Discovery: Season One, Episode Eleven

Star Trek Discovery
Season One, Episode Eleven
The Wolf Inside
[original airdate: 01|14|2018]
[spoilers ahoy!]

cw for graphic torture and graphic murder

And in the previous episode recap, we get to see Tyler snap Culber neck again. =_= Is this gonna become a drinking game?

Discovery, still in the wreckage. Does she ever move?

 [I'm the one now...Cause I'm still here♫]

Mmm a blackout. Sparks pouring from a ceiling grate sporadically, lights flickering, eerie sounds/music... who put a horror movie in my Trekisode??

HI PAUL BEING CREEPY AGAIN. Why are you in the hallway mumbling "forest"? This poor lower decks chick, having to find him in the corridor being weird.

Can't see the forest for the trees. Good one. >_> Oh noooooo he's cradling Culber's body. *UGLY SOBBING*

Hello there Shenzhou you beautiful lady. Even if you're probably an evil lady because this is the mirrorverse.

Zoom cut to Michael in the most delicately lacy top I've seen. I dunno if this is mirrorverse or something she brought from the Discovery, but I like it. Oh, it's a bodysuit. Very nice.

The mirrorverse is pretty nightmarish (when it's not being hilarious, I'm looking at you DS9), true.

Oh jesus. It's mirror!Saru. He's so... scraping and deferential. Sadface. "A slave has no name." CRYING. And he has to bathe her? WHYYYYYY

 [This isn't uncomfortable at all]

I am a huge fan of the bath though. I don't know if it's big enough for a tall person like me, but it's sexy and futuristic and I want one. Sort of looks like it belongs to the Tron universe.

Yeah this is inherently uncomfortable. Especially with her talking about burying your heart and hiding your decency while Saru is sensually rubbing her shoulders and having her lean on him while she dresses.

SPEAKING OF UNCOMFORTABLE. Thought policing and execution by teleportation into the vacuum of space. GREAT. And Michael has to watch and pretend she's ok with it.

 [Michael on the inside right now.]

There's some delightful audience conflict here because Tyler and Michael are so cute together, but you also have the fact that he murdered Culber in cold blood and she doesn't know. "You remind me of everything good."

m I C H A E L N O

Damn how dare he be a good storyteller. And a huge romantic sap. Eugh. I mean, I know that must be the Tyler engrams, and not Voq... but then Voq was a fucking sap too, never mind. EW. Lmao. But I do like that "tether" story. Mmmm sexy makeouts.

Now snap her neck.

Wait no. Ugh who's interrupting!?

OMFG WHAT THE HELL IS THAT, ANOTHER DAMN OCTOPODE gross. Ppl please stop eating whole entire octopuses please.

And now I'm going to cry because she's giving him his name back. (I wonder if it's actually his name here and he wasn't allowed to have it when he was captured, or if he never was allowed a name because they were bred in captivity. D| )

Man it's nice to see non mirrorverse Saru.

 [Hello, it's everyone's space dad.]

Oh no. The white lie. Oh Michael. Ever the protector. *sob* Because she knows Saru would be heartbroken to know that all she's seen of Kelpiens so far is him enslaved. Ugh he is so pure. I remember how much I didn't like him at first, and now I love him.

Nnnnghh poor Saru and Tilly. Especially Tilly because she wants to tell Michael about Culber and can't because she'd be distracted.

Oh no what? Why is Stamets bound to the bed? Oh my god... do they think he killed Culber?? They do. NO. HE DIDN'T. Also Tilly is too pure. "Who could stand to see someone they love in a cage?"

Okay you're half right. He didn't kill Culber. But you're half wrong. That's still Stamets. She's so smart though! I love how smart she is. So smart. So cool. Soooo awesome

Damn girl! Stand up to your superior officer when you disagree. Yaaaasss! Go get him Tilly. Make Stamets better. You can do it! Let her do it, Saru!

And back to the Shenzhou and Michael's cocky lean. Okay, I like this guy from the Imperial flagship. He's a cutie, and he has an excellent voice. Even if he's evil.

Oooo Klingon leader of the rebellion! And they call him the Fire Wolf. That's a rad name. Nice.

DAMN MICHAEL you have all that shit memorized already. And extinguished without prejudice. Yikes.

