Some Blundering About Star Trek: Discovery 1×12: There is a Tide…

Eeeeee. This is a good solid episode with very little to object to. It’s not especially deep or anything, but it works pretty well and it’s got one big thing in it that is so good that I don’t really care about the rest. I mean, except for the bit near the end where Michael steals the emotional beat because everything has to be about her (I had honestly missed how often they have her cry as an emotional device until now).

• So first things first: Under interrogation, Stamets refers to himself as Adira’s dad. Unambiguously. We get a repeat of the “What will I tell Adira if Hugh dies?” beat later, but this is less ambiguous: he tries to connect with his interrogator (Whose name I can not hold onto) via the angle of them both being fathers. And I am of two minds about this, because it’s actually kinda cool that they are content to have it happen off-screen without the need to hammer the audience with the details. But, like, it’s kind of a big deal? Also, be kind of nice if Hugh ever said anything about it himself, or interacted with Adira more than once.
• I will not be pleased if it turns out that Osyraa can fool Eli and wasn’t on the level about the proposed alliance with the Federation. I don’t want the Chain allying with the Federation, but if Osyraa legitimately sees the value in Federation and is on the level about wanting to be part of it in her own way, and is really willing to make significant concessions in order to make that happen? That’s something that would elevate her to a character worthy of being the antagonist rather than the cheap thug I thought she was.
• And her terms to the Federation in this devil’s bargain are, “All you have to do is embrace capitalism.” Holy shit. Even at its most imperial, I wouldn’t expect a flex like that out of Star Trek
• Back to Stamets: I really like his analysis of Osyraa: Maybe she’s more than she seems. But she’s also exactly what she seems. That could make a pretty solid character.
• Disabled Chain Scientist Who Doesn’t Know He’s Working For Evil And Whose Name I Can’t Remember seems like a promising character. I assume he’s going to turn face. Not sure if this means he’s going to join the cast moving forward; he feels a little bit like his arc is a Redemption Equals Death thing.
• If Admiral Vance is going to keep being so reasonable and moral and noble, they should probably stop coding him so strongly as the asshole.
• Michael gets a message out to her mother. Could this be setting up a “And then everyone they’ve made better shows up to join forces” ending like I was hoping for?
• Having Michael lose her shoes during her Die Hard On A Space Ship plot which aired right after Christmas is a little on-the-nose.
• Why tell Stamets that Adira is with Hugh? How is that helping? How is that not just twisting the knife?
• Anyway, the first thing Guy I Can’t Remember His Name says about Stamets’s connection to magic mushroom space is that it must be his tardigrade DNA because he’s not an empath. So I assume the setup for next week is that once he turns face, he will help the good guys figure out that Book can operate the spore drive. Possibly at great personal cost because he probably has to die by proxy so Michael can be sad and also so she can have karmic retribution for the clearly wrong action of ejecting Stamets against his will.
• Oooh that ending. Having Zora show up in the Dots, ready to assist in retaking the ship? I still have some issues with the extent to which everyone takes the whole, “Our ship has come to life,” thing in stride, but I liked that.