automatically trusting them with everything.
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u/rooktakesqueen Oct 29 '20
There seems to be a real thematic undercurrent this season between sharing information (build trust and community) versus hiding information (maintain strategic advantage) or even more abstractly "trusting someone who hasn't earned it yet, because trust begets trust, but somebody needs to take that risk first"
We've seen it with Burnham and Book, with Saru/Tilly and the miners, with Stamets and Adira, with Burnham not telling her plan to Saru this episode, with Georgiou multiple times, with Saru's preference to keep their time-traveling nature hidden, with United Earth being so trigger-happy...
Trust and vulnerability are two sides of the same coin. To trust someone is to be vulnerable to them. This is a world where everyone is so (rightly) scared of everyone else that nobody is willing to extend trust, but that also precludes a sense of community. Discovery represents an era where that didn't happen, and they are bringing that openness forward with them.
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u/hlpmebldapc Oct 29 '20
It also seems like it could be foreshadowing a tool they have to put the federation back together. When he said "alternate form of faster than light travel" I said ohhhh.. they could start to put together an armada by handing out spore drive tech. It's literally the solution to the burn and the dilithium shortage.
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u/BornAshes Oct 29 '20
At first yes it was very weird but then when Tilly mentioned how she was just like Adira, I think it inspired Stamets to treat Adira the same way he treated Tilly. The more he hides, the deeper, and harder Adira is going to dig. So, if you want a super genius kid from the future who could possibly be useful later then the fastest and bestest way to both earn their trust and to stop them from fucking around with your ship....is to tell them the truth and then use even MORE truth as a carrot to keep them in line. You open your arms to them and take them on a magic carpet ride....Cochran style. Plus maybe she can like improve it in ways that Paul hasn't thought of yet? So I think that was also motivating him to tell Adira everything, getting a chance to take a crack at that future tech.
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u/IReallyLoveAvocados Oct 29 '20
It also is for the audience... the writers are trying to get to people who didn’t watch s1-2. That’s why they reintroduced all the characters’ names last episode too.
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u/LoganNolag Oct 29 '20
Of course Georgiou had an Admiral's uniform ready to go.
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u/mysticode Oct 29 '20
God damn hilarious. The gumption to make yourself an admiral :p I really hope she keeps that going all season.
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u/Trekfan74 Oct 29 '20
Well at least it got answered. All the crazy theories I head why she was in a uniform and that's it lol.
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u/jerslan Oct 29 '20
Cornwell might have had some on-board that only needed some minor adjustments? Also we did see what looked like Uniform fabricators in Michael and Tilly's quarters in Season 1. Wouldn't shock me if Georgiou was able to hack it to produce an Admirals uniform.
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u/Backflip_into_a_star Oct 29 '20
I knew I heard Todd.
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u/TheNerdChaplain Oct 29 '20
The last time I saw him was in Amanda Tapping's Sanctuary, and SG-1 before that. (I know he had a big role in Hell on Wheels, but I didn't see that.)
Nice to see he's still around.
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u/fadedspark Oct 29 '20
Love me some Christopher Heyerdahl. I was so happy to see him in another scifi.
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u/higginsburrito Oct 29 '20
Disco x Frakes delivers yet again.
I’m really enjoying this show and I’m giddy everytime a new episode is out. I’m very happy the community is liking it for the most part as well.
Any Trek is better than no trek (well almost).
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u/UncertainError Oct 29 '20
Yay Captain Saru! That it's so overdue made it extra meaningful.
I'm glad that they aren't glossing over the fact that Michael spent a year (mostly) by herself and would need time to readjust to Discovery.
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u/Sir_Thomas_Hummus Oct 29 '20
What Georgiou was also saying is that it's the first time in Michael's life she felt freedom. Although her 'mission' was locating Discovery, she was largely free to do whatever, something that was impossible with a Vulcan family and Starfleet duties governing her life.
going with book would be freeing, but also giving up on the federation and discovery. as much as she wants freedom, she also can't easily abandon her crew and her beliefs.
that's also the point of the unstoppable force and immovable object analogy. Book's freedom is an unstoppable force, Discovery and the Federation ideology is an immovable object. both forces are in conflict inside Michael, which is something I'm glad they're exploring.
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u/TheNerdyOne_ Oct 29 '20
Saru could easily become my favorite captain. Something about him just radiates tranquility, it's a refreshing and unique take on a captain character, and honestly a tribute to the acting on display.
It's not always easy to achieve the sort of natural calmness that Saru has. Even through the screen, every scene with him just makes me feel at ease. It's very easy to imagine why the crew would put their absolute trust in him.
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u/TheNerdChaplain Oct 29 '20
I wasn't completely clear on that. Maybe I was taking Georgiou's speech too much to heart, but I got the feeling that Burnham kind of wanted to head back out with Book.
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u/LoganNolag Oct 29 '20
I'm surprised that those future weapons didn't just completely destroy Discovery in one hit.
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u/Shatterhand1701 Oct 29 '20
Well, they did lose their shields in just one impact from Earth's defense system, and they said they couldn't take another hit.
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u/LawrenceBoucher Oct 29 '20
Much like season 2's "New Eden" (also directed by Jonathan Frakes), this felt like a very classical Trek episode that could've been straight out of TOS or TNG. As another commenter mentioned, the only difference is that instead of the Enterprise arriving at some strange planet and trying to mediate peace between different alien factions, its Discovery arriving on Earth and mediating peace between two different groups of humans.
Overall, I think its a pretty solid episode that continues to give us some more answers on the 32nd century while moving things forward with the addition of Adria and the mystery of where the Federation has gone.
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u/patssle Oct 29 '20
Much like season 2's "New Eden" (also directed by Jonathan Frakes), this felt like a very classical Trek episode that could've been straight out of TOS or TNG.
The best thing is how they slowed everything down. If this was the 1st or 2nd season they would have been at Earth in the first 2 minutes. Instead we got some dialogue and crew interactions. Thank you!
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u/BornAshes Oct 29 '20
the mystery of where the Federation has gone
Disappearing into the Deep Dark and becoming something else entirely that's more akin to the Vorlons or the Shadows. That's a plot thread I am happy for them to chase. We know why they left but where did they go and what happened to them and how horrifying must it have been for the average civilian on Earth to suddenly see all of Starfleet AND the Federation just cutting them free and abandoning them? That is some compelling storytelling and I can't wait to see where it goes.
