Star Trek›Discovery 5x04 'Face the Strange' ~~ { ** Spoilers Within ** }

ilovesmybrick

Star Trek›Discovery 5x04 'Face the Strange' ~~ { ** Spoilers Within ** } Warning: This thread will contain spoilers

AMKC

Hard to know what to make of that episode.

I think it's basically just more of the same.

I suppose you could say at least in this episode it was not all Micheal.

Time bug lol.

Shoog

I keep giving discovery the benefit of the doubt and I always regret it.

ilovesmybrick

Wait a second, so in this episode one of the threats stated is that they could die and erase everything they've done from history…interesting!

I kind of enjoyed the first half of the episode, could have made a decent standalone episode. Went to complete arse as soon as they went back to Lorcas time and we had the heart to heart between the two Michaels, the bridge crew, urgh.

Also didn't they spend the first half worried about the temporal prime directive, but then just tossed it out the window in the later half. Essentially an entire episode to make the point that Michaels emotional aspect of command and being best friends with the entire crew is better than the crazy idea of Commander Leoben that there is a chain of command and a need for a degree of emotional control.

corkie

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Face_the_Strange_%28episode%29

I was wondering how the 'Time Bug' got past the transporter detection protocols.

Also was wondering when they went far in to the futures where they going to reference the Zora short.

Forget the name of it.

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Calypso_%28episode%29

Spear

Honestly, I liked it.

It's flawed now mind, it's still effectively filler, and doesn't advance the arc, and we've seen this concept played out many times before.

But it keeps a good pace, has plenty of curious callbacks (possibly even explaining where and when Calypso took place), and has an almost self deprecatory level of snark throughout it, subtly mocking some of Discovery's past events and premises.

fritzelly

As far as Discovery episodes go I quite enjoyed it

eadrom

Yeah, that was fine. Fun little adventure without much to do with the stupid fetch-quest they're on and not much "Moll and Lock" either, which is a good thing.

I don't think they mentioned Lorca at all, did they? He should have been on the ship (and probably on the bridge) during those scenes, right? And Saru too actually. Not that it matters much I suppose.

Still annoys me to no end that there's basically no difference between the alien characters and the humans, aside from a bit of makeup. Everyone just talking like contemporary humans with contemporary human concerns, speech, emotions, outlooks, and so on. Raynor in particular. I guess he reminds me a little of Gul Dukat – if Marc Alaimo just stopped trying and played it as an early 21st century human instead.

CastorTroy

It's gotten to the point where I read the blurb for the episodes like for this one

When the U.S.S. Discovery is sabotaged by a mysterious weapon, it’s up to Burnham, Rayner and Stamets to save the ship in time.

and think they used too many words by mentioning anyone other than Burnham. But at least in this one it did seem to need more than her.

So they were able to bring the bug zapping device with them when they jumped?

As for Lorca and Saru, they mentioned they were on a mission or something.

pah

Lots not to like here but for me it was the most enjoyable episode of Discovery for a LOOOONG time. Regarding the complaints about the temporal prime directive being thrown out in the latter part of the episode they stated that it didn't matter as everything would reset after that last 14 min window or they would all die 🤷‍♂️

corkie

One of the deadliest alien species in all of Star Trek has never been fully revealed. After an offhand reference in The Next Generation, the Breen appeared in the Deep Space Nine episode “Indiscretion,” encased in suits that felt like they borrowed from Princess Leia’s bounty hunter disguise in Return of the Jedi. The Breen are infamous but seldom seen, a tradition which Star Trek: Discovery is subtly rebooting in Season 5.

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/breen-star-trek-discovery-season-5

How they think they are bringing them back with Discovery Ending?

Spear

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122040071#Comment_122040071

Might be queueing them up for Academy too.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122035281#Comment_122035281

You would assume Kovich would understand the importance of not letting someone through the transporter with a bug on them.

Mav11

After seasons 2-4, I swore I'd never watch this disco sh1te again. But I relented and binged the first 4 episodes last night.

I must say I enjoyed it, I thought much better than the previous seasons. It's quirky and in its own way provides an alternative to "Klingons off the starboard bow".

It also helps that the first 4 episodes were not all about Burnham!!

Stark

Hmm, was looking forward to this one as the time hopping episodes in Trek are usually good fun. Bit of a let down. While the "gain your trust by telling you something only I would know about you" thing is a common enough conceit, it was way overused in this episode and made the crew look a bit dumb tbh. "I heard you like the constitution class": guy breaks down crying, hands over weapon, gets vaporised by an enemy who did five minutes research and probably got it off a password reset form.

