Star Trek: Discovery (TV Series) Light and Shadows (2019) User Reviews

Welcome Aboard the USS Anarchy

[Nominahorn · 6/10 · 3 March 2023]

2.07 "Light and Shadows"

In the wake of the Red Angel's latest apparition, a temporal rift forms at the spot from where she appeared. Pike and Tyler go to investigate but their shuttle gets sucked in and the crew must try and rescue them. Meanwhile Burnham does lots of random facial expressions while trying to find and cure Spock.

Overall not terrible. Continues lots of bad threads from previous episodes, but doesn't add anything overly bad to the mix and has some genuinely interesting scifi going on. A slightly above average episode of television.

THE GOOD

-I love anything with time anomalies.

-The Doc Ock-ified probe was pretty cool.

-Nice misdirection making us think that Pike was going to shoot Tyler but instead he is saving him.

-I don't often mention it because it's a near-constant, but the visual and auditory presentation of the show continues to be really good. Effects, music, and sound effects are all high quality and almost always earn each episode a star or two even while the writing, acting, and directing is a horrendous dumpster fire.

THE BAD

-Mostly stuff from previous episodes. Tardigrade DNA giving Stamets superpowers or Section 31 being common knowledge, for example. And of course the endlessly bad acting from SMG. I'm getting so sick of the camera lingering on her "distraught face" (I guess that's what it is? I honestly don't know what emotion she is trying to convey most of the time) where it looks like she is sniffing some bad lunch meat. They could just replace her head with an alternating series of five emojis and the show would be better off for it.

-Stamets and Tilly don't ask Saru (in command) for permission to pull their stunt to save the captain. The chain of command continues to not exist on this show. They should have named it the USS Anarchy.

THE UGLY

-In the last episode Saru beamed off the ship while shields were up, and in this ep Burnham is able to fly a stolen shuttle out the Section 31 ship when all they had to do to stop her was raise shields. I guess this show isn't written for Trek fans, since years of consistent portrayal of certain basic precepts have ingrained in us how the technology works, and this show blatantly disregards those precepts on a regular basis.

-Why would Leland give a crap if Burnham knows whatever it is Georgiou does about his involvement in her parents' deaths? Burnham is a nobody-a science officer on a ship he doesn't even serve on. And he's in Section 31; they exist outside the law. The fear on his face when Georgiou blackmails him makes no sense. The show continually seems to insist that Burnham is the center of everything and yet there is no rational backing for that idea. She literally doesn't matter.

-The format "### by ###" is not coordinates, it's a heading in 3D space (in degrees), and the destination it points to would depend on your starting location. There's no way Spock would be giving a heading from a random asteroid belt that points to the correct planet. Coordinates in 3D space would need to be three numbers, to represent the correct point on the x, y, and z axis.

Huuuuuuge revelations this week!

[Sermell_Sino · 7/10 · 1 March 2019]

We see Spock in a hysterical state and asks why. The Red Angel is no spiritual entity after all, thanks to Saru's super eyes. Then Emperor Michelle Yeah gives us critical information that shocks all viewers. Everything is coming together. I think some audience should learn to hold their tongue when they criticize DIS subplots "fillers" because they may be not. They could be active elements of a grander mythology of DIS. Never give conclusions so easily. Watch this episode yourself.

Underwhelmed

[starsurfer83 · 6/10 · 24 November 2019]

I just thought the Spock reveal was going to be so much more . . . and then there were those Matrix cyborg devices that somehow have jumped cinematic universes . . . and then there was a comment about trusting your gut being on equal footing as employing scientific methods.

Too bad, because Captain Pike is becoming one helluva character to root for (bring on the action figure!).

Any One Else Notice the People Slating it Keep Watching it?

[sbulgacs · 9/10 · 2 March 2019]

I just checked out some of the other reviews by the people slating the show. They keep saying they will no longer watch the show. But then a few episodes later write another review stating they're yet again not going to watch it. After many of their initial complaints about the show, bad acting, storylines, messing up the canon have been proven to be wrong we're starting to see their true colours, "I hate the show coz it's anti Trump and against Trump cult brainwashing, SJW nonsense". I think all we can do is ignore them, unless willing, they're beyond redemption and will only ruin the show for the rest of us. Anyways.....

