Very very poor episode, again. Characters' motivations were all over the place, with bad explanations of why they went against form. (Why would Saru, not under any compulsion apart from fear, which he admits he has lived with his whole life, suddenly do what he did in this episode? Why would pretty-nail-shop-uniform Klingon suddenly want to defect, and then make such a terrible job of it, and when she discovers the bodies not just leave with the admiral as she'd planned?) Contrived conflicts and artificial setups with, once again, bad motivations/explanations. (Why would the Disco need to defend the dog-virus-planet from the Klingons next week on STD? The Klingons know nothing about the planet, and if the Disco acts casual would have no reason to attack it, right? Why would tree-spirit-planet call 2 warring factions together if it wants peace?)
I also question SMG's acting chops, and whether she can cut it as lead, although being given multiple lines of exposition every episode, and very little else, surely doesn't help. The most interesting character by far is the captain and the series should have been developed around him, with Burnham taking a more Tom Paris type role IMHO. The Michael Burnham as focal point just hasn't worked for the entire season so far (with the possible exception of initial double-ep) and doesn't seem likely to as the show goes on either.
Review by kanootchaBlockedParent2017-11-06T07:04:56Z
Very very poor episode, again. Characters' motivations were all over the place, with bad explanations of why they went against form. (Why would Saru, not under any compulsion apart from fear, which he admits he has lived with his whole life, suddenly do what he did in this episode? Why would pretty-nail-shop-uniform Klingon suddenly want to defect, and then make such a terrible job of it, and when she discovers the bodies not just leave with the admiral as she'd planned?) Contrived conflicts and artificial setups with, once again, bad motivations/explanations. (Why would the Disco need to defend the dog-virus-planet from the Klingons next week on STD? The Klingons know nothing about the planet, and if the Disco acts casual would have no reason to attack it, right? Why would tree-spirit-planet call 2 warring factions together if it wants peace?)
I also question SMG's acting chops, and whether she can cut it as lead, although being given multiple lines of exposition every episode, and very little else, surely doesn't help. The most interesting character by far is the captain and the series should have been developed around him, with Burnham taking a more Tom Paris type role IMHO. The Michael Burnham as focal point just hasn't worked for the entire season so far (with the possible exception of initial double-ep) and doesn't seem likely to as the show goes on either.