Review: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Has A Whale Of A Good Time In ‘Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad’

REVIEW: “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad”

Star Trek: Discovery Season 1, Episode 7 – Debuted Sunday October 29th
Written by Aron Eli Coleite & Jess Alexander
Directed by David M. Barrett

Things get crazy when Harry Mudd pays an unwelcome visit to the USS Discovery in what was certainly the most fun episode yet for the series. Rainn Wilson has truly made the role of Mudd his own, finding ways to go dark and add more humor along the way. Shazad Latif also stands out in this episode, adding more dimension to the recently introduced Lt. Tyler. “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad” feels like a classic Trek story in many ways and works as a great stand alone episode, which is unusual for this highly serialized show.  

Harry Mudd returns in episode 7

[SPOILERS BELOW]

Routine, party of one

Skipping the usual teaser, episode 7 of Discovery jumps right into familiar territory with a personal log from our focal character Michael Burnham. This is actually the first time the show has used the traditional Trek trope of a log as narrative device, setting the stage for an episode that feels very familiar in many good ways. This point is emphasized with how Burnham tells and shows us how she has fallen into a comfortable routine onboard the Discovery as a science specialist, but also sets up her dilemma arc for the episode. 

Burnham still struggles with making personal connections, beyond the ever-effusive Tilly, of course. Michael confronts this dilemma when she enters a raging party complete with the surprisingly contemporary touches of beer pong and 1990s hip-hop. Sonequa Martin-Green effectively portrays herself as “the other” while talking of redundant starship power systems as a hammered Tilly (believably played by Mary Wiseman) confronts the real space elephant in the room, what is up between Lt. Tyler and Burnham?

Some may balk at such a raucous event on board a starship but these nerds turned into front-line warriors need a way to let off some steam and Star Trek history has plenty of examples of parties and alcohol imbibing. Plus, the party works as a good touch point for the plot after Mudd comes on board and starts playing with time like Wyclef Jean sampling a disco classic.

Tilly does some hook-up mentoring 

Mudd, Mudd, Mudd, Mudd, Mudd…

In a classic Star Trek move, the Discovery encounters a space creature called a Gormagander. However, it isn’t the creature driving the plot, but what was hidden inside, as Harry Mudd emerges wearing a deliciously ridiculous bug-eyed-monster helmet, possibly intended for use by Andorians. Harcourt is out for revenge on Capt. Lorca who left him on the Klingon prison ship at the end of “Choose Your Pain.”

Rainn Wilson carries the episode as he chews up the scenery as Mudd setting off a series of repeating time loops so he can learn the secrets of the USS Discovery, and deliver it to the Klingons. Somehow this act of high treason filled with psychopathic levels of murder and destruction still makes this the lightest and most fun episode of Star Trek: Discovery.  Jason Isaacs perfectly plays straight man captain to Wilson who hearkens the camp of Roger C. Carmel’s original Mudd, but takes it to a darker level as he relishes in killing Lorca over, and over…and over.

Would you buy a starship from this man?

Of course, repeating time loop episodes are nothing new to Trek, but the way it was handled in this episode with the introduction of the cat-and-mouse game never felt like this was a repeat, of those “repeat” episodes. And while Mudd was introduced to Discovery in “Choose Your Pain,” writers Coleite and Alexander chose this episode to nicely evoke “Mudd’s Women” and “I, Mudd” with all the classic elements of humor, crazy technology, a nefarious scheme and Mudd being undone by his own hubris.

The episode also was a showcase for Anthony Rapp, who gets groovier and groovier every week. Often the point of view character for these types of episodes is the one who figures out that something is wrong, but in this case it was the tardigrade DNA-fueled Stamets who was time loop aware, leaving him to approach Burnham after each loop to find out more about her to eventually work together to defeat Mudd. This was a clever way to introduce some character development into the mostly stand alone episode, as we learned more about Stamets, Burham and their emotions.

While the resolution of defeating Mudd by using non-essential systems was clever, how his final fate was handled was not. The writers seemed to want to fit with TOS Mudd episodes which ended on a lighter note, but this just felt off. His final run through time may not have involved any murdering, but Mudd clearly racked up a number of high crimes. It defies logic – and seems somewhat sexist – that his punishment was to reunite him with his wife. The revelation of the real Stella had an interesting twist with her being younger, sweeter and cuter than we would expect. Perhaps the old battleaxe android version of Stella Mudd creates a decade later is a twisted version of this true Stella.

This woman is your punishment for starship hijacking? Oh, the humanity!

You can take the girl out of Vulcan, but…

As has become the pattern, the true heart of the episode was Michael Burnham’s arc. In this case, it was learning how to connect, and possibly to love. We are reminded how much Burnham is still a fish out of water having grown up as part of Sarek’s family on Vulcan. Torturing the metaphor, the Gormagander (like the monster-turned-vital-friend Tardigrade) is another creature that represents Burnham, this time it is one that literally forgets to mate.

This episode is sneaky in how it delves into the issue of Burnham learning to understand her feelings for Lt. Tyler as a mechanism to move the plot forward. The one key to getting her to trust Stamets is her revealing she has never fallen in love. Apparently not even her human surrogate mother Amanda was able to teach her how to deal with the emotions regarding relationships, especially with romance. Lucky for Burnham, she has the shroomed-out Stamets available to play cupid. After she is confounded by the story of how he and Dr. Culber fell for each other, he breaks her Vulcan training by telling her “love is not logical.”

Corridor dancing is not logical

Of course being a time loop episode we have Burnham and Tyler’s first kiss now in an erased timeline, but we are obviously headed down a road with these two getting close and Latif and Martin-Green are showing promising chemistry. This will be a relationship to watch especially close for those who think there is more to Lt. Tyler than meets the eye.

This never happened, but will probably happen again

Out of the routine

This episode (for the most part) took a break from the heavy Klingon War arc, but as Burnham notes in her personal log, which nicely bookends the end of the episode, it is good to “step out of the routine.” It is nice to see that Discovery can let its hair down and have a laugh or two. And it’s OK that we have to wait another week to learn the fate of Admiral Cornwell, taken hostage by the Klingons at the end of last week’s episode. While this episode stands alone, it didn’t feel like the kind of mid-season filler that plagued many previous Star Trek series. In the end, “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad” is one of the most satisfying of all the Discovery episodes so far. 