Finally we get to meet the new Spock, kinda. He's seems to be going through the "adolescent" human emotional problems mentioned in earlier series and films. So he's not very coherent to say the least. The science was pretty much spot on, and I'm wondering if a physicist advised on this episode? 4D space isn't something a layman would understand. If there is a scientist advising they should keep them on to avoid earlier gaffs! A couple of continuity problems here as well. How did Burnham get from Discovery to Vulcan, just like that? They're travelling to far flung planets and locations chasing the "Red Angel" but somehow Burnham travels to Vulcan in what couldn't have been more than a few minutes!!! It's little things like this that can take a viewer out of the show. The main Red Angel story is building up nicely as are the sub plots. Reminds me of the way the Dominion war built up in season 4 of DS9. I didn't think this was as enjoyable as the previous Saru episode as that was more self contained. This episode was more to push the season story arc forward so left a lot of "loose ends". Another thing we've noticed is that the Red Angel is clearly a woman in a space suit. Yet Saru only stated it was a humanoid in a space suit. It would be a rather strange looking male to have such a slim waste and wide hips. But hey ho, I guess it could be an alien man?

HOLY S*** B***S!!! This Eps was Awesome!!!

[suanniiq · 9/10 · 1 March 2019]

This Is My Star Trek!

Plot line One: the crew of investigating a time anomaly In search of the red angle, and chaos ensues!!!

Plot Line Two: Captain Pike allows Michael to go home to Vulcan and help find Spock.

Plot Line 1.1: DISCO couldn't get close enough to the time anomaly without effecting the ship so Pike and Ash, use a shuttlecraft to get close enough to launch a probe but gets sucked into a timewave.

Plot Line 2.1: Michael meets up with mom (Amanda) and dad (Sarek), *plot twist* mom has been hiding Spock in a cave that protects him from a psychic link.

Plot Line 1.2: Pike and Ash finds a way to work with each other and runs into the probe they launch, *plot twist* the probe is now 500 years old and been Modified by "someone or somethkng" to steal data...

Plot Line 2.2: Spock's mind has been fractured, no one can heal him, Sarek convince Michael and Amanda that 31 can help him.

Plot line 1.3: Saru directes Tilly to work with Paul because he now has tardigrade DNA that can protect him and navigate the time anomaly. Can they Save Pike and Ash!?

Plot Line 3: Section 31, Philippa and Leland-Who has the best interest for Spock and recovery?! Leland promises Michael they'll do everything they can to bring Spock back. Once Michael was convinced Leland and section 31 wants to see Spock back....*plot twist* Philippa tells Michael, Leland and section 31 was going to aggressively extract Spock's memories and could leave him unrepairable. Who to trust indeed!?

PROS: Philippa, is the perfect anti-hero, cannot trust her but you want to love her at the same time!!! Such wickedness, so much awesome wickedness!!

Tilly's Time Puns, come on you know they were good!

The Action, science-fiction, drama and humor, this is episode had it all and able to contain it within 40 mins-that's impressive!

Time traveling probe, sort of matrixee, but still a fun addition to the show.

Oh Don't get me started about the ending, and the trailer for next week episode!!! That was epic!!

CON: The Episode was only 40 mins, and wish it was longer-tho it was lean and fast, still wanted more damn it!!

Thought Sarek speech to save Spock was too short and not convincing enough to change the minds of Amanda and Michael to take Spock to section 31-how was he convinced that 31 was there to help Spock!!?

Spock puzzle was a little too easy to figure out, but I guess you have to be mad as a Hatter to follow the clues.

I wanted more Space time anomaly, I was hooked man and I don't think they gave us enough of it!!!

Anyways, love what I am watching-and cannot want to watch part two of the Orville tonight, we know Isaac is going to pull a Data and figure out a way to disconnect the IA from the network and shutting them down before they can destroy earth...just saying....

A Short Episode!

[garabedian123 · 7/10 · 1 March 2019]

This episode felt like a dream. Mostly because I could not believe that the characters would do what they did in real life. We have a temporal rift opening up for no reason, But Its not interesting enough to keep Michael around, so she leaves for Vulcan...and suddenly, she is there. about 10 seconds pass for the Ship and she is now on Vulcan. I understand editing techniques, but this gives the episode a dream like quality. I have to ask myself was anything really real in this episode?...

First it was just a few nano particles..then it was some tachyon particles, next it was a rift and then it was a full blown wormhole. Its like each person was seeing it as something different. Until everyone agreed that it was a wormhole..Then Michael wanted spock to be on Vulcan and viola...he was!

Not to mention this episode was a FULL 20 minutes shorter than any other episode this season..Overall it was an interesting episode. But I still insist that it all felt like a dream.

WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

[jenabraham-43312 · 10/10 · 1 March 2019]

Omg this episode was beyond brilliant So much happened I feel like I need to watch this 20 more times Just epic !! Ethan was amazing as Spock Michele Yeoh is so bad ass Sonequa is so beautiful and the chemistry between Spock and her is electric Special effects spectacular as always I cannot fault this episode I just cannot wait a week for the next instalment Well done writers..this show is just perfection

Action packed episode.

[jimhaney-12224 · 7/10 · 5 January 2021]

Its a fast paced episode, all action and little story. It fit well with the shorter time. Most reviews have polar ratings, (10s and 1s) I didn't find it that great, but it didn't drag like some of the other episodes in season 2 thus far. No story means they can't write a bad one :D

Only major critique I have for this episode (there is always something :D :P) is the Pike/Tyler argument and Tilly/Stamets slow walk to the transport. BURN THAT FUEL MAN, RUN SCIENCE NERDS! I KNOW YOU WON A FAKE 1/2 MARATHON. (The show forgets, but I won't) :)

For the season up to now, I think the show is suffering from a lack of characters. They bring back the ex-klingon and ex-terran for everything. Who is the new security chief? (actually where is security) I don't even know who the chief engineer is (they have the adopted one who is more of a doctor then the physician). In most Star Trek the Doctor has some crazy experiment or contributes huge amounts. This guy feels like the diversity hire, all we know is he's gay and likes opera. (Hes not even Chief Medical Officer just Physician, #feelsbadman) Dude died but it was treated more like Tylers sorrow for murdering the guy was worse than the guys actual death. Theres the other Doc but she is just that fake-angry-doctor cliché.

Tying back to this episode, I think thats why this one kinda works, few characters, short episode, pretty lights and loud sounds keeps us entertained.

One heck of an episode

[ekayrouz · 10/10 · 1 March 2019]

I just like how the writers are crafting complicated stories into complicated and weird science. This episode builds up to a lot of stuff and it feels as if the season is just about to begin. The nuances are ever present: not everything is clear cut or black and white like: logical and illogical- or past present and future- or murderer or innocent- or .... And Michael Burnham is just electrifying to watch. Passionate, present, nuanced too. One more thing, in this episodes, like in many others, the show-runners show a rich and creative plethora of imagined worlds and civilizations and they are not lazy about it. This show is pretty smart and I like it.

Catching a grain of sand in a hurricane

[XweAponX · 10/10 · 1 March 2019]

"With a pair of tweezers".

Burnham thinks she knows where is Spock is, the only trick is she has to confront Amanda.

Discovery, however, sticks around the vicinity of Kaminar to look for Temporal Causality loops and other magic Red Angel debris.

I have to admit these time elements don't appear to be the same rehashed technobabble that Brannon Braga used to come up with all the "time", even though sometimes he came up with some good ones.

And a couple of the lines in here you can swear we heard Mr. Worf saying: right before the Enterprise D blew up.

In fact, I was just watching "Children of Time", S5E22 of Deep Space Nine, written by Ethan H. Calk, who also wrote S3E17 "Visionary", one of the best of these time oriented stories. Ethan also wrote the great Star Trek Fan Film "Of Gods and Men" and both episodes of (Star Trek) Renegades. In "Children of Time", we see what happens when the event that caused the changes in the timeline, is caused to have never happened. In that case, unfortunate and unwanted consequences ensued. The best time stories are not written by the usual writer's of a show's "Bullpen", but by outsiders. Because Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and I believe Voyager all accepted scripts from outside of the usual source of "Writer's Guild approved writers". That decision was wise, but it could only have happened because both TNG and DS9 were syndicated shows, Voyager of course was a Network show, and as such was prone to network interference by pencil pushers. I don't know how strict Discovery's rules are for writers, but the ones who penned this episode, Ted Sullivan and Vaun Wilmott, did a splendid job, mostly by relying on and mining Star Trek Canon.

It is starting to look like the Red Angel arc was something put into play by Discovery itself - Just like in "All Good Things" - Picard asked "Why is it (The Anomaly) getting larger in the past? We know why, it was because they caused the "Anomaly" in the future. Is something similar happening here?

Meanwhile Georgiou and Section 31 rear their ugly heads, but I think in this episode we have to realize that Mirror-Georgiou is not really who we have to worry about at this point, she is an ally. But does she have ulterior motives? I would have to say yes to that, only, her goal is not very clear.

