5th December, 2020.
Right …
It’s a Saturday night: so frankly?
For one thing, I’ve just had dinner.
Another?
If you can let me know which one works, I’d appreciate it!
6th December, 2020.
So …
Let me tell you about last night’s episode of Star Trek Discovery.
Episode 5 — Die Trying — opens with the usual summary of previous episodes: up until last weeks instalment.
The pre-title teaser gives us Captain Saru’s (Doug Jones) log: telling us they Discovery has arrived at Starfleet’s current HQ: with Commander Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) bringing her Captain up to speed on the paperwork.
Whilst the Discovery arrives at a Star-base unlike nothing the crew have seen.
Arriving not to a welcome …
But to very cautious de-briefing: led by Admiral Charles Vance (Oded Fehr) …
A debriefing that leads the admiral to one conclusion: the crew have to be reassigned, and the Discovery put in a museum.
There’s only one small issue.
In order to help some refugees, Starfleet HQ needs access to the USS Tikhov, Stafleet’s seed vault.
There’s only one ship that can possibly get there, faster than any other ship in the fleet.
Guess what ship that is … ?
~≈🖖🏼≈~
Now …
What did I make of Die Trying?
I have to admit, I caught Forget Me Not, last week: and, as technically competent as I found the episode?
I wasn’t necessarily impressed with it.
Die Trying, on the other hand … ?
Die Trying was much more my thing.
The story is more action than talk: more about the Discovery crew solving a practical problem, than a psychological one.
They needed to find the last live crewman of the Tikhov.
Find out what killed his family, and left him badly affected.
Then bring get him functional enough to give them access to the much needed seeds.
Then get those seed back to HQ, before the refugees die!
Mixed in with a well paced-main story?
Are more touches of world building: references to the Burn, and to the Temporal Cold War that started in Enterprise … and finished in the 30th Century.
Bits of comedy in the debriefing scenes.
There’s hints of mystery.
Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) gets debriefed by the mysterious Kovich (David Cronenberg).
It’s not explicitly stated … but it strikes me that Kovich is possibly a member of Section 31: the Federation’s Dirty Tricks department*.
He certainly seems to know a lot about Georgiou background as Terran Empress.
Which brings me to something else.
Most of Star Trek Discovery’s cast are competant: but relative unknowns, at least to me.
With the exception of Michelle Yeoh, who I know from Tomorrow Never Dies.
I’m also very aware she’s got a long career.
With on scene in Die Trying?
I think that experience pays off.
Towards the end of Die Trying, Michael asks Philippa how she is.
Phillippa ignores both Michael and the question, staring blankly at a wall: until she comes out of her trance, saying “Why would you ever ask me a question like that?”
Then walk off.
Wearing an expression we see, but Michael doesn’t: an expression that tells us the most ruthless member of the crew is extremely troubled.
Frankly? That was beautifully played by both the character, and the actress player her.
I don’t think anyone else could have carried that off.
~≈🖖🏼≈~
Now …
With all that said?
I am going to hit the sack.
But … ?
I’m going to watch episode 6 of this series, next Saturday: the 12th December, so you know.
I’ll have my review posted, by the next day.
Frankly?
You would be welcome to join me.
* I think science fiction love these. All the way from the Celestial Intervention Agency, to Section 31, to Special Circumstances, and, arguably, the Cult of Skaro. Everyone’s got a Dirty Tricks Department. And David Cronenberg’s character? Looks like he knows what a reptile fund is …
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