S03.E06: Scavengers

[paulvdb]

Quote

After receiving a message from Book, Burnham and Georgiou embark on a rogue mission to find him, leaving Saru to pick up the pieces with Admiral Vance. Meanwhile, Stamets forms an unexpected bond with Adira.

 

[paigow]

These Orion / Andorian phasers are absurd... 20 - 30 prisoners running across a junkyard --->  0 kills! Then the only hit [supposedly KILL setting] does not disintegrate the target.  WTF!!!!!

[paigow]

Now that Adira has fixed Stamets, she can upgrade the 1000 year old implants in Detmer...

[starri]

7 hours ago, paigow said:

These Orion / Andorian phasers are absurd... 20 - 30 prisoners running across a junkyard --->  0 kills! Then the only hit [supposedly KILL setting] does not disintegrate the target.  WTF!!!!!

That's just another example of what Roger Ebert called the Principle of Evil Marksmanship, which is something Imperial Stormtroopers had down to a science.

I need an entire episode that's just Tilly and Grudge.

[ottoDbusdriver]

They have to quit giving away Discovery's dilithium.

I'm not quite sure what the purpose of the detached nacelles are.

The only problem with Booker's ship is that every time it reconfigures you wouldn't know where the bathroom is. :)

I'm just surprised that more Discovery crew haven't personally transported into space with their new badges

Do they not have dermal regenerators in the 32nd century ?  Why does Stamets have scars from his removed implants ?

[paigow]

3 minutes ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

I'm not quite sure what the purpose of the detached nacelles are.

I'm just surprised that more Discovery crew haven't personally transported into space with their new badges

• Reduce the drag coefficient..in space...
• Nobody built a voice interface for the transporter...on a comm badge 

[starri]

Ah, Ryn was played by Mary Wiseman's husband.  He's apparently a huge Trekkie.  

[Stardancer Supreme]

I figured that Michael wouldn't have lasted long as Number One.  She needs freedom to research the Burn!  Outside of disobeying Saru's direct order, did they really need her to be on Discovery waiting for a mission that never happened? 

I wonder what the interrogator did to Georgiou, or is her Terran heritage to blame? 

5 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

They have to quit giving away Discovery's dilithium.

No one gave away Discovery's dilithium.  They keep using it as bait to get whatever is needed.  It should all still be safe on Book's ship which apparently has a cloaking device. 

Loved the crew's delight (minus Detmer) in playing with the technology that is new to them. Linus popping up all over the ship was amusing.  

Wait. Michael mentioned having her own ship. Where is it?

[mrspidey]

Can we please stop fat shaming the poor cat?

[thuganomics85]

That has to be the shortest run as a First Officer in Trek's history!  Although, all things considering, being demoted back to Chief Science Officer probably is a fair result.  I don't blame Michael for wanting to do what she did since not only was Booker in trouble, but she could find more info on the Burn, but there was no way she could not suffer some consequences by disobeying her captain like she did.  They did make sure to mention that Saru wasn't flawless since he never brought the mission to Admiral Hardass in the first place, but there was no way that wasn't going to go over well at all.  I do wonder why Michael didn't at least try to attempt bringing up her going on her own or with a small crew, since it looked like Discovery had more than enough support if they needed to jump.  I am curious to see who will take her spot though, since I really don't see anyone else of the current Discovery crew working in that role right now (Tilly has potential, but still can be, well, Tilly-ish at times!)  Still, Sonequa Martin-Green and Doug Jones sold the hell out of the final scene.

So the mission this week was mainly about bringing Booker back into the fold and moving one step closer to discovering the origins of The Burn, but is also seems to be establishing new possible villains, with the one guy not only escaping, but it seems like whoever he works for (his aunt, I think?) is known throughout the galaxy as someone who shouldn't be messed with.  Uh oh!

Also, Georgiou seems to be having.... well, some issues!

Stamets and Adira together was pretty nice.  It's good seeing a more caring and friendly side of Stamets, compared to his normal arrogance and dramatics (even if Anthony Rapp is good at that too!)

The crew (besides Detmer somewhat!) certainly seemed to enjoy the new gadgets and technology!  And I'm sure the actors like that they don't have to carry around as many props anymore!  I do have many questions about the personal transporting devices though.  I certainly hope there are some restrictions when it comes to bathrooms, personal quarters, and so forth.  Because possible pervs, creepers, or other nefarious folks with that kind of power is quite unsettling...