Onward to the next adventure

Random thoughts and easter eggs

  • First Star Trek episode to skip opening teaser since TNG pilot “Encounter at Farpoint” in 1987
  • First use of a “captain’s log” on Discovery comes from Captain Harcourt Fenton Mudd.
  • Mudd claimed to have robbed a Betazoid Bank.
  • Party scene featured disabled crewperson in a powered mobility chair.
  • Funniest line of the episode (and slight 4th wall break) may be Mudd referring a bridge character as “random communications officer man.”
  • Was Mudd’s line “Adieu, mon capitaine” an homage to Q? Will Mudd be Lorca’s Q?
  • Also was “There really are so many ways to blow up this ship, it’s almost a design flaw” another bit of foreshadowing?
  • Saru’s line “technically it’s not a fish…” felt very Data-like.
  • The costumes for Stella and her father had a very old-school TOS style.
  • Another shot of war map contained many known systems like Archanis, Qo’noS, Omega Leonis, Barolia, the Asure Nebula and more.

Star Trek Map porn

Clips


Star Trek: Discovery is available on CBS All Access on in the US and airs in Canada on the Space Channel. It is available on Netflix outside the USA and Canada.

Keep up with all the Star TrekDiscovery news at TrekMovie.

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omg “random communications officer man”, I forgot about that, great line!

It was funny, a little “meta,” but funny. My top line for the ep was Tilly’s: “I think I’m back to soldiers now”

Tilly is really the best audience avatar there has been in Trek. They really nailed why that type of character works (and what her purpose is) and that actor is tremendous.

Can’t decide if it better that we’re continuously told that Discovery is starfleet’s most important ship with several victories under her belt. Or would it be better that we actually some of these battles?

I agree. For a season supposedly about a war with Klingons. Overall we have seen very little of the war first hand.

All the people who were stomping their feet about the big bad, non Trek-like, dark war should be thrilled then!

>dark war

Nobody ever said that though, they are two different things.

Sure.

From the preview we may actually see something like that next week. I hope.

Remember that Dominio War also wasn’t featured in every episode of DS9.

It wasn’t the “Domino War.” It was the “Dominion War.”

Agreed. Extremely annoying when they spend a whole arc setting up the chance to show some exciting epic starships and crews in action and then spend valuable time instead showing people playing beer pong or brushing each others hair. Christopher Pike and the Enterprise are out there!!!! Discovery wins another battle for Starfleet!!!! OMG, a great battle over XYZ Federation world!! Let’s not show ANY of it – but look at our cool updated map hinting at it. That made a lot more sense when CGI made such epicness expensive.. now it’s just TNG writer laziness (let’s show some simulated holodeck, that is not a holodeck action as opposed to some real nail biting action). It has been feeling like some TOS writer comes in and is like “Hey, did anyone remember Discovery was supposed to save this dilithium mine here??” or “Lorca needs to fly some fighters and fight some BOPs” and quickly writes something in the last 5 minutes.

@Cmd.Bremmon — I don’t agree. We’ve seen how Discovery works. They jump into a battle situation, drop some mines, and jump out. It’s fairly unexciting stuff. The ONLY reason it was interesting the first time we saw it was because they weren’t sure the technology was going to work properly or not, and Lorca wanted to make a big impression on the Klingons. It’s not like we’re going to linger around looking at the battles after Discovery jumps out.

Now, that’s not to say they coudn’t write a fairly interesting story to go with it, just like they did the first time we saw them in action. However, I’m not aching for it either. It will likely come. I am actually far more interested to learn more about this crew, and how they work together. Moreover, they really need to strike a balance in a serial story. I don’t want to see battle after battle every week, either. So far we’re 7 episodes in (5 if you only count the Discovery), and I’m OK with the balance. When all 15 have aired, and they haven’t really delved deeply enough into one aspect or another, then there’s plenty of room for criticism. Right now, not so much, IMO.

I said you should expect to be disappointed months ago. And looks like I was right.

I on the other hand is fine in this direction. We all know they are saving the big war stuff at the end.

Personally this is the kind of Star Trek I want to see. More personal character stuff along with the crazy temporal science. The war stuff will come. But it’s not DS9 either.

Agreed as well. Is the war we’re hearing so much about, but not seeing, happening on another show? Many good points there, Cmd. Bremmon.

Considering that there was a fair amount of bitching about the Klingon war and this being another Trek shoot’em up, I’d of thought this balanced, smart storytelling would have been welcome. I guess not.

So let me get this straight. First people were complaining “we don’t want war in this Star Trek”. And now is “there is not enough war in this Star Trek”… mmmkey

I’m just complaining because it isn’t very good, compelling, engaging television. Period.

Great review! I loved this episode. My favorite of the season. How #Culmets met was super sweet. That kiss between BurnhamXAsh gave me all kinds of feels. Drunk Tilly is my new best friend. Nice to see lesbians getting their dance on aboard a Federation starship. Can’t wait for what looks like an amazing episode next week.

Yeah, next week’s looks like it could be a real powerhouse, much more my kind of thing.

How did I miss the lesbians?

If you sneezed, you missed it.

great old school classic trek feeling episode…however i think they could have shown more of Stamets going to the Captain or to Tyler and trying and failing to get through to them….show not tell is much better in storytelling! regardless, great episode, just wish they were a bit longer, this is streaming after all!

While I was watching this I started to think “oh no, not another time loop!”. I’m not the biggest fan of those stories. But I think they handled this one fairly well. Maybe the writers used Edge of Tomorrow as a template as to how not to get bogged down repeating the same sequence over and over. It kept my interest. Not my favorite episode so far but far from a bum one either. MB also showed more character growth in this. I’m liking her more and more. Mudd was pretty hard core in this though. Will be tough seeing him develop into a semi likable character.

And I’m starting to rethink Ash being a Klingon spy as well for some reason. Really thought he could be.

I think he’s a Klingon, but I don’t think he knows he is a Klingon.

Yeah I didn’t think about that. A possibility for sure. And would be one hell of a thing for MB to discover since they seem to be forging a relationship.

Just considered that possibility recently myself. A Manchurian Candidate in space!

@Legate Damar — except it doesn’t make any sense. Arne Darvin was a Klingon who looked human, but had the internal organs of a Klingon. So Ash would fail that test, and he’s been scanned as he came aboard with an injury. So he’s genetically been converted to a human, 100%? And his memories have been replaced by Ash’s? So he’s a copy of Ash? But with Voq’s memories and personality isolated in a locked portion of his brain, waiting to be unlocked at some point? It makes more sense that they’ve just turned Ash into a Manchurian Candidate in that case. I suppose they could just transfer Voq’s mind into Ash, to be later activated, but then there’s no need to completely turn his body into Ash, since they obviously have the technology to transfer brains. That makes more sense as well.