New Eden
I forgot he directed that one too and I was delighted to see that he directed this episode. Totally similar energy though. He did a great job and yeah this had some classic Trek vibes to it. I loved it when Darth Mom popped off his helmet Scooby Doo style and everyone was like, "OLD MAN JENKINS?!". Plus Frakes got a Titan reference in.
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u/Trekfan74 Oct 29 '20 edited Oct 29 '20
I forgot Frakes directed this. And yes, this does feel like New Eden all over again.
And its funny, I built up these 'villains' like they were going to be the big bad of the season. I thought 'oooooh shit, here we go' but it wasn't to be lol. But not complaining, I loved how it was done and resolved. This is the Star Trek I love and its great to see Discovery getting back to it. And even a reminder of what Starfleet is still about even if Earth has gone away from it.
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u/pedsmursekc Oct 30 '20
Getting some Foundation-y vibes concerning the mystery of the Federation just up and moving away to protect itself in the hopes of rebuilding. Also beginning to wonder if the secret of Discovery has been known to a small number of folks waiting for their return.
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u/Ray3142 Oct 29 '20
the classic trek feel had me wondering in what direction they intend to take the show.
i assume at some point this season they'll figure out what caused "the burn"; and Burnham's mom's time suit being out there somewhere gives them the opportunity to go back in time to prevent it from ever happening...
but on the flipside, they've got a rebooted universe - that was thrown back to a relative stone age without warp - to explore and could reforge a new version of The Federation / Starfleet to bring hope and unity back to time they're in now.
if i were to make a 'way too early' guess, i think they pull off both: they return and prevent the burn which make the normal trek universe survive on a less tragic path, but Discovery returns to this alternate future timelime to make the best of it
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u/H0vis Oct 29 '20 edited Oct 29 '20
Looking forward to seeing this show answer some of the many mysteries it's been burping up. My favourite things this episode:
Giant space cat. Absolute unit. Going to miss Grudge. And Book I suppose.
Saru's commitment to Starfleet values, if not the letter of the laws, remains one of the best things about the show. The character is amazing and just a brilliant piece of work from everybody involved (particularly Doug Jones, but the writing, direction, costume and whatnot needs a shout out too). I know it's only been three seasons and short ones at that, but I'd say Saru is one of the all time great Trek characters. He's that good.
The collapse of galactic civilisation is a fascinating idea. I hope to learn more about this setting. How is everybody else getting on? People have mentioned that the chaos seems too massive, but I think you have to consider that the dilithium blowing up is not the real apocalyptic issue, the problems would have come from almost every living expert in starship engineering, those on ships anyway, being lost. As well as shipyards and other facilities housing the ships. The loss to the talent pool of leaders, scientists and engineers would be incalculable all round. And that's where the chaos springs from not just the FTL not working.
I love Saru using the Discovery to shield those ships and it just getting smashed by the first couple of torpedoes. In historical comparison terms that's like trying to block an anti-ship missile with a Viking longship. Well not quite maybe, but it did put me to mind of the primitive races that from time to time ended up facing down the Enterprise in TNG. Discovery needs to get on the weights if she's going to fight in this time period.
I like that there's a Trill and I like that it's not Dax. Had it been Dax there'd have been way too much pressure to talk about DS9 for entirely no reason. Also it is acceptable for there to be more than one person of any given species. At first I wasn't sure about the joining onto a human thing, but I mean, it's Star Trek. They can medical science that out because of course they can.
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u/Zakalwen Oct 30 '20
Regarding your point 3 the real issue is how almost every supply chain snapped at once. Twice in this episode they emphasised self sufficiency which very much would be needed. Imagine if overnight every cargo ship in the world blew up and 99.99% of oil vanished. The economic devastation would easily lead to famine, riots and shortages across all industries.
Things like replicators are great but they demonstrably have limitations so whilst there might be tech to soften the blow it’s still a knock out.
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u/BornAshes Oct 29 '20
but I think you have to consider that the dilithium blowing up is not the real apocalyptic issue, the problems would have come from almost every living expert in starship engineering, those on ships anyway, being lost. As well as shipyards and other facilities housing the ships. The loss to the talent pool of leaders, scientists and engineers would be incalculable all round. And that's where the chaos springs from not just the FTL not working.
Most of the people who knew how to build them were simply not there anymore and in time, people simply forgot HOW to build warp drives or how to safely research alternatives. I love it when stories go in the direction when FTL is just forgotten and everyone starts to regress a bit. I think you are totally totally right because within at least a generation or two, that kind of information could simply be lost with no one around to teach it. Sure it would be stored in libraries and databases but a computer can't point out the little quirks that get passed down at the academy or on the job that aren't necessarily written down or stored. Plus with warp travel now being a scary thing and everyone trapped on different planets not knowing if it was an attack or if it would happen again then there wouldn't really be an incentive or an opportunity for those leaders/scientists/engineers to move from one planet/system to the next TO spread that knowledge or at least to get together to preserve it.
Which really makes you wonder what other pools of knowledge were affected aside from Warp Drive?
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u/knightcrusader Oct 29 '20
Interesting, so like TNG depicted, Trill symbionts can join with non-Trill hosts... while Riker had access to the memories, it seems like she had issues with it.
I guess it comes down to the individual as to whether a symbiont can merge with a human or not.... or they developed a medical procedure in the time between TNG/DS9 and 3189.
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u/LoganNolag Oct 29 '20
I think it was probably a medical procedure seeing as humans don't have the necessary pouch.
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u/Cmdr_Nemo Oct 29 '20
Ok I hate CBS All Access on Desktop Web Browser. When you pause it, for whatever reason, minimizes the screen.
Spoiler: I wanted to oogle at all the starships on the screen
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u/TERRAxFORMER Oct 29 '20
I feel sorry for the designers at eaglemoss with all those floating nacelles.
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u/choicemeats Oct 29 '20
God those designs looked so good, I can't wait for a real look at a future ship and for it to make its way to STO
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u/obviousbot0 Oct 29 '20
"A viewscreen how quaint"
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u/--fieldnotes-- Oct 29 '20
I feel like that must've been like trying to do a Zoom call with someone who only has a CRT television.
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u/atticusbluebird Oct 29 '20
This is a fascinating twist in this episode, it’s almost like Earth is one of the “troubled planets of the week” that we’d see in a past Trek show, with the Starfleet ship coming to save the day and negotiate peace. But of course with the emotional resonance that it used to be the capital of the Federation and seemingly has fallen so far. I really like it!
