The crew discover a lifesign on the missing Kelpian ship, and Saru reveals the marks on the recording’s forehead were a sign of pregnancy – her child is the survivor. They jump to the location, a nebula, and enter to search for the ship. The nebula is heavily damaged and Saru (despite all his lecturing to Burnham) puts the ship in danger trying to go deeper until he is convinced by Booker to let him take his smaller ship in instead.
Discovery jumps out of the nebula as Booker morphs through, but starts to suffer radiation poisoning. He gives the coordinates of a jump site for Discovery, which he returns to and is treated. They discover a planet made of dilithium, which appears to be the source of the Burn.
Saru mentions his intentions to beam in with the away team to recover the survivor, leaving Tilly in charge. Fehr does a fantastic job conveying his character’s opinions with his subtle look over of Tilly. After briefly discussing its potential as the source of the Burn, Vance reveals to Saru that the Chain is attacking Kaminar. Saru lets his emotions show as he offers to jump there immediately, before being told it is likely a ploy to lure in Discovery, to steal the spore drive and as retribution for Discovery’s previous actions. Vance promises to defend the planet.
Burnham expresses her concerns about Saru’s objectivity to Booker (which seems a gross breech of confidentiality to be honest when you’re this high ranking, to someone else who is proto-crew – but to be far I’ve done similar so).
Staments tries to talk Culbert out of going to the radiated ship, which seems a bit immature and pessimistic of a senior officer like Staments, like surely he’s had to let Culbert go to high risk situations before and learnt to live with it?
Burnham councils Tilly on her first command of the ship. She reveals a comfort spot on the chair that all commanding officer’s know about. The away team have four hours to complete their mission before the radiation damage becomes too much. Tilly takes command of Discovery, feels for the comfort spot, and commands the ship to jump out. The away team arrives – to discover they all have changed clothes and species. Burnham is Trill, Culbert is Bajoran and Saru is …
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| … Character actor Doug Jones |
They assume they are on the ship, but they have no comms or any equipment. They guess they might be in a holodeck, but are unable to exit. They find a holographic officer that is glitching and breaks after revealing they are in a training program.
They arrive in a set that isn’t unlike the Mines of Moria, while giant creatures fly in the distance. They find a chained door and signs of a ritual. They find a Kelpian, who initially believes they are a program. Suddenly something starts slamming into the chained door as Saru tries to question him. Suddenly it breaks open and the Kelpian flees. Burnham and Culber speculate the monster is connected to the Kelpian, who may not even know about an outside world, if the program he is in is all he’s ever known. Burnham offers to stay to guard the door, while Culbert and Saru search for the Kelpian.
On Discovery, the crew pick up Burnham’s transmission as the bridge also detects an unknown Federation ship incoming.
Saru and Culbert come across a recording of the day Kaminar joined the Federation, which Saru joyously observes. As a computer scientist the dialogue that follows tickles me, as the damaged hologram talks in programming and decision terminology (‘are you the anticipated input?’) to determine that the away team are the rescuers, and that they have been prepared to assist them in saving the child, including changing their appearance to make them less frightening.
Burnham encounters the ‘monster’, which appears to be a smokey tentacled creature. She immediately tries to make peace with the creature, who imitates her actions then stats to chase after her, knocking her off an edge causing her to fall up.
Tilly realises that the incoming Federation ship isn’t what it seems and is actually Osyraa, who warps in a second later. Both ships cloak as Tilly tries to assess the situation.
Burnham awakes to find the Kelpian watching her. She pretends to be a program to reassure him. She pretends to teaching him about social interaction, and the Outside, which engages him. Saru sees a holo of an elder Kelpian, the oldest Kelpian he has ever seen. They discover the name of the Kelpian is Su’Kal, traditionally the first child born after a suffering. The holo reveals Dr. Isaa, Su’Kal’s mother, created the enviroment to protect and raise the child.
Burnham continues to talk to Su’Kal, however when her questions about before the program upset him, he asks her to reset, which she sadly does, but then asks about the program’s exit, which causes him to leave. The crew notice the signs of radiation burns on their hands.
As the Elder holo sings to Saru, he realises from the book in his hand that the monster is a monster from Kelpian fairy tales, to teach Kelpian children about facing their deepest fear. For Su’Kal to leave, he has to face that fear.
Culbert and Saru head to the fortress to find Sa’Kul. Meanwhile Osyraa hails Discovery. She mocks Tilly for not being captain material – I don’t recall them having actually met before so it seems odd that Osyraa would instantly be dismissive of her as if she knows who Tilly is, but perhaps I am misremembering. Osyraa tries to undermine Tilly’s confidence, but she throws it back at her.
Sa’Kul builds more warding charms to ward off the creature, who demands he sees him. Su’Kal refuses and as he screeches a shockwave emits, briefly destabilising Discovery’s and Osyraa’s ship’s cloaks – and their dilithium.
Both ships decloak and Osyraa locks weapons. Book heads to his ship to get the Away Team while Discovery prepares to jump. Saru starts to sing to Sa’Kul to calm him and ward off the creature, causing the fortress to stop shaking. As the ship is about to jump, two Chain members beam into the Spore Cube and grab Staments, as well as board the rest of the ship, which is engulfed in the tentacles of Osyraa’ ship.
Book tells Burnham that whatever just happened on the planet nearly caused another Burn, leading them to realise it was Sa’Kul. Saru and Culbert stay behind to keep Sa’kul company, to prevent another Burn while Burnham beams back to support Tilly.
Meanwhile in engineering Chain members place a device on Staments’ head (are there NO counter-insurgency measures on this ship??? The inconsistency in Star Trek about this always bothered me – like I get its not a military organisation – yet it also is in part and it has such poor internal defence mechanisms at times yet other times not – this is something Enterprise did very well with the MACOs but also the ship’s security officers).
Osyraa takes over the bridge (Seriously? On Enterprise, Paris would immediately pull out a phaser and be defending his station). Boy this does not look good on Tilly’s record, first time in command of a ship and you lose the ship to a hostile force.
Burnham and Book do not make it back as Discovery jumps, with the enemy ship.
TO BE CONTINUED
And yes, it was such a delight to see Doug Jones in all his real-flesh glory.
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