Discovery: Season One, Episode Two

Star Trek Discovery
Season One, Episode Two
Battle at the Binary Stars
[original airdate: 09|24|2017]
[spoilers ahoy!]

[24 Klingon ships warping in to bring your doom (an image loaded with various Klingon ships.)]

Well, here we are, in part II of our cliffhanger! In case you were wondering, it's the fucking Klingons. All of them. All at once, surrounding our heroes. Is it because Michael acted too late? Is it because Georgiou didn't respond the way she should have? Or is it because T'Kuvma lit the Torch?

T'Kuvma: Yoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Well, that's what happened last time on Star Trek, so let's just go ahead and see where this goes?

Oh no! It's babby Vulcan!Michael with Ambassador Sarek! And also some transporters that work sideways instead of vertically? According to research it appears that we're looking at lateral vector transporters, which were all but obsolete at this point in time.

[Michael, Sarek, and Georgiou in the Shenzhou's transporter room. (The transporters are on the walls, hence why they're lateral vector.) Michael is in a red Vulcan overdress and white turtleneck.]

Look at how cute she is! Trying to fit in perfectly and doing so well. I love her clothes and her little Vulcan haircut. Aaaa ;__;

Oh SNAP. She's like "oh this stuff is earned" and Sarek's like "no, you need to be diplomatic dear" and Georgiou is like "She's so cute she didn't shake my hand! Soooo first contact then?"

THE RESPONSE IS KILLING ME.

 [Apparently no one told James Frain that Vulcan's aren't supposed to make those kinds of faces. I       totally thought this was from an outtake! (Sarek is making an unusual expression, almost as if he's  confused. A rather un-Vulcan look. Michael appears more Vulcan.)]

OMFG Sarek literally just whispered to Michael to "behave" as he was leaving. That is too funny. What kind of expectation does he have here? Of course if you remember Michael from earlier, she's pretty sassy and headstrong, so maybe that's what. And the outcome of episode one tells me she didn't really listen. Oops.

I do love how Georgiou tries to help Michael through the fact that she couldn't join the Vulcan Expeditionary Group by telling her sometimes things happen for a reason. Of course Michael's like "no emotional platitudes pls."

The look on Michael's face when Georgiou tells her that she's seen her record and her confidence is justified is just... it's precious. She seems shocked for just a moment, like the rejection from the Expeditionary Group had kind of shaken her confidence in herself.

      [Seriously, look at this faaaaace ;___;  (Michael looking nervous and unconfident.)]

I love how Georgiou literally saying "not too shabby huh?" lets you know just how much she loves the Shenzhou, even more than her saying "she's old, but she gets us where we're going." This is her baby, and her home. And Michael looks appropriately impressed.

Annnnnd going from Georgiou telling her that it could be her new home if she wanted, to the red alert of the present with Klingons everywhere, post mutinous attempt is heartbreaking. Because you didn't realize it was Michael's flashback until then.

I'm not sure what's sadder: Georgiou telling Michael of her transgressions, or seeing her hold a phaser on the officer she seems to see as a daughter. On top of this, seeing all the distressed faces of the bridge crew does not help.

 ["Stand down, Michael. Security, remand her to the brig." Me: *crying* (Georgiou has a phaser
trained on Michael. Saru is nervously in the background.)]

Annnnd cut to Discovery's Intro Credits !

Good lord, when you come back in on the poor tiny Shenzhou facing off with two dozen massive Klingon ships... it's almost depressing. It looks like the smallest ship here is four times the size of the Shenzhou, and then that Ship of the Dead is like 1000 times its size. Little bit of SPOILER trivia here: This ship is later repurposed for the mirror universe as what amounts to a cityship. No one is surprised.

This seems as if it's very much a David and Goliath moment.

[Yep, that's the Shenzhou on the left. (Tiny Shenzhou facing down massive Klingon ships.)]

You tell those jerks, T'Kuvma. They do sound like spoiled brats, all "my this" and "my that" but never about duty. Or honor. And they're like "bitch I didn't ask" and he's like "excuse me". (This reminds me about the fact that at his point in the story prior to this, Worf was the most honorable Klingon. Because he actually paid attention to it.)

Baby T'Kuvma is literally the cutest thing right now.

[Look at his precious face. (T'Kuvma appears as a young dark-skinned Klingon boy
with proto-ridges. He is bald.)]

Too bad the next bit has him being bullied because apparently Klingon children are little shits and will beat your ass if you tell them to respect your House. What's that about honor again?And then Kol just has to talk shit about Voq, which makes T'Kuvma speak up for him (nice!), showing that at least amongst Klingons, T'Kuvma is completely tolerant and accepting of others.

Also this Klingon lady has some cool head jewelry. Although she kind of looks a little like she belongs to the Army of the Dead from RoTK.

[She's prettier though, just saying. (A green tinted holo-Klingon with head jewelry. She
has a mild resemblance to the green-tinted Army of the Dead from LOTR.)]

STFU Kol, everyone else wants to hear! Just because you're tired of T'Kuvma doesn't mean anyone else is. Jerk. Someone needs to shoot Kol out of a phase cannon.

