How does Terminator-style time travel work in Star Trek? The cyborg character was taken over by a probe sent back by a future AI to ensure the advanced AI data gets uploaded to itself so that it will be able to conquer the galaxy. Reese was sent back in time with the Red Angel suit to stop it. Assuming he succeeds- what? Is the cyborg still dead? Did people still see the Red Angel?
After the funeral scene, I was kind of hoping someone would nudge Spock and say, “Before the previous episode, Fartbot spent more screen time delivering farts than delivering actual lines of dialog and yet her funeral scene is twice as long as yours will be. How does that make you feel?”
And be honest, this is for posterity.
Yeah, the actress seems to deliver every line with some weird emotional intensity, as if she could barely hold back some torrent raging within her, and then she’s basically talking about the weather. It gets really exhausting, to me, and actually makes me less emotionally invested—like somebody making a huge drama out of everything doesn’t make you empathize, but just makes you want to tell them to chill the fuck out.
She must have been a hoot on Planet Vulcan. She should have spent a fraction of the time meditating that she spent in science class. Then again, the mythology is that basically all Vulcans are like that unless they rigidly suppress their emotions; when they don’t, they act like maladjusted Romulans.
The plot for Deep Space Whine was especially nonsensical tonight.
(YAY! I remembered that THIS was a place I could come talk about this without alienating people!)
Can someone explain to me WHAT Federation Protocol requires you to want something bad enough you have to be poked in the eyes to unlock a failsafe?
So, that Red Angel suit clearly contains technology from the future unlike anything known to Starfleet. Except oh wait, turns out they built it 20 years ago. The brain wave scan proves without a doubt that it was Michael in that suit. No error possible, couldn’t have been spoofed, no way no how. Except oh wait, yeah, could’ve totally been her mother, too, the patterns are really quite alike.
The capabilities the suit possesses are completely beyond anything the federation has shown even in the 24th century—I could take the resurrection beam, but moving an entire colony of humans halfway across the galaxy, church and all? (By the way, I didn’t quite get that point—did they survive the apocalypse?)
I thought this season had started to show improvement—have some genuine Trek moments, contact with the unknown, exploration, that sort of thing—but it seems my investment is inversely proportional to the size of the threat they’re constructing. I can’t really conceive of hundreds of trillions of lives; it’s just an entirely abstract number. I’d take a simple tale of galactic exploration over saving the world, nay, galaxy, once again any day.
I agree with your complaints, but let’s try fanwanking. I haven’t yet seen the episode that aired 28 March. Spoilers are fine, but my fanwank may get derailed by new plot twists. ** 
Burnham is indeed in the Red Angel suit when Spock tried to mind meld with it and detected “human brain patterns”. The data collected from the ancient, dying what’s-it also confirms that Burnham was indeed the Red Angel (at least, she was when the critter “met” the Red Angel).
But Burnham had to get the RA suit from somewhere, somewhen. Why not the scientists (her mother) who built it? Why can’t the suit go forward in time, as well as back? In testing the new invention, Burnham’s mom somehow discovered that her own daughter “was/will be” dying on some planet in the future, and (selfishly?) uses the suit to save her.
Also, are we really supposed to believe that Control can wipe out everybody? All the hyper-advanced aliens encountered in the various ST series that could erase humanity with no more effort than blinking an eye, literally?
So Control takes over the captain of the section 31 ship, talks the two crew members into spying on Enterprise to steal the sphere data, and just…sits in a hallway with his nanobot exposed for anyone to walk in on?! Jeez, at least lock yourself in your quarters or a bathroom stall or something. This episode was better than the last one, but now the bad is starting to outweigh the good.
Also, Michael crying again.
They already cast Detective Greggs. Now we just need Hurk, Carver, Daniels, the Bunk, McNulty, and Cool Lester Smooth and this show might turn into something great!
Season 1 gets better and better with every episode from Season 2.
This goes without saying, but I still have to say it: shut up, Tilly.
Saru comin’, yo!
Sorry, that’s the best I could come up with.
Maybe Tilly saying “Sheeeit!”?
Hmm, no, that’s not right either. Not a lot of Wire/Discovery common ground to make for a funny mashup.
Very little of the second half of this season makes any sense the second you stop to think about it.
They obviously wanted a season-long arc, got told to put some stand-alone episodes in there, and instead of working out details along the way hit the EMOTION button whenever they didn’t know what else to do.
It just feels like there’s a complete lack of continuity in anything that happens and substantial handwaving of off-camera events.
For instance: Why would the Captain of a Starship have to LEAVE THE BRIDGE in order to perform an ENGINEERING security override that requires a retina scan?
How exactly did Control get access to Section 31’s ship without anyone noticing – so much so that it could create nanobots and force itself into a human?
And all that nonsense about Michael not being allowed to talk to her mother. Give me a break.
Also, while they can’t erase the sphere data (because mumble mumble mumble), they’ve got access to the physical media it’s stored on—so simply take a sledgehammer to that. Or, failing this, they can apparently download it: so download it into a probe, or a couple of probes, and shoot them into the nearest star.
Or–you know–design the computers so that programs can’t lock themselves in.
I watched the first 2 episodes of this season and it’s not grabbing me. From skimming the rest of the thread it sounds like I’m probably not going to like the rest any better.
Hopefully this won’t count as threadshitting but The Orville really found its narrative voice starting at about s2e6 and it has been really good. And it’s super trekky. It’s lovingly crafted to be very similar to ST:TNG. Even if you didn’t like the uneven first season, the second half of the second season is getting really good. The first few eps of the 2nd season aren’t very good so don’t start there if you didn’t like season 1. S2e6 and onward is where it grows the beard.
With that I’ll blow out of the thread.
CONTROL was a tool S31 used before it clandestinely took over and started running it so it was already on their ship with their knowledge.
The show is far, far from perfect but it feels like some people just watch to dunk on it and barely pay attention to what is happening.
That’s not what the show has said.
Control was a computer system located at 31’s headquarters. It was not part and parcel of every section 31 vessel – it was a central system that assessed threats and made recommendations.
That said, given Control apparently infiltrated Discovery and Airiam, it makes zero sense for anyone in Section 31 (i.e. the most paranoid people in Starfleet) to fail to examine their own vessel’s computer system.
I’ll add another quibble: between Leland being stabbed in the face by Control (which, let me tell you, if I’m having to use a retinal scan system as a captain, I’m damn well making sure there are no stabby needles in it) and us next seeing Leland five hours pass. During a crisis. Did nobody think to go check on Captain?
Like I said, it falls apart the moment you start to examine it.