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Teiresias

Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,260
Wasn't that one of the possible causes of the Burn from last season? And wasn't there an alternative warp technology that the Ni'Var were working on that went bad? I kind of hope this isn't the case, because that would be back to back seasons of potential galactic disaster being caused by Federation propulsion technology. It would be time to stay home, if that's the case!

Honestly though, the source of this danger is easily the least interesting part of this season for me. I just don't care. Three, now four seasons of galactic disasters is just numbing and I hope this is a feint by the writers and is resolved by episode 3. On the other hand, I would be disappointed if it turned out that there was some super secret project that led to a conspiracy involving the Federation President to cover it up. That would feel incredibly tone deaf following last season and what they went through to start rebuilding the Federation. It's the sort of thing that should cause the whole system to implode. So it's a weird spot for me…I don't particularly care about what the source of the disaster is, unless it turns out to be something imaginative and cool, but I'm also kind of dreading the direction they could take it.

I'm pretty much in the same boat. I kind sort of get behind a season that explores the political and systemic struggles to re-establish the Federation, but probably not in a show like Discovery that will wrap it in another season-long mystery box.

It also is kind of annoying just given the plot armor of all of Michael's decisions, and that scene in this episode where the President argues with her about her going out to clear the debris herself almost felt like the writing staff saying "Yeah, we hear your complaints about this kind of thing, but we really don't give a shit." Of course, maybe we'll get a surprise and the President's warning about Michael's decisions actually having wider and catastrophic lasting consequences and that her trying to always get the absolute best outcome may result in mass casualties will actually come to pass this season at some point (not holding my breath).
 
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StevieP

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,307
I'm pretty much in the same boat. I kind sort of get behind a season that explores the political and systemic struggles to re-establish the Federation, but probably not in a show like Discovery that will wrap it in another season-long mystery box.

It also is kind of annoying just given the plot armor of all of Michael's decisions, and that scene in this episode where the President argues with her about her going out to clear the debris herself almost felt like the writing staff saying "Yeah, we hear your complaints about this kind of thing, but we really don't give a shit." Of course, maybe we'll get a surprise and the President's warning about Michael's decisions actually having wider and catastrophic lasting consequences and that her trying to always get the absolute best outcome may result in mass casualties will actually come to pass this season at some point (not holding my breath).

They don't set up that kind of melodrama (and call the damn episode kobiyashi maru) on top of invoking spock's needs of the many idiom for no reason. There will be some kind of consequence, even something as simple as another crew death, for Michael thinking she's invincible and can save everyone.
 

rockinreelin

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,161
The CG sets and CG scenes in general looked really bad this season. They really need to go back to using full on sets and dump the poorly done screen sets every special effects show using these days. It just wasn't done that well in the episode. Other then that it was the typical discovery episode and plot, some catastrophe caused by mysterious forces that Burnham's gotta solve to save the galaxy. Also they need to add some fire proofing to the bridge, everything kept going up in flames in the episode lol.
 
Nov 27, 2020
4,304
They don't set up that kind of melodrama (and call the damn episode kobiyashi maru) on top of invoking spock's needs of the many idiom for no reason. There will be some kind of consequence, even something as simple as another crew death, for Michael thinking she's invincible and can save everyone.
I hope so. It was a good scene, but like I said earlier, it's a scene that's been played out with Michael and Saru, or Georgiou, or Pike, or Vance…I hope that it's building up to something kind of meaningful and not just another "that character was totally right about Michael, but Michael was even more totally right in her actions" moment.

Also I got a bit of a chuckle out of when Michael was offended that the President wasn't considering her to be Captain of Voyager, and then tells her that she wouldn't take it anyway, since Discovery was her home. That had some real "you can't fire me! I quit!" energy to it.
 

GungHo

Member
Nov 27, 2017
6,194
Not a real spoiler, but I'll spoil my speculation just in case I'm right.

Between her insisting on going and all the talk of new non-warp technologies in development, I half expect the anomaly to be the result of a propulsion experiment gone bad.
Yeah, she's shady as shit. Keeps talking about the needs of the many, what wouldn't you do, make the hard decision, etc. They don't have a Badmiral, so now they have a Presibad.
 