Previous efforts like the Voyager time jumping episodes and Discovery's own time cycling episode from season 1 were a lot more fun. At least Stamets had stuff to do in this episode.

Spear

I said this earlier, that it seemed almost self-mocking, but it seems like there's almost a major self-criticism being woven into the season at this point. It's a series that's been rightly criticized by it's aversion to building out the secondary characters, and yet it's not been made a major point of two episodes, and literally saves the day in this one.

AlmightyCushion

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122045674#Comment_122045674

Nothing changed with those characters though, they are still just background characters that have no real purpose and never get used. Them telling us they like ships with curves doesn't change that.

The Arian scene was laughably bad. Burnham practically crying about her death and how 'we still mourn you every day' and the crew saying they would never let her sacrifice herself like that. Her character first showed up in the episode she was killed off. The past two episodes have been all about how important it is to know your crew but through the past 5 seasons (and this one is no different) we don't actually get to know any of them. They are all so special to each other but they never do anything or even have any scenes together apart from maybe on the bridge saying 'Aye captain' whilst smiling lovingly at Burnham.

Spear

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122047921#Comment_122047921

Which is why I think it almost reads like an in-joke by the writers making a nod to the criticism. There was never going to be any real change, the structural flaws are too deep set at this point.

AlmightyCushion

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122047925#Comment_122047925

They easily could have spent the past few episodes getting the other characters involved. They just introduced a whole new character that has more screen time in his first episode than all the other bridge crew have had all season. They could have not introduced him and used another crew member instead. Instead of bringing Book back they could have used another crew member. Instead of having Burnham be involved in every single thing that goes on they could have let one of the other crew members take the lead or at least be involved or more prominent on some of the missions. They could have easily changed it if they wanted to but they just didn't bother.

I'm also not sure it was an in joke. It wouldn't surprise me if they considered this character development.

GreeBo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122045072#Comment_122045072

Did you miss the part with her space surfing on the back of Moll & L'aks ship?

"This is not how I expected today to go when I woke up!"

Cringe.

GreeBo

This was yet more Dan Brown level plot crap for me.

They jump from "fact" to "fact" and surmise the solution without any sort of deductive logic being used at all, and then of course the fancy personal computer can just render up a 3D image and cast it to the console without a single command being uttered. Absolute pants.

Ariam handing over the ship because of a true/false question is also pathetically childish. All of the writing is just damn childish really.

AMKC

The name Micheal Literally means " Who is like God" so is it any surprise really that the show is all about Micheal. Its not going to change either. She has it in tge contract and its to little to late anyway.

I have seen some posts online saying the finale is going to be epic ye epically bad probably.

Tenzor07

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122035281#Comment_122035281

Without Googling I would assume that the Krenim time bug got transported onto the ship as it was slightly out of phase just like the Krenim ship in Voyager so it would be protected by the constant changes to the timeline..

tom23

Episode 4… just glad Burham got through the episode without crying. Overall the whole series is a ball of shite.

TheIrishGrover

F₩ck sake. Can't even walk to the ready room.

All so we can have TWO Burnhams so they can save the timelines by the power of friendship.

For some reason, wouldn't allow me to skip credits. Did it always have her face in the credits?

My god they tripled down on the poorest character in the show. So bad

Next

Edit: Typos

Mav11

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122048998#Comment_122048998

I know, very cringey, but didn't I say I'm enjoying the quirkiness? As long as it is not all about Burnham's emotional state, I'm happy!!

GreeBo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122051978#Comment_122051978

To me it comes across as "fake" quirkiness….quirkiness for the sake of it really.

Mav11

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122053171#Comment_122053171

Does the scene with Burnham riding on the back of a space ship differ that much from Slim Pickens rodeo riding a nuclear bomb in Dr Strangelove?

That was a bit fake as well, wasn't it?

You shouldn't take either seriously!

GreeBo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122053842#Comment_122053842

I think the context is pretty different between the two tbh.

Everything in Discovery is either quirky or emotionally charged this season, its not really about taking something seriously. The Orville wasnt serious, it was still miles better than this.

There are more gooey eyes than at a conjunctivitis party.

flazio

I know it ultimately helped them through this, but honestly, surely the Captain's ready room is just 1 door away from the bridge. Walk through a door you lazy sods.

GreeBo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122057734#Comment_122057734

I have some vague recollection about an episode of some other Trek where there is a race who use personal transporters like this (I think they are at war or being invaded or something?) and it turns out that using the transporters is slowly killing them all?

Fingers crossed…