REVIEW || Star Trek: Discovery 1x06 'Lethe'

It's Wednesday so as scheduled, it is time for my weekly review for Star Trek: Discovery. It airs on Sunday night and then available on Monday from Netflix UK. So then why does it take me typically until Wednesday to watch it? After speaking with one of my colleagues today, I have realised that I am not super-duper excited for the new episodes. I religiously watch Voyager on the Horror Channel at 7pm each weekday yet I'm not so religious about watching Discovery. It hasn't sparked that excitement in me. Yet. I have hope that it well. I'm more apprehensive for Discovery. Here's hoping it'll give way to excitement.

I actually don't have a lot to say about this episode. I don't have a lot of notes and the notes that I have made are all quotes from the episode. 

I didn't find the Sarek and Burnham storyline particularly gripping. I found it interesting, sure enough. I found the backstory of Burnham interesting but it didn't wow me and I'll explain why. Earlier in the month, I read Desperate Hours by David Mack which is a prequel companion novel for Star Trek: Discovery. In this book, Burnham and Spock spend a lot of time together, discussing their shared past and in particular, Sarek. Since I felt that I already knew that Burnham felt like she was a disappointment to Sarek, I wasn't gripped by the mental anguish that Sarek was going through as he lay dying. I felt as if I already knew all of that.

Nevertheless, I did enjoy it. I liked how Amanda was included and how it explained why Burnham was not accepted into the Vulcan Science Academy. It also set up the political atmosphere of Vulcan at the time. Vulcans are typically portrayed as enlighted people and ones that don't have any kind of prejudice or hatred within their systems because they believe that those are 'human' attributes. The episode brought to light a radical faction of Vulcans who call themselves, 'Logic Extremists' who do not agree with Sarek's 'obsession' with humans. They do not share his ideology that humans and Vulcans can co-exist in harmony. They had master-minded the bombing that killed Burnham until Sarek brought her back through a powerful mind-meld. It was amusing to know that the Vulcans aren't so harmonious and enlightened as they claim to be. They're willing to assassinate an ambassador of peace during a time of war. This singular part of that storyline piqued my curiosity. 

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My attention throughout this episode was firmly on Lorca. I am really loving his character. I'm a little bit over the 'we're at war' reiteration at every moment. I get it. I've got the concept. Lorca is a law unto himself and will do whatever he thinks will get a result. There are only so many ways you can say it. Nevertheless, I still loved seeing the different sides of Lorca.

The first moment where Lorca intrigued me in this episode was when he warned Tyler that he better not let anything happen to 'her'. Tyler takes Lorca to mean the shuttle-craft but in actual fact, Lorca meant Burnham; "[O]r don't come back at all." Lorca caring for someone? Lorca has never demonstrated such affection - I'm going to call it affection - for any other member of his crew. What was it about Burnham that made Lorca protective?

I loved how sassy he was with the Vulcan admiral. I will take sassy Lorca all day long. 

His connection with Cornwell was definitely unexpected. I noticed in previous episodes that there seemed to be something unspoken between them. There always seemed to be something simmering between them. Then in this episode, it came to a boil! And boy was it a boil! Flirty Lorca is flirty and rather forward but that speaks more to their backstory than his behaviour. I definitely want to know more about these two and what their past entails. 

With Lorca's backstory and finding out about his previous command in the last episode, it was interesting to see how much that affected him. Cornwell quickly finds out that Lorca sleeps with a gun in his bed. Not normal behaviour. He has some physical scars and the audience is immediately alerted to the psychological scars that he also has. I wonder what other secrets and demons the captain has, especially since he begs Cornwell to not take Discovery away from him. He lied during his psychological evaluation to stay in the field. What else has Lorca lied about in the past? What effects has his past on had Lorca and how much of his behaviour is Lorca and how much of his behaviour is this trauma? 

The trap set by the peace talks that Sarek was to attend ended with Cornwell being taken captive instead. I am very excited to see what is in store for this storyline. I originally thought that she was going to die because the series has a George R.R. Martin vibe with the body count so far. When Saru informed Lorca of the fact that Cornwell is being held by the Klingons, I really wanted to see Lorca flip out and go to Black Alert. He didn't. He behaved. He kept his cool. He understood the value of Discovery to the war effort and to the fleet. He learned and he's doing what Cornwell would have wanted him to do. Fascinating. But seriously, dude. Freak out and go get her! I kinda ship it already. Or is he think karma is sweet? 

The blossoming friendship between Tyler and Burnham was interesting. Burnham opened up to him so quickly and they established a rapport so quickly. For someone who is, for the sake of argument, best friends with Tilly, she hasn't opened up that easily with her room-mate. What is it about Asher that Burnham finds so trusting with something so personal?

I also love how Tilly has been gaining confidence over the last few episodes. She is definitely a dark horse and that nobody should underestimate this cadet. She may be a cadet, but she has a lot of potential and a lot of drive. She's a very unassuming character and you wouldn't expect much from her, but she's surprising. She's determined and she knows what she wants out of life and that determination sees her pushing herself further and finding her own path. 

This episode was a good 6.75 out of 10. I'm being that specific about it. I loved Lorca in this episode and I am thoroughly enjoying finding out more and more about him. I love how the Klingons are upping the ante and holding Cornwell hostage and how Lorca's future hangs in the balance. I cannot wait to see how that plays out. I also found the Vulcan political atmosphere intriguing especially since it resulted in an assassination attempt on Sarek's life. And it is already hinting at the upcoming Eugenics War. 

My excitement is starting to grow for each new episode. I'm not saying that I'll be counting down the days to each Monday or that I'll be watching the new episode at midnight on Monday, but I will be looking forward to how it goes from this point.