So the endgame has begun, with episode 11 of Star Trek Discovery, season three, Su’Kal.
Ric here and there will be spoilers following. First up, this is pretty a difficult one to
judge by its own as it is very much not a standalone episode. We get half an answer
to the cause of the Burn, half a confrontation with Osyrra and I’m honestly impatient to
find out more. Starting off with the discovery of the Dilithium
planet within the Verubin Nebula. We’re shown in no uncertain terms that the radiation
of the Nebula is an incredibly dangerous hazard coupled with nasty turbulence akin to sailing
into a storm. I do like it when Science Fiction compares space travel to ancient seafaring,
and this nebula certainly feels like a haunted island surrounded by a ship-wreaking storm.
Saru very much pushes the ship and the safety of the crew into dangerous levels with his
pursuit of the Kelpien scout ship and this is present throughout the episode. He makes
the choice to beam down in person and leave Tilly in Command, which prompts questioning
glances all round, but we’ll get to Tilly later. Saru at least has the foresight to
keep Starfleet in the loop about the developments and raises his desire to protect Kaminar.
But he can’t just now, while Starfleet covers his people, he has to cover Starfleet with
the investigation. Saru had long since resigned himself to never seen Kaminar again, being
unable to return in the 23rd century, so his indulgence in Kelpien culture, even in dire
holographic form was sweet to see. It was fun to see Doug Jones play a human
Saru for a change, when the away team is overlayed with holographic alternatives. Although he
does mention how he feels like his heels are touching the ground, so presumably this 32nd
century hologrid is even adjusting for the sensation of being in a different form, they
could not access their equipment either. I noticed how even as a human, he was swinging
his arms behind him as he moved, as he does anyway. It must have been a relief to have
a shorted time in the makeup chair for Mr. Jones too.
They do specify that they must be within the ship’s own holodeck otherwise the surface
radiation would have killed them, but I do wonder how much that technology has evolved.
With the advent of programable matter, is it all still an illusion at this point? I’m
going to assume the blend of scenery is from different programs left running and in combination?
Clearly none of it is operating as it should be, with the multiple educational programs
and stories all overlapping and suffering from years of decay. I’m going to also assume
the safety’s are long gone. The whole setup reminds me the TNG episode,
“Future Imperfect” where Riker enters into a simulation created by a long-deceased
mother to entertain her stranded child. That had a happy ending at least. This one, I’m
not so sure cos I can think of one way to prevent another burn.
With Su’Kal, we’re presented with cause of the Burn, but not the how of it, just yet.
Whatever is special about him, is theorised to have been the result of strange biological
adaptation to the radiation and the amount of Dilithium present. We witness him generate
a strange burst when under duress which seems to reach even the Discovery outside of the
nebula. This burst interferes with the Dilithium and causes both vessels to decloak. This is
weird, but I’m wondering of the dilithium planet itself is acting as an amplifier of
Su’kal’s shockwave, spinning it out across the entire galaxy. The power required for
a single being to create something like the Burn by itself would be insane so hopefully
there’s more going on. We also see multiple references to a Ba’ul
and Kelpien alliance, including images of the two species meeting in peace, burying
centuries of deceit between the two species. A unified planet is one of the requirements
to join the Federation, so I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me earlier that this
must have occurred. It’s good to see the inclusion of yet another couple of variations
of a Starfleet uniform, as there must have been almost a thousand permutations during
the time-skip. We have the ones presumably from 100 years before the Burn, and the more
colourful ones from the Kelpiens joining the UFP.
The kelp monster, recreated from Kelpien tales was pretty cool, like a Bogeyman of Kaminar
folklore. The story it was drawn from, was specifically mentioned to be about confronting
one’s fears and it repeatedly said “See me” to Su’kal so we can see where this
is presumably headed. The Elder hologram even mentions that the rescue team will be trapped
here until the program completes, which I imagine is when Su’Kal is made to confront
and face the Kelp Monster without fear. Again, much as with the kelp creature, the Kelpiens
very much would have had to confront their fear of the Baul in order to move forwards
and in a post Vahari culling universe, overcoming fear, by now would be a speciality of theirs.
Culber also gets an active role in the mission, his psychological training and first-hand
experiences making him a solid choice and time in the Mycelial Network still playing
roles even today. With him and Saur remaining planet side to deal with Su’Kal, now with
added Adira, this leaves Burnham and Book to warn Starfleet of the incoming attack by
Osyrra although I think they’re going to be a little too late.
Oh, and Federation ships can cloak now, although I suppose with the dissolution of the Neutral
Zone in the 2380s followed by the Romulan-Vulcan unification, there was little reason not to
allow Starfleet to adopt Romulan cloaking tech. I say Romulan, because the alert status
for cloaking appears to be green. So, when Tilly was put in command, I actually
think this was handled well. She didn’t suddenly have a personality shift and becomes
a super-experience and unflustered Picard, she is very much still nervous and uncertain,
but she does it anyway. This was a better choice, to have her suppress and overcome
her anxieties about her first time in the chair rather than pretend they didn’t exist.
Burnham gets to revive her role as mentor to Tilly for a bit here too, something she
initially took upon herself back in season one and had little chance in 3189 to fulfil.
She offers insight to the first time Georgiou left her in command and grounds the role of
captain with a fun story, everyone who sits in the big chair has to start somewhere. And
the chair itself has a consistent manufacturing defect, let alone the people who sit there.
I’m still not sold on Osyrra as a Villain, to me, she’s just sort of there to be overcome.
Her tracking of the Discovery was not especially ingenious, apparently, she can just follow
their jump signal. The incoming Starfleet IFF was obviously a ploy and Tilly evidently
had her suspicions, which she should have acted on. And her taking over of Discovery
was not accomplished through guile, but by simply having the bigger stick. In some ways
this worked in favour when Tilly confronted her, as I enjoyed Tilly’s rebuttal of Osyrra’s
dialogue. But on the other hand, I still want to actually see what makes Osyrra dangerous,
aside from being a tad ruthless. Here’s hoping this coming episode actually gets to
show off her dangerous side and why she is so feared.
So, until the second part, there’s not too much else to surmise but right now, I’m
sort of just, waiting to see how it unfolds, because as we barrel towards the resolution,
ultimately, that’s going to shape season three for me. Thanks for checking in with
this review and until the next lore, review or gameplay video, I’ve been Ric and I’ll
see you again, goodbye!