When is Grudge going to go ahead and be made an official crew member?!

[marinw]

"You had me at unsanctioned mission"

Why no new uniforms?

That junkyard planet felt very Star Wars

Edited November 20, 2020 by marinw

[Starchild]

I like that Andorian, I'd like to see him join the crew.

[dwmarch]

It has been established that Andorian antennae grow back. Archer cut off one of Shran's antennae when they tussled once. But then again maybe the bad guys here were cutting them off regularly.

A lot of people in this century could solve a lot of problems if they would reinvent these things called doors. Like Starfleet HQ. If you had a door for ships to pass through, Burnham wouldn't have been able to fly off on her unauthorized mission. I swear The Burn is going to end up being caused by someone who hated doors and deleted them all from everywhere in the universe (which would have caused dilithium chambers to fail since they also have a door on the front of them).

Also how far away is Starfleet HQ supposed to be? Book's ship got there without any problems under its own power and I didn't get the impression this was a long voyage. Burnham searched for Discovery for a year but apparently never went to visit Starfleet Command which seems to be right next door to Book's stomping grounds.

Tilly and Grudge were cute but if she has some legitimate reason to dislike cats why doesn't she ask for a volunteer to look after Grudge? I'd imagine she'd have at least a few volunteers out of the 80 or so people on Discovery.

I also liked Stamets being accepting of Adira's invisible boyfriend but at some point Starfleet really needs to start asking more questions in situations like these. Is your invisible friend telling you to blow up the ship or murder anyone? Are they asking you for access to classified materials? Do they need you to make sure the ship goes to a particular place and or/time? And if they engage in any of this behavior you will tell someone immediately, right?!

Saru didn't really punish Michael much at all. "Let me free you from having any major responsibilities so you can go off on side missions". I don't know if this is a bug or a feature. He did admit he knew she was going to screw him over.

Great point upthread about Detmer's implants. Those should be somewhat terrifying to the 32nd century folks. I'm pretty sure if I were to watch the most skilled surgeon from 900 years ago do his job my first question would be "what the fuck, dude?" I'm pretty sure doctors of nine centuries ago didn't even feel the need to wash their hands before surgery. Who knows? They have mentioned that they can tell Detmer is messed up so maybe they'll get around to asking her about the hardware eventually.

Funny visual contrast: Georgiou in her black leather of villainy and Michael in brown leather of ambiguity.

Georgiou got to have all the fun on this mission and I was enjoying that. I don't mind if she's the team's snarky ass kicker but I'm not particularly interested in her angst. From what I can gather from those annoyingly jumpy flashbacks someone whom she was close to ("my son"?) died and she feels so bad about it that she randomly has a BSOD when she should be focused on other things up to and including mofos shooting at her. Great time to discover your empathy there Empress.

[KimberStormer]

This show, sometimes I don't know if I'm watching Star Trek or The Days of Our Lives.  Michael...I must....*sob*...I must....oh God...can I ever forgive myself...I must...Michael...I must...give you less work!  *massive crescendo of weepy music*  Enough already with the schmaltz.  It's not that deep, as the kids say.

Also who cares about the Burn.  Whooooooo caaaaaarreeeesssssss.  I thought we were just getting a new setting, not some dumb boring mystery and probably time-travel fix-it shenanigans.  Mysteries are overrated on TV serials.  I also do not care about Georgiou's mystery ailment.  I care about Georgiou out-bullying the Orion with the greatest of ease.  More of that and less Star Wars action sequences, that's what I want.

Stamets and Adira, Tilly and Grudge, these are the sort of scenes I like.  Although as has sometimes been the case with Discovery, even these characters couldn't escape scenes of filler and stuffing to stretch the episode.  Neither the Tilly/Saru scene nor the Stamets/Culber scene added anything.  Stamets with Adira: "I never thought I'd meet someone who knows what it's like to have a loved one die but not die!"  Me: good point, this is nice.  Stamets with Culber: "I never thought I'd meet someone who knows what it's like to have a loved one die but not die!" Me: yes, you, uh, said that already.