Be ready to revisit some aliens that we met way back in the original series, maybe even before that. Before this series was a series. Or, as Picard put it in "all good things", " The chicken and the egg, Will, the chicken and the egg!"

Because Spock is either spouting nonsense, or it means something. Burnham opts to believe option two: "Not Nonsense".

And the mechanical girl: beware of the three red eyes. I found this interesting, because this mechanical girl on the bridge, has never been explained. "Airiam". All we really have is her name, the Star Trek Wiki Memory Alpha does not really have anything much to say about her either. So, who is she? Where did she come from? What is she? In Star Trek Into Darkness, we had "Science Officer 0718" played by the great Joseph Gatt. I was hoping he would have been explained, but his character never returned for Kirk's 5-year voyage that was interrupted in Star Trek Beyond. So I highly anticipate where this Airiam arc goes.

There is also an Easter egg in here that occurs to me, Pike's solution to sending some kind of signal to discovery, The same kind of solution occurred to Spock 53 years ago, or was it 10 years from now?

Just stop it please

[joel-si-silva · 1/10 · 1 March 2019]

Spock is being destroyed Along with the entire franchise

Nice to go back to Vulcan

[leecun1701 · 10/10 · 1 March 2019]

Once again a visually stunning episode of Discovery.

It was good to see Vulcan again. I love the red trees and the landscape. The inside of the monastery that Spock was at took me back to the old Star Trek novels "The Vulcan Academy Murders" and "Demons". The descriptions in those novels of Vulcan monasteries and the scene of Micheal and Amanda walking in to find Spock were quite similar. It brought me back and I appreciate that.

It would appear the red angel has an enemy in the future that sent that probe back. And maybe got inside Airiums head? I look forward to finding out more.

And it all comes back to Talos IV. An excellent turn that Spock and Pike keep coming back to Talos IV.

An excellent episode and they keep getting better. The best trek ever made. I wish there were more episodes.

One of the best eoisudes of this series

[dkazantzides-387-84609 · 10/10 · 2 March 2019]

Shot like a video clip with a lot of messages and innuendos. Fascinating can't wait for the next episode. What other people are writing probably they have no clue about what Star Trek is all about.

Good, but short

[oszajcakk · 8/10 · 1 March 2019]

There are only two plotlines in this episode. Both are interesting and done rather well. More time is given to Pike and Tyler and new character is making his entry. CGI is not bad and acting is on decent level. Very decent episode, not very Star Trek like, but it fit very well into the story.

Here We Go Again

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 7 March 2020]

When I began watching the original series back in my college days, I never dreamed that people would carry it around in their heads for fifty years. That they would look at every new incarnation and spend their time longing for the old show. Do any of you realize how lame some of those episodes were. There's the whole "canon" thing that seems to get people upset. As cinema evolves so do the story lines and the characters. There are new challenges with sophisticated science. Granted, I find this new show to have some real flaws, but it isn't that they aren't trying. There are too many subplots and there is the tiresome Tilly, but I still love to see what a new angle can do. I'm sure when TNG came along, the same naysayers were whining. A canon is generally written by one writer or poet. If cinema had followed what you want, we would still be watching silent films.

Spock FINALLY and Classic Classic Trek Throwback - Loving It!

[LorenBieg · 8/10 · 2 March 2019]

Seems like the reviews are either 9s & 10s from viewers like me who are loving Star Trek Discovery, or 1s from old guard haters who aren't willing to let the Trek Universe track some new ground.

I've been a track fan since discovering the classic series in reruns. I've watched all seasons of all series, and recognize that this show is taking some liberties while capturing the essence of what I love most about Star Trek, and doing so in a highly entertaining way.

As for this episode, we finally find Spock, sort of, a plot element that has drug in a bit long for me. But it's exciting nonetheless. The climate and ancient-ness of Vulcan are further developed. Tyler and Pike have some conflict that is fun and resolves nicely. Pike is quickly becoming one of my favorite starship captains in the franchise. And, I about fell out of my chair when Talos IV came up!

The one consistently annoying device that is over usd is the techspeak problem solving sessions that just sound like "blah blah whatever" when Tilly and Stamets are saving the ship. Character drama is much more interesting. TNG used to do the same thing and it causes me to disconnect from the story. But eh, the rest is so good I'm hooked anyway!

Not very good.