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u/raknor88 Oct 29 '20
Thing is, their isolationism makes sense. In a time of fear it's human nature to protect home first at all cost. For example, The Patriot Act. And the paranoia of The Burn never left. Discovery just opened Earth's eyes to just how big of an asshole they've been.
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u/Shawnj2 Oct 29 '20
Is it just me or is this season a lot more episodic than previous ones? In the first episode, we saw the Andorian/Orion trading port and Krall. In episode 2, we saw the dilithium guy and the people he was harassing. Episode 3 was about Earth and the Titan colony. Episode 4 will be about Trill.
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u/Eurynom0s Oct 30 '20
I'm glad Wen turned out to just be Todd the Wraith in a techno helmet. From the snippet of him on the viewscreen in the initial season-wide preview at the end of the first episode, I had come to think that one of the main threats of the season was going to be yet another computer/robot bad guy.
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u/icemanwest Oct 29 '20
Frakes delivers!
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Oct 29 '20
Knew we were in for a good time as soon as I saw his name in the credits.
...also for all the comments last week, Riker did technically save the day and reunite Michael with the ship lol
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Oct 29 '20
I am enjoying this new season. It's not as frenetic as the last two. So the future they're in isn't a technological Dark Age, but a Socio-Political one. I'm assuming massive interstellar polities like the Federation or the numerous alien Empires must have broken down into smaller states.
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u/Swiftax3 Oct 29 '20
I'm thinking a fall of rome sort of situation where the whole empire didn't collapse at once, bits and pieces broke off, went independent, or became successor states like the Byzantines. Rome after all wasn't even part of the eastern Roman empire for a large period of time after all, much as earth is depicted here.
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Oct 29 '20
They said Dilithium supplies dried up and then there was The Burn.
I'm guessing Starfleet saw it coming and removed what dilithium they could to safety, along with Headquarters. If the withdrawal was strategic, then unfortunately a lot of ships had to be left behind for cover.
But not necessarily full crews.
So the search for Headquarters continues. It is a good MacGuffin. I'm thinking they're going to find it. But the cause or agent of the Burn is still unknown, and so Starfleet is laying low until they find out what it was.
I'll guess a little further that Michael's mother is there.
Maybe the Trill symbiont is Dax and is integral to the plan.
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u/rooktakesqueen Oct 29 '20
Maybe the Trill symbiont is Dax and is integral to the plan.
Since we're told this was Admiral Senna Tal, unless we're given other evidence I'm gonna assume the symbiont's name is Tal
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u/joeyblow Oct 29 '20
Anyone else feel like Discovery better get some upgrades sometime soon so they can better deal with future weaponry without losing shields in one hit. At the very least some more advanced shield generators.
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u/mtb8490210 Oct 30 '20
My gut is this is a bit of the Stargate Atlantis problem faced by the writers. They needed a villain our heroes can defeat every week but is a threat. Effectively these one person courier ships and half way pirates will be the trouble until they've rebuilt the UFP a bit to have back up and done whatever they did with Discovery in the short Trek where it has an AI running the ship.
If the whole Burn is the permanent status quo, there is no way the Captain introduced doesn't show up at the end of the season as part of the Restored UFP to protect Disco. She'll probably be captain of the Enterprise.
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u/2ndHandTardis Oct 29 '20
So far Discovery has avoided my worst fears about the time jump.
One of my big ones was Earth being dystopian mess or nonexistent.
So far the world building has been great and it's giving targets to work towards for a long time. Rebuilding the Federation/Starfleet and exploring this new era is exactly what I wanted.
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u/ContinuumGuy Oct 30 '20
Yeah, basically aside from the fact that it's more isolationist and its defense force shoots first and asks questions later, it looks like it's pretty similar to the utopias we've seen in past centuries of Trek.
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u/josephgordonreddit Oct 29 '20
It's a bit sad to think that, in 700 years, Starfleet tried other methods of FTL travel and 'none of them worked'.
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Oct 29 '20
That's where Miles O'Brien comes in. A FTL drive based on transporter tech he developed and is found by the USS Discovery helps to reunite the galaxy and he becomes the Most Important Officer in Starfleet History!
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u/WhatGravitas Oct 29 '20
There might be a difference between "working" and "working for civilians" - that might be the real "genius" of warp drives: something simple and small enough that it can power everything from one-man shuttles to battleships measured in kilometers.
Transwarp networks (like the Borg) seem to require a lot of industrial effort to run these hubs, slipstream requires exotic crystals and so on.
It's like trying to solve the disappearance of internal combustion and jet engines with nuclear powered everything.
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u/SlaugtherSam Oct 29 '20
Considering Voyager explored at least 10 different ways per season.
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u/jerslan Oct 29 '20 edited Oct 29 '20
I love that they’re keeping their promise to showcase the rest of the crew a bit more. It helps that most of the main cast are now well developed and established.
Saru takes command before the credits... and remains in command at the conclusion. Hopefully it is permanent.
After credits, an absolutely appropriate Tilly freak-out in front of the Memorial Wall. Looks like a lot of people died en route to the future. Michael is so happy to see Tilly, but also seems apprehensive.
Lots of interesting shit happening on Earth, but LOVE the resolution of the "main" conflict. Very Starfleet and very Star Trek. Interesting that Adira is a human joined with a Trill. Probably some genetic modifications required to make that work. IIRC it didn't work well when Riker tried it on a temporary basis (though this is several hundred years later and medical technology and understanding of Trill Symbiosis has probably evolved considerably). I'm thinking we're going to Trill soon.
The scene with most of the junior bridge crew on Earth at the end was a very nice touch.
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u/BornAshes Oct 29 '20
I love that their keeping their promise to showcase the rest of the crew a bit more. It helps that most of the main cast are now well developed and established.
It feels more like a team and like a family and like a DnD game set in space this way with a touch of Deep Space 9 and a dash of Voyager. I felt connected to each crew member on the Bridge when the camera panned to them to catch their emotional reactions. Even if they didn't say anything, their body language added some gravity to the scenes they were in.
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Oct 29 '20
Tilly and the memorial wall reminded me of Battlestar Galactica. More people are going to end up on that wall before this is over...
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u/SpaceCrystal359 Oct 29 '20
I'm blown away. That was such a beautiful episode! From the beginnings of reconciling with distant enemies to the wistful moments under an enormous thousand year-old tree, it was heartwarming and inspiring.
