S03.E13: That Hope Is You (2)

[Linda956]

Since I don't see any individual character forums for this show, I'll just put it here.  Why does the actress who plays Burnham feel she has to deliver her lines by whisper?  This has been going on for 3 seasons now and It is so damn annoying!  She could give Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU a run for her money.  Speak up ladies and be heard.  Your whispering is as annoying as shit!

[TAG42481]

Starchild: "When this show was being developed, didn't they say the star would not be the captain?  I guess it wouldn't be the first show to change its premise."  It took them THREE FULL SEASONS to make the change.  I'm willing to let that slide.

Thuganomics85: "It is starting to feel like Discovery Captain's are becoming Trek's version of the Defense of the Dark Arts Professors from Harry Potter."  That is an amazing analogy, and one I can't argue with at all!

Paulvdb: "The Federation should put some effort in diversity. There are too many humans in their leadership compared to other species."  You DO realize that Captain Pike was the only white man who has ever spoken on the bridge, right?  EVERY SINGLE OTHER character has been a minority character, whether by race, ethnicity, or gender?

ottoDbusdriver: "I'm still not buying the whole "Su'kal was infused with Dilithium and he caused the Burn when he yelled" nonsense.  That's probably one of the the dumbest plot points on this show.  Which is saying a lot for this show."  No, that's EXACTLY what this show does, which pisses me off.     And "The absolute worst part was whoever discovered the 180 degree rotating camera rig -- and then overused it like they had to justify buying it in the first place.  Man that was annoying."  COMPLETELY agree.

 

[millennium]

My pattern with this show has been to clench my teeth through most of a season, then walk away for 4-6 months until the bad taste fades away.   I guess I keep expecting it will get better upon my return because it can't really get worse can it?

But it can, as this boring and overblown two-parter has so ably demonstrated.   The whole Su'kal/Saru storyline felt like vanity bullshit for Doug Jones' sake, an excuse for him to show his real face.   A "very special" episode of Discovery.  The story had zero organic interest.  The whole "man-child" characterization of Su'kal became tiresome after two minutes.   A fairy tale kelp monster?  Really?  Other than her eye-rolling "mean girl" exchanges with Burnham, Osyraa (and her ill-fitting leather suit) felt like an aggregate of every Star Trek baddie that has gone before with a dash of Margaret Hamilton.   The crew vs. Regulator battles were uninspired. Tilly and the gang sabotaging the nacelles had all the drama of a staged emergency drill, punctuated by a ridiculous "I love you."   Jake Weber and the New-Yawk-in-space accent, ugh.

Apples made of shit was new, I'll give them that.

Then there's Michael Burnham, the gift that keeps giving for those who love to loathe Discovery.  It feels like every episode of this show wants to throttle you and scream in your face how terrific Michael Burnham is until you just break down in tears and agree that yes! yes! the Federation owes its very existence to Michael Burnham.   Maybe I would find it less improbable if the writers and Sonequa Martin-Green could make me believe it (Patrick Stewart made me believe in Picard).   Instead, the show seems to want viewers to simply accept the premise without doing the work to convince us.   See?  See?  And if you still don't buy it, we're having a full-dress ceremony on the bridge to welcome her as Captain/Chosen One, flanked by the adoring crew.   She must be great.   Feel the awe!

Not so much.  Sorry.

 

[Tachi Rocinante]

Meh.  The actress who played Osyraa couldn't keep her accent(s) straight and it became annoying.

[Mr. R0b0t]

So is there a reason Osyraa's face couldn't move?  Did she have space botox?  Far as I could tell she was humanoid with a green complexion.  I did like that she had some clever ruses/strategies, but apparently the intellect only went to a certain point.  It's my first time watching the show, but I've come to this conclusion.  You can watch this show in two ways; the first is with a critical lens bringing every crumb of canon to the party and assailing the show for every misstep. Is Burnham a classic Mary Sue? You betcha!  Are their logical leaps? Yep!  Does overacting or earnestness creep in?  Sure does!

The second is to just sit back and accept that it is still broadly a Trek show and it's gorgeous to look at and has fantastic effects (I absolutely love the way the spore drive jumps look on screen) and interesting characters.  I've given in to the latter....just letting it wash over me and enjoying the ride.  

 

Sidenote:  How gorgeous did the Enterprise look?