OH SNAP. She's good. I like it. She's up to something, I can smell it. Mirror!Detmer ain't happy. I don't think she knows, but I think she doesn't like the way Michael is doing things and embarrassing her in front of the others. TOO BAD.

Okay that was literally the longest cold open at 14:12. 12:12 if you don't count the like, two minute recap.

Man oh man Lorca's in terrible shape. But he's been in that agony booth for however long. Ugh. Damn she's smart. She's right, if they can figure out how to negotiate with a Klingon…

"Hurry back....... please......" duasfhsdlfh

  Hi Tilly. I am in love with her hair. I didn't even realize there was a bun in back too. I miss her curls but this is so cool. And there she goes, being smart again, thinking that maybe he was getting glimpses of the mirrorverse.

I AM LEARNING SO MUCH PSEUDOSCIENCE. I feel smart now. Like Trek Smart. (should I trademark that???) Please work please work please work. Heal Stamets, little spores.

"Better dead than one of them........" mICHAEL nO

I mean, I get it, I get that you hate what happens here, and I get that you don't like what it's doing to you, and it's terrible, and horrible, and nightmarish. But preferring to be dead is really just too much. I mean... seriously.

Come on Michael.

Well, at least she's still being cute with Tyler and his shaking hands.

OooOOoooo the rebel base is hidden. Smart. Are they using cloaking tech or adaptive camouflage?? GAH. Explosions! WHaT's HaPpEnInG?

Oh cool! A guy with a giant gun. I mean. Oh noes! A Guy With A Giant Gun. The horror. And *gasp* there's a Vulcan! They said there were Vulcans, but I never expected a Vulcan with a BFG. Wow.

 I have a problem, clearly.

Heyyy there's a Tellarite and an Andorian! Awesome. I really like seeing them outside of TOS. (I didn't see enough Enterprise to see them there.) Also I am only just noticing that Michael's armor is sparkly. Captain Sparklevest at your service.

Okay but who's the blue guy with the weird y-shaped thing on his head???

 [Yo who da eff is this?]

Hmmm there's even a Klingon. A kind of nervous looking one. And damn that one guy's spearhead is huge wtf. And there's my answer, adaptive camouflage. Nice.

OH SHI---

VOQ IS THE FIRE WOLF. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, they said they were all united behind him. But DAMN. This got awkward. And I bet Ash isn't going to like this.

Lol Tyler's hiding behind Michael. This has to be so freaking weird for him. Like... it's like a weird doppelganger.

Damn she's brave. Standing against an angry Klingon, who wants to chop off her head with his bat'leth. (Meanwhile Shazad Latif is having the time of his life getting to play himself and an albino Klingon in the same scene.)

She is so smart. *gets out the spritzer* Oooh? A prophet??? Aksghadg IT"S SAREK

 [So hot. *catches on fire*]

I wonder if here he's her adoptive father too. And as usual, Sarek mindmelds with everything. Is this normal for Vulcans? Or is Sarek like, that one eccentric uncle nobody really talks about because he's weird and rich and has fifteen adopted kids and pinches your cheeks when you really wish he wouldn't?

 And some hella crazy flashback effects. Interesting. Are they like that because it's mirrorverse or what? "She means us no harm" and Michael just looks at Voq like "Told ya."

Okay Tyler, why are you making that face? She's just asking how he manages to ally with races that would normally fight. Chill, my dude. Uh oh. Ominous fish-eye lens.

Tyler's having flashbacks again. Great. This is not the time to have a breakdown, buddy. Cool all his racist, xenophobic past is coming back to him. Awesome.

TYLER NOOOOOOOOOOO

Okay wow, Voq put down the bat'leth. Now he and Tyler are going at it hand to hand. NICE. And the fight's over as the Vulcan mystic shows up. Oh well. He has some interesting things to say.

Ooo and they get info. Even if it'll be useless by the time it's cracked. And she's like "we'll fire at MY discretion." Let's hope that's enough!

Oh yeah, these guys. Stamets still isn't better. :C But I do like Saru's comment about a scientist saved by his own specimens. Yay! It does seem to be working! Look how proud Tilly is.

Okay that's not good. Noooooooooooooooo you can't kill Stamets too?!?!? 