Oh well.  The whole scenario with Michael and Georgiou's mission was a lot of fun.  I was extremely surprised the Andorian guy didn't die.  Book said "we're getting out of here....all of us," which is usually a 100% guarantee that the sympathetic character is gonna die.  Glad Book and Michael finally made out -- the whole "nuh uh he's not my boyfriend!!" thing was bizarrely childish?  Maybe I'm getting old, but they lived together for a year?  Could they really have not hooked up by now?  Why would you deprive yourself of that quality man, Michael??

[Quark]

Booker has been an awesome addition for Star Trek.

[ottoDbusdriver]

We did get a visual confirmation this episode that it wasn't just ships at warp that blew up during the Burn.

My money is still on Q causing the Burn.  :)

[Stardancer Supreme]

8 hours ago, dwmarch said:

Also how far away is Starfleet HQ supposed to be? Book's ship got there without any problems under its own power and I didn't get the impression this was a long voyage. Burnham searched for Discovery for a year but apparently never went to visit Starfleet Command which seems to be right next door to Book's stomping grounds.

Starfleet is in another quadrant from the one Michael crashed into on her exit out of the wormhole.   Remember when Michael told Book he had a new quadrant to explore in Episode 3? Right now, Only Discovery can bop from place to place instantaneously.

Also, Book's ship took 3 weeks to get to Discovery from the salvage planet.  Book is in the same neighborhood, as it were. He would have to burn Discovery's dilithium to get back to the quadrant he was originally from.

Edited November 20, 2020 by Stardancer Supreme

[wanderingstar]

Loved this episode!

The team-up of Georgiou ("you had me at unsanctioned mission") and Burnham was awesome! But WTF is going on with Georgiou? Just what did David Cronenberg do to her during that debrief?

Also really liked Stamets' chat with Adira.

Grudge climbing all over Tilly put me in my cat feels!

And yay for Burnham and Book kissing. Love to see it.

Edited November 24, 2020 by Gillian Rosh

[Primal Slayer]

It was a good episode! The upgrades they got...whew! The future is REAL.

Though I think its time that they upgrade (even though it'd be a downgrade) their uniforms to the future ones since Im assuming we're sticking with the future for the remainder of the series.

[Chit Chat]

On 11/19/2020 at 4:05 PM, mrspidey said:

Can we please stop fat shaming the poor cat?

I believe he's a Maine Coon cat.  They get to be quite big and fluffy.  

[Quilt Fairy]

18 hours ago, dwmarch said:

Also how far away is Starfleet HQ supposed to be? Book's ship got there without any problems under its own power and I didn't get the impression this was a long voyage. Burnham searched for Discovery for a year but apparently never went to visit Starfleet Command which seems to be right next door to Book's stomping grounds.

I thought Starfleet/Federation HQ is supposed to be hidden, that's why we needed Adira to be able to access her Trill's memories, the admiral had the coordinates.  Which makes it odd that Book was able to send his ship to this supposedly concealed place. 

I thought this episode was a waste of time.  I will re-watch to see if I'm being too harsh, but that's my initial impression.  Like someone said upthread, too many Star Wars type action sequences and CGI.  It would have been a decent self-contained ST:TOS episode but these aren't 26 episode seasons like that show had.  It only has 13 episodes and every episode has to move the season's story arc along.  

[paigow]

Sometimes it seems like Booker was originally a Guy Ritchie scripted petty criminal... If Jason Statham shows up this season, that would be proof...

[LittleIggy]

On 11/19/2020 at 12:52 PM, starri said:

Ah, Ryn was played by Mary Wiseman's husband.  He's apparently a huge Trekkie.  

Is she pregnant?

Aw, Saru got Burnham’s seal of approval for his punishment of her. 🙄 I don’t watch Discovery for her Mary Sue character. Good thing Michelle Yeoh is still around this season.

Edited November 21, 2020 by LittleIggy

[AnimeMania]

On 11/19/2020 at 5:05 PM, mrspidey said:

Can we please stop fat shaming the poor cat?

If he is going to be standing on people's back, then they have every right to complain about his thunder thighs.

