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

https://startrek.website/post/8822124

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

“Red Directive” ::: spoiler Logline Captain Burnham and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery are sent to retrieve a mysterious artifact hidden inside a 800-year-old Romulan vessel – but find that they’re not the only ones on the hunt. Meanwhile, Saru is offered the position of a lifetime. ::: — Written by: Michelle Paradise Directed by: Olatunde Osunsanmi — “Under the Twin Moons” ::: spoiler Logline On Saru’s last mission as Captain Burnham’s Number One, the team ventures to a seemingly abandoned planet to hunt for what might be the greatest treasure in the galaxy. ::: — Written by: Alan McElroy Directed by: Doug Aarniokoski

Value Subtracted Apr 4, 2024

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.

Value Subtracted Apr 5, 2024

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…

Corgana Apr 6, 2024

How far to they have to stretch it before they get Worf’s purple space bazooka from Insurrection?

USSBurritoTruck Apr 6, 2024

Worf’s Purple Space Bazooka is my new band name.

Olap Apr 4, 2024

So good to have trek back!

bodertz Apr 4, 2024

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.

Jaccident Apr 7, 2024

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.

khaosworks Apr 4, 2024

Annotations up at: startrek.website/post/8825833

Annotations for Star Trek: Discovery 5x01: "Red Directive" (SPOILERS) - Star Trek∶ Website

The Star Trek Universe bumper features Discovery jumping in with her spore drive then flying off at warp. If anybody’s questioning whether one can actually survive on the outside of a ship traveling at warp, the answer is yes, as long as they are within the starship’s warp bubble (ENT: “Divergence”, where Trip moved between Enterprise and Columbia while the two ships shared a merged warp bubble). There is a mistake in the closed captioning which says “warp level” instead of “warp bubble”. Tonic 2161 is named after the year the Federation was founded. Although it’s for the Millenium Celebration, the current year is actually around 3188-3190 (stardates have been a bit wonky ever since DIS went to the 32nd Century), hence the “give or take a few decades” remark. The stars in the cocktail taste like jumja sticks, a sweet Bajoran delicacy made from the sap of the jumja tree (DS9: “In the Hands of the Prophets”). The holographic nametag for Stamets is not a screen overlay, but comes out of his tricom badge (DIS: “Die Trying”), a 32nd century combined tricorder, comm badge, holographic PADD and personal transporter. The pathway drive was first mentioned back in DIS: “Kobayashi Maru”, where a prototype was installed on the Voyager-J and Burnham was under consideration for being her captain. There were no details on how it worked, however. Tilly says it’s been “months” since Burnham has talked about Book, which means some time has elapsed since the end of Season 4. There is a brief shot of a Lurian speaking to another alien I’m unable to identify. T’Rina mentions the Tholian Republic and Breen Imperium. There have been political changes since the TNG era, since back then they were the Tholian Assembly (TOS; “The Tholian Web”) and the Breen Confederacy (DS9: “Strange Bedfellows”). Her relationship with Saru has grown more serious, as evidenced by her use of the word “love”. 800 years - if exact - puts it at 2388, after the Mars Attack (2385), Picard’s resignation from Starfleet (2386) and the Romulan Supernova (2387). This is the first mention of a “Red Directive”. The dessicated Romulan corpse has the forehead ridges that mark them as a Northerner (PIC: “The End is the Beginning”). Burnham’s phaser pistol can transform into a rifle configuration, presumbly by the same method that allows it to be stowed as a device on the sleeve (first seen in DIS: “Terra Firma, Part 1”). Burnham’s EVA suit must have inertial dampeners because the moment she exits the warp bubble she’s going to decelerate to sublight. Without them, inertial forces would turn her into a red smear inside of her suit. Captain Rayner is a Kellerun (DS9: “Armageddon Game”). We see a tribble in the corridor, perhaps the same one from DIS: “Kobayashi Maru”. Moll and L’ak stole a tan zhekran, a Romulan puzzle box. We saw an example of it in PIC: “The Impossible Box”, where it was used as a booby trap. Tilly is of course speaking of her ice moon escapade with a group of cadets on Kokytos in DIS: “All is Possible”. This is the first mention of Andorian champagne (or should that be Andorian sparkling wine?) - previously the only Andorian alcoholic beverage we were aware of is Andorian ale. Fred is a synth (PIC: “Maps and Legends”), with the same golden skin and eyes as Soong-type androids like Data, and has lived for at least 622.7 years (c. 2565), the last time he saw a Romulan puzzle box. Among the items L’ak and Moll offer is an infamous self-sealing stem bolt (DS9: “Progress”). The book inside the puzzle box appears to be filled with Romulan writing. Booklice, or Psocoptera, are real in case there was any doubt. Fred’s internal memory drive has the serial number AS-0572Y. Stamets connects that to Altan Soong, which might mean Fred is from Coppelius (PIC: “Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2”). Altan was last seen in a holographic recording in PIC: “The Bounty”, having died between 2399 and 2401. Burnham says she hasn’t hated anyone this much in 930 years, which if taking from 3188 dates back to 2258, the year Discovery jumped to the 32nd Century. Tilly says the database is using 256 qubit (captioned as “Q-bit”) shifting fractal encryption. Breaking into it is a violation Security Protocol Six Alpha. Discovery jumps back in at Archer Spacedock, installed around Federation HQ and first unveiled in DIS: “Kobayashi Maru”. Let’s hope that Saru and T’Rina’s wedding isn’t as violent as Spock’s (TOS; “Amok Time”). Stamets says that they were about to download 15 teraquads of data from Fred’s eye. A quad is a fictional unit of data invented for TNG, deliberately kept vague to avoid comparisons to today’s bytes. 15 teraquads sounds impressive, but in VOY: “Drone” the advanced Borg drone One was said to have assimilated 47 billion teraquads. Kovich shows Burnham that Dr Vellek was there on Vilmor II at the climax of TNG: “The Chase” (2369), where Picard discovered that many species of humanoid life in the Galaxy had been seeded by a precusor race, the Progenitors. It’s interesting that Kovich says that the Progenitors created all humanoid life. In “The Chase”, it didn’t reach as far as that - in fact, there were species which didn’t have the DNA pieces necessary to solve the puzzle and the Progenitor hologram only said they seeded “many worlds”.