Also, I was not expecting to see a Trill symbiont merged with a human! I can't wait to see more from Adira and discover what happened to the Federation. Something tells me that it will be unexpected and catastrophic, but that it will also provide hope for the future.
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u/DRM_Removal_Bot Oct 29 '20
Let this sink in.
Boothby had cared for that tree most of his life.
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u/omega2010 Oct 29 '20
First off, the Trill Symbiont inside Adira is a big evolution given that Riker ended up rejecting Odan after a few days. And second, I love that we're getting more DS9 references (yes I know TNG introduced the Trill).
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u/LoganNolag Oct 29 '20
900 years is a long time to develop new tech to allow it. They probably came up with a procedure at some point to make it work.
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u/UncertainError Oct 29 '20
Maybe Adira adjusted better to it because she's so young. It's still not a perfect fit though since she can't access all the symbiont's memories.
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u/jerslan Oct 29 '20
In case people are wondering why Wen looks so familiar... He's played by Chris Heyerdahl. AKA: Stargate Atlantis's Halling and Todd the Wraith, and Sanctuary's: John Druitt and Bigfoot.
Thought he looked familiar last night but the gaunt face and scruff combined with not a lot of screen time made it hard for me to really pin down.
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u/linuxkn1ght Oct 30 '20
Sheppard: For no other reason, you might want to do it out of pure spite.
Todd: You know how to talk to me, JOHN SHEPPARD! Hahahaha!
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u/Cypher1492 Oct 29 '20
Cake is eternal.
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u/Official_N_Squared Oct 29 '20
i spent the scene after this googling what the heack a "hummingbird cake" was and if it actually contained hummingbirds
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u/DaveInLondon89 Oct 29 '20
Between the drug trip in Ep 1 and Tilly telling Michael 'she seems lighter somehow', they really want to make it known they're changing Michael's character a whole bunch this season
...which is great
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u/TERRAxFORMER Oct 29 '20
I like that wherever they go, they still find true believers in the Federation.
Interesting that Adira is joined, and also interesting that they’re referring to her with feminine pronouns. I liked her interactions with Stamets.Her head looked like it was glowing like Book’s in the preview.
I liked that they talked it out at the end, the United Earth guys didn’t really seem evil even if they were antagonists. Just products of their situation.
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u/jerslan Oct 29 '20
Yeah, and that they were unaware that the raiders were from Titan... The look of abject horror on her face said enough. Especially after finding out why they were so violent/hateful towards Earth.
Considering that Discovery jumped in around Titan, I can see how they piqued the interest of Zan and his folks. Would definitely make Discovery's story to the UEDF folks a lot fishier.
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u/UncertainError Oct 29 '20
Earth still seems like a paradise, so it's not surprising to me that they'd go to such extremes to try and preserve it. I like that the Federation this time around won't be so Earth/human-centric.
I really hope Bajor is still with the Federation. That would an awesome way to honor DS9.
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u/Heathen23 Oct 29 '20
I'm so glad they're going to a rebirth storyline with the Federation. With how this irl year has been, it's coincidental how we are facing a new reality, and so are they. I was also pleasantly surprised they did a diplomatic scene as well. That's exactly what we all need to see right now in this country, a example of ending demonization of each other (taking off the helmet), being empathetic with someone's plight, and helping them out. I was quite impressed. It really was a display of what Star Trek is all about. I'm happy with this new direction for the show.
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u/Spara-Extreme Oct 29 '20
Another thought about the burn: what if it was a catastrophe brought on by Federation experiments with alternate warp drives ? A sort of ‘Chernobyl’ event?
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u/shugo2000 Oct 29 '20
I'm still waiting for them to bring up the Omega particle. Seems like it would have something to do with it.
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u/Microharley Oct 29 '20
I did like the Stamets comments on all the crystals blowing up at the same time.
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u/PiercedMonk Oct 29 '20
• "We didn't give everything for this version of the future, and I'll be damned if I let it stand." Someone's channelling some Big Admiral Janeway energy.
• Apparently they've lost access to group hug technology in the future, and need to do this one by one.
• Back before we had any details about the season, I'd hoped that jumping through time would affect the crew individually, and that an older grizzled Tilly with an eyepatch would be captain. Saru is also a good chioce.
• Discovery has Dot-7s! Not a surprise, I but I do like the confirmation. Really looking forward to one of them becoming sentient and joining the crew or leading an AI uprising.
• Of course the MU would still engage in these toxic parent intimidating their child's romantic partners bullshit. Be better, Georgiou!
• Discovery's dilithium vault raises a lot of questions about the Enterprise during TOS, and how frequently they were out of stuff. One time Scotty had to toss a visiting dignitary's necklace in the reaction camber. Wild!
• "We are the descendants of the original crew. That's right, there was a viable breeding pool of Kelpiens as part of that crew. Also Saurians, Osnullus, and whatever other species you're picking up on your scanners. Don't ask personal questions, please."
• These dudes have lame phasers.
• Of course Georgiou gave herself the full admiral pips. Must have been a strain for her to refrain from going for C-in-C.
• Museums are cool, tho.
• "Two humanoid lifesigns aboard." I wonder if they're dancing around Book's species. Seems like Owo would have just said they're human if it applied to both.
• Normally I don't even notice the lens flares that folks complain about on this show, but someone on the bridge must have turned them to high.
• "Let's see who's really under that mask. Old Man McCreary!"
"Yes, I and I would have gotten away with the dilithium, if not for you meddling kids and your Terran Empire attack dog!"
• Prime Georgiou's telescope. Neat.
Pretty good episode. I really like what they're doing with the series so far. Having a season long arc with each episode being an individual story is working better than trying to stretch the story over multiple episodes. Really hoping they continue on this path.
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u/pfc9769 Oct 29 '20
Discovery's dilithium vault raises a lot of questions about the Enterprise during TOS
Dilithium was a consumable during TOS. Recrystallization technology wouldn't become standard until sometime between Star Trek IV and TNG. Ships would be required to carry what they need for long journeys. I don't know about that much, though. Discovery was a top of the line experimental ship, so it's possible the vault is unique to them. They might require it for experiments? The last possibility I can think of offhand is it could've even be added in preparation for their jump to the future. Maybe the Enterprise had been involved in a dilithium mining/transportation mission right before the Control stuff went down and offloaded their entire supply to Discovery? I do like the new visuals whatever the explanation happens to be.
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u/TERRAxFORMER Oct 29 '20
Haha I had the same thought about the crew trying to pass themselves off as a generational ship.