[j5cochran]

23 hours ago, dwmarch said:

Georgiou got to have all the fun on this mission and I was enjoying that. I don't mind if she's the team's snarky ass kicker but I'm not particularly interested in her angst. From what I can gather from those annoyingly jumpy flashbacks someone whom she was close to ("my son"?) died and she feels so bad about it that she randomly has a BSOD when she should be focused on other things up to and including mofos shooting at her. Great time to discover your empathy there Empress.

According to closed captioning, Georgiou was saying "San", not "son".  Not that helps any in figuring out what's going on with her!

[Kromm]

15 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

My money is still on Q causing the Burn.  🙂

Sorry, but to me Q makes little sense. He's too powerful. An indirect action like this is totally out of character for him. If he wants something to happen, it just happens. He'd wave his hand and dilithium would just disappear, not explode. He also has never really been a sadist, just arbitrary and superior. 

[Kromm]

1 hour ago, j5cochran said:

According to closed captioning, Georgiou was saying "San", not "son".  Not that helps any in figuring out what's going on with her!

That can't be right. San in Chinese means "three".  In Japanese, which neither the actress is, nor the character appears to be, it's a gender neutral equivalent to Mr./Mrs. In English, it means nothing. 

1 hour ago, LittleIggy said:

Is she pregnant?

Don't you mean "was she pregnant"? This was filmed over a year ago. 

[aemom]

On 11/19/2020 at 5:11 PM, thuganomics85 said:

That has to be the shortest run as a First Officer in Trek's history!  Although, all things considering, being demoted back to Chief Science Officer probably is a fair result.

So who will be the new Number One? I really hope that they don't backtrack and that she gets the job again in a few episodes. There really should be consequences that stick.

10 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Is she pregnant? 

Mary Wiseman has never been super skinny like so many actresses on television and I love that. It's a pleasure to see realistic looking people. She does an amazing job with Tilly and every week I bemuse the fact that I can never have her amazing hair.

[LittleIggy]

9 hours ago, Kromm said:

That can't be right. San in Chinese means "three".  In Japanese, which neither the actress is, nor the character appears to be, it's a gender neutral equivalent to Mr./Mrs. In English, it means nothing. 

Don't you mean "was she pregnant"? This was filmed over a year ago. 

Oh, excuse me! 🙄 So, was she pregnant?

[Joimiaroxeu]

Grudge! Good kitty!

New badge, where dis?

And that's how you shut down a salvage slave colony.

I'm loving Michael and Philippa's new friendship. When you're in the sh!t you want a fearless psycho like Georgiou to have your back.

Book must have that good good if Michael risked court martial and her life to rescue it.

So who will be Saru's new No. 1, Tilly? I'd be okay with that though she's probably not the most qualified.

Quote

I'm just surprised that more Discovery crew haven't personally transported into space with their new badges

Or inside a wall.

Quote

That junkyard planet felt very Star Wars

I immediately thought of WALL-E.

[tennisgurl]

Can I nominate Grudge as the new first officer? We already know he can hail a ship like a pro! What a good kitty he is! Of course he's a big boy, he's a Maine Coon, they're practically Pumas! Tilly having to suddenly cat sit was cute, I believe this is the start of a beautiful friendship. 

This defiantly had a side quest vibe, but I am alright with it, we have been so plot heavy this season that its nice to take a breather for a good old fashioned rescue mission and to beat up some bad guys. I am glad that Book is back, I really like him and I think that he and Michael are really good together, and Michael and Georgiou on a mission together was a lot of fun, they work really well as foils to each other. This was kind of a sticky situation, because I get why Michael wanted to go off on her mission to save Book and get more info on The Burn, but also why Saru is hurt that she disobeyed his orders when he is trying to make a good impression on Starfleet. You could say that Michael could have just waited a week or so until she could get permission to go off to save the day, or that it wasnt that big of a deal to let her leave on her own to go do this side mission while Discovery was on stand by, and go around in circles, but I think that Michael going back to science officer is for the best. Michael so often gets up to her own hijinks and personal missions and cowboy main character adventures, that she probably isnt the best person to be the person who is supposed to be keeping the ship running and the crew on mission. I continue to like the Starfleet commander they work with, and even his security chief, who was rather needlessly jerky last episode, seemed to have warmed to the crew more. 