Teiresias

Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,260
Yeah, she's shady as shit. Keeps talking about the needs of the many, what wouldn't you do, make the hard decision, etc. They don't have a Badmiral, so now they have a Presibad.

Which I think is annoying. Basically it boils down to "anyone that disagrees with Michael or her methods is wrong and/or evil." I wish/hope the President would be characterized as someone who actually does think of the best and isn't characterized as "evil" or "incompetent" or "misguided" but just more reserved and cautious than Michael - which isn't actually bad.
 
Nov 27, 2020
4,304
Which I think is annoying. Basically it boils down to "anyone that disagrees with Michael or her methods is wrong and/or evil." I wish/hope the President would be characterized as someone who actually does think of the best and isn't characterized as "evil" or "incompetent" or "misguided" but just more reserved and cautious than Michael - which isn't actually bad.
We actually saw this play out last season with Admiral Vance. People actually thought that he'd turn out as a bad guy for exactly the same reasons, and it was great that he didn't.

The more I think about it, the more I hope that there isn't some nefarious bad guy, or conspiracy behind this gravity anomaly. The best case scenario is that it's just a natural disaster that they have to deal with. That would actually make it feel a bit fresher than the previous three seasons, and wouldn't undermine the message of the last season at the same time.
 

Juraash

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,437
I feel like the President is basically the embodiment of fan criticism of Michael. Whether that's good or bad I guess TBD.

Sidenote, is the President at least part Cardassian? She doesn't have the neck or the typical skin color, but the rest of her markings really seem like it.
 

ezekial45

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,810
Not a real spoiler, but I'll spoil my speculation just in case I'm right.

Between her insisting on going and all the talk of new non-warp technologies in development, I half expect the anomaly to be the result of a propulsion experiment gone bad.

I'm really hoping it's not another man-made disaster or threat, we went through 2 seasons of that already with the Control AI and The Burn (with the cause of it being an accident).

I think it'd be great and more interesting if they just encounter something that's genuinely an unknown to them, and go from there.
 

GungHo

Member
Nov 27, 2017
6,194
I feel like the President is basically the embodiment of fan criticism of Michael. Whether that's good or bad I guess TBD.

Sidenote, is the President at least part Cardassian? She doesn't have the neck or the typical skin color, but the rest of her markings really seem like it.
It looks similar to the makeup done for the mixed Bajoran-Cardassians that showed up on DS9 and Seska after getting off Voyager and joining the Bed Head Clan, but she doesn't make any reference to it in the episode.
 
Nov 27, 2020
4,304
I assumed it was just the Voyager J getting retrofitted but I guess it could be a new ship of the same design.
I assumed that as well, but I've had a suspicion since the first trailer for this season that Discovery might get destroyed and we end up with a "proper" Discovery-A (or B). We have yet to see even a small glimpse of the interior of one of the 32nd century Starfleet ships, and it's starting to feel like they might be saving that for something…
 

firehawk12

Member
Oct 25, 2017
24,339
I mean, given the number of military coups in our history, I would hope that they wouldn't do a "civilian government bad, military hoorah guys good" story anyway.
 
Nov 27, 2020
4,304
I mean, given the number of military coups in our history, I would hope that they wouldn't do a "civilian government bad, military hoorah guys good" story anyway.
It would be tone deaf to do a story like that for a number of reasons.

I really don't think (and hope) that's the case. People are reading too much into the scenes with the President in this episode. She's calling Michael out in pretty much the same way as characters have called her out for the past three seasons. If anything, it's just an example of the rut that the character is stuck in, that other characters have the same types of conversations with her after three seasons and going from First Officer to Crewman to Captain.
 

firehawk12

Member
Oct 25, 2017
24,339
It would be tone deaf to do a story like that for a number of reasons.

