Star Trek - Discovery - 3.10: Terra Firma part 2

[Dave]

The conclusion to Star Trek: Discovery's Mirror Universe two-parter.

So, Carl is the name of the Guardian of Forever. The planet on which it sits was never named, it was just described as being "muddy" but it was unlikely to be close to the Gamma Quadrant as Kirk's Enterprise could never have travelled so far from Earth. I thought that just another nit I'd have to live with, but apparently Carl is in hiding, nowhere near his original location, and he has been since the Temporal Wars. Except that, if he's a master of time, how was he surprised by the Temporal Wars?

GUARDIAN: I am the Guardian of Forever.
KIRK: Are you machine or being?
GUARDIAN: I am both and neither. I am my own beginning, my own ending.
SPOCK: I see no reason for answers to be couched in riddles.
GUARDIAN: I answer as simply as your level of understanding makes possible.
SPOCK: A time portal, Captain. A gateway to other times and dimensions, if I'm correct.
GUARDIAN: As correct as possible for you. Your science knowledge is obviously primitive.
SPOCK: Really.

I'm not such a fan of Mirror Universe stories as others seem to be, but taking up two episodes this Season when there is so much left untold in the Prime Universe seems excessive. Even so, I'd rather this episode had focussed solely on the moustache twirling conclusion to that story, rather than this mix and match with other plotlines. I would have waited until next week for an update on Discovery's search for the origin of the Burn. Or for Admiral Vance to reprimand Saru and Booker for using Emerald Chain technology, because he hadn't thought of it himself. And the Wake for Georgiou just seemed odd.

While Georgiou tried to implement things differently, she still had to kill Michael. Carl thought she had reacted differently enough for redemption, but I didn't see much had really changed fundamentally. We also know how the Mirror Universe turns out (that's the same problem Discovery had in Seasons 1&2) and I can't see that has been altered. "The Terran Empire will be overthrown one day."

 

[Alexa]

They used a bit too much time in the Mirror Universe only to say good by to Philippa in the end. I didn't like her version of Micheal. That Micheal looks and behaves like a crazy woman. For those who were intrigued about her name, we did find out that Georgiou had a son, so maybe this is the reason she gave Micheal a boy name.

Maybe the purpose of this episode was to prepare us either to the return of Discovery back in time without Micheal (Carl said this version of her was exacly where she was supposed to be), either to the disappearance of the entire crew while searching for survivors at the point of origin of the Burn. This could explain why we didn't find out that Spock had a sister.

Just speculating in here.

The good news for me is that we have three episodes left. I don't know why I was under the impression that the series had only 10 episodes.

 

[Dave]

I don't know why I was under the impression that the series had only 10 episodes.

I think that they aren't being shown until January. So, you possibly read 10 episodes "this year"?

I can't see the Discovery and her crew ever returning to the 23rd Century. There would still be the problem with Control gaining the information from the "sphere data" that they hold (and now that they have been to the future and integrated that with the complete records of the 32nd Century Federation that problem would have multiplied). No, I think they are now firmly in the future.

 

[Alexa]

Maybe. However, I would like to have a surprising end of the season. They will be back for season 4.

 

[Vladd67]

Just seemed to be a drawn-out excuse to bring Philipa back in time to take part in the Section 31 series.

 

[REBerg]

Georgiou's abrasive Terran personality brought some humor to the cast mix After watching two episodes centered on her redemptive struggle to bring a measure of goodness to her savage native universe, I was happy to see her go. I wonder how far she had to go down the Guardian of Forever's time tunnel get ahead of her kill-or-be-killed lifestyle.
I didn't find the mother-daughter relationship overly convincing in either universe. Evil Michael, enhanced by her Insane Clown Posse makeup, was consistently over-the-top. The only counterpart character I enjoyed was the sweetly passively-aggressive Tilly.
I also hope that the remaining season episode will concentrate on solving the mystery of the Burn and easing the recovery of the Federation and Starfleet.

 

[AlekseiVashchenko]

Evil Michael, enhanced by her Insane Clown Posse makeup, was consistently over-the-top.

 

[Dave]

I think that they aren't being shown until January. So, you possibly read 10 episodes "this year"?

IMDb said the next episode was out today (with another on the 31st). It isn't, and I may be proved wrong, but I have doubts it will be released tomorrow on Christmas Day.

 

[Alexa]

I saw it last night. It took me by surprise as I didn't expect another episode during Christmas.

And of course the episode ends in a cliffhanger. *sigh*

 

[Marvin]

Evil Michael, enhanced by her Insane Clown Posse makeup, was consistently over-the-top.

I have consistently enjoyed Star Trek - Discovery from day one, throughout its differing directions and adventures.
Unfortunately I have also consistently least enjoyed Sonequa Martin-Green, it is a testament to the rest of the show and cast that I have stayed with it, and enjoyed it as much as I have despite her character(s).
I didn’t like her much in The Walking Dead either. Very one dimensional. Clearly the writers and creators out there disagree.

When this season began with an episode almost completely Michael, with a feeling it could become Star Trek - Burnham my finger was very much hovering over the off button!

Three to watch for me, let’s see how they finish series 3...