veee Apr 4, 2024

The

Tap for spoiler

self-sealing stembolt

callback was fun.

Value Subtracted Apr 4, 2024

Over 800 years, and they still don’t know what they’re for…

Stormygeddon Apr 4, 2024

From the Dragon Prince to Discovery references to self sealing stem bolts will always amuse me.

End0fLine Apr 5, 2024

I probable noticed it at the time, but finding the reference in Dragon Prince seems like a good reason for a rewatch.

Bigfoot Apr 4, 2024

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

khaosworks Apr 4, 2024

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

Annotations for Star Trek: Discovery 5x02: "Under the Twin Moons" (SPOILERS) - Star Trek∶ Website

It is Stardate 866274.3, which places it, by TNG reckoning, in 3189. However, as I’ve noted before, this is an impossibility, since Burnham arrived in the 32nd Century in 3188, then spent a year before reuniting with Discovery (3189), then months passed between Seasons 3 and 4, and also between Seasons 4 and 5 so at a minimum it should be 3190. So stardates have to be working differently now. The image Burnham is looking at is of the Progenitor hologram from TNG: “The Chase”, played by Salome Jens, who also played the recurring role of the Female Changeling in DS9. The unwritten Starfleet code of conduct is apparently “Don’t snitch.” Rayner has been in Starfleet for 30 years, during which time the Federation was apparently at war (but no longer), and he’s fought side-by-side with Vance. The Breen are infighting over a new leader (they are now an imperium instead of a confederacy), and the Orions are regrouping, presumably after the splintering of the Emerald Chain at the end of Season 3 (DIS: “That Hope is You, Part 2”). Book imitates Saru’s threat ganglia, which started as a response to sensing danger, but following his vahar’ai (DIS: “An Obol for Charon”), were replaced organs which could shoot spines. The Promellians fought a long war against the Menthars which ended in the extinction of both species in the 14th Century. The Enterprise-D encountered a Promellian battle cruiser caught by a Menthar booby trap and nearly fell victim to the same trap in TNG: “Booby Trap” (2366). A necropolis is basically a very large graveyard or tomb, hence Burnham’s concerns about it being a sacred space. Zareh was a courier who encountered Saru and Discovery when they first arrived in the 32nd Century (DIS: “Far From Home”), attempting to extort dilithium from them. He allied himself with Osyraa during her commandeering of Discovery and eventually died in the ship’s turbolift systems while fighting Book (DIS: “That Hope is You, Part 2”). The Promellians’ use of Lang-cycle fusion engines was first mentioned in TNG: “Booby Trap”. I do wonder, however, what the statue was supposed to represent, since Promellians as seen in TNG only had two eyes, not four. Being able to generate new phasers with just a metaphorical flick of the wrist is really handy. Booker says that Moll and L’ak are Sui, couriers who take the most dangerous jobs fpr the action and latinum (from suicide, perhaps?). The inscription starts with “*Jolan tru, zarbalgon…” which Burnham translates as “Hello, wanderer”. Jolan tru is a traditional Romulan greeting which was used as both “hello” and “goodbye” (TNG: “Unification I”). Where Burnham learned Romulan is unexplained, but likely from her mother, a member of the Qowat Milat or on Ni’Var (DIS: “Unification III”). At the time she left the 23rd Century, the Romulans were still safely ensconced behind the Neutral Zone. Burnham identifies the inscription as a Romulan revlav, which from context must be a poetic form, consisting of five verses or lines. “Hello, wanderer. Many worlds have you traveled. Opaline waters call to you. Thoughts are shared.” Saru says that seems to point to Betazed, but the fifth verse is missing. Saru and Burnham have really been boning up on Romulans. The shaiqouin, the false front door of Romulan houses, was first mentioned in PIC: “The End is the Beginning”, but there was called a shaipouin. The last verse reads, “A world like no other, where two souls entwine, joined as one.” Adira deduces that the whole poem in context points to Trill. Booker reminds us that his name is an alias, passed down from courier to courier (DIS: “That Hope is You, Part 2”, “Species Ten-C”). Saru packs his knife, a gardening tool given to him by his sister on the night he left Kaminar to join Starfleet (ST: “The Brightest Star”). Saru talks about giving oneself over “to the journey”, which reminds me of the toast that Barclay gave in the alternate future’s tenth anniversary of Voyager’s return (VOY: “Endgame”). Saru first warned Tilly about not touching the swamp kelp in bloom in DIS: “Choose to Live”. Vance’s daughter previously appeared in DIS: “Kobayashi Maru”, but this is the first time we learn her name is Charlie (named after him, presumably). Other receipients of the Grankite Order of Tactics (first mentioned in TOS: “Court Martial”) include James Kirk, Jean-Luc Picard (PIC: “Remembrance”) and Liam Shaw (PIC: “The Next Generation”). The latter three also received its Class of Excellence.