I really don't think (and hope) that's the case. People are reading too much into the scenes with the President in this episode. She's calling Michael out in pretty much the same way as characters have called her out for the past three seasons. If anything, it's just an example of the rut that the character is stuck in, that other characters have the same types of conversations with her after three seasons and going from First Officer to Crewman to Captain.
I find it funny how Michael was extremely defensive a second later, but the whole episode just felt like it was taking many expositional shortcuts for plot elements that would have taken an entire episode to go through on another show. Part of that I assume is to do a recap and to try to introduce the character to new people though, I suppose.
(Remember when this show was about Spock's long lost sister? :p)

But yeah, hopefully it was just a moment of expositional conflict rather than something sinister, because I don't need another Kai Wynn story beat.

Totally off topic, but I'd be interested in how they had an election though, considering they're still trying to rebuild the Federation in the first place. What happens if a new member planet doesn't recognize the new president because they weren't there to vote for it? I imagine it could be like a parallel of how the US was formed, but I know they're not going to go there.
 

rjinaz

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
28,479
Phoenix
The first half was great. the second half bored me. Just endless ship shaking and explosions in space, like every season and nearly every episode of this show lol, just nonstop action because I guess that makes good tv, apparently. Then of course Burnham fighting with somebody in leadership. It's like they have a list and they make sure to check the same things off each episode.

I really like the first half where it involved diplomacy, the Federation, talk of exploration, the future aspects, and character moments.

Anyway, can't say this episode got me excited for the season, but I usually enjoy the show in the end so I'll keep watching.
 

fulltimepanda

Member
Oct 28, 2017
5,832
Yeah the first half started strong but the second was all setup. The fire jets were super distracting lmao.

Pres just feels like reasons why Michael isn't going to be captain of the new ship, I imagine that they'll end up giving it to Saru (eventually)

More excited about the stories on the other characters this season, Michael can sit down lol.

Was funny to see Adira pick up some of Tilly's nervousness, excited to see the introduction of Gray to the rest of the crew.

The ending of S3 opened up a whole deal on Book's history and his mentor.
 

aerie

wonky
Administrator
Oct 25, 2017
8,086
Overall, I enjoyed the episode, even if it wasn't anything particularly special.
 

rjinaz

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
28,479
Phoenix
Yeah the first half started strong but the second was all setup. The fire jets were super distracting lmao.

Pres just feels like reasons why Michael isn't going to be captain of the new ship, I imagine that they'll end up giving it to Saru (eventually)

More excited about the stories on the other characters this season, Michael can sit down lol.

Was funny to see Adira pick up some of Tilly's nervousness, excited to see the introduction of Gray to the rest of the crew.

The ending of S3 opened up a whole deal on Book's history and his mentor.
It's funny because when it comes to Michael, I really like the actress, I really like the character especially her positive vibes and hopefulness and fighting for what's right, but I really can't stand the way she is written half the time, always getting in conflicts with the crew, being the only one that can possibly save the day, the way the show tends to focus on her and make the plots revolve around her even though she's typically not the Captain.

It's a weird love/hate kind of feelings I have towards her and I feel like it's exactly BECAUSE she's not the Captain where I don't think the show works as well having a character like her. Janeway, Archer, Sisko, Kirk and even Picard made decisions all the time that were mostly based on their gut instincts and flew in the face of Federation rules and procedures, but because they are Captains, they largely got away with it and they could control the situation in a way where it worked out.

With Michael, it just puts her in conflict with the federation and ends up with her being in constant conflict with her shipmates as well, and, it has gotten old.

Seems like they are moving towards her not being captain again, which, just ugh.
 

Soap

Member
Oct 27, 2017
15,399
I'm all for a Star Trek show focusing more on the politicians in the federation because the last presidents we have seen have not really impacted the overall story of any show. The closest we got to a fleshed out president was the DS9 two-parter, and he was barely in it.
 

Wrexis

Member
Nov 4, 2017
21,387
I'm very pleased with the Saru Captain problem, a very quick resolution we all overhyped.

It's easy to forget Spock was Captain for at least 5 of the TOS movies, and Scotty and Sulu were too for a while.
 