Everyone was so excited about their new future toys, and I get it, those look really cool. Only Detmer is a bit taken aback, which does make sense considering her recent issues with PTSD as well as her having cyber parts. I wonder if she will get an upgrade for her parts? Linus popping in and out all episode trying to get used to the new badges was a cute running joke, I am always happy to see Linus he is one of my favorite minor/supporting characters. I would say I want an episode where he plays more of a part, but I know what that means on this show (dying or leaving) so just stay in the background where its safe Linus. 

I wonder if Book's Andorian buddy will stick around? I liked him, I would be cool with that. 

I wonder if  Georgiou's issues are about finding out that the Terran Empire crumbled, that was when she really started getting upset during that interrogation. 

Stamets and Adira bonding was nice, its good to see more of Stamets more caring side, and learn more about Adira and what is going on with her and her past boyfriend. I am a bit concerned about her boyfriend living in her head as a ghost or something, relationships are hard enough when one of the people in them isnt a brain ghost who exists for some reason we don't yet. 

[paigow]

TNG era Quadrants:

Alpha: Federation / Cardassian

Beta: Romulan / Klingon

Gamma: Dominion

Delta: Borg

What is the "new" quadrant that Booker can explore?

[marinw]

I wonder if any Starfleet ships had left the Milky Way and escaped the Burn

 

[j5cochran]

14 hours ago, j5cochran said:

According to closed captioning, Georgiou was saying "San", not "son".  Not that helps any in figuring out what's going on with her!

 

13 hours ago, Kromm said:

That can't be right. San in Chinese means "three".  In Japanese, which neither the actress is, nor the character appears to be, it's a gender neutral equivalent to Mr./Mrs. In English, it means nothing. 

 

She appeared to be referring to someone as San, as if that was a name. San could be short for Sanford or Sanjay or Sandeep or a whole lot of other names. 

There's no obvious inference in the show that the Georgiou character is Chinese or Japanese, other than her appearance as East Asian. The name Georgiou is Greek.

[KimberStormer]

It seems to me like Replacement Airiam is the logical choice for new First Officer, since we've seen her take the con several times now.  Although I still laugh every time I see her because why on earth did she decide to go to the future with these people she barely knows, and why did they go through such wacky casting shenanigans to bring her along and not give her even one minute of characterization?

[Chit Chat]

Let's rename the show for Grudge:  'Cats in Space.'  'The Grudginator.'  'Deep Space Feline.'  'Star Cats.'  🙂  

[Quilt Fairy]

Discovery has such a small crew, any new number one should logically come from the bridge crew.  My biggest issue is keeping Saru as captain.  Originally, Discovery was a science vessel in a time when the universe was much more settled.  In that setting, Saru is a decent captain, although I think he functioned much better as a number one himself.  Now, however, it appears that Discovery needs to be more of an all-purpose ship with the potential for getting engaged in armed conflict.  I don't think Saru has the "it" factor, the factor that made Kirk, Picard, Janeway, etc., great captains. YMMV.

[AnimeMania]

6 hours ago, aemom said:

So who will be the new Number One?

They can always make it Adira, has thousands of years of knowledge, can call on several Admirals for advice, knows everything about the ship, and has the best understanding about the present/future.

[aemom]

26 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

They can always make it Adira, has thousands of years of knowledge, can call on several Admirals for advice, knows everything about the ship, and has the best understanding about the present/future.

You have the memories of your previous hosts, but not the experiences.  Adira is only sixteen and not even a member of Starfleet.  It should be a member of the bridge crew.  Tilly is only an ensign, so it really shouldn't wind up being her.

[Chit Chat]

43 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

My biggest issue is keeping Saru as captain.  Originally, Discovery was a science vessel in a time when the universe was much more settled.  In that setting, Saru is a decent captain, although I think he functioned much better as a number one himself. 

He does seem rather unsure of himself at times.    He seems very fair in the way he deals with the crew, but he's going to have to grow a spine and be a little more assertive.   Burnham doesn't deserve to be #1 after that stunt, even though the end result of the mission was helpful.  Still, she has lost Saru's trust and that's a pretty big deal.   

[Stardancer Supreme]

Thing is, Saru knew Michael would break his heart. I guess he didn't expect it to happen so quickly! 

I will hazard to guess that the new Number One will be Lt. Nilsson? Tilly would have to be promoted from Ensign to make that jump.

[MissLucas]

As a passionate lover of Maine Coons I second the promotion of Grudge to Number One!