Stormygeddon Apr 4, 2024

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

Value Subtracted Apr 4, 2024

A Taupe Directive is just nap time.

zaphod Apr 7, 2024

Code Taupe is for when you have to uncover a mole in your organisation.

IonAddis Apr 5, 2024

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.)

Slim Bill (He/Him)Apr 5, 2024

Did you get a strong Star Wars vibe from the music and scenery in the desert planet?

Value Subtracted Apr 5, 2024

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.

skfsh Apr 6, 2024

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”.

Corgana Apr 6, 2024

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!

Value Subtracted Apr 6, 2024

Most of the crew would have no idea who Picard was either which is kinda funny.

Culber had a bit of a moment like that when explaining the Soong mind transfer he was going to perform on Gray last season.

“Soong first used it on a a Starfleet admiral - Picard was his name - but the success rate was so low that eventually people just stopped trying.”

Overall, though, the Discovery crew seems remarkably well-educated about the time they skipped over.

Corgana Apr 6, 2024

Ah nice, I think I missed that line when I watched it the first time.

Corgana Apr 6, 2024

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 S3 why are you doing this to me??

CindyLouWho2 Apr 5, 2024

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!)

swallowyourmind Apr 5, 2024

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

Value Subtracted Apr 5, 2024

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?

swallowyourmind Apr 5, 2024

Warp failure being imminent was due to the tractor beam, which was removed prior to her exiting the vehicle.

So… guess you can’t?

Value Subtracted Apr 5, 2024

By your own admission, she was working on taking out the ship’s engines…when she got the warning that it was down to 70%, she said, “come on, come on.” That was her project, not the tractor beam. She told Rayner to let go so the Antares could get clear and not risk destruction.

swallowyourmind Apr 5, 2024

Sure, bud.

Somehow you think I think “her project was the tractor beam”, whatever that means.

She was disabling ship engines via phaser. Antares was tractor beaming to delay, causing warp field deterioration; endangering Burnham, the warp field, and the potential integrity of all three ships. Warp field deteriorates so low due to tractor beam that Antares captain quits his game of chicken.

Cause of warp field deterioration is now over, she could now continue to disable the engine via phaser.

Or she could stay attached to the ship and disable nothing. Starfleet is currently tracking and communicating with her, and thus the vehicle she is attached to, preventing escape, which made the “how will we track” dialogue silly. Just stay on!

Instead, the warp field is fine after the tractor beam is removed, thieves come out of warp to drop distraction warp flares to shake their tail, and reenter warp.

It was sloppy and nonsensical.

Next you’ll tell me there’s a Federation directive not allowing offers of buying stolen artifacts from thieves, so they must be fought and chased around for a season.

Loved earlier seasons, too bad this season is off to such a bad and predictable start.

It’s obvious from the selective distortion of the Romulan scientist’s Schrodinger’s mayday message, that the threat is NOT having this technology in everyone’s hands. They will spend the season trying to stop anyone from getting it, when everyone in fact needs it.

Based on Stamets’ desire for a legacy, the Progenitors likely created the mycelium network, and that is what the key will unlock. Not some weapon or danger.

Good day. Enjoy the bad writing.

Value Subtracted Apr 5, 2024

Somehow you think I think “her project was the tractor beam”, whatever that means.

No, but this helps me understand how you found this scene so confusing.

HobbesHK Apr 6, 2024

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

UESPA_Sputnik Apr 6, 2024

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.

porthos Apr 8, 2024

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!