Captain's Blog: Shields up! Red Alert! Everyone writes their last letters home and says their goodbyes before the big battle in this penultimate chapter of Season 2. "Such Sweet Sorrow" The Enterprise is back. And this time we get to really see it. Interior hallways, the bridge, yellow and blue uniforms, familiar sound effects. It's all stunningly realized, and full of tiny nods to the original aesthetic. Brabo to the production design team! We also catch up with Po from the Short Treks, the queen of [insert made-up planet name] who is also a teen engineering prodigy, as if we need another one to argue with Jet Reno and Stamets about pseudo-science. But with a title like "Such Sweet Sorrow", you can bet there will be some parting along the way. And you would win that bet, sir or madam, and clean out the house! There are literally goodbyes sandwiched between goodbyes. Last Episode left off with Section 31 closing in for battle but it seems Discovery evaded that catastrophe because there is no such battle here. Only time crystal visions of unavoidable futures attempting to cast suspense over the proceedings (mixed results). Discovery rendezvous easily enough with Enterprise where they evacuate and attempt to auto-destruct the Discovery and all it's artificial intelligence data, but the data stops them. They photon-torpedo it a couple times for fan service, but give up when its shield go up. Why do they give up? I don't know, it's not like it's fighting back. Just keep shooting till you wear it out! In a whirlwind of technobabble, they decide instead to rebuild the Red Angel suit and Burnham will carry the Discovery into the future. Pretty much all the rest of the episode is people saying their goodbyes, saluting what an honor it's been to serve and all that, and touching time crystals to reassure the audience that yes, real action is still pending and somehow everyone will die (unlikely). There's a literal countdown on the viewscreen. And because last week's cliffhanger was so effective, they decided to use it again, as Section 31 once again arrives to surround them for battle. Roll credits. Again. Conclusion: Let's go already! For a second to last episode, too much time is wasted setting up a prologue for next week when stuff should've been happening this week. The goodbyes are all too sappy and contrived with not enough actual storytelling to make them matter. At this point they're just trying too hard to make me cry. And too much of the story is propelled forward by treknobabble problems and solutions. I understand this is a classic Trek trope, but when it stands in for actual story movement, it's a shortcoming. This episode is all about telling us what to feel, and what's gonna happen, rather than just showing us stuff happening and letting us decide how to feel for ourselves. That's not a Trek trope, exactly, but a problem with serialized TV in general. Which means next week is gonna be crammed full of too much stuff happening without room to breath. Seeing some glory shots of the Enterprise and Discovery flying together and docking and preparing for battle are pretty great, but they're just a distraction from the fact that this is all just a long commercial for next week's climax. Who am I kidding? I'll be there and it'll probably be awesome! Captain's Blog Supplemental:
Why is Po even in this episode? We already have too many know-it-alls. Where is your invisibility? What use is your dilithium recrystalization? Who cares if your planet is your sister (whatever that even means). Use it! Why does Georgiou keep telling people she's Terran? Who is she trying to convince! Wait... Is she NOT from the Mirror Universe?!? (gasp!) Is it a double cover-up and the OG Phillipa Georgiou is still alive? And Pike's in on it? Hence the wink...? #HotTake Stamets and Culber finally talk... awkwardly, and decide to go their separate ways (like I'm falling for that!). Why don't fans petition for them to have their own show... Where nothing happens! And I used to like them so much when they mattered to the story... Culber's transferring to the Enterprise, huh? Does that mean we'll see him in the new spinoff with Pike and Spock and Number One called First Voyages? (...wishful thinking...) Did I mention how good the Enterprise looks?
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