What you’re suggesting is basically a Battlestar Galactica plotline. But that made a lot more sense because they were dealing with an unknown collection of Cylon models, one of whom turned out to be a Cylon. And this brings a new level of technology to Trek that we haven’t seen before in any time frame.

There was an Enterprise novel where Trip went undercover on Romulus for Section 31. In addition to giving him pointy ears and a new haircut, they also gave him green blood and the ability to fool Romulan bioscanners. I assume that something similar has been done to Voq.

Legate Damar,

Indeed, the scanner McCoy used to ultimately unmask Darvin hadn’t even been made or, in the case of the tribble’s properties to that end as well, been discovered yet.

I am in the process of watching Babylon 5 and there is a a similar story that happens once in the plot and later in season 2. Agents can be programmed to have a “cover” which is usually a nice easygoing persona that collects information. This “cover” is all the person knows they are until the subconscious “agent” is unlocked with a secret code – and the agent remembers everything.

That’s what I think, a sleeper Klingon.

We would have to see how he reacts to the captain’s tribble (which I did not see in this episode).

@legate damar

So ash is a Cylon!

But note how Stamets remarks on Tyler’s tall frame. Might be another reaaaally really subtle hint.

I think Tyler might be the real Tyler, but carrying Voqs conscience in sleeper mode as well as fabricated memories of the time since the battle of binary stars. Voq might take over Tyler periodically, while Voqs body remains in stasis somewhere else. That would allow for nice drama when responsible war hero Tyler realises that he is a threat to the crew. It might lead to some battles of consciousness or mind-meld saves involving Vulcan Burnham. Or Voq becoming conflicted about his own mission, there’s lots of possibilities…
Anyway, if Tyler is a Klingon spy, I don’t think he realises at the moment.

Heard the whale calls from “The Voyage Home” when the gormagander was beamed aboard?

It’s more like TNG’s Galaxy’s Child episode

I did – so did my wife. We guessed that maybe the Gormagander civilization send the probe form ST4-TVH.

I loved this episode. The new Mudd was great, and time loops are always a cool premise. I just wish that this episode was a bit longer, so that we could have seen more of Stamets figuring out what was going on.

I was surprised at how much I liked Wilson’s Mudd! A more sinister Mudd now, but still recognizably Mudd. As noted above, he can’t help but be tripped up by his own hubris.

And his lying! His lying!

Isaacs was indeed a great straight man. The multiple death scenes must have been fun to shoot. Pardon the pun.

This episode marked a first concerning my Discovery viewing experiences: It was the first episode that really just left me with a broad smile. The ending was funny, optimistic, peaceful… and hence felt very much like the Star Trek I’ve known and loved for so long.
Yes, of course some plot details left me with a couple of questions and concerns (they just let Mudd go after he acquired expert-level knowledge on the Discovery? Quite a gamble…) but right now I can’t see my hair turning grey over them. Only goes to show that, at least to me, the overall tone of an episode is of paramount importance.

PS: Oh and how could anyone not LOVE the “new” Paul Stamets?

Stamets was a … a trip in this episode! I’ve liked Anthony Rapp since his first appearance in the show, because his character could be kind of a d*ck but he knew his stuff. And he was egotistical, and so on.
But once he experienced space from a mycological point of view, wow. I really loved his reaction to his first “trip.” A truly enthusiastic scientist! Now with added fun!

@JAGT — yes, it seems rather implausible, though poetic justice — the type Mudd somehow keeps getting in Trek. There’s precedent considering how Kirk just left him on the Android planet in I Mudd. Something about Captains of this era just leaving potential dangerous criminals unwatched on planets, and other unilateral acts …

But we see in the last time loop how the security protocols are changed unrecognized by Mudd.

I really liked that Starfleet officers were having more of a party then I have ever seen on trek, besides Dax’s bachelorette party.

DS9 crew ALWAYS knew how to have fun. No quiet concerts, how about a game of baseball or the better of the holo-suite(deck) programs? Gotta love them.

I really enjoyed this episode. Small scale story, confined to the ship, largely character driven. I really liked Michael’s issues with being a human (robot feels feelings…) it was nice to see a softer side to her character again. And the time loop story, although it’s been done before, felt like it was being approached in a new way. This felt more like the Trek I’m familiar with moreso than previous episodes. I’m slowly getting used to the new feel and direction of DSC but it’s nice to have a very Trek-y touchstone like this. I think the only things that I didn’t wholly buy into were (i) the “time crystals” – although they weren’t that far removed from something like the orb of time (which, incidentally, was the setup for one of the best episodes of DS9 ever, if not all of Trek), but for my sins I wanted more of an explanation of how the things worked (I like a bit of technobabble every now and then – do they warp space time or create a chroniton field or a wormhole or simulate a slingshot around the sun etc. How could Mudd control time itself dagnabbit!) and (ii) I wasn’t entirely on board with the fact that Mudd was portrayed as a violent murderous psychopath. Never got that vibe from him in TOS, although I thought Wilson did a great job at portraying a violent murderous psychopath in this episode, and it was fun to watch. This one was definitely a highlight for me.

Nice touches with the costuming – both Mudd’s helmet and Stella’s costume harken back to the 60s Trek.

And Stella’s father’s outfit too – Was very TOS-esque

I thought Mudd might have been wearing an Andorian enviro suit.

It is, the antennae prove this.

Ted Sullivan identified as Andorian too

https://twitter.com/karterhol/status/925388082723012608

@Dr C — yeah about those crystals … they would be useful as an Omega 13 type device from GALAXY QUEST in an emergency situation.

@Curious Cadet – Wouldn’t they just lol! Apparently time crystals are a real thing in science (I read over on the trekcore forum) so fair play to them for including real-world science! But traditionally Trek would flag up real world science (like the reference to Freeman Dyson in “relics” etc.). A line from Michael saying “they were identified by (insert scientist’s name here) in the early twenty first century” would have been cool.

A time crystal or space-time crystal is a structure that repeats periodically in time, as well as in space. Normal three-dimensional crystals have a repeating pattern in space, but remain unchanged with respect to time; time crystals repeat themselves in time as well, leading the crystal to change from moment to moment. A time crystal never reaches thermal equilibrium, as it is a type of non-equilibrium matter — a form of matter proposed in 2012, and first observed in 2017. This state of matter cannot be isolated from its environment – it is an open system in non-equilibrium.

