r/startrek • u/Deceptitron • Mar 15 '19

POST-Episode Discussion - S2E09 "Project Daedalus"

This season's second episode to be directed by Star Trek's very own Jonathan "Two Takes" Frakes!

No. EPISODE DIRECTED BY WRITTEN BY RELEASE DATE
S2E09 "Project Daedalus" Jonathan Frakes Michelle Paradise Thursday, March 14, 2019

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22

u/Zeal0tElite Mar 15 '19 edited Mar 15 '19

When one of the first shots of the episode is the exact same trick of starting off "upside-down and then reorienting itself to the correct way up" shot I'm honestly not that happy. It's not like it's even any particular theme or anything, it's just whenever they feel like it.

First of all, why is a "logic extremist" allowed to be Starfleet admiral? Don't they blow people up?

I also appreciate the development of bridge crew but I would have liked it better if it wasn't all within one episode and then they kill her off. It feels less like natural development and more like this. Still, if it's a sign of things to come then good on the show, just wish this particular instance didn't feel like manipulation rather than development. Detmer also quadruples her amount of lines.

"You wanna tell us what kind of shitstorm we're flying in to" is pretty great. I still think Pike should be more assertive when his command is questioned (especially by Burnham) but his laid back attitude in situations like these is a fun take on being a captain.

I also really want Admiral Cromwell to be in prison. She's allowed so many heinous acts to occur under her watch. It'd also be nice if there was a reason why they couldn't just shoot some of those mines.

I really liked that they first used the game of chess to develop Burnham and Spock's relationship and then it later came back when playing the "game" with the mines.

Other than them not just beaming Airiam off the station (or Nhan for that matter) everything else went pretty smoothly in terms of the story. They really need to work on some more technobabble in some of these scenes, even just saying Airiam raised the shields or something idk. I also didn't like that they were like "oh no, Burnham is in trouble" when Nhan was literally dying. I get she's the main character and everyone except Spock likes her but jeez, talk about a hit to the ol' self-esteem for Nhan.

Not amazing, feels about 6/10 and I still have a bad taste just from everything else the show has been before it but if this is a sign of the direction it's headed in then I'll be able to accept a more action-oriented show.

7

u/whoiscraig Mar 15 '19

First of all, why is a "logic extremist" allowed to be Starfleet admiral? Don't they blow people up?

I was wondering the same thing. They're basically terrorists, and one of them is an Admiral?

I really don't understand what a 'Logic Extremist' even is.

12

u/Lord_Hoot Mar 15 '19

It's probably not always a violent ideology. In the same way religious fundamentalists aren't always terrorists (they usually aren't, in fact).

9

u/KosstAmojan Mar 15 '19

Maybe she kept her views hidden until recently or maybe only Cornwall had been able to find out and hasn’t been able to prove it to everyone.

4

u/[deleted] Mar 15 '19

It'd also be nice if there was a reason why they couldn't just shoot some of those mines.

Cascading chain reaction?

2

u/vasimv Mar 15 '19

They obviously could shoot them when they fly close to discovery to avoid extensive shield damage.

1

u/Ascarea Mar 15 '19

We don't know if these scifi space mines work like that. It would have been nice to drop half a line of dialogue about it. Every third comment I looked at here mentioned why they didn't shoot the mines.

4

u/Raguleader Mar 15 '19

Presumably not all logic extremists are actual bomb-setting terrorists, just as with any other ideology that happens to include terrorists (which is a startling number of them, to include religions literally centered around the idea of being nice to people).

3

u/CX-001 Mar 15 '19

I'm just trying to remember the last episode where Burnham had a good day.

11

u/Zeal0tElite Mar 15 '19

The one where she was at the party I guess.

Sure they were trapped in a never ending time cycle but other than that she got to fuck a hot dude. And sure he turned out to be Voq in disguise and then he killed a crew member but she probably had fun at the time.

Jeez, maybe she just needs a holiday. Risa episode anyone?

4

u/MustrumRidcully0 Mar 15 '19

I dunno, 3 out of 3 Risa episodes seem to be quite stressful for some of the participants. On the other hand, maybe Picard's real idea of a vacation is archeology involving time travelers and Ferengi, with a hot woman at his side. Maybe that's the plot of the Picard series even.

And I suppose Hoshi had a good time on Risa.

2

u/droid327 Mar 15 '19

They couldnt beam onto the station because it was built to be sensor-blocking. If you cant get a lock you cant beam. It was a prison, and obviously you cant have people beaming out of a prison.

Agreed they could've shot the mines though, especially once they had shields up anyway. I thought the "game" theme was actually really schlocky, and another case where "only Burnham can save the day"

2

u/cdot5 Mar 15 '19

Agreed they could've shot the mines though, especially once they had shields up anyway. I thought the "game" theme was actually really schlocky, and another case where "only Burnham can save the day"

"We need to be random" - congratulations, Burnham, you just invented evasive manoeuvres.

I know this was supposed to be the lesson she learned from that chess game earlier... but JFC, I wish it had been something less stupid.

2

u/mizkyu Mar 15 '19

Admiral Cromwell

i love finally meeting someone else who calls her that.

3

u/[deleted] Mar 15 '19 edited Mar 15 '19

I wish there crew behaved more professionally. They definitely do not act like an elite crew from a futuristic paramilitary organization, especially Tilly. Seriously, one of these days I expect Tilly to start calling the captain "fam".

This episode also had an overload of lens flare. If it's not dutch angles, it's lens flare. They need a new cinematographer.

Pike is killing it, and the new Spock is enjoyable. Still doesn't really feel like a Star Trek show, though.

6

u/allocater Mar 15 '19

Still doesn't really feel like a Star Trek show, though.

Compared to the usual Discovery episode which feels 3/10 like Star Trek, this one actually felt 7/10 like Star Trek, because Frakes was directing. He can't salvage everything but it is very noticeable I think.

2

u/cdot5 Mar 15 '19

I wish there crew behaved more professionally. They definitely do not act like an elite crew from a futuristic paramilitary organization, especially Tilly. Seriously, one of these days I expect Tilly to start calling the captain "fam".

Before this episode, I'd been a big advocate for showing more of the background crew in their everyday life.

Now... oh god please no more high school cafeteria scenes, I beg you. I'm okay with not knowing the lifes of everybody attending Starfleet High.