Awww baby, it's cute when you think the Federation is threatened by your purity. No, they're threatened by your gigantic ships, your big ass disruptor guns which kill painfully, and your particularly scary warrior nature. But you know. You also think "we come in peace" is stupid. So yeah. I don't know what you tell you.

And finally, Starfleet brings the noise.

 [There are some really cool designs in this shot, like the one with four nacelles (An army of Starfleet vessels, some of them are familiar saucer and double nacelles. Several have four, like Picard's ship, the Stargazer. They still look like they'll be overcome.)]

Also hello pretty purple Klingon lady in white spiky armor. I don't know who you are yet, but you're really pretty. I'm sure you'd punch my face in for that observation, but I'd just thank you. The Klingon designs here are just spectacular. I know a lot of people don't like them but I do. I love that they all look so different, and that they look so alien, as I said last post.

The armor diversity is great too. There's more unity in their armor later, which is fine I suppose, but right now it's really fascinating to see the varying types of spikes (some with red tips, even, can't tell if it's crystal or paint, which is cool), and the shape of this warrior armor from a culture entirely unlike ours.

T'Kuvma really does not like when Starfleet says "we come in peace". He's like some dad who knows his kid's friend is lying about something, and he does not like it one goddamned bit.

[T'Kuvma every time Starfleet says that. (gif of Snape saying "dont. lie. to me")]

Wow. He's so mad, he just started a war. Yikes. Don't get on his bad side, got it.

Oh no! Big green burst of energy and our favorite helmeted lady gets thrown out of her chair, and Connor gets directly hit. Noooooooo!

Interestingly enough, Georgiou does her evasive maneuvers number first and Greek letter afterward. (They're usually things like Omega 1, Pi Alpha 7, and so on). Hers is 7 Alpha. Not that it matters, it's just interesting! For those of you who happen to catch the name of the ship under attack, the USS T'Plana-hath, it's named after a Vulcan ship, as well as the Vulcan matron of philosophy. Pretty cool. It's also really cool watching Shenzhou defend them and beat up on those Klingon ships.

And now Michael has to deal with the computer being the Lady of Sass. "You are confined to the brig, query denied." Snap.

Oh no Connor you need to be in Sickbay! Oh sweetie no. Look at him struggling to convince her that she shouldn't be in the brig. I'm crying right now.

 [He also looks a little like Anton Yelchin here. *sob* (An injured Connor (his face is bloody) comes to try to let Michael out of the brig to save herself. A red forcefield stands between them.)]

Of course, because it's in the middle of the war, we have to say goodbye to Lt Danby Connor. *salutes* He was a good boy.

And Michael is knocked out in the process, which means we get Flashback II: The Learning Center Bombing. How to tell Sarek loves his adopted daughter: she's dying, and he does a mindmeld... Hearing him whisper "Come back to me," is the saddest.

 [My mind to your mind... (a closeup of Sarek's mind-meld face tinged blue
and purple).]

Thus begins Sarek's need to mindmeld with every damn thing.

Not only does Michael return in the flashback, it serves as a way to wake her from being knocked out. In which we discover there has been a Massive Hull Breach™ I mean, to the point where she is literally one of the only spots in the brig that is still intact. You know, you hear about hull breaches like this, but you almost never get to see them first hand.

  [Just how damn lucky are you Michael? That's all empty space around her. (Michael in a blue forcefield cube from a distance, showing the impressive amount of damage sustained.)]

The look on Saru and Georgiou's face when they realize that the breach is decks six through nine... and then cutting back to Michael sprawled despondantly on the floor. Oh shiiiiii-- Michael getting pulled into a residual mindmeld? Oh I see, he gave her part of his katra to bring her back all those years ago.

"I didn't come here to judge your actions. I came here because I sensed your despair." And if that's not enough, he tells her that she needs to go and gather her strength, and help those who need her, ending with "Live long, and prosper." When this has such a high cost...

[a gif of Dean from Supernatural crying and wiping his eyes.]

SAREK LOVES HIS KIDS, MAN.

Okay yeah I'm with you Detmer, why the hell did the Klingons pull away?! This is crazy, what's going on?? Oh. They're just being pulled in by the binary star, that's all.

*screech*

And then, when all seems lost, when they're prepared to evacuate, when they're prepared to crash into debris, (and I'm going to die), the USS Europa saves them. *gasping for breath*

Oh yeah, this guy. I am not a fan of Admiral Anderson. He's the rude asshole from last episode.


Aha, T'kuvma speaking English again... I do like that they switch back and forth. And what, are you some kind of sexist prick? You wouldn't take the request from Georgiou, but you'll take it from the white guy? Or are you up to something? *suspicious*

"Prepare to receive my envoy." That doesn't sound threatening at all.

O_O Oh my dear lord. Well, that will certainly make an impression, going invisible like that and then smashing up Europa. Damn, T'Kuvma. Just seeing it crushing the ship, especially from Shenzhou's perspective is just nuts. I mean, you know the Ship of the Dead is huge, but this is literally like an 18 wheeler taking out a Mini Cooper.

