Episode Discussion | Star Trek: Discovery | 5x01 "Red Directive" and 5x02 "Under the Twin Moons"

The

callback was fun.

Over 800 years, and they still don't know what they're for...
From the Dragon Prince to Discovery references to self sealing stem bolts will always amuse me.
- I probable noticed it at the time, but finding the reference in Dragon Prince seems like a good reason for a rewatch.

With Stamets talking about legacy and Saru and Tilly leaving or talking about leaving, it really does feel like a final season. If I didn't know otherwise, I'd think they knew it going in. I hope it can maintain that to the end.

What the actors knew and what the writers knew are not necessarily the same thing though. The writers could well have had a much better idea this would be the end of the road, and left them selves avenues accordingly.

T'rina suggesting she could just force a mind meld on Saru to find out what he was thinking was hilarious. They are too cute.

(I will riot if one of them dies this season. Please do not take the best couple in Star Trek away!)

Fred's absolutely a setup to have Brent Spiner appear as SOMEONE in some episode.

And given Season 3 of Picard, it might even be Data, with his new hybrid with-bits-of-Lore personality.

But it could be a human Soong too, or another Soong-type android (I absolutely hate they call them "synths", all I hear is Fallout references.)

Edit: It just really stood out to me there was a line referencing that Fred might have "a family".

I think at this point I'd rather see one of the Isa Briones characters, were they to go that route.
Fred's Data cosplay walked right up to the line of silliness for me, but honestly he probably represents a legitimate stage of...Soongvolution.
Burnham is the one that said "family," but I'm wondering if she even knows what Soong-type androids are, since they would have appeared after her time. She probably made an assumption that Fred was biological, given how quickly she had to sweep the room and leave.
I'm more curious why they didn't just hook up Fred's head and turn him back on. They were able to do that with Data. Maybe they figured Fred wouldn't be cooperative, or that Stamets just didn't have the technology or know-how to able to do that and went straight for "download the data".
- I'm wondering if she even knows what Soong-type androids are, since they would have appeared after her time.
  That didn't even cross my mind while watching. Most of the crew would have no idea who Picard was either which is kinda funny.
  I’m more curious why they didn’t just hook up Fred’s head and turn him back on.
  Same but holding out hope they still do this at some point!
And given Season 3 of Picard, it might even be Data, with his new hybrid with-bits-of-Lore personality.
Goddammit man, I had finally convinced myself I hated the fan service in PIC S3 why are you doing this to me??

As predicted, it's Captain Rayner's galaxy, and we're all just living in it.

I can see what the various interviews were saying - things are already set up to have a sense of finality, with a strong theme of "moving on" woven throughout just about every character's arc so far.

The "respectful Indiana Jones" vibe is a lot of fun, I hope they can sustain this energy for the rest of the season.

I can't believe I forgot to mention today's biggest revelation: a Type 3 phaser is just a Type 2 phaser stretched out!

I wonder if the whole thing can be squished into a convenient, easy-to-conceal Type 1...

How far do they have to stretch it before they get Worf's purple space bazooka from Insurrection?
- Worf's Purple Space Bazooka is my new band name.

So good to have trek back!

For once I'd like for the ominous sounding color label to not be red or black. Let other colors like Mauve or Taupe have its time in the spotlight. I'm sure plenty of people would be afraid of a Mauve Death or a Flaxen alert or an Amaranth level protocol, or an Aegean mission code

A Taupe Directive is just nap time.
- Code Taupe is for when you have to uncover a mole in your organisation.

These two episodes were really enjoyable. Discovery is not my favorite Trek series but I have been looking forward to this final season.

Annotations for 5x01 up at: https://startrek.website/post/8825833

Annotations for 5x02 up at: https://startrek.website/post/8839649

You are my hero.

Did anyone else notice that the alien statues in 5x02 looked remarkably similar to the Batarians from Mass Effect?

Loved the first episode, I think the way they brought Book back made sense and I think the season set up connecting to an underutilized TNG episode is absolutely awesome, I could not be more down for this kind of season of Discovery. On to the second episode!

I wasn't too impressed by the first two episodes. There were some good parts in it – most notably the actor who played Fred – and I liked the more upbeat tone compared to previous seasons. But ultimately it felt like watching Star Wars. I was bored by the prolonged action sequences in both episodes. They are just a showcase for the talent of the VFX people but the scenes feel empty and meaningless.

I'll keep watching but only because I know it's the final season. There are just too many of the same old Disco tropes for me to really enjoy this show. A prime example was the scene aboard the Romulan ship: Burnham beams over with Rhys and Owo....only for them to be incapacitated so that the main character can continue on her own. I know, I know, Disco is not meant to be an ensemble show and that's okay. But it just doesn't work for me.

Hard to watch, honestly. Bad writing.

Have made a lot of excuses for this show, and generally have enjoyed it.

But, can anyone explain to me why Burnham needed to get off of the thieves' ship, whose engine she was (according to herself) moments away from disabling with her phaser, other than the need to set up a season of find-a-map-hint-per-episode trope by letting them get away?

Mind boggling dumb starting plot point that ruins the whole season setup.

sigh

The computer was telling her the the warp failure was imminent, the collapse of the field risked tearing the entire ship apart, and she had to get clear of it in order for Discovery to rescue her.
So...yes, I guess I can?
- Warp failure being imminent was due to the tractor beam, which was removed prior to her exiting the vehicle.
  So... guess you can't?