 Yeah, I'm pretty sure Michael needs to know what the fuck is going on there Tyler. Since you just went whacko and started screaming in Klingon. And she is killing it. Her emotions are so legit. I love good actors man. Love 'em.

Girl, don't you dare snap her neck too. I swear to god. This is what you did the last time you were confronted. Uh oh. Now he's starting to have flashbacks again. He's gonna snap. A neck, maybe.

dRINK EVERYTIME THEY SNAP CULBER'S NECK see how long it takes until you die

Also be aware this scene has some VERY graphic torture. Super gross and graphic. If you're into that, cool. If not, look away till about 36:07.

Man this scene is intense. It's not graphic anymore, but this kind of breakdown/confession is amazingly intense.

 

And then he has her face and jaw in his hands, and he's trying to be sweet but he's also scary and I just want to scream and grab Michael and run.

(wheeze)

Sorry Michael, but yes. Oh boy. Now she knows he killed Culber. Take a drink even if they haven't shown him getting his neck snapped.

WHOOP. He's coming at you, you pull your phaser. Yeah I don't blame you. Yikes. Man he looks shady af. Man, I feel bad for her as she sits there and has her realization about him actually being Voq. That must hurt so bad.

OH SHI--- No! Don't kill her dammit! Don't choke her! AJLKShALSJKH STOP.

And Saru throws him off her. YES!

 

Oh man. They're gonna do the space execution. OH MAN.

Annnd now we're back with dead Stamets, and Tilly is talking to him, and I've gone from panic state to sobbing in three seconds.

Thanks, guys.

Wait. He's alive???? YAY

His creepy expression has not changed at all. Wonderful. Literally the same expression for like five hours or something.

[Literally the same expression]

Oooo pretty! Is this like, the mycelial forest or something? I love it! It's so pretty. It reminds me a tiny bit of Pandora from Avatar, but also like pretty much any bioluminscent thing that exists, but in droves.

RUH ROH. IS that Mirror!Stamets? OH GOD. RUN.

Oh god I forgot that they were gonna execute Ash Tyler. Oh shit. Don't look at her like that you dick. Well if he's gonna say that, he deserves a kick in the balls first. Then execute him. Or a punch in the gut, that works too.

What're you up to, Michael, that you're gonna do this yourself? Well...... that was heartwarming. What a lovely expression you have there, missy.

Oh. I see. Was that the Discovery beaming him up? Why am I not surprised.

Saru is SO badass. Just standing up to Tyler like that. AND WE KNOW WHAT MICHAEL WAS UP TO. NICE. Now they have the disc.

 [Hello my name is Badass]

Also damn, he is even more badass because he doesn't consider Tyler a threat. His ganglia didn't come out!

Man, Lorca is fucked uuuup. He's been in that damn agony booth for probably days. He looks like shit, he probably feels like shit, and his Southern accent is coming out. He's SO supportive... damn. Michael needs that right now.

...uh oh. I don't like the sound of "massive power signature".

Oh god, it's another vessel? And they're targeting Harlak? BUT THE REBELS ARE STILL THERE. NO. STOP THAT. YOU STOP THAT RIGHT NOW. MICHAEL HURRY.

UM.

Massive bombardment? Geez. Talk about overkill. That's like. 20 torpedoes. Or like 50. I don't know. This is bad. This is really, really bad. I mean they literally blew up a good portion of the part of the planet they were looking at. They even had to say "brace for impact". Akjahsdalkshd

WHO DID THIS. WHO'S RESPONSIBLE. WHO DO I BLAME. Who do I have to fight? Or at least have stern words with. Or maybe just words with. Or stare at really intensely. From across the room. Maybe the next room away. Or you know what? Never mind.

It's the Emperor? Who's the Emperor?

*SCREAM*

[still screaming]

OH MY GOD. Also she looks so hot in that ceremonial armor, with the cape that has a fucking train, and she has a sword, and a fan hairpin and I am love. *wheeze* Okay, okay calm down OP we're all good. Breathe.

Michael is having a heroic BSOD, that's for sure.

 [Mommy?]

WELL THAT WAS A GOOD BAD EPISODE. I mean. It was good, quality-wise. I'm giving it a 7.5/10 because they killed Culber some more, killed Stamets, brought him back, and then hey, had some really ugly torture scenes. Otherwise I might've rated it higher. Overall it's pretty good though.