Captain's Blog: Discovery dips its toes into the mushroom ocean to resurrect the dead. "Saints of Imperfection" Ok, Remember how Tilly got sucked into a fungus cocoon last episode? Turns out the fungus cocoon also functions as a transporter to the fungus dimension (aka the mycelial network) where Ghost-May -- who is just a manifestation of the mushroom people based on one of Tilly's old grade-school classmate memories -- has recruited her to fight some monster and save their entire race/ecosystem/dimension. The monster turns out to be Stamet's dead lover from last season who's apparently popular among certain fans for being... I don't know, a doctor and gay and stuff. But he never did much else than play the boyfriend and talk about opera, so... meh. Maybe that's why they wanted to bring him back and actually do something with him as a character. Anyway, Stamets (who doesn't know about any of that) has a hair-brained theory (with basically no evidence) that Tilly might be alive somewhere in the fungus dimension and the solution is to risk the entire crew by sending half the ship into Black Alert using the spore drive to bridge the two worlds. Ya know, just saying it like this... This show is kinda crazy. So they go down the rabbit hole, and Culber -- the dead gay doctor boyfriend -- turns out he's not a real monster, it's all a big misunderstanding (bet you didn't see that coming!). And when I say misunderstanding, I mean, none of this is understandable because I think different writers are trying to define the terms and conditions of this mycelial network however they see fit for each episode and it's starting get pretty wonky. Last week the Discovery's use of the network was supposedly killing it (them) and now this week it's actually this monster-Culber who is really just a rando who died last season but became something else because Stamets... Loved him? Kissed him after a spore-transport? Never gave up hope? It's not clear. And then the fungus people did something to him that backfired and then he's been chasing the Discovery every time it jumps, trying to get home, but Starfleet told them to stop jumping but... Anyway, they argue about the laws of thermodynamics and the power of love and then treknobabble a solution and boom! He's alive again. Problem solved. Oh, and Section 31 is back and so is Georgiou and Tyler but all they do is exchange snarky dialogue and wink at the viewers who might still remember one is a mirror-universe fascist and the other a Klingon. But look! He's got a TNG-era communicator! Seriously, how does everyone know about this super-secret spy organization that no one is supposed to know about? They're not just the CIA! They're not supposed to even exist! On Deep Space Nine, no one had ever heard of them and that's a hundred years in the future (as you well know)! They find Georgiou on Spock's shuttle where he's given everyone the slip once again, but she's in a hurry so they have to cut her loose (because: classified), and send over Tyler to be liaison instead, except he doesn't explain anything and she sticks around anyway. Why are any of them in this episode? Their ship helps with their tractor beams, I guess, but there's too much tell and not enough show regarding how morally gray they're supposed to be, and their ulterior motives. I think all these interactions with Burnham are supposed to be dramatic, but at best it's all groundwork for future episodes, which makes this one kinda unfocused and complicated. Conclusion: An enjoyably bonkers rescue attempt that makes for some great special effects is mired by an unnecessarily unfocused and complicated plot. Too much talking about nonsense while the camera tries to move quickly and make it seem like action. The drama is shallow and confusing and the pseudo-science comes across as strangely condescending for being a bunch of made-up stuff. The Section 31 stuff felt forced and so did all the acting. I think Dr. Culber and Tyler are weaker characters and everyone giving them so much attention undermines the verisimilitude. If this Captain Leland fellow from 31 keeps recurring, he's going to join the list, too, because he is BORING! That being said, I normally like Georgiou (even the evil version) as well as Tilly, Stamets and Burnham, but none of them impressed me this episode either. Saru was sidelined and Cyborg-Face Girl had no noticeable lines, so I guess this week just wasn't for me! Oh well, Next Week looks like a good one! See you then!
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