Amph “Let's Fly!” - Star Trek: Discovery [Paramount+/Netflix/CraveTV]

BTS doc on Season 5, hosted by Wheaton:

 

A neat 360' video recap:



Any scenes of people tumbling in zero-G, or of space-y stuff is really a pretty neat effect if you keep looking around.

 

Spoiler-free overview-

501: Red Directive

"Prepare to kiss my caffeinated ass." will become a gif that I will cherish for years to come. A battle cry to bugs as I dive into code. I will back to back it with a Sulu gif or two. Because it feels right.



A very action-heavy opener that is also oddly slow in a way, but I love how it came together (never seen a starship do that before). The other Captain was a welcome addition to the dynamic for this mission. And I recognized where those still photos were from seconds before the big reveal and have not (positively, albeit still profanity-laced) exclaimed at a Trek episode so loud in a very long time. I cannot believe that they're finally following up on that episode!!!

 

I was not prepared for such a blast from the past. Fun reveal. The 2 mercenaries are kinda brilliant. Rayner is miserable, in character and as a character, but the dynamic with Michael is intriguing.

 

Oh, yeah, the two mercs and "Fred" were a good pairing too. One exchange between them was a little too awkard/overt in what it is likely setting up, but otherwise a good start. Rogue/merc characters in Trek can be so hit or miss, usually, so it'll be interesting to see how that plays out (gonna dive into episode 2 in a moment).

(still spoiler free)

502: Under the Twin Moons

That species?! They're connecting things into that species? Stop- I'm running out of obscure, magnificent buttons for you to push!
The "matte painting" moment feels totally TNG/DS9 in vibe (albeit it modern in execution). And there's a healthy dash of a certain TNG S1 episode (or, less directly, an unfortunate theatrical film...) in here as well.

That shot of DIS-A in dock from Raynar's room towards the end is flipping gorgeous. I gotta make that a cover image or wallpaper or something.


Oh no, a zipper sound effect! Canon violation! 2 point penalty!

Spoiler

Oh, and of course it's just dawning on me that of course you're going to center your season around tracking down treasure clues if you're basing your prize around something from that episode...

EDIT- First episode is on YouTube:



EDIT 2- And here's a recap of DIS Seasons 1-4 narrated by Whoopi Goldberg:

 

While there are similarities, it's not exactly the same. At least not from what we've seen so far.

Spoiler

All they know is that it is life-creating tech that is dangerous in the wrong hands, though those not being told all of the information (or are being alarmist about the possibility of weaponization) are calling it a weapon in urgency. We don't know exactly what it does yet- and is unlikely to be a planet terraforming device (for the Genesis Device comparisons they'd want to avoid, I'm sure). But something that could seed life across the galaxy has multiple ways it could be used for ill intent depending on how it functions (the transportation means at which it delivers that life, the ability to potentially rapidly create slave races or army ranks, how it is fueled, etc).

 

Also, a nice STO reveal of the Eisenberg-class. Makes it easier to see the scale and details:



Jorg also has a nice breakdown of the ships in the fleet shots from the premiere:

Spoiler

In addition to noting that the Antares has a mixture of hull and nacelles (maks me speculate that the 32C ships are modular, and that the ship classes may only apply to the main hull/saucers, while the nacelles may ultimately be given separate designations ala Type 1, Type 2, etc to specify the current combination or configuration):

 

(separate post because of media embed limits)

And the new franchise intro with the DIS-A:

to join the full selection:

 

503: Jinaal - I liked this one. The action was fine (I liked the use of Book's powers within the sequence), as was the test/lesson (though certain points of logic are stretched given the time spans involved- one can smooth them over since you potentially have multiple Trill hosts potentially involved). The throwback to the "personality download" from DS9 was neat, as it gave Wilson Cruz room to stretch and have some fun.

Rayner's interviews were also amusing, as was the ultimate confrontation between Raynar and Tilly in the bar- it avoided the cliche of making Raynar "right all along" (which it could have easily done, as he showed off his refined analysis skills), or making Tilly fully right (which also would have been easy). Having a balance between the two where both walked away learning something (while rightfully favoring Tilly in terms of laying out a path of self improvement for Raynar) was an excellent resolution.

Adira's plotline was the only one that dragged a little- but it did deal with a long distance relationship drifting people apart in a pretty mature way. That could have easily become too soap-opera-y, or injected with unnecessary conflict and distracted from the rest of the episode.

 

404: Face the Strange

What a fun episode!

Spoiler

Of course, it's a time-jumping premise so it has my love automatically as if it were my own child.

I kinda feel like I should make my bio "He lives outside of time because of his tardigrade DNA".

They used the premise here (by combining both the Krenim and the Breen!) to effectively show the evolution of the characters over the course of the series. Especially Stamets and Burnham. Loved the cameo or two we got. Also, that moment in the turbolift with Linus was hilarious. But how dare they tease us with a Lorca cameo and not deliver!

And it looks like we might finally be getting things tied into that one Short Treks episode with the abandoned ship? It's been awhile since i've watched that so maybe I'm forgetting details (though I can't help but notice that we didn't see the outside of the ship in that sequence, so the "defit" could have happened). But, if so, it's great that they're not going to end up leaving that ST plotline dangling as the show concludes.


I need to update my time travel log, but here are the stops along the way we got here, though I'm going to have to research some of the specific dates to lock down their arrival order:

-Wormhole to 3188; from 3191 via Krenim Chronophage.
-Discovery under construction at San Francisco Yards, presumably 2256; from 3191.
-Control Battlespace, 2257; from 2256.
-Discovery seized by Osira, 3189; from 2257.
-Starfleet HQ destroyed, alt-3218; from 3189.
-"Reno injector coil calculations" moment, TBD; from alt-3218.
-Burnham is now a Captain, 3189; from TBD.
-During, or between, DIS 103: Context is For Kings & DIS 105: Choose Your Pain, 2256; from 3189.
(396 days before Airiam's death, before Stamets is injected with Tartigrade DNA [and possibly before they found the creature], while Lorca, Saru and Landry are on an away mission)

 

"You know, I envy you"
"What? I'm about to be incinerated!"
"I mean going back to the Academy. I admired you from afar and never told you".
"This couldn't wait until my funer..."

Classic scenario.