 [Faire smashy smash (Ship of the Dead on the left coming out of green cloaking and crushing the
USS Europa.)]

And the Europa voluntarily undergoes a warp core breach in order to do some damage to the Klingon ship.

"From Hell's heart, I stab at thee!"

Mannn has T'Kuvma got himself a PR team. Not only did he do some serious damage to Starfleet, he's also got the houses uniting behind him, with the help of his pal Voq, and this purple-skinned Klingon lady. (I think she's supposed to be gray? But the lighting makes her look purple. I like it). Then he says he left everyone alive who survived this battle to prove Klingons are supreme.

He doesn't look like Diana Ross.

And now Michael will talk the computer into a corner with logic. Seriously, this woman is the envy of everyone everywhere who has had to deal with Starfleet's computers. She must feel awful after that six seconds in the vacuum of space though, ugh.

Nice Sun Tzu moment here. I really like Saru's idea, and clearly so does Georgiou, since she calls it devious in a pleased tone. And then she says she's going to drive the workerbee. Noooooo Philippa don't you remember captains aren't supposed to leave the ship?

Like anyone ever listens to that.

And then just as Saru says it's a suicide mission and as she dismisses that, Michael shows up.

 [Let me just say again, Saru's makeup is stellar. (Georgiou and Saru standing in front of the screen showing the blueprint of the Ship of the Dead.)]

Then she takes Michael into her ready room and gives her the "I'm disappointed" speech, without being mean, and I'm just crying here. Michael looks like she's about to start, that's for sure. I mean, I think the worst punishment isn't a physical thing or taking something away from you, but someone you look up to telling you how disappointed they are in your behaviour. Sheesh

I don't know what you're planning Philippa but I can say I'm very seriously concerned here. I mean, you're first planning a suicide mission, and now you're taking Michael with you. 

[a gif of Luke saying "I have a very bad
feeling about this."]

Although it's a very nice touch to have T'Kuvma doing the voiceover while they prepare the warhead and so on. I'm always fond of crossovery things like that. Especially with him discussing how a warrior is only flesh and bone if they die in their sleep, but blessed if they die in battle, as they beam a bomb thingy onto a dead Klingon.

Super clever, and all.

PS Saru put some lotion on those flaky hands boi

 [Draconic. (the "neck" of the Klingon ship exploding. It resembles a dragon.)]

Y'know, I don't remember this in How to Train Your Dragon. So anyway, looks like blowing up the neck of the ship renders it completely adrift. Must have really caught them by surprise I guess. Which is really for the best.

Time for some badass ladies~! These away mission ballistics vests show up later as well (as do suits that look similar to Michael's thruster suit) which is a very nice touch of continuity. And as always, preparing to have to fight by having phasers armed and ready.

I am here for the transporter effect. It really looks the way they described it, how it takes you apart down to the molecules and puts you back together. It looks like they might've taken a cue from the Kelvinverse, although they made sure to use the original gold coloring for the transporter effect from TOS, and it doesn't have to be a stirred glass of glitter.

[I mean look! Look at this! So cool. (the "new" transporter effect
which appears to be gold like TOS and has the large vertical
streaks like Kelvinverse Trek.]

Well that's a bit of foreshadowing there I'm not going to mention!

Man, seeing human women holding their own fairly well against enormous male Klingons is pretty intense and amazing. This show is good stuff. Strong women, yay. Also holy shit did Michelle Yeoh-- I mean Captain Georgiou just straight up high kick this Klingon dude in the face? Damn, son.

And then Michael beans the shit out of that guy. YES.

No no no no NO. NOooooooo she was doing so well and then this asshole stabbed her! Is that T'Kuvma? Shit shit shit no NO!!! Michael no! Don't-- well. Now he's a damn martyr.

Michael, why do you do things that turn out wrong and make this war go on? *sigh*

That was mean Saru! How dare you beam her away when she's practically able to grab the captain?! T_T I mean I understand, she's in danger but asdkjhasdla.

Okay, I have found the scene that slays me more than anything in this show so far. Michael sobbing on the empty platform as Saru very hesitantly approaches.

 [I'm gonna use a whole box of tissues I swear. (the gif of Dean crying again)]

Well that was a nice bookend, zooming into T'Kuvma's eye as he lies dying, just like we started the last episode. Okay this isn't over but still! And that's one way to make me feel emotional over the Klingons.

Uuuuuugh the voiceover of Michael's crimes over the Shenzhou being evacuated is just. Distressing. So distressing. And man who are these guys sitting on the accusing council. Court martial? Whatever this is. All in shadow, no one we know. Are they admirals? I would assume so.

Man that is one deep speech Michael. I know you have to be charged but... damn I feel for you. Too bad they gave you life for that one, man. 

[an image of Michael on trial, in a dark room with blue light blaring down from overhead.]

Well, that was definitely a good ending to the pilot, and a good ending to what is now the second episode. It sets the stage for the rest of the series, and tells me exactly why after only six episodes, Disco was greenlit for season two. (and why after three episodes into season two, they were greenlit for season three). Again, I'd give this a 9/10. 

Thanks for reading everyone! New posts on Saturdays.