The idea of a time crystal was first described by Nobel laureate and MIT professor Frank Wilczek in 2012. Subsequent work developed a more precise definition for time crystals, ultimately leading to a proof that they cannot exist in equilibrium. Then in 2016, Norman Yao and colleagues at the University of California at Berkeley proposed a way to create non-equilibrium time crystals, which Christopher Monroe and Mikhail Lukin independently confirmed in their labs. Both experiments were published in Nature in 2017.

~Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_crystal

@MysticalDigital thanks for this! I’ve got to say when I heard the term “time crystals” it didn’t sound like a real thing (such is the level of my ignorance of certain scientific concepts) but I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it was real (in true trek style!)

Dr C,

Re: time crystals

Exactly the discourse I hoped to stimulate when I brought it up two weeks ago:

http://trekmovie.com/2017/10/16/review-star-trek-discovery-explores-character-emotion-and-mystery-in-choose-your-pain/#comment-5370116

Thanks.

@Disinvited

I missed that post, thanks for the link! I’d never heard of time crystals before DSC but in true Star Trek style I’ve learned something!

I’ve been enjoying Discovery so far, but I have to diasgree with the common consensus as this was my least favourite episode so far for a number or reasons.

One is that there haven’t been enough scenes or interactions between Michael and Ash to sense that there is a “thing” between them. It feels like we’ve skipped an episode where the two of them are stranded on a planet and figure out a way to get rescued together. Ash probably should have been introduced an episode earlier for this storyline to land better.

Two is that Harry Mudd has gone far beyond his hijinks in TOS and TAS and into the realm of treason and murder. It just doesn’t play that Mudd could or should get away with what he did in this episode. While yes he attempts to maroon Kirk and steal the Enterprise in I, Mudd, Kirk’s punishment for Mudd is to maroon him in return, which makes sense for Kirk, the cowboy diplomat. Mudd here murders Lorca and Tyler and countless other crewmembers and attempts to sell the Spore drive to the Klingons in a time of war… Letting him off the hook by sending home with his wife just plays really strangely considering the severity of his actions.

While I agree that Tyler/Burnham was a bit rushed, it was accelerated by many time iterations and Stamets’ interference. Once zeroed out again, they are back to a more standoffish posture (at least she is) so no harm. I some ways this is their stranded on an island situation.
Harry Mudd post Klingon torture is not the merry prankster of TOS nor was he even portrayed as such 2 eps ago. DSC has moved on and it is just self flagellation to keep bringing up your opinion of TOS ‘canon’.
As for Mudd’s crimes, by the time reset, he had done some hacking and holding folks hostage and possible attempted treason but none of the murders etc had happened except in Mudd and Stamets memory. They could have imprisoned him for lesser crimes but this was more fun and Mudd-appropriate (if a little crass) to hand him over to the interstellar mob.

I rather think Harry will end up undergoing Federation Psychiatric treatments of the kind seen in TOS, leaving him much less willing to engage in violence (though remember in TOS he was transporting narcotics & attempting to conquer all of known space).

They establish early on there is supposed to be a romantic connection between Michael and Ash, and the show establishes some time has passed between episodes, but we the audience have only seen them share about 3-4 scenes together, and most of those the topic of conversation is Sarek. There really wasn’t enough set-up for me to feel that there was a romantic connecrion between.

Regardless if we are comparing Harry Mudd of Disco or Harry Mudd of TOS he still tried to sell the Federation’s top secret technology and sell it to the Klingons. It’s hard to buy Lorca playing it so soft with him.

It’s just opinion… I’m fine with it. She finds him intriguing after Tilly’s been trying to set them up for a while and he obviously connected with her right away in his initial conversations last episode… and it’s clear that he has few inhibitions so it’s hardly a stretch IMO.
Lorca could have gone all martial law on Mudd but then you’d probably be up in arms that the whimsy and inherent optimism of Trek has been entirely lost ;-) Just as worthlessly, I could imagine that Lorca might be secretly a little ashamed for leaving Mudd behind with the Klingons… and has no knowledge of Mudd’s psychopathic actions toward him except limited hearsay from Stamets). It is what is is… a welcome bit of Trek whimsy.

In general I’ve been really enjoying the show, this episode in particular was just the first time the writing felt a bit wonky/forced. Hopefully next week will be back on track. Now that they are on that course I look forward to seeing how Ash and Michael’s relationship develops.

That’s the beauty of multiple erased timelines :-)

The only person who knows the extent of Mudd’s actions is Stamets. What makes you think he told them everything Mudd did? Were you paying attention to how Stamets was acting throughout the episode?

Regardless of whether they know the full extent of Mudd’s actions from every iteration, in the last sequence alone he attempted to take over the Discovery, attempted to steal the highly classified spore drive and sell it to the klingons, and intended to turn over the entire crew to the klingons as prisoners of war. That’s a lot of heavy duty offences.

Colin One is that there haven’t been enough scenes or interactions between Michael and Ash to sense that there is a “thing” between them. It feels like we’ve skipped an episode where the two of them are stranded on a planet and figure out a way to get rescued together.
I thought the chemistry was a bit lacking myself. I hope the writers have more grounding for these two characters coming soon, because it just seems forced.

As for Mudd, yes, he tried these psycho things, but did not succeed because the time loop got cancelled. He should be charged with further endangering an endangered Gormagander; attempted … everything, and left on house arrest.
I think his very rich and powerful father-in-law will have him on lockdown. That was my impression at least.

I think there is chemistry. Mostly carried by Ash but to be expected to a degree as the Michael character is still “Vulcan-ized”.

You’re onto something concerning plot points feeling “rushed”. But I regard that as a general weakness of the series and actually find it downright mind-boggling: They went the “highly serialised” route, which should give the writers room to develop their characters. But there are so many instances where they put such an emphasis on a speedy pace, that neither characters nor the story are left any room to breathe. They love to breeze through their episodes, it would seem. In that regard “Lethe” was probably the one episode which fared a bit better than most or all others.
It’s strange: One DISCO episode is pretty much the same length as a TNG or DS9 episode, and yet they do not only go by in a jiffy (which is usually a good sign) but I also feel like in many cases the actual plot doesn’t amount to more than two or three lines. Which is honestly weird because each episode is packed so densely, but it sometimes feels like plot points that might have been important in past trek shows only get touched on quickly and never expanded.

Funnily this last episode though, while arguably one of the speediest in the series, also didn’t feel that “rough”. I guess it benefitted greatly from its high-concept plot.
But hey, that’s just my opinion. I can still perfectly understand your problem, but the Tyler/Burnham-thing didn’t really stand out as much of a problem to me. It’s in no way worse than Seven/Chakotay. Remember that “romance”?