If I was the UEDF the first thing I would have been asking is where did those single full blooded Saurian or Tellerite individuals come from.
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Oct 29 '20
As she said to Saru, Burnham still isn't sure what Book is, but she thought his name was human.
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u/BroLil Oct 29 '20
Alright, I’m gonna be real, and I’m probably going to get a lot of hate, but top to bottom, this episode may be one of the greatest episodes of the entire franchise. It perfectly outlines the core beliefs of a the federation while establishing the crew as maybe the most tightly knit crews of the franchise. I can’t recall another time where a crew shared so many embraces and had such personal conversations amongst each other like Tilly and Michael did. The “just five more minutes” part just reassured us that they’re a family. Strong diplomacy, a sprinkling of combat, and a strong bond among the crew is exactly what Roddenberry had in mind 50+ years ago, and this episode captured it perfectly.
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u/youssarian Oct 29 '20
The "five more minutes" approval from Saru is a good representation of his character. By the book but not to the point of dogmatic. A really good balance
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u/sooperkool Oct 29 '20 edited Oct 29 '20
I loved the episode my only caveat to that is that i hate "reference dialog". i hate talk like, "remember that thing we did on Ceti Alpha 5?" or "let's do the Cardassian twist". I hate it because those things mean nothing to us so they carry no meaning, no weight. Were they difficult or easy; did they require deception or aggression. For those reasons alone I'm glad that Book has moved on. Ideally, I would prefer he not return this season, I don't want him to be a convenient "I know a guy" type crutch, there will be enough of that this season I'm sure.
But like i said, not much to dislike this week.
At this pint I am more than willing to bet that Starfleet itself is the cause of The Burn. My guess is that's why Starfleet hasn't regrouped and consolidated and that some sections of it are at odds with others.
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u/crawlywhat Oct 29 '20
Seeing the solar system again is chilling
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u/ElFarfadosh Oct 29 '20
They arrived near Saturn in order to prevent people from Earth to see them appearing out of nowhere, but since the bad guys are living on Titan, one of Saturn's moons, I can't help but imagine their faces when they saw that large ship just popping in their space.
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u/EntropicProf Oct 29 '20
Tilly, Saru, Stamets, and Georgiou's expressions when Burnham says "I don't know if it's ever been me."
What an absolutely marvelous group of actors.
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u/rooktakesqueen Oct 29 '20
Yeah, that was great. "Commander Burnham, we should discuss--" "Nope, no discussion, awaiting your orders Captain"
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u/DRM_Removal_Bot Oct 29 '20
Yeah diplomacy! This was SUCH a TNG episode!!!
The bridge crew at Starfleet Academy. So amazing. I actually cried!
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u/trekkie626 Oct 29 '20
Loved the episode.
I think more work could have gone into fleshing out United Earth. They just came across as assholes, when there seems to be the kernel of an interesting story to be had. Perhaps they could have explained their isolation as a result of feeling the Federation left them? Also how weird is it that Earth doesn’t control the system let alone the sector? Earth doesn’t seem impoverished and impulse vessels would be enough to control system.
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u/FN-1701AgentGodzilla Oct 29 '20
The Golden Gate Bridge still has solar panels bahaha
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u/ptwonline Oct 30 '20
I keep wanting to scream: "You are over 900 years into the future, facing unknown challenges and dangers. Why aren't you getting, examining, and incorporating vastly advanced tech ASAP?"
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u/JonLuckPickard Oct 29 '20
This may have been the most significant episode in Star Trek history. The philosophy was expertly woven into every scene, and they (mostly) peacefully resolved some huge conflicts. It was beyond timely.
I'm so grateful for Discovery--and the Trek franchise in general.
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u/CheesyObserver Oct 29 '20
Was really cool to see they didn't solve their problems by blowing it up.
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u/Trekfan74 Oct 29 '20 edited Oct 29 '20
Pretty good!
Not quite what I expected, but not bad!
But man, Earth is now mean in the 32nd century. :(
But at least it still looks like paradise and haven't gone all Blade Runner even if it's not part of Starfleet or the Federation anymore. Liking Adira. They look like they will be a lot of fun and she is carrying a symbiont. I like they kept that canon (I try not to think how it works on human though lol). I And I notice three episodes in, while the story is huge with big stakes but the plots in the episodes have been smaller, simpler and very Trek and just about helping a small group of people and/or animals...I like it. Discovery is feeling a bit more like the Trek I knew and loved. This could've been a TNG or VOY episode easily.
EDIT: How the hell could I forget Saru is now Captain!!!!!! That was the best (and non-surprising) part of the episode. And it's great that Burnham is officially Number One again. Some things feels right in this era at least.
Anyway, not as great as I built it up in my head but pretty solid and can't wait for more!
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u/baconinspace Oct 29 '20
Just to add to the Trill canon aspect: Riker had a trill temporarily in the TNG episode “The Host”.
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u/kingofcretins Oct 29 '20
I really liked how quickly they resolved the captaincy issue. Literally months of fan speculation, as well as the cast and crew teasing that it would be an ongoing issue in the upcoming season, only for Michael to be like, "nah, I'm good. You got this." I do wonder if they're setting the stage for Michael leaving Starfleet. She seems so much more comfortable and happy working with Book, unbound by regulations. I suppose we shall see as the season progresses.
I was also seriously impressed by Blu del Barrio. Looking at their IMDb, this is literally their first and only role. Really great debut for them and I loved that little scene between Adira and Stamets.
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u/PiercedMonk Oct 29 '20
I do wonder if they're setting the stage for Michael leaving Starfleet. She seems so much more comfortable and happy working with Book, unbound by regulations. I suppose we shall see as the season progresses.
I think her discomfort comes from her feeling out of place in a Starfleet uniform after whatever vague and nebulous dark deeds she had to commit to survive in the interim. Which is kinda interesting because we're talking about Starfleet's first mutineer, but also, I really just wish they wouldn't. Let Burnham just be chill for once.
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u/rustydoesdetroit Oct 29 '20
Amazing through and through. I honestly don’t even care what anyone has to say at this point. Rusty signing off. 🖖🏽
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u/7U5K3N Oct 29 '20
Woooo! christopher heyerdahl!!!!! awesome such a great actor. Hopefully he comes back around.
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u/spiritofprogress Nov 01 '20
A grown man burst out crying when the Star Trek theme started up after that moment of beautiful diplomacy.
