As Burnham is thrown into the bridge, she tries to mock Georgiou for not killing her and being weak, but Georgiou dismisses it, and has her thrown into an agonizer. She orders Tilly to break Burnham in an interrogation, rationalising this will destroy the rebellion better than killing her.
We get a Mirror Universe inverted version of the opening titles which I really actually dig.
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| Heck, I actually prefer it to the original. Let’s stay in the Mirror Universe and keep this one! |
Seeing a Mirror Tilly and Burnham dynamic is very interesting. Burnham is tortured over a period of days. Finally Detmer visits to tell her to give in.
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| A very broken Burnham |
Georgiou speaks to a sleeping Burnham about her growing up and how she looked after her through her night terrors. She offers her a globe of fireflies, who kept her calm as a child. Burnham wakes up and finally eats.
Georgiou reveals to Saru the truth about their madness, and that he would survive. She inspires Saru to tell others, and that she intends to change her home for the better. Discovery warps to Risa to find Lorca’s contact. They beam him to the brig. Burnham kills him and her co-conspirators arrive (immediately disintegrating the two honour guard who are apparently so keen on standing still at guard they don’t even move to defend themselves before being shot) and turn on Georgiou. Georgiou tells her she knows a better way to rule, but Burnham doesn’t listen. Fortunately (coz it would’ve been a massive ball drop if she hadn’t), Georgiou never trusted her, and Tilly and others come to save her. Burnham and Georgiou fight hand to hand, while the music from LorcaBurnhamGeorgiouLandry fight plays. Eventually they both fatally stab each other.
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| I feel like they both left themselves open here, but oh well, I guess that’s swordfighting for you. One mistake. |
Burnham dies as Georgiou bleeds to death. She reappears back in the Prime Universe, as Carl tells her her fate is now uncertain. Carl continues to me enigmatic as:
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| Georgiou becomes an expressionist painting. |
Carl reveals he is the Guardian of Forever (and we get a very cool sequence where the voice from The City on the Edge of Forever plays as he announces so, and the door explodes and reforms as the portal).
Meanwhile we get a StamentsReno w/ TalBook scene in engineering with the great banter (‘You’re not allowed food in here.’ ‘This isn’t food, it’s candy.’) and Book solves their problems deciding now is his moment to be helpful and providing a Chain tool to access the ship they are looking for.
The Guardian explains they closed themselves up after the Temporal War to stop people using them as a weapon. Georgiou was sent into the Mirror Universe to see if she would make a different choice – and even though she still killed Burnham, she saved Saru, who will save others. So the Guardian gives her the ability to go back to when the Mirror Universe and Prime Universe were more aligned, to cure her.
Georgiou and Burnham say their goodbyes, and Georgiou leaves. Burnham Vulcan salutes as Georgiou gives a Terran salute. And she’s gone.
Vance, Saru and Booker explain their situation. I love Oded Fehr in this role, he conveys so much nuance to his lines, a softness with a harshness. Burnham beams back without Georgiou and is comforted by Burnham. The crew hold a memorial for Georgiou. “Her barbs, no matter how piercing, were glorious.” It’s actually a very sweet and well written scene. Discovery does its memorial scenes very well, for some reason.
I think it’s quite wholesome, and very Starfleet, to hold such a ceremony for someone who wasn’t entirely good, but got better. And if her spin-off happens, I for one will be very interested to see where it leads.
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