I feel that they glossed over the Ash/Tyler thing to quickly, but they at least hand waved it and mentioned that had been spending SOME time together (even if it was work related) which is better than some past romances in Trek where they come purely out of the blue.

Mudd I think was always an evil character even in TOS, we’re just seeing him more at his breaking point here, less refined and stuck in the middle of a war torn galaxy that is less so in TOS/TAS.

@MysticalDigital — he’s also younger. Presumably he gets worn down by Stella and her father over the next decade. I’d love to see the story about how Mudd finally gets away from them and back into the trade again before he runs into Kirk. One imagines Starfleet is the last thing he wants to run into when Kirk finds him. And ultimately this episode falls in line with “I Mudd” and helps explain that one as well.

While watching how the Discovery crew party, all I could think of was what TNG would have been like if the crew partied like that in Ten Forward… even Quark’s bar seems square and tame after seeing that lol

I haven’t felt this way about a Trek episode since TNG ended. This one’s out of the ballpark for me, one of my Top 10 all series included.

I’am wrong or is Burnham the first lead caracter of Star Trek that is insecure in “love” issues?

Picard and Janeaway not show so much about love, are straith and secure, Burnham don’t show this.

And, even if we look for first officer, no one was insecure…

Don’t?

Picard had massive issues which he usually suppressed. The moment he opened himself up to falling in love, he found he couldn’t function as a Captain (when the person he was in love with was in danger).

Archer, to some extent (remember Phlox asking him the last time he’d had sex). There’s also Geordi, Wesley Crusher, and Data, although they’re not leads.

Geordi was always insecure… and the shows with him in love always paint him as really really creepy.

When Tyler was dying, I was expecting some hint of Klingon to appear which the crew would see but then have no memory of in the reset time. Still not sure how he could be Voq though; it’s really stretching it to suggest that Voq could study and perfect being human so fast (If only a couple weeks passed between when L’rell sent him away and Lorca was taken hostage).

This one was really great and I would love a Harry Mudd spin-off during the production breaks of STD. I’m really hoping Ash doesn’t turn out to be a Klingon or suddenly this show will become Homeland. Great job on this one!!!

I loved Lorca freezing out Saru with a glare and informing both Burnham and Tyler he “didn’t give a damn” what they did to save the space whale. There’s something oddly disarming about a man who really doesn’t care if he comes off as a prick.

As much as I enjoyed this episode, is anyone else bothered by the science – or the lack of – showing living things existing in the vacuum of space? What keeps the tardigrade creature and the gormagander from bursting into molecular smithereens?

Agreed on Lorca, he’s turning out to be my favorite character on the show by far.

For me, Lorca, Burnham, Stamets are tied in the “my favorite” department!

Oh wait I almost forgot Tilly — she’s a daffy dear with smarts. And a thing for soldiers … no, for musicians … no, soldiers.

Caught this and the previous episode, Lorca is a cold mother effer. This isn’t a guy you want to cross.

@Eujayne

I liked Lorca not giving a damn as well. VERY un-Trek captain like. He seems much more like a soldier and less interested in the science and exploration. He feels like he could be a Balthazar Edison.

TBH saving a space whale [endangered, no less] sounds about as compelling as saving a real whale from the bridge of a battleship at Midway. Like, dude’s got more important stuff to think about.

As for tardigrades, they’re natural space explorers! The ones on Earth can live in space for a while. So maybe if some of them evolved a capability to survive in space indefinitely, they would be like the perfect space travelers. Same with the whale. All it would take is, I think as they say in the episode, a creature that lives of space radiation with a hardy skin to make it a plausible creature.

Fascinating to read this review, and many comments, from people who liked this episode so much better than I did. It’s interesting, being on this side of the fence for once!

I have to agree; my impression was that this was the series’ first mishit, although that’s largely because I largely dislike these time-loop tropes. TNG “Cause and Effect” was overrated. STARGATE had a better take on it, and I did like EDGE OF TOMORROW. I’ll have to rewatch.

Expensive, polished unimaginative filler. How so many are seemingly enamored by the un-engaging events unfolding in this series is a mystery to me! So far, my likes pretty much begin and end with Lorca and Saru. I think there are too many cooks in Discovery’s galleys and the series is very uneven because of it. I don’t know where this series is going, but it’s at a dead crawl. I hope there is something soon that reminds me of why I’m hanging around.

How the heck did Lorca–who may have willingly allowed an Admiral to get captured by Klingons in order not to lose his ship–allow a well-known criminal (who killed him several times before) to walk away knowing how the spore drive worked? The ending, while nice in it’s homage to TOS, makes no sense!

He doesn’t know how it works though…. he only knows it needs Stamets.

@Nebula1701,

He was in the time loop for more than 50 times, enough to control the ship’s computer and various systems. Mudd knows about ‘Discovery’ more than anyone else outside of Starfleet command.

Releasing him made zero sense.

It’s a bit of a plot hole but one could perhaps assume that he has no science background so didn’t “understand” how the spore drive worked, nor even what it really did, just that it was valuable and he could revenge himself on Lorca (and the computer didn’t explain it to him… I know, I know :-). But yes, it was more whimsy than good tactical decision.

They all only know what Stamets told them.

Perhaps Mudd was only able to remember because of the time-jewel? And once it was gone, so was his memory of things Discovered?

Nope! That’s not actually what they (or he) said he was after. He didn’t hack the computer for info, he hacked the computer to get through and keep control. Look at the scene of him in the lab, all he was doing was poking around and looking at each piece to see what was actually part of the drive.

If he’d been able to look at the data and understand it, he’d never have needed Stamets/Michael (in that drive lab confrontation) to tell him anything, the data would have been right there. He just needed to know what all the pieces were so, when he handed the ship to Klingons, he’d be able to prove what he was talking about by using it, even if he didn’t know how it worked.

Why the FRAK did Stamets turn himself in that one loop? I thought he had a trick up his sleeve but, nah…dude just couldn’t watch his friends being killed over and over, so instead he sacrificed himself so they could die just the one time. Good thing Burnham had a plan! Also there is NO way Burnham would be worth more to the Klingons than the single most important ship in the war. Good thing Mudd is stupid.

Great review Anthony. Discovery keeps upping their game. Each episode gets better and better. This one definitely has that Trek feel to it. Like others have mentioned, I like how they didn’t repeat the exact same scene with each time loop. Great spin on it. The characters are really getting fleshed out. Tilly and Stamets are becoming my favorites. Even though this a serialized show, I like how they can have great stand alone epiodes. For me, I think it’s thevtheme that is serialized which gives the writers the opportunity to put out episodes like this. Loved Mudd… they wrote him well with a mix of humor. Great lines in there!
Looking forward to next week’s episode.

