Maybe I felt a bit let down by this one just due to how much I enjoyed last weeks, or maybe because it didn't follow up on that awesome moment of Stamets in the mirror that ended the previous one. Either way, I didn't get quite as much into this one.
But it's a shame, because there are many parts of this episode that worked by themselves, it just failed to grab me when they were all put together. I think it's clear that a real strength of the show is how unpredictable it all continues to be. The focus is taken away somewhat from Burnham and we get to spend half the episode with Captain Lorca, who continues to become more and more complicated. He's also becoming more and more sympathetic. There's a moment of what appears to be genuine fear when he realises the admiral will take away his command, and despite her apparent disbelief on whether or not he's being real it definitely came across that way to me.
It's a shame that the plot went in the direction of them sleeping together which felt a bit tired, but it did allow for that scene to play out nicely in the aftermath. At any rate, the ending with the Klingon double-cross made her look very naive.
Michael's story was quite interesting, too, if maybe a bit sloppy. It's a common misconception that Vulcans are an emotionless species, as various Trek shows and films have shown us time and time again that they are fiercely violent, racist and have a superiority complex. The emotions are merely suppressed and (hopefully) not acted upon, but they're all there. The relationship between Michael and Sarek is pretty fascinating while somehow feeling a little bit ridiculous. Anyway, it was great to get some more insight into the failings that Sarek felt around this time, especially in regards to Spock.
I also loved Amanda Grayson as portrayed by Mia Kirshnir, who bears an amazing resemblance to original actress Jane Wyatt. A little part of me feels it's a shame that Winona Ryder didn't come back, but I guess that was never going to happen.
The newly arrived Lt. Ash Tyler is a weird one. I think it's clear that the story is going somewhere with him (and if you explore online discussions be careful, because it's also clear that a lot of people have worked this out already), but at this point he doesn't really seem to fit. He's too good at everything and has integrated himself too readily, taking the forefront a bit too often. The guy has just spent 7 months in a Klingon prison (allegedly) so I'd think he'd need some serious rehabilitation.
Other random observations: I love that Stamets appears to have become in a constant state of agreeable bliss since using the spore drive (REALLY need to get back into this story line) and Tilly again just makes me smile.
Review by LeftHandedGuitaristBlockedParent2017-10-24T16:42:33Z
Maybe I felt a bit let down by this one just due to how much I enjoyed last weeks, or maybe because it didn't follow up on that awesome moment of Stamets in the mirror that ended the previous one. Either way, I didn't get quite as much into this one.
But it's a shame, because there are many parts of this episode that worked by themselves, it just failed to grab me when they were all put together. I think it's clear that a real strength of the show is how unpredictable it all continues to be. The focus is taken away somewhat from Burnham and we get to spend half the episode with Captain Lorca, who continues to become more and more complicated. He's also becoming more and more sympathetic. There's a moment of what appears to be genuine fear when he realises the admiral will take away his command, and despite her apparent disbelief on whether or not he's being real it definitely came across that way to me.
It's a shame that the plot went in the direction of them sleeping together which felt a bit tired, but it did allow for that scene to play out nicely in the aftermath. At any rate, the ending with the Klingon double-cross made her look very naive.
Michael's story was quite interesting, too, if maybe a bit sloppy. It's a common misconception that Vulcans are an emotionless species, as various Trek shows and films have shown us time and time again that they are fiercely violent, racist and have a superiority complex. The emotions are merely suppressed and (hopefully) not acted upon, but they're all there. The relationship between Michael and Sarek is pretty fascinating while somehow feeling a little bit ridiculous. Anyway, it was great to get some more insight into the failings that Sarek felt around this time, especially in regards to Spock.
I also loved Amanda Grayson as portrayed by Mia Kirshnir, who bears an amazing resemblance to original actress Jane Wyatt. A little part of me feels it's a shame that Winona Ryder didn't come back, but I guess that was never going to happen.
The newly arrived Lt. Ash Tyler is a weird one. I think it's clear that the story is going somewhere with him (and if you explore online discussions be careful, because it's also clear that a lot of people have worked this out already), but at this point he doesn't really seem to fit. He's too good at everything and has integrated himself too readily, taking the forefront a bit too often. The guy has just spent 7 months in a Klingon prison (allegedly) so I'd think he'd need some serious rehabilitation.
Other random observations: I love that Stamets appears to have become in a constant state of agreeable bliss since using the spore drive (REALLY need to get back into this story line) and Tilly again just makes me smile.