Nov 27, 2020
4,304
It's funny because when it comes to Michael, I really like the actress, I really like the character especially her positive vibes and hopefulness and fighting for what's right, but I really can't stand the way she is written half the time, always getting in conflicts with the crew, being the only one that can possibly save the day, the way the show tends to focus on her and make the plots revolve around her even though she's typically not the Captain.

It's a weird love/hate kind of feelings I have towards her and I feel like it's exactly BECAUSE she's not the Captain where I don't think the show works as well having a character like her. Janeway, Archer, Sisko, Kirk and even Picard made decisions all the time that were mostly based on their gut instincts and flew in the face of Federation rules and procedures, but because they are Captains, they largely got away with it and they could control the situation in a way where it worked out.

With Michael, it just puts her in conflict with the federation and ends up with her being in constant conflict with her shipmates as well, and, it has gotten old.

Seems like they are moving towards her not being captain again, which, just ugh.
I'm in the same boat. Love the actress, like the character…when the character is with another character - like Book, where she can be fun and confident. Ultimately, it's the writing that undercuts Michael. I was hoping that finally putting her in the Captain's chair would make the writers move on from the "is she ready or not" drama they constantly put on her. They did sort of the same thing with Riker on TNG, but at least there we got plenty of episodes focusing on the other characters and even other aspects of Riker. That doesn't happen here. Every season seems to have to feature Michael in direct conflict with another character that she has to prove her worthiness to, which feels weird and forced in season four of this series. The scenes with the President were fine…good even…but it's the same sort of drama we've had around the character since the first episode.

It would have been nice to have had the President's doubts about Michael wrapped up completely in this episode. There was no need to dangle that Voyager thing out there - we all know if any character on this show is going to be the Captain of that ship, it's Saru anyway. Let the drama of the season be about exploring the mystery of the phenomenon, and the fallout of the destruction of Book's homeworld. The center of all that could be a confident, experienced and trusted Michael, who has earned it over the previous three seasons. There isn't a need to revisit the same sort of story (Michael in conflict with a mentor-type character) that's been in place since "The Vulcan Hello".
 

chrominance

Sky Van Gogh
Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,804
So I watched the first five minutes and shut it off. Does it get better after that? It just blows my mind how terrible this first re-contact scenario was, like did the Federation, even in its withered state, really not have anyone smarter or more diplomatic than these two dumbasses to send to this planet?

I'll try to come back later when I'm not in such a nitpicky mood, but SHEESH.
 

NetMapel

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,487
I really liked the beginning of the episode.
"We must free the queen!"




I also find it rather interesting and perhaps ironic that considering the show is originally about an old ship and crew, it's now set in the most futuristic Star Trek timeline ever.
 

maxx720

Member
Nov 7, 2017
2,842
I know I'm probably in the minority but the first episode was kinda bland. There's a lot going on but it just isn't very interesting, similar to the last few episodes of the last season. In missing the magic of season one writing and characters.
 

rjinaz

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
28,479
Phoenix
I know I'm probably in the minority but the first episode was kinda bland. There's a lot going on but it just isn't very interesting, similar to the last few episodes of the last season. In missing the magic of season one writing and characters.
I'm also not really into this whole Booker Avatar thing they got going on or whatever. It just doesn't feel like Trek. Don't get me wrong. I know Trek also has some weird shit happen, but, they usually contain it to one episode, they don't build a whole season around basically magic. Q not withstanding.
 

milamber182

Member
Dec 15, 2017
7,758
Australia
My favorite season opener to date. We got a sad setup for the season arc (although it would have been nice to have Book with his family a bit longer and save the destruction for episode 2). The "butterfly" race was cool. Nice to see Saru and Su'Kal on Kaminar. I like the opposing idealogies of Burnham and the President.

Only bad point was the dodgy looking CGI when Burnham's spacesuit activated.
 