I'm glad Burnham's off the job, because I like wildcard Burnham. And I think the Admiral was handling the whole mess impressively. Saru is still learning how to wield authority and it's a bumpy ride but interesting to watch.

Speaking of the Admiral: Interesting that he kept the Spore Drive from the rest of Starfleet. I wonder how long they can keep it a secret.

I guess not-Ariam will become the next Number One, what other reason is there for this sudden new character we're supposed to know als if she's been around all time? I wonder if behind the scenes we're dealing with a scenario like on Farscape with an actor's health being impacted by all the necessary make-up. So they kept the actress but gave her a new part.

Dettmer is probably not too happy with all the new gizmos since they can read bio signs and she's clearly still struggling.

 

 

[Frozendiva]

Burnham has enjoyed freedom for a year, while waiting every day for a sighting of Discovery. It's hard to go back to regulations when you have enjoyed not having them. I would fully expect Saru to not trust her and vice versa. She is a stranger to her crew now. 

Nice to see Grudge again. He was all over Tilly like a cheap furry suit.

The colony looked like something out of Star Wars - like a Mos Eisely spaceport. Felt badly for Mr. Blue, but at least he is safe.

Did like the rapport of Burnham and Georgiu. She still isn't herself and I do wonder what happened to her at the Starfleet interrogation.

[paigow]

5 hours ago, MissLucas said:

And I think the Admiral was handling the whole mess impressively.

Dude approved braintapping Georgiou. 

[MissLucas]

6 hours ago, paigow said:

Dude approved braintapping Georgiou. 

ST has a long history of secret organizations flying under the radar of authorities so it's possible he does not know about it. But even he does, I can't say I blame him - I love Georgiou but she's certainly an acquired taste.

[starri]

13 hours ago, MissLucas said:

As a passionate lover of Maine Coons I second the promotion of Grudge to Number One!

Judging by the ears, she also has some Norwegian Forest Cat in her.  

[MissLucas]

 

32 minutes ago, starri said:

Judging by the ears, she also has some Norwegian Forest Cat in her.  

Which truly makes her a Goddess!

[Llywela]

21 hours ago, paigow said:

TNG era Quadrants:

Alpha: Federation / Cardassian

Beta: Romulan / Klingon

Gamma: Dominion

Delta: Borg

What is the "new" quadrant that Booker can explore?

The one they are in now, which is not where Book started from. Burnham and Discovery came out of the wormhole in a different quadrant entirely - I don't think we were told which one, but we were told that they had to jump from there to the Alpha quadrant to get to Earth in search of the Federation, and that if Book came with them (which he did) he'd get a fresh start in another quadrant (the Alpha quadrant), where, as a man who will steal cargo from a fellow courier to release it back into the wild, he hasn't made any enemies (yet). The show has made clear in a number of subtle ways that Federation territory had expanded greatly in the centuries between TNG-Voyager era and the Burn - we've seen references to the Kazon from the Delta quadrant, for instance. That's why the lonely Federation officer from ep1 was so isolated - the station he's manning all alone was way out at the furthest point of Federation territory, in another quadrant, and with both long-range travel and communications destroyed, had no way of keeping in contact with Federation HQ over the last century.

[Quilt Fairy]

22 hours ago, MissLucas said:

I guess not-Ariam will become the next Number One, what other reason is there for this sudden new character we're supposed to know als if she's been around all time? I wonder if behind the scenes we're dealing with a scenario like on Farscape with an actor's health being impacted by all the necessary make-up. So they kept the actress but gave her a new part.

Wait - what?  I don't follow BTS stuff, can you explain? 

Are we certain that Grudge is literally "just" a cat? 

[MissLucas]

12 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Wait - what?  I don't follow BTS stuff, can you explain? 

Are we certain that Grudge is literally "just" a cat? 

Sara Mitch who plays Lieutenant Nilsson (the new blonde officer on the bridge) was Airiam in the first season; in the second season Airiam was played by Hannah Cheesman. I don't know why they changed actresses nor why Mitch was offered a new part in season three. I was just speculating about a similar scenario to what had happened on Farscape. (One of the main characters in Farscape - Zhoto Zhaan - had to be written out of the show because the actress had been getting serious health problems from the full-body make-up required for the character.)