We loved how Lorca was, “Tyler, Burnham, take care of it,” the first time the Gormageddon was reported.

Then, “I don’t give a damn!”

Then back to, “Burnham, Tyler, do your thing”

Hee!

It was a very funny episode, resolved in the way of TOS. It did not bother me at all that it had a premise identical to that of Cause and Effect.

Tilly, drunk boy-crazed party girl, seems to have gotten over her social anxiety very quickly.

A lot of people drink for just that reason, to feel less anxiety in social situations. Tilly got hammered pretty quickly! Not good ….

Yup, in keeping with her character. She’s young.

Probably why she drank lol Plus, I think this is actually the first time we’d ever seen her in a purely social environment, as opposed to ‘off duty, but still in a work environment’ like she’s been in every other appearance. Maybe it’s just work pressure that makes her anxious? That’d be an interesting twist.

I really like that she just got to party and have fun, though. No one judged her, no one pushed trying to get fresh with her, she just got to have a good time. And she’s earned it!

Anybody see the Mutara Nebula on the war map?

The Mudd-Q question is intriguing. While the fun “random communications officer” line possiby indicates a willingness to play with context, Mudd using a Q phrase is heavier stuff and should not be just a jest. Anyways, it’s kind of brave to use Mudd, I think.

The Gormagander could have been used more, but maybe it would have felt too similar to recent tardigrade action?

Reading your opinions on the ending and Mudd’s fate, I agree. Maybe exploring some loose ends, the episode could have provided material for two episodes. Including some Gormagander twist.

But what will happen to Stamets! Please be bipolar or something like that. Cannot be more of the same right now, can he.

I’m not impressed with Discovery at all, but I have to say this episode wasn’t half bad….

If Tyler is a klingon, he knows a lot about being human or the human nature….

Oh by the way, was the title “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad” one of Mudd’s sales pitches in TOS? The Eve drug or something?

Loved the call-out to “Q.”

Did i hear “stayin’ alive” snippet? LOL

If you watched the episode yes.

I have a small nitpick: did Burnham state that there had been 57 encounters with Gormenganders in the previous 10 years? That’s one every two months, which I would venture to suggest is quite frequent, and yet the implication was that there encounters were very rare and that it was ‘impossible’ to compute the probability (despite clearly knowing the rate and presumably knowing the volume of space involved). Weird…

Anyway, am also slightly annoyed by the romantic anecdotes. As a pretty abrasive gay man who is usually quite honest in his opinions, I can safely say it hasn’t got me anywhere and is indeed responsible (as well as looking like I’ve come down off a massive pie binge) for being single my whole life (46 yr). That part made me go ‘pffff’.

I think that every 2 months when you talking in the vastness of space is pretty rare still. We’re talking across the whole federation these things have been seen 57 times in 10 years… that’s pretty low imho.

Time crystal seems a bit “too advanced”, but the episode still rocks! Stella’s clothing just screams TOS colors. By the way, did Mudd have “android Stella” even before TOS?

Well, Android Stella was created by Kirk and Co to torment HFM. Perfect, by the way.

Oh, wait, you might be right. Kirk merely duplicated a plethora of Stellas.

Yep, Mudd had Android Stella around just so he could tell her to shut-up.

Time crystals are a real theoretical thing, and if you check the wikipedia for them they straight up listed the technobabble from the actual theory.

Such a fun episode. I hope we haven’t seen the last of Mudd!

OK. On the technical front this episode, which I viewed late Sunday night, contained the least amount of video glitches. Perhaps only 2 or three. So I guess it’s getting better. But I still say it ought to have NONE. Like the other streaming service I subscribe to.

The episode itself… What can I say? After all these years (and even after the 12 year TV hiatus) I’m just tired of time loops and time travel type episodes. So that is coloring my assessment. Wilson’s Mudd in this one is less like Carmel’s Mudd compared to “Choose Your Pain”. He comes across as a ton more competent and sure of himself here than he did in his TOS outings. I think if Wilson wanted to try and capture TOS Mudd then he should have channeled a little bit more of Dwight from “The Office”. Or made Mudd a little more weaselly. This just further cements that this is taking place in the Kelvin timeline. Although to be fair I think the “Mudd’s Women” version came across as a lot more sinister than the light hearted “I, Mudd” version. Which is the version I tend to compare Mudd to. I did not find this episode clever or interesting. It was mainly tiring. Seems that even in shortened seasons there are still room for less than mediocre episodes. Contrary to what the above review says, this episode reeks of “mid season filler” material. I did not have a problem with the party. But it does open up a little bit of a can of worms predicting what popular music will be like in the mid 23rd century. It felt like The Orville invaded Discoery for a brief moment. But that sort of thing is less important to me. But still worth noting in a review. I did, however, agree with the above reviewer in that sending him back into the arms of Stella felt very very very wrong. I would have expected Mudd to hang out in the brig until they could arrange to transfer him to take part in some sort of 23rd century system of justice. Whatever it may be. I was shocked to see what Stella looked like only a mere 12 years earlier. But as the writer mentioned, it could be the android was what Mudd saw her as being like in his head.

Anyhow, let’s hope that episodes like this one are the exception rather than the norm. With the short season that we are paying extra specifically for it would be a bad thing for Trek indeed. The less said about this episode the better.

Oh Kirok, never change. lol

Your remarks about the episode are your opinion of course, but completely off base. More “Dwight?” Geeez. Im not sure why a few people think Mudd would be exactly the same person ten years apart. Have his experiences not changed him? This whole “he should be more like TOS Mudd” make little sense.

And for crying out loud, can we get a moratorium on people saying it’s the kelvin timeline?? Like, My GOD…for SO MANY reasons that have been explained countless times that is not the KT. it’s Prime. Lack of acceptance is an issue with the viewer not the show.

Apparently the actress who played his wife in TOS was 37 years old. So…yeah.

I think I liked this episode somewhat better than he did–and, no, it’s not the Kelvin timeline–but otherwise find many of his comments regarding this episode spot-on. So call me a pisher. :-)

Again, if we actually give it some thought, the answers become clearer. I wont begrudge people their opinions, but this “jump to conclusions” thing is tiresome (not you Michael, I generally very much enjoy your posts).

For example, the idea that Stella was so old in TOS. The actor was 37. It wasnt said how old she actually was. We can debate whether she was playing older or younger. But it isnt illogical for them to age the actor backwards.

