Try beating Unification III will you?
Then perhaps best not to and Discovery makes the wise move to turn in another direction. Taking a slight jump back a couple of weeks, we're back on the trail of the oft-mentioned Emerald Chain and in particular, Osyraa, their as-yet unseen leader.
But first a word from our sponsor: The Burn, because we have to get this in. Turns out this week that the cataclysmic event emanated from the Verubin Nebula and from a precise point. That music we've been hearing? Once it's been rinsed through the sensors it is revealed to be a Federation distress call. Yes, a Federation distress call. If this ends up being the time-displaced Burnham/her mum/the Discovery I will not be surprised.
At the same time, Adira opens up about her decisions on identity and no longer wishes to be referred to as she/her but rather they/them. In terms of there being two personalities within her body it works as well as the more important gender neutral identification. Great and understated performance again in a very short set of scenes for Blu Del Barrio and Anthony Rapp. Their piano/cello scene is wonderful as Adira opens up about how she is dealng with the multiple pasts swirling around and gives a better sense of how a Trill joining might affect the host.
The great thing with the spore drive is that we can now avoid lengthy warp trips across the galaxy but on the flip side we do lose something of the character moments from the series which tended to drop into these points of the episodes.
Osyraa it transpires is a rather lovely lady. Her first scene sees her executing her nephew (from Scavengers) for losing the Andorian Ryn and she's later not too concerned with firing on the planet. Osyraa is nicely slimy but does go completely against type when it comes to Orion women we've met before.
There is a family aspect to the story this week, with Book being reunited with his (not biological) brother. There's been some bad blood between the pair but hey, you'll be sure it'll be rectified in the next half hour. The story on the Discovery around Ryn as well as how Tilly and Saru are working as first officer and captain is potentially the more interesting element.
The Sanctuary isn't an episode that will set the franchise alight anytime soon. It has some good performances from David Ajala and from Sonequa Martin Green (no tears this week) while they are on Kwejian. Book's "brother" is ncely shady and backed into a corner by Osyraa but it's all a bit foreseeable. So is his choice to side with Book rather than the Chain.
What does make a pleasant change is Detmer piloting Book's ship manually. Ths is the highlight of the episode and suggests that the writers have found a member of the crew who they can explore a little further. Detmer is the least bland of the background ensemble if we're truthful. Here you can tell Emily Coutts is enjoying every minute of her scenes as she weaves around Osyraa's Viridian starship. Her attacks are effective with the Chain retreating... for now.
since they now have no repellant and the bugs have moved even further in land. their combined powers plus a boost from Discovery does the job and offers a sense of hope for Kwejian. Again, it's all very nicely set out but gives nothing new to thr story except for the reveal of Osyraa.
The trouble with this week is that it lies in a bit of a dead zone. The big hitter was last week and now we're on the build up to the finale. The Emerald Chain have repeatedly been mentioned as the big villain of the season, turning up since episode one at the market and then returning even if just in a mention throughout the season.
The makeup, as said, doesn't help but maybe they are a reflection of the time. No longer is it that there are any huge galactic powers but instead its the era of the opportunist. Travel is more restricted than ever thanks to the Burn so it might be that my expectations for this season's nemesis was overstepping the mark. What would once have been dealt with in an episode by Picard and the Enterprise-D now present a clear danger because of how the galaxy has "scaled down".
Maybe rightfully so in keeping with the theme of the show but it's not on a par with anything that we've had previously and I'm even including Control and the Klingon War. This season has offered up a lot but now at episode eight it's feeling a little out of steam and in need of a bit of a kick. Unification III was a big dice roll that did pay off. Aside from the news that the Chain are running out of dilithium - which is why they want Ryn "disappeared" - this week felt redundant and sadly, quite forgettable.
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