REVIEW || Star Trek: Discovery 1x05: Choose Your Pain

One of these weeks I will watch Star Trek: Discovery on a Monday (Netflix viewing) and have a blog post up earlier in the week. Alas, in true Kazzie fashion, it's a Wednesday viewing and a Wednesday blog post. 

With last week being my least favourite in the series so far, this episode was certainly a good one. I would say so with an episode title, "Choose Your Pain." Sounds ominous. 

The episode started off well with Burnham contemplating what Ripper goes through after every jump that the Discovery makes, the physical and psychological impact that it is having on the creature. The thing is being punctuated by four prongs. Of course, it was going to suffer. I was wondering how long it was going to take before the jumps took a toll on Ripper. This storyline was particularly interesting because it raised the question of free-will and forcing someone to do something. I loved Burnham's line, "the more you hurt someone, the less helpful they become." This is undeniably true. It can be used in different ways because I have been frustrated and annoyed at work and so as a result, my motivation to be helpful has dwindled.

I suppose I have to mention the relationship that this storyline brought into the eyes of the audience and that is the relationship between Culber and Stamets aka, Star Trek's first openly gay relationship. I know that there has been an uproar about this relationship amongst fans. I haven't seen any of the comments on this relationship but I have heard about the objections. I don't care about these objections. Star Trek has always been about inclusion. Lieutenant Hawk from Star Trek: First Contact had a partner and if you've read the Titan books, you will have met him. Okay, so it wasn't announced that Hawk was gay but it was there, subtly. I love that Culber and Stamets relationship was subtly introduced, just as all heterosexual relationships are. Plus, they were ridiculously adorable. I had to laugh at them brushing their teeth. Have you ever seen someone brushing their teeth in Star Trek?

I loved the subplot of Lorca being abducted by the Klingons. That was certainly an interesting turn of events. I was not expecting that. I must preface this by saying that I go into these episodes knowing nothing. I don't watch trailers or look at any tweets or promotional images. 

I enjoyed learning more about Lorca's past in this episode, specifically, his previous command. The fate of his last ship and the fact that he was the lone survivor reminded me of what Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Star Trek: First Contact) and Captain Malcolm Reynolds (Serenity) have done in times when their crew/people are facing an unpleasant 'death'. It was a difficult call to make but Lorca is that kind of man. He won't let anyone suffer. Janeway has previously done that when initiating a self-destruct sequence when boarded by Vidiians.

This episode continued to get it into our minds that there is a war going on; Lorca reiterating that he was giving the fullest latitude to fight the war and that it's his ship and so it is his way. I love that about Lorca but I also liked how he kept addressing new guy, Tyler, as 'soldier' any time he felt his energy dwindling. That's a technique used in many a war movie and novel and probably in true life too. 

Speaking of new guys, we were introduced to two new characters; Harry Mudd and Ash Tyler. I adored Mudd played by Rainn Wilson. He was definitely a gifted actor who gave Mudd a lot of subtle nuances and ways to deliver his lines, I even loved his costume. Mudd reiterated how much the war impacted the lives of the people that weren't Starfleet or had any interest in Starfleet. He lectures Lorca on Starfleet arrogance and how inevitable it was that a species would revolt against their "bumping into their gardens." Definitely a valid point. 

Ash Tyler too proved to be an intriguing character; a survivor of the Battle of the Binary Stars and a prisoner-of-war for the past seven months, surviving Klingon interrogation. I don't know what to make of him and I have scanned over a couple of theories on Tumblr and I am certainly looking forward to finding out more about this character. 

Saru had quite the development in this episode. As acting-captain due to Lorca' abduction, he was determined to do the right thing, the heroic thing, the memorable thing so that he would be remembered as one of the greats alongside Captains Archer, Georgiou and Pike. 

In my opinion, throughout the episode, Saru painted himself as a rather unlikeable character. He was driven to the point where he was willing to sacrifice another being's well-being just to see the mission accomplished. He criticised Burnham for being like Lorca when he himself was channelling a pretty good version of Lorca too. He seemed very arrogant and unwilling to listen to the concerns of anyone else, making sure that his orders were followed. Then at the end of the episode, his actions make sense because of his anger and jealousy towards Burnham. I read Star Trek: Discovery Desperate Hours which is a prequel companion novel to the series by David Mack. It details how Burnham was picked by Georgiou to be her second-in-command over Saru when her previous XO was promoted. Saru dealt with a lot of jealousy throughout that book. I didn't find his character very likeable then and to be honest, I still don't like him now even though I understand him more. Burnham got the promotion and the privilege of Georgiou's knowledge. She was to move on up and he'd take her place at Georgiou's side but Georgiou's untimely death put a halt to his plans. However, I didn't like the fact that Burnham gave Georgiou's telescope to Saru. Georgiou wanted Burnham to have it because it was passed down through her family for generations and she obviously thought of Burnham as a daughter and wanted her to have it. I felt like that was insulting to Georgiou. I get very protective of my favourite characters. I probably should have warned you about that. 

There is one aspect of this episode that I wasn't particularly fond of and I don't know how I feel about it; the use of strong language in Star Trek. Since Enterprise, the strength of the language began to increase. Enterprise crept in words like 'bastard' and 'son of a bitch' and that was the extent of it. The re-booted movies have snuck in a few similar expletives too. Discovery had previously slipped in 'shit' and now spring-boarded all the way to the eff bomb, 'fuck'. I honestly don't know how I feel about that. I'm no prude when it comes to cursing as I swear like a veteran sailor. I'm Irish, after all. However, with Star Trek, I've never wanted there to be strong language within it. It's a family show. I understand that shows evolve and there are new fans and it's a new age, yaddy yaddy yadda. Yet, it's still Star Trek at the end of the day. I understand that in the moment, that use of 'fuck' was completely justified because I curse, I curse at work with my colleagues, I curse when I'm excited and passionate about something. It's unrealistic to expect someone to not curse at that kind of emotional high. But, it's still a television show. Albeit a new and darker version of Star Trek and I suppose cursing is expected. I simply don't know how I feel about it. There are times when I think that there is far too much cursing in television, especially on Netflix. I simply thought that Star Trek would be a safe haven from that language. I did find it hilarious that Tilly was the one that said it. 

Another thing that has irked me about Discovery is that they announce casting and characters and it turns out that they were only guest spots. Mudd's appearance does leave the door open for another appearance but for now, it appears that he's done (though imdb has his appearance down as 5 episodes so far). The same with Georgiou and Landry. Casting announcements and two episodes. I feel cheated. 

All in all, a 7 out of 10. I'm intrigued to see how they're going to continue with the spore jump-drive plot with Ripper being released of his duties. It'll be interesting. Let me know your thoughts on this episode in the comments below and I'll see you next week.

*All gifs used in this post are from Tumblr.com