Personally, I’d have gone a bit older since Wilson is older and the older man/younger woman thing is getting tiresome. But Wilson is playing younger so its not that big a deal.

There was plenty of humor and sarcasm to Mudd in this episode. Adding more “Dwight” would be an odd thing for an actor to do.

Someone saying “gee this Mudd is TOO evil because I choose to compare him to the lighter version of TOS Mudd than the sinister version of TOS Mudd” isnt an issue of Discovery’s portrayal. Its an issue of the viewer’s choosing to ignore something that makes sense in favour of something that gives them the excuse to complain.

Thats all.

@Michael Hall

TUP seems to have an issue with me to the point that he cannot resist (ahem) disagreeing with anything I say. I don’t know why. I mostly ignore him. In fact, I’m done with him in this thread. Best to let him get the last word in. That way he thinks he “won”.

@Kirok – I do have an issue, a minor one, but its no big deal. You and I both know what it is. But Im a good little poster and refraining from spelling it out (you’ve avoided the topic in the past). But thats neither here nor there.

I agree with some, disagree with others. Im not seeking you out at all. If you post something I agree with, Ill agree with it. Im under no obligation to not reply to you if I do so reasonably (which I have done).

In fact, Im sure Michael Hall and I have had disagreements and enjoyed the discussion.

You give me the last word but we both know why, dont we?

@TUP

You find the opinion “off base” only because you disagree.

We can get the moratorium on the KT when it becomes obvious that it is not. Thus far it very much feels like it is. So much so that I’m just personally considering it to in fact BE the KT. No matter what the producers claim. You can tell me it’s a dime. Those who mint the coin can tell me it’s a dime. But if the dime looks and acts like a nickel the. I’m treating it like a nickel.

And finally, it does not matter how old the actress who played Stella was. Actors play different ages all the time. I’ve seen 20 year olds play 13 year olds. I’ve seen 30 year olds play 60. Casting directors mostly go for look. The actress playing Stella was cast for look and made up to further convey that look. So… That.

Doesn’t make sense. Are you saying the Narada time-incursion occurred in Discovery’s timeline? Prime Spock is around somewhere (or soon will be)? Vulcan will be destroyed? The Enterprise referenced by Burnham to Tilly is somehow the KT Enterprise? Seriously, what are you saying? If you want to argue that it’s a timeline separate from both Prime and KT, then we can have a discussion.

Ok. Then what I’m saying is that the show has a ton more in common with the KT than the PT.

Not really. What does it have in common other then modern cinematic production values? Ill give you the holocommunication stuff. But otherwise it looks pretty different from the JJ films.

It looks very modern. And yes, production wise looks more like the very recent films than the show from the 60’s. I mean, that’s to be expected. And is a plus for the level and quality of productionw we’re getting in a TV show.

What he’s saying is, a year later and a very few people are still in denial that its Prime. They think the creators of the show are wrong or lying.

Its almost bordering on trolling (and other forums have the same problem with a very few people going on and on about how it’s not Prime).

Its prime. lol

If you agree in a moratorium when its obviously Prime, then GREAT, I look forward to you not claiming its KT anymore. Since its obviously prime for many reasons, not least of all is because the people making it say so. Like, you DO know they say its Prime right?

And while you are correct that actors play different ages, my point was to illustrate to you that your “shock” at how young Stella looked ten years earlier when the actors were ACTUALLY ten years apart is pretty moot.

I Still don’t give a damn. Greatest líne ever.

To the writers: This episode represents the masterful blending of character-driven drama. Among the finest Trek ever. Boldly different.

I completely agree with this. One of the best ever, from any of Trek’s incarnations.

Wilson is a perfect Harry Mudd. Makes you look at TOS Mudd through a new lens; underneath the controlled civility is a very sinister man. His actions bespoke a criminal (as portrayed by Carmel), but not to the psychopathic degree Wilson plays him. I am so tired of Stamets, however. I miss Scotty. And LaForge. And O’Brien. And B’lanna. And Trip. Anybody but the mushroom guy.

@Moto — I will always miss Scotty. LaForge, not so much. I would have preferred O’Brien in the roll, but then he’s more like Scotty. I also like Torres. And I thought Trip was miscast. I would have rather seen him in any other role, including Archer, and give me somebody more like Scotty in engineering! ;-)

The point is, I don’t not like Stamets. I find him far more interesting a personality than either LaForge or Trip. And he’s up there with Torres and O’Brien. Of course nobody will ever replace Scotty, for me. We’re not all going to agree on the same characters, as we all have our favorites. I like that Stamets is something new and different.

My only issue with Stamets is I thought the “prick” character had more staying power. I suppose the idea is he’s all trippy on Tardigrade DNA but I want to explore more of the brilliant scientist forced to use his research for a war he detests.

While I agree this episode was the most vaguely enjoyable so far (which isn’t saying much; though I did like the space whale), part-way through I was struck by a weird feeling of deja vu. Not about TOS, which is what it was aiming for, and not about the plot (it obviously falls into the realm of “Groundhog Day,” like TNG’s “Cause and effect, though with a smart twist in having a character, Engineer Starnets, being aware of what’s happening from the start). No, its just I felt as though I was watching just another competently made, and numbingly average, episode of “Star Trek : Voyager” from nearly twenty years ago. It absolutely boggles my mind at the generally positive reviews this series reaps, as well as general goodwill from ST fans who deride Abrams’ superior films which actually gets classic “Star Trek” largely right for the twenty-first century. Honestly, I was genuinely looking forward to the series, with some very talented people involved (Nick Meyer, Alexander Kurtzman) , and its inventive premise and well-chosen, intriguing timeframe in the STAR TREK cosmos, and I was very open to it pretty much as a whole, hoping that it would take the creative adjustments of the new Golden Age of television (and other formats) drama and run with it. I was hoping for “Star Trek” with a quality-equivalence with the best (namely MAD MEN, BREAKING BAD).
And I really enjoy it when various TREKs mix things up (and will remain open and watch at least the full first season), but as I watch I’m painfully aware that this sincere and energetic new take on something I love is making one terribly wrong creative decision after the other, from its woeful visual design to its awful opening titles and weak-ass, distinctly unlikable theme music. Willing to explain my view in detail but please, throw no stones. I’m still going to watch with fingers crossed.

Agreed. Amidst all the flash and bang and hype…the show really isn’t very good. It’s competrntly produced, but it’s characters and stories just aren’t very engaging…the series is just…kinda there. Too bad.

Opinions vary. I am very engaged and the characters are far deeper than on any previous Trek season 1.

