Yeah, I am really appreciating the new complexity to McGivers’ character in this series.

I think the flour superpower one would have been better if the guys hadn’t all snagged their own ducks. Having to deal with something someone else came up with is so much more entertaining.

I hope whoever made the “Ed Gamble getting increasingly angry” compilation is already working on one for Reece.

One thing I did hate, though, is the epilogue on the last episode. I will skip that when I rewatch the series.

Star Trek Discovery is not “that bad”. Like Picard and some of the seasons of Enterprise, each season is a self-contained story arc, which I get is not for everyone. It also has a black female main character, which apparently is also not for everyone. IMO, the fifth season was not quite as good as the first four (I actually like the fourth the best), but there was still a lot to like. I do think they did better after they moved to the 31st century so they weren’t as constrained by canon gymnastics. It also (for a single season) gives us our only non-human main ship captain to-date, which I think is a good thing in a series centered on the idea of friendship with other worlds. There are definitely things I would change about the show if I could, but on the whole I think it’s a great addition to Trek.

(Also, Michelle Yeoh, Mary Wiseman, and Tig Notaro each steal every single scene any of them is in. Worth watching for those three alone.)

Maybe a bit premature to say this after only one episode, but I feel like so far this show is accomplishing what the documentary episode of SNW tried to do. It’s effectively making us think about the “established Starfleet narrative” of most Star Trek, and has a frame device that advances the story without being too intrusive.

Maisie was basically the only cast member I was familiar with before, but I’m already excited about this group. I think she’s going to be the one to watch, but I wouldn’t rule out Reece.

I assume they’re just calling them that on YouTube for Americans, but I don’t remember if they said it in the actual episode.

It’s been established as far back as TOS that M’Benga specializes in Vulcan medicine, so it’s surprising they didn’t even mention it in this episode

I want to see the Spock/Pike dream dance!

I’m 99% sure that the “sandwiches from Purmantee with the fries inside the sandwich” are a reference to Pittsburgh sandwich chain Primanti Bros.

I thought this episode was a lot of fun. Haven’t really been feeling this season of SNW as much for some reason, but I think this is my favorite episode yet. Managed to fit some character development in around all the craziness, and the post-credits scene with Patton and Ethan was great.

The part about the officers’ ethical decision should have been the A-plot, but the episode basically forced the documentary angle on us as the A-plot. I think that’s the fundamental problem; if this had just been an episode about them wrestling with the ethical ramifications of using a sentient creature as a weapon, it would have been top-tier Star Trek.

I feel like there was a kernel of a good episode in there, or maybe kernels of several episodes. I’m not opposed to the documentary angle per se, and it fits in with SNW’s general willingness to experiment, but I have a difficult time imagining that a documentarian would actually edit the finished product that way, on top of the other stuff. There’s definitely room to critique Starfleet and the Federation, but this episode really feels like it was missing some important chunks.

To me it feels like a callback (call forward?) to Wrath of Khan, where he has to come to terms with having never faced defeat before.

Writers’ Room: “We need a name for a mineral these scavengers could be looking for.”

“Uh… (glances at Italian takeout) aldentium!”

Me watching S5: “Ok, this episode is going to have Detmer and Owo, right?” End of episode: “Dammit!”

I would not have released Patel into Pike’s custody after how she lost control when confronted with “Gamble”. Like, clearly the being inhabiting his body was malevolent, but “the enemy of my enemy” doesn’t make it ok that she basically got taken over by a consciousness besides her own. Leaving her alone with the captain of the ship feels especially dangerous (and letting her captain her own ship again, for that matter).

Finally! I feel like this has been “about to come out” for years

Someone asked Patrick Stewart about this once, and he said that in the 24th century, no one would care about baldness anymore