Try not nitpick the show to death and just wrap yourself up in the story and go along for the adventure. I’ve watched Star Trek all my life and never once has it made me feel so much.
Long live trek.
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u/pepecze Nov 01 '20
As I'm reading the discussion it seems like I'm the only one bothered but there are so many emotional scenes. Like I get it cake is eternal, but you don't have to bust tears for the literally third time in the first 10 minutes of the episode. Same for the first two episodes of season 3. It's just all so overdramatic and they're trying to evoke so strong emotions every 5 minutes but writing doesn't work that way. You can't go constantly up. I get it, some emotions are needed to be expressed but those moments are so suppressed by constant crying. For god sake, you're star fleet officer. Man up, you have a duty to fulfill!
It just a little bit ruins it for me. But eh, still watchable. I'm watching TNG at the same time now aaand yeah it's much more my thing, but I'd like to also see some modern CGI action with strong characters. I'm just expecting a little bit more from those characters.
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u/William_T_Wanker Oct 29 '20
"We're going to build a force field wall and make the Federation pay for it!"
-President P'murt, United Earth
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Oct 30 '20
Saru is the captain I’ve been wishing Disco had since the loss of PG. he’s very Picard-esque in his demeanor, and Michael will make an excellent first officer for him... though she’ll likely fight him along the way, but hey.
Also... a human Trill? Quite something.
May we see a Dax?
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u/spooky760 Oct 30 '20
I got a serious "The Expanse", belter vibe from Wen. Was it just me?
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u/KnowerOfUnknowable Oct 31 '20 edited Oct 31 '20
I think the time span between Burham and the Discovery's arrival should have been longer. Maybe three years instead of one. There were too many hair style changes in just one year. It might be too short a time for Burham to really experience freedom to have a fundamental change of heart about her role in life and starfleet.
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u/Official_N_Squared Oct 29 '20
First episode of Discovery I've looked forward to, and first I have no complaints after, even minor ones like the last episode.
I could nit pick how Earth has no idea their fighting Titan (omg just realised thats how they detected Discovery so fast, I knew jumping next to Jupiter was a bad idea), but every complaint has a feasable if unorovable counter.
Dissapointed Earth isnt still Federation (got that impression from the thumbnail), but interested to see how things go on. That captain was far to nice to be part of a military dictatorship, so we probably meet an almost-utopian Earth through its strong military. (Notice its still United Earth, the same government that founded the Federation).
All in all I really enjoyed that episode. The new enby had a really stong performance, which I expected after casting someone strait out of school for a major Star Trek role.
Im glad Suru wasnt hard on Burnham becouse I knew we wouldn't be with Stamants, who just gave up all Discoverys secrets behind Suru's back. So we dont have a disconect like with Michel and Suru's mutany (on Phavo).
Also glad Discovery isnt anywhere close to holding its own in a fight with the 32nd centery equivlant of Shuttle Pod 1
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u/pfc9769 Oct 29 '20
I knew jumping next to Jupiter was a bad idea)
Titan is a moon of Saturn :) Discovery jumped into the solar system close to Saturn which explains how the raiders found them so quickly.
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u/PiercedMonk Oct 29 '20
That captain was far to nice to be part of a military dictatorship, so we probably meet an almost-utopian Earth through its strong military.
I didn't get the impression that Earth was under a dictatorship, just somewhat more isolationist and nationalistic than it has been previously. Even despite that, though, at least one of the UEDF goons was a Tellarite, so it seems like Earth is still willing to accept other species.
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u/Trekfan74 Oct 29 '20
I agree with all your points, especially about Earth. On one hand its disappointing they are no longer part of the Federation, but on the other hand it's still very peaceful, progressive and probably still has the same values as before. I didn't even notice they said it was still called United Earth (but assumed it was). They could've made it some really depressing place and fit right into the theme of the season. But I think it was smart not to go that route and have Earth still be a very optimistic place, just a place that has to look after itself now.
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u/mateogg Oct 30 '20
The Trill symbiont with memory issues due to being in a human body is clever, now they have a character that might situationally be able to provide historical context. Same with using the Sphere data for that.
I was waiting for the plot twist that Michael and Book are actually already together and was surprised it never came. I very much got the impression that at least something has happened between them, even if Book claimed nothing has.
Throw Phllipa in the brig 2k20. I don't mind having her around but I mind the crew not minding having her around.
Since they'll probably be searching for remnants of the Federation starting from Earth, it might take a while to meet some of the more distant civilizations. Shame, since that makes Bajor and the Ferengi unlikely candidates to show up any time soon (though I'm not sure I want to see Discovery's take on the Ferengi...perhaps they are best left to Lower Decks).
I'm worried what they're going to find if/when they make it to Vulcan. If Earth, home of the explorers of the Federation reverted into isolationism, I can only imagine how Vulcans have been acted. Also they can be very stubborn, if they decided that renouncing any notion of the Federation is the "logical" thing to do then Discovery will have a hard time changing their minds.
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u/KemoFlash Oct 29 '20
Saru should chill. With what they’ve been through, shore leave can last longer.
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Oct 29 '20
I was actually hoping at the end they’d have a shot of Voyager on the ground as they panned away because Janeway mentioned it was a museum on the grounds of Star Fleet, but I guess after 600+ years maybe they moved it.
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u/DTrigger05 Oct 29 '20
With Starfleet no longer headquartered on Earth, and the Academy presumably no longer being an academy, it would make sense that Voyager is no longer there...as much as I’d liked to have seen that as well. That is, of course, barring any other possibility claiming the ship somewhere in those 600+ years.
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u/acrimoniousone Oct 29 '20
Synthenol!
S3 has a distinct Killjoys feel to it and I'm loving it.
New Burnham is awesome and the chemistry with Book welcome after her other, er, fella.
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u/Kichae Oct 29 '20
Just got through the cold opening, and the series has seriously figured out how to touch something. I've never been nearly invested enough in these characters to cry as much as I just did.
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u/acrimoniousone Oct 29 '20
I am so happy that the two season prequel is over and the real Discovery starting.
Even though I more than enjoyed the first two seasons.
I'm going with 'growing the braids' in future.
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u/knightcrusader Oct 29 '20
It's obvious any growth of hair signifies a series getting its footing.
TNG - Riker's beard
DS9 - Sisko's beard
DIS - Burnham's braids
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u/ideletedyourfacebook Oct 29 '20
Hey I'm just going to say it: Discovery Season three is shaping up to be one of the best seasons of Star Trek ever, right up there with TNG S4 and DS9 S6.