[QuackQuack · 1/10 · 7 March 2019]

I just have to say I have not cared for hardly any episodes of this show. As as Star Trek fan since TOS, I honestly cannot see how anybody could give any of these episodes a 9 or 10. It's absolutely horrible. It is not Star Trek. If it were something else, it might be tolerable to watch, but it would still be bad writing, and it's not even sci fi. It's sci fantasy. Almost every episode involves a scenario where someone is in an "impossible situation" and yet every time they get out by the skin of their teeth. It's almost like the old Batman series where the heroes are in danger at the end of one episode, but narrowly escape after the commercial break. It's comical, but not enjoyable as far as sci fi goes.

Solid episode with great visuals and exciting fan service

[snoozejonc · 8/10 · 14 March 2021]

Burnham goes back to Vulcan whilst Discovery encounters a temporal anomaly.

This is a pretty good episode, especially the visuals, with a strong plot that is unfortunately let down by the exposition.

I enjoyed the story, which I found to be quite compelling and the final reveal works not only as great fan service but as hook to find out what happens next. I hope the writers have something in mind for preserving the legacy of the Trek canon as they write this story, but if it turns out to be something special I will forgive the franchise inconsistency. The sub-plot involves great sci-fi, but probably could have done without the similarity in tech design to The Matrix.

Generally in the episode the visuals are brilliant. The cinematography is excellent and works well for the visual storytelling. Some of the editing is also superb. One of my favourite parts is a transition between one Discovery character's eye to a light aboard another ship.

Where I struggle, as usual with Discovery, is the dialogue. I find the exposition to be so deliberate and obvious that it feels unnatural. Pretty much all of the intro sequence is a big information dump and the episode is littered with other similar moments. I don't mind it so much during the technobabble sequences, because these things need explanations but they do drag on a bit in this show. The worst line in the episode for me was one character reveal about Burnham that was unimaginatively spoken between two Section 31 characters.

Performances from all cast are solid with nobody especially standing out except Sonequa Martin-Green who leads her scenes well and possibly Mary Wiseman who continues to entertain.

For me this is a 7.5/10 but I round upwards.

Attacked by CGI... again.

[InterArmaEnimSilentLeges · 1/10 · 1 March 2019]

Absolute garbage. The plot is so utterly confusing that I don't think even the writers know what's going on. The whole show seem to operate on the assumption that if we just throw more CGI at the screen people will be distracted enough not to notice that nothing of interest ever happens. Time rifts, squidbots from the Matrix, just keep throwing that CGI, guys. Oh, and throw in some Kung Fu while you're at it! *sigh* There's so many sub plots and B-plots and C-plots going on that if you ever missed 10 seconds of one episode months ago, you're screwed. Who's writing this? The team who wrote "Lost"?

This show always leaves me feeling violated for having watched it.

Mediocre CGI laden disappointment

[XTheXXTruthX · 5/10 · 15 September 2019]

This season has been as inconsistent as the first.

After Pike have the show a much needed lift, we had an awful episode 5. Episode 6 was fantastic then we get this really boring episode going through the motions when our first meeting with Spock should be a highpoint for the series.

Some awful dialogue, particularly for the monologue loving Burnham made this even more of a chore to get through.

This episode could have had a runtime of 2 minutes and we'd have lost nothing. Zero worthwhile plot or character development that we've not already watched. And a temporal anomaly that we've seen done better in dozens of shows, not just previous Star Trek incarnations.

Discovery badly needs better writers and directors on board. Probably should chuck in a better showrunner and producers while they are at it.

This is Star Trek in the loosest possible sense.

Flat and not appealing

[AliensReservoir · 1/10 · 1 March 2019]

Not only there sub-sub-sub-sub plots to follow between 2 stories where they cut each time at the a moment where you think that you can get back on track, but now you got past, future and present to follow between the sub-sub-sub plots...

CGI are nice, but remove them and you stop to watch this... thing.

I am asking myself if the writers can even follow what they are writing as there are also many contradictory things in the scenario...

At the end of the day I gave up, I'm totally LOST!

I see why people buy into the "Prime" timeline thing....