Also Agreed. I was hoping I would get that ‘must watch’ feeling I used to get from the shows you mentioned above. I HAD to see the next Breaking Bad RIGHT AWAY. Same with Mad Men. Same with Game of Thrones. Same with Homeland. This iteration of Trek, so far at least, is not giving me nearly the same sense of next-episode urgency most of today’s better small-screen offerings command. I do hope that changes, and I will keep watching, but if I’m late a few days on seeing an episode, so be it. There really isn’t any ‘water cooler’ talk about it at work or at home, because literally no one else I know watches it because it’s available only through one separate service. I’m glad it was green-lit for season two – maybe it can find it’s footing – but so far I think it’s just ‘ok.’

So, at the end of the episode we see Stella’s father’s ship veering away from the Discovery. Is that ship design taken from some other source? It looks weirdly familiar.

I thought the episode a good one, good pacing and I’m a sucker for a nice ‘time-loop’ story. Decent character development, and loving Lorca’s attitude. The scenes of him being killed over and over gave me a good chuckle. So Mudd is now a psychopathic killer…ok, so be it.

A nitpick – nice to hear the Federation is winning the war, but we the viewers aren’t seeing any of it. It’s still early in the season though, so maybe there’s a nice battle scene or two coming up. I’m still very disappointed in the space and ship shots in general – just cheesy and don’t last nearly long enough. Honestly, though I know we’re in the Prime era officially, in my gut I don’t buy it for one second. Not feeling it. So to me, I’m really just enjoying a decent sci-fi show with some nice Trek references built in. This isn’t ‘must-see’ TV for me so far, but that’s ok too. Plenty else to watch out there.

Oh, and here’s an article with some interesting arguments:

https://screenrant.com/star-trek-discovery-set-kelvin-timeline/?utm_source=SR-FB-P&utm_medium=Social-Distribution&utm_campaign=SR-FB-P&view=list

@Danpine

That article articulated exactly what I have been thinking since I started watching the series. Everything about it screams Kelvin timeline save for last weeks Sarek centered memory episode. But even that would still work in KT.
I also agree with the article that if they wanted to do a prime timeline series it should be post Nemesis. But I also think they could get away with post TUC as well.

Sounds like we’re on the same page, Kirok. I also said in other posts the show would have been better served taking place post-TUC or post-NEM, as opposed to being shoehorned in ten years before TOS. Alas, that was not the case…

My preferred eras were either 1) Robert April (i thought the idea of a brand new 1701 just launched, would be pretty cool) or 2) Enterprise-B (following that ship in the wake of Kirk’s “death” hanging as a shadow over the Captain.

Haven’t thought of that second idea, TUP, about Ent-B. That could have been really interesting. I think watching Alan Ruck flesh out Capt. Harriman’s character could have been neat to watch. He’s a decent actor. And they could have gotten into Sulu’s daughter’s story, etc. Another missed opportunity.

Its prime. Its clearly Prime. Other then updated and cinematic production values, they have gone out of their way to connect it to Prime. Anyone still whining about KT is simply out to lunch at this point.

“Let’s do the Time Loop again…” sigh.
With apologes to Rocky Horror.

There’s something getting lost as the season progresses. Streaming format shows aren’t necessarily tied to a set cast, and no one here has stepped up as indispensable. So, who’s on the Discovery Dead Pool? Seven episodes in, I’m feeling that Lorca and Tilly aren’t going to make it to the end of the first season.

I think you’re right that we’ll lose someone, probably saving the ship or something along those lines. Which would be a shame, I really don’t want to lose Lorca. He’s so different from other Star Trek captains, and I find I’m enjoying him.

Lorca is my guess (though I have no clue who’d be Captain next season then). But I think Tilly is the most likely to survive til the end of the series. Way too much to explore there. Her arc might be the largest (cadet who dreams of being a Captain if not for her social awkwardness).

Though that would make it all the more tragic if she died… It would also be the rare case where a death would feel unexpected, but not (unless they botched it) necessarily cheap. No one but Michael truly feels ‘indispensable’ from a narrative standpoint, and especially after Landry’s quick departure, I don’t think anyone’s necessarily off the table.

I’d be very crushed if it was Tilly, though.

Dance with me… FOR SCIENCE!! <3<3<3

While Mudd is spared from ending up in court (and instead gets back to his wife who may still love him NOW, but will be rather frustrated by his behavior in ten years), it raises an interesting legal question: Does killing the same person over and over in a time loop count as just one murder, or as multiple ones?

And that helmet! Was this an Andorian space suit? Or (a bit less fanservice-y, because less iconic) one for Xindi Insectoids??

Also, now I am even more curious about how the Tyler = Voq theory will eventually pan out. I mean, Voq was T’Kuvma’s most zealous follower, you’d expect him to be the least likely person in the Galaxy to start a romantic relationship with the person who killed T’Kuvma!

@Bird of Prey — interesting … Or all part of the plan? Seduce her, use her, then kill her?

The idea that Ash is Voq but doesnt know it would explain some of that and create a larger conflict if he actually loves her when he realizes the truth.

This ranks as one of my favorite Trek episodes.. ever. I am already thinking about how much I will miss this during the hiatus. And how much money I will save when my CBS All Access subscription parallels that hiatus.

Cancelling CBSAA on Monday, November 13.

That should tell CBS that we want MORE Trek. I would not be surprised, however, if you are offered a deal to retain your sub. Which might take you into the next half of the season. Please report back as to whether that occurred.

It seems pretty standard for some OTT’s.

I absolutely will, thought Trekmovie may even do an article on it as well? I’m pretty sure subs are going to drop like flies once the Nov. 12 episode airs and we go into hiatus. There’s really so little else of interest on CBSAA otherwise for a Star Trek fan, IMO.

@Danpine

I plan on canceling that day too. The only way I stay is if they offer me the service for free. Half price of a service one will never use is insulting. Not planning on starting again until January 19.

Well, interesting you say that, Kirok. I was thinking the same thing, but I’m going to see just how much I ‘miss’ it over the hiatus. If I don’t, I may just wait until the season is over, pay once at the end of February and binge it and cancel again. Pay one month instead of two.

Could this younger, sweeter, cuter Stella be the result of conning Harry by using the Venus Drug???

Nah, its probably just because the actress who played Stella in TOS was 37. And if that was about ten years after Discovery, it makes sense. The actress playing Stella on Discovery is 27.

The best episode this season by far. Loved it!

By far, worst Trek to date. In fact, it looks so little like Trek to me, it’s not Trek. It is, however, another “sci-fi” cookie cutter, action product with no real substance.