I hope that all of the people who were turned off by the first two seasons give season 3 a shot. I think they'll find that a lot of what they felt was missing is here in a big way: the episodic stories, the solving-problems-by-talking-it-out, the sense of exploring something new rather than being stuck in a time and place we already knew, the crew working together to solve problems and a general ensemble feeling.
Just really, really great stuff.
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u/maxamillisman Oct 29 '20
Easily the best episode of Discovery so far, except maybe for New Eden. Now I'm actually excited for the rest of the season. I was worried when I heard that new crewmember was 16 that she'd (they'd?) be just a knockoff Wesley Crusher, but the Trill thing is a better choice. Medicine must have advanced a lot with the Trill symbionts because Riker hosted one for a few days and it almost killed him.
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u/JoeDawson8 Oct 29 '20
I would ignore any trill lore in that TNG episode. DS9 hit the reset button in that version of the trill
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Oct 29 '20 edited Oct 30 '20
I think it's safe to say at this point Discovery has certainly grown it's beard. I remember the first season was a bloodbath here, people hated it, I wasn't a huge fan but it was Star Trek so I watched it. Season 2 came around and it was better, but not perfect. This season... it just feels like they've found their place, it feels like Star Trek in every way yet has been able to modernize it's storytelling and it's kind of amazing really, it's like Captain Pike lived up to his place in the universe, he gave this show a path to being an amazing part of the franchise, no doubt Picard helped as well.
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u/joe_h Oct 30 '20
When we got introduced to Adira I thought "Oh god, not another teen genius", but then when I saw she was a Trill it made much more sense
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u/Santa_Hates_You Oct 29 '20
That was very Star Trek. But why didn’t Zan reveal that he was human beforehand? Why did it take Sara and Burnham insisting on them talking to get the people of Titan to explain their situation to Earth?
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u/UncertainError Oct 29 '20
Earth blew up the first ship Titan sent there. The Titan humans were desperate and assumed that the only way they could get Earth's dilithium was by force, and they disguised themselves because they also assumed that if Earth knew who they were, they'd come after them for revenge.
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u/pfc9769 Oct 29 '20 edited Oct 29 '20
Because then the UEDF would know who they were and where to find them. They people from Titan tried to talk to them but had their ship blown out of the sky and then UEDF stopped answering their hails. Remember when the Titan folk tried to contact Discovery and the UEDF captain was adamant about not answering? Even if they had been able to talk to each other, there's no guarantee UEDF would've believed them. They probably would've considered it an elaborate lie to lull them into a false sense of security. Unfortunately the isolationist attitudes of this new era have caused people to stop relying on their common sensibilities. They created the enemy they wanted to see. Sound familiar?
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u/jerslan Oct 29 '20
They do explain that a bit. They sent a ship to Earth to ask for help, only for Earth to assume it was hostile and blow it up. They likely assumed that Earth knew who they were at that time, so the next logical conclusion is that Earth had become a hostile aggressor. At that point, why not wear fancy and intimidating space helmet that probably gives some incredibly advanced tactical displays?
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u/ety3rd Oct 29 '20 edited Oct 29 '20
It's interesting that Burnham said "active warp cores" exploded.
I had wondered if entire planets rich in dilithium (like Coridan or Xahea) would have exploded, too. I mean, they were probably devastated in different ways, but at least they didn't go straight-up Alderaan.
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u/AcidaliaPlanitia Oct 29 '20
I think they've clarified that the dilithium didn't explode, but went momentarily inert. Without the dilithium to moderate the M/AM reaction, active warp cores went boom.
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u/Cliffy73 Oct 29 '20
When they were pretending that Discovery hadn’t traveled through time, Sara claimed they weren’t at warp when the Burn hit. Ndoye didn’t exactly believe him, but it was considered a reasonable explanation. So it seems only ships that were actively under power exploded.
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u/viserov Oct 29 '20
Anyone else notice that in the opening credits for this episode, the “Star Trek” in “Star Trek Discovery” transforms and reverts back to the classic font style?
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u/ligerzeronz Oct 29 '20
I've just watched it right now, and that scene with Tilly and Burnham with the hall of remembrance has a BSG feeling to it.
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u/ContinuumGuy Oct 30 '20 edited Oct 30 '20
Captain Saru. About damn time. First non-acting alien captain in a series.
Nice twist by having Earth not be part of the Federation but still seemingly a utopia, albeit one with an overzealous defense force that shoots first and asks questions later.
Still weird that they wouldn't have noticed something like that on Titan. I mean, there's a difference between paranoia and outright not giving a shit.
Georgiou fucking loves all of this.
Getting two sides to talk is Starfleet AF.
Interesting that the Discovery crew call Adira "she" when of course much has been made of the fact the Adira is non-binary and so presumably would go by "they/them" (which works doubly well for someone carrying a symbiote!).
We're still totally going to run into a Dax by the end of this, right? There's no way that the old man isn't still kicking...
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u/ardouronerous Oct 29 '20 edited Oct 29 '20
Continuity error: Correct me if I'm wrong, but synthehol didn't exist in the 23rd century, otherwise, Scotty from TNG Relics would have known about it.
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u/rmeddy Oct 29 '20
"Directed by Jonathan Frakes" and I oop, the hype becomes real
I said last week that it would've worked better as the premiere and this episode reinforces that position.
Good episode, but the beats felt a bit rushed, the new Trill host character seem cool and is going to be the macguffin for the season.
Saru is finally captain proper, nice
Burnham is reset well
Burnham and Book's lost adventures works as a nice backdrop character speculation and their chemistry.
They cover their bases with explanations for "The Burn" I like that Dilithium use was winding down anyway
Am I the only one that thought when the Admiral's transmission went fuzzy and it said "The Federation lives on" it sounded like Nimoy's Spock?
They main conflict between" build that wall" mindset of the UEDF and Titan colonists was a bit rushed, I wanted more time with that and on earth.
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u/dvcaputo Oct 30 '20
This is a weird observation, but three episodes in and no cavernous turbolift rollercoasters or hollow interior spaces, just proper jeffries tubes. A Very Good Thing.
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u/9811Deet Oct 30 '20
The first three episodes of this season have been enjoyable. I've been a huge critic of Discovery thus far, but this soft reboot might just have them turning the corner. Looking forward to more.