MrKlaw

Member
Oct 25, 2017
33,260
ok opening. Not sure about the flames on set (both Disco and the space station) - made it look like Robot Wars. And Booker flying above some clouds and suddenly the moon explodes or something? Just felt rushed in the edit maybe.

see we're going down the route of focusing on Burnham again - hopefully less so than previous seasons. Starting off with Chekov's Maru they presumably can't leave that hanging so there will be a reckoning at some point?
 

starcourt84

Member
Aug 4, 2019
224
I didn't get any sinister villain vibes from the President. I think she was just there to play a challenge function for Burnham.

The Archer theme was amazing.

I wish they would bring back Enterprise for season 5 on Paramount+ XD ;__;
 
Sep 5, 2021
3,097
I didn't get any sinister villain vibes from the President. I think she was just there to play a challenge function for Burnham.

The Archer theme was amazing.

I wish they would bring back Enterprise for season 5 on Paramount+ XD ;__;

I still wish they did the "Star Trek Enterprise The Animation" in the style of Voltron or Clone Wars, it could begin with Shran joining the crew, using the episodes never made the fifth season, starting Episodic for new viewers but having some episodes and becoming more serialized, with some Romulan episodes scattered throughout the season to start the Romulan War at the end of the first season .
 

chrominance

Sky Van Gogh
Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,804
Came back to watch the rest of the episode, and it does pick up. There are aspects of the episode that feel very Kelvin-esque (in ways that I don't like) but there are strong moments too.

We actually saw this play out last season with Admiral Vance. People actually thought that he'd turn out as a bad guy for exactly the same reasons, and it was great that he didn't.

The more I think about it, the more I hope that there isn't some nefarious bad guy, or conspiracy behind this gravity anomaly. The best case scenario is that it's just a natural disaster that they have to deal with. That would actually make it feel a bit fresher than the previous three seasons, and wouldn't undermine the message of the last season at the same time.

I really genuinely hope this as well. I think the way season 3 unfolded, there is room for this being the answer and not some weird coverup/conspiracy thing. Unless the show started out with all this "hurray for the Federation and its ideals" stuff at the beginning specifically to contrast with later realpolitik dealings in the season, but I'm not sure how that would fit with everything Discovery's tried to say in the past three seasons. That would feel like a plot development that belongs on a different kind of show, like a 24 or something.

I really don't think (and hope) that's the case. People are reading too much into the scenes with the President in this episode. She's calling Michael out in pretty much the same way as characters have called her out for the past three seasons. If anything, it's just an example of the rut that the character is stuck in, that other characters have the same types of conversations with her after three seasons and going from First Officer to Crewman to Captain.

I do at least like the idea that Burnham has gotten to where she has through her own obvious efforts, but that she's done so in a way that didn't allow her the time to grow into a captaincy (or an XO role) in other ways besides tactical excellence. I think it's actually pretty easy to explain why people keep having these conversations with her no matter her rank; the Klingon war, then the Red Angel business, then the time jump, then the Burn, etc. etc., has given her plenty of opportunities/requirements to take on bigger leadership roles but with no time or ability to actually train up for those roles.

Will the show actually do anything with this? I've been let down by this show before, so who knows. But I'm surprised that people were thinking there might be something nefarious about the President because in my eyes she is absolutely 100% right and has articulated The Thing About Burnham better than most. And to make it such a big plot point in the episode leads me to believe the showrunners aren't just throwing it out there as a token gesture to fans criticizing this particular aspect of Burnham's career, but for all I know that's just wishful thinking on my part. We'll see.
 

rjinaz

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
28,479
Phoenix
Came back to watch the rest of the episode, and it does pick up. There are aspects of the episode that feel very Kelvin-esque (in ways that I don't like) but there are strong moments too.



I really genuinely hope this as well. I think the way season 3 unfolded, there is room for this being the answer and not some weird coverup/conspiracy thing. Unless the show started out with all this "hurray for the Federation and its ideals" stuff at the beginning specifically to contrast with later realpolitik dealings in the season, but I'm not sure how that would fit with everything Discovery's tried to say in the past three seasons. That would feel like a plot development that belongs on a different kind of show, like a 24 or something.