[primeadministrator · 1/10 · 1 March 2019]

I'll start by saying I do not believe in the whole "Prime" timeline vs "Canon" timeline. STD is "canon", which is why it must be held to the standards of the previous 50+ years of Star Trek. Making it "Prime" allows the show to do the kinds of BS they did in this episode. Vulcans DO NOT cry unless the circumstances are extreme. In this episode BOTH Spock and Sarek cry. That is because the people writing this show have NO respect for the canon that came before STD, and now they're making a mess of the canon by creating contradictory characters. Because these drama writers do not know Star Trek, and because they cannot write science fiction, they made Vulcans highly emotional and schizophrenic when STD is put into the timeframe it is supposed to be in (pre-ST:TOS). Spock's mother is portrayed as a shrew, which again contradicts ST:TOS. Of course the Bechdal Test is in full effect which ruins everything in science fiction because it turns Star Trek into Woke Trek which erodes canon and turns the whole of Star Trek into a trainwreck. This is due to the politics of the people writing this show. Progressives have no idea how to write a Liberal show and that's why they're failing. Hint, Liberals believe in egalitarianism (equality), not some SJW war against the mythical patriarchy. 1-star, because of toxic Feminism in the show and a total lack of science fiction writing.

Light and Shadows

[Prismark10 · 5/10 · 6 April 2019]

The Search for Spock comes to an end. His mother was hiding him.

Burnham catches him speaking gibberish or is it quotes from Alice in Wonderland?

At Saruk's behest he is handed over to Section 31. Georgiou tells Burnham that this is a mistake and she needs to get Spock off the ship.

Meanwhile Pike takes it upon himself to follow the remnants of the Red Angel's signal in a shuttle craft. Tyler joins him, both men have a fractious relationship as they are lost in a time rift.

Stamets calculate that finding them in the time rift is like trying to catch a grain of sand in a hurricane with a pair of tweezers. So for Star Trek, that are good odds.

The temporal stuff really was silly, I think it was just so Pike and Tyler can distrust each other. The Spock stuff had promise but I never envisaged Saruk would have faith on Section 31 to keep Spock safe.

The episode was certainly a mixed bag.

Not Star Trek, more like a Indie Drama

[bcgrizzly · 1/10 · 1 March 2019]

I fell asleep within 5 min. Woke up a few times but heard only endless, boring dialogs. Dozed off again. Such garbage - it's a disgrace and shouldn't be counted as Star Trek.

A Senior Trekker writes..........................

[celineduchain · 5/10 · 8 January 2022]

It's at about this stage that Anson Mount begins to show what he's made of. In just the pre-credit sequence he gets overruled by Burnham's softly whispered plot manipulation, liberally sprayed with Tilly's over-enthusiastic gobbledygook and "Black Badged" by Ash, who is now a fully signed up member of the security services. That Captain Pike manages to retain any dignity at all is a testament to the actor's patience and endurance, if nothing else.

The plot then fragments all over the place with Michael Burnham going to Vulcan to find her deranged foster-brother hidden under the floorboards at Mum's place. We get all sorts of psycho-babble from the family which seems to amount to "he's dyslexic", "no he's not", "you never listen to me", "well I'm in charge so Michael's got to take him back to hospital whether you like it or not" (I paraphrase).

Meanwhile:

Stuff onboard Discovery gets all timey-wimey so Pike & Ash have to go out in the shuttle together for a lot of manfully reproachful willy-waving before being rescued from a tentacled probe by Stammets's future self. How this is achieved must be a complete miracle because the science team (Tilly) earlier declared that the screen looked as if someone had sprinkled Parmigiano all over it while Stammets opined that it was rather like water going down a drain.

Meanwhile

Spock gets strapped to a dentist chair while Section 31 prepare to remove what's left of his brain, Mirror Georgiou turns up and offers Michael the chance of escape - but only if they have a fake fist fight first. Cue: more high kicks than the Folies Bergere and more grunting than a pair of Serbian tennis players. (Why oh why do we get Discovery women doing this stuff so often? It serves no plot purpose and they are both too old and too flat chested for it to appeal to most teenaged boys). Burnham gets to her shuttle and hides it under a rock somewhere until all her pursuers have been shaken off, solves the problem of her brother's babbling where no-one else had noticed he was reciting a set of coordinates backwards, then immediately heads off to the most forbidden location in the known galaxy.

Meanwhile

Georgiou tells the Leland, the Section 31 bad guy, that she knows he killed Burnham's real parents, back aboard Discovery Pike and Ash make up their differences and Ariam, the machine woman, does some weird thing with her eyes that suggests she's been taken over by a malign influence.

Senior Trekker is NOT a "hater" nor is she deluded enough to hope that this series is ever going to get any better but is simply trying to see it though to the end in the hope of a better Star Trek to come. For my OWN mental health, I allow myself four or five episodes of The Next Generation to each one of Discovery and continue to assign a score of 5, whatever the content.