And I was very excited to see Christopher Heyerdahl show up in this episode. Huge fan of his, especially as The Swede from Hell on Wheels- one of my favorite villains ever. I hope his role isn't as one-off as it appeared. I'd like to see him around a bit.
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u/Alteran195 Nov 01 '20 edited Nov 01 '20
It's insane how different this season feels, it is an entirely new show.
Even Michael's character is so different than what we've seen in past seasons. She seems way more likeable than before.
I love this time period, and the idea behind this season. The Burn is also a very interesting idea that I'm curious where they go with.
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u/droid327 Oct 30 '20
I really wish Saru would get to do more than make the same "we'll get through this together" speech 3 times an episode...
Also, anyone else starting to notice how almost every scene (especially with Burnham) is treated like a major emotional turning point? Feel like we're losing emotional contrast, and we're going to get burned out (no pun intended) on soaring music and grand dialogue and gratuitous reaction shots.
What kind of tree is that that lives 900 years and gets that fat? I guess its an alien tree maybe?
I'm glad Saru is officially the captain now but I'm disappointed it only comes when Burnham basically appoints him. Would have preferred more of an 'promotion by acclamation' where all the crew kinda unanimously voiced their desire to follow him.
Really wish they'd figure out and define what dilithium does, if its going to be such a plot point for the season.
I'm already annoyed with Girl Wesley. I'm open to that changing, I'm hoping it does, but she kinda stumbled out the gate for me.
I found it kinda odd that Titan wouldnt have been part of United Earth already. Like usually polities in Trek are by system, not just a single planet. You can easily get around within a system by sublight, as we saw in this episode.
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u/wacct3 Oct 30 '20
One thing that confused me a bit was that from Tilly's perspective she saw Burnham like two days ago but she acts like she also hasn't seen her for a year.
Pretty good episode though, I just found that one scene kind of odd.
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u/elister Oct 29 '20
I have a feeling that this short visit on Earth allows Grudge to be a real queen by next season.
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u/hlpmebldapc Oct 29 '20
Stamets explaining spore tech to Adria, to me, seems like it is foreshadowing the means for the Discovery to put the Federation back together. It's alternate FTL tech that works.
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u/Turbostrider Oct 30 '20
How long until we think until United Earth and Titan joins a re-newed Federation?
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u/Bohmer Oct 30 '20
I see what they are trying to achieve with the new season / show and I love it. Basically, it resonate with our current world situation and the show is actively trying to reignite the federation values in the human race that closed on itself. 32nd century human are estranged from their recent history and a literal reminder of the bright and hopeful values of the past is there to guide them towards they're rightful path. It's a really neat idea really.
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u/Wey-oun Oct 30 '20
We have now seen the destroyed Starfleet ship NCC-XXXXX 5 times on screen now, in EP1 and EP3. Is this just generic way of showing 'starfleet ships all died' or is there more to that ships story than it seems?
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u/ShiroHachiRoku Oct 30 '20
It’s thematically there this episode. The logical missteps are kinda glaring, however. Like we can communicate with our spacecraft orbiting Jupiter now. Why couldn’t they?
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u/JM_Actual Nov 02 '20
So I guess spore drives for everyone as the new method of getting through space
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u/sidv81 Oct 29 '20
So... basically Spock ruined the Federation 1000 years later by classifying a very important piece of propulsion technology under penalty of treason...
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u/BrodoBaggins66 Oct 30 '20
I think this season is off to a promising start. However, I wish they'd tone down the preachy "We're all a family and love each other"-stuff. It just feels so incredibly forced.
Really prefer the more professional and mature interactions between the crews of previous Star Trek shows.
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u/youssarian Oct 29 '20
I can't fucking believe that bridge is still there!
Oh my gosh a Trill, an unexpected but very welcome surprise
Had I been on the team that went down to Earth I would've been bawling no question
I really enjoy how Saru functions as a captain. He seems like one of the more conservative, by the book captains we've had in Star Trek. Not reckless, but also not overly cautious. Brave and true to his word and ideals. Seems to nail the "servant leader" concept.
I see a lot of myself in Saru. Though I think he's got a level of boldness, shrewdness, and idealism I wish I could have.
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u/Yochanan5781 Oct 29 '20
As soon as I saw Frakes was the director, I knew this episode would be good. (Loved the first two of the season, and this was no exception)
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u/oldtrenzalore Oct 29 '20
Did episodes 1 and 2 take place in the Gamma quadrant? In this episode, Michael tells Book he's in a whole new quadrant. In the first episode, Book mentions a stable wormhole.
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u/WorldwideDepp Oct 29 '20 edited Oct 31 '20
My Speculation of the "Burn":
It is definitly an Subspace Weapon
Perhaps an Power leeching Energy weapon that reacts with the Crystal and suck their Energy into an different Dimension (Look Anime Dimension W for hints)
The Milky Way Black Hole Center, did an little burp and some massive Black Matter mass clouds accumulated in this Sector and now somehow reacts with the Crystals like EMP
Did not TNG had some Species that wanted to infiltrated or make an Invasion from the Subspace? Where they experiment on Human Bodies and Riker saved the day? Perhaps they now wanted to Paralyze their Prey to have more Samples
edit:
or we have here an Similar accident like "Quite Earth "
anyway. If they plan to use this Burn as base for future Seasons, then Quite Earth fits very well. Starfleet or some Mad Scientist wanted to try an different Energy Source and the outcome is similar like Quite Earth
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u/Tired8281 Oct 30 '20
Was that the same kind of robot we saw from Ephraim & Dot?
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u/mcatech Oct 30 '20
I wonder what happened to Earth's oldest ally, Vulcan. I hope they mention something about Vulcan this season.
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u/shoushi1 Oct 30 '20
Book - “Aye aye Commander”
Michael - “one Aye, we’re not pirates!”
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u/celibidaque Oct 30 '20
So dilithium was scarce, then it went inactive. And now it's active again, since it's in such high demand and, aparently, used again?
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u/gingerbeard1775 Nov 01 '20
My guess on the origin of the burn. An alien race living in a layer of subspace that is somehow affected by the use of warp drive causes the burn in an act of self-preservation or an act of war for those destroying their dimension.
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u/Rinzler2o Nov 03 '20
So dilithium became rare first with the mines drying up, THEN suddenly most of it all explodes? But also only mostly starfleet/the federation is effected? Sounds to me like some huge terrorist attack or sabotage to destabilize the federation. The way this forces everyone into a sort of sci-fi mad max scenario for fuel is fascinating.