I do at least like the idea that Burnham has gotten to where she has through her own obvious efforts, but that she's done so in a way that didn't allow her the time to grow into a captaincy (or an XO role) in other ways besides tactical excellence. I think it's actually pretty easy to explain why people keep having these conversations with her no matter her rank; the Klingon war, then the Red Angel business, then the time jump, then the Burn, etc. etc., has given her plenty of opportunities/requirements to take on bigger leadership roles but with no time or ability to actually train up for those roles.

Will the show actually do anything with this? I've been let down by this show before, so who knows. But I'm surprised that people were thinking there might be something nefarious about the President because in my eyes she is absolutely 100% right and has articulated The Thing About Burnham better than most. And to make it such a big plot point in the episode leads me to believe the showrunners aren't just throwing it out there as a token gesture to fans criticizing this particular aspect of Burnham's career, but for all I know that's just wishful thinking on my part. We'll see.
I think the president recognizes her resistance in following orders and thinking her and only her is ever right.

In that sense I think Michael makes a bad captain. Yes the show makes her basically always right about everything except like episode one lol, but nobody is perfect and eventually its going to get people killed.
 

chrominance

Sky Van Gogh
Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,804
Oh, also:

I'm not sure the show would actually do this because it would seem to sideline Doug Jones, but it'd be interesting if the way the leadership logjam works out is that Burnham stays captain of Discovery but Saru gets the new ship the President was shopping around for captains for.
 
Nov 27, 2020
4,304
I do at least like the idea that Burnham has gotten to where she has through her own obvious efforts, but that she's done so in a way that didn't allow her the time to grow into a captaincy (or an XO role) in other ways besides tactical excellence. I think it's actually pretty easy to explain why people keep having these conversations with her no matter her rank; the Klingon war, then the Red Angel business, then the time jump, then the Burn, etc. etc., has given her plenty of opportunities/requirements to take on bigger leadership roles but with no time or ability to actually train up for those roles.
I feel like that would work, except for what we know about her past. She spent nearly a decade on Shenzhou with Georgiou, worked her way up to first officer, and Georgiou believed she was ready to be Captain. She's had the time and opportunity to grow into that role, and while she does "go off script" in regards to Starfleet regs, it's not significantly different from any other Captain we've seen on Trek. The biggest difference is that other characters call it out constantly. That might be realistic, but at this point feels like it's a disservice to Michael's character.

I just feel like the writers need to come up with some other way to create drama between Michael and other characters, rather than having them question her judgement every season. At this point, it's pretty obvious that while she sometimes does things that put herself or her crew in danger, it's often right, something that's been evident since the very first episode of the series. Maybe I'm wrong, and the intention is to actually have her do something this season that leads to some dire consequences (like the destruction of Discovery??? Hmm…) but so far there's nothing really suggesting that it's going to be any different from other plot lines like this the show has featured.
 
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Wrexis

Member
Nov 4, 2017
21,387
Michael being questioned is getting old. No-one questioned Sisko when he was made Captain.
 

Soap

Member
Oct 27, 2017
15,399
Michael being questioned is getting old. No-one questioned Sisko when he was made Captain.
This is the primary issue with starfleet in discovery. Going against starfleet orders has always been a part of Star Trek, but it always seemed exceptional when it did happened.

Kirk played fast and loose with the rules, but he ultimately got demoted for his actions in the Star Trek films. Picard's actions were always his (-'d his crews) idealism clashing with political pragmatism.

Discovery's conflicts rarely make much sense to me. This episode even had an easy out where Michael could have legitimately fought back against the dangers of being the fucking PRESIDENT on an unknown mission, but instead it became this vague fight about her wanting to see action (wut).
 

starcourt84

Member
Aug 4, 2019
224
I still wish they did the "Star Trek Enterprise The Animation" in the style of Voltron or Clone Wars, it could begin with Shran joining the crew, using the episodes never made the fifth season, starting Episodic for new viewers but having some episodes and becoming more serialized, with some Romulan episodes scattered throughout the season to start the Romulan War at the end of the first season .
Yesssssssss!

That would be awesome!

CBS are you listening XD