S05.E01: Red Directive

[paulvdb]

Premiere date: April 4, 2024

[AnimeMania]

Discovery races through the cosmos for a lost artifact. 
Captain Burnham and the U.S.S. Discovery are sent to retrieve a mysterious 800-year-old Romulan vessel; until the artifact hidden inside is stolen, leading to an epic chase. Meanwhile, Saru is offered the position of a lifetime, and Tilly's efforts to help pull her into a tangled web of secrecy.
Captain Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the crew of the USS Discovery are sent to recover a mysterious artifact hidden inside an 800-year-old Romulan vessel, but they discover that they are not the only ones looking for it.

Callum Keith Rennie as Raynor
Mary Wiseman as Sylvia Tilly

Edited April 4 by AnimeMania

[NeenerNeener]

Eve Harlow looks much better as a blonde.

[MissLucas]

Damn, the put my Queen in the box! And I was so looking forward to writing reading her diary!!!

Never noticed how much Callum Keith Rennie looks like Daniel Craig - or is it just me?

I know I'm watching ST Discovery when I catch myself rooting for the villains. Moll and La'ak get bonus points for getting rid of yet another Dr. Soong remnant. But I guess Stamets and Culber will manage to bring him back *sigh*

Burnham must have gotten a character replacement over the break - or the writers room spent a lot of time watching Marvel movies. The quip quotient was over the top for the first 20 minutes at least.

Saru and T'Rina for the win! And tipsy Tilly!

Edited April 4 by MissLucas

[NeenerNeener]

26 minutes ago, MissLucas said:

Saru and T'Rina for the win!

Saru is probably going to die by the end of the season, so we'll all feel sad.

[MissLucas]

8 minutes ago, NeenerNeener said:

Saru is probably going to die by the end of the season, so we'll all feel sad.

Yeah, I fear for him or T'Rina!

[Affogato]

Is that a proto founder?

[ajsnaves]

Have we ver heard Linus speak before?

Anyone else notice that they repeatedly said names and ranks of the bridge crew? Kinda like they want us to know who they are finally? Oh and Saru was always called Mister, not Captain. 

[AmigaJoe]

Could've sworn Detmer died last season. How is she back?

 

[PurpleTentacle]

It had it's share of ridiculousness as always, but overall, it was a fun romp.

I really had hoped that we would be rid of Book after last season's ending, but here he is again, right in the first episode.

List of Nitpicks:

- So the spore drive project is getting scratched... because? The reason seemed fishy and ill-defined. The writers constantly flip-flopping on this technology is just exhausting. It's way overpowered and should have never been introduced in the first place. But now we are in the far future, that will hopefully get retconned anyway, in the last season of the show. So just let it be developed and then rolled out in the last episode. Or give a better reason for not doing it. Like it's too dangerous. But even then you should probably develope it and keep it in a vault, in case somebody else does and you have to defend yourself from an enemy who can jump around the galaxy instantly.

- You are the Federation, you really don't have the resources to follow all warp signatures? If something like this is a possibility, why don't you have warp-drones on board that can follow the signatures, scan where they end and report back? For that matter, why can't discovery just jump to all the locations? Even if the ship is cloaked, the warp drones don't have that technology, so if you find a drone there, move on.

- "They killed the Android" How can you determine that so fast without a scan? Was there really no way to reactivate him? Afterall, they left his head intact. Data has been through much worse and survived. Also would anybody really still build Androids after this old design, when in ST:Picard Androids were already much more advanced?

- Michael sees 2 moons in a drawing and immediatly says "it's that system!". 🙄 The galaxy is massive. Even just the alpha quadrant is massive. And she even picks out a planet with 3 moons, even though the drawing only had two. 🙄

- "In the wrong hands I can only imagine how a technology this powerfull might be used." What powerfull technology? It's just seeding DNA on planets. If we really wanted to, we could probably do that. I appreaciate trying to link this back to old Trek, but maybe expand a bit. Like "We have reason to believe that they not only seeded life throughout the galaxy, but also had increadibly advanced technology."

17 minutes ago, AmigaJoe said:

Could've sworn Detmer died last season. How is she back?

I actually thought Book had died. Maybe we both had some wishfull thinking going on there?

[AmigaJoe]

I actually thought Book had died. Maybe we both had some wishfull thinking going on there?

'Detmer death star trek'

-That search on YouTube disagrees...

[PurpleTentacle]

36 minutes ago, AmigaJoe said:

I actually thought Book had died. Maybe we both had some wishfull thinking going on there?

'Detmer death star trek'

-That search on YouTube disagrees...

Literally nothing comes up for me except mirror Detmer being executed by Burnham. If you found something you can just put a link here, you know.

[dwmarch]

4 hours ago, Affogato said:

Is that a proto founder?

Played by Salome Jens (the actress who played the main Founder through most of DS9) so kind of, yes. Having said that, there hasn't been an in-universe link yet between the Progenitors and the Founders.

Prime Detmer is alive and well. I would have been pissed if they killed her off. As noted above, her Mirror Universe counterpart did get herself stabbed though. Prime Detmer was a little depressed last season but hit some dank space cheeba that fixed it right up.

Discovery has never been my favorite Trek but it has grown on me over the years and it is great to have Trek on again.

I also have to compliment the show on continuing to be gorgeous. The action sequences were really well done.

For nitpicking, continuing to point out one that carries over from Picard: why are the phasers so goddamn loud? The crew is trying to sneak around and their phasers keep making these charging noises to announce "hey enemies, this thing is set to mess your shit up!" Every other phaser on every other show makes noise only when one is adjusting settings, firing or overloading it.

I like the new villains and the new Captain. Rayner has already had it with Burnham but hasn't yet received the memo that she is always correct. I hope he isn't playing the role of butt monkey for the whole season.

Edited April 5 by dwmarch

[PurpleTentacle]

18 minutes ago, dwmarch said:

Played by Salome Jens (the actress who played the main Founder through most of DS9) so kind of, yes. Having said that, there hasn't been an in-universe link yet between the Progenitors and the Founders.

I think it might make sense that over the milennia the progenitors evolved into the founders. Which would make their hatred for the solids really ironic, since they created all solids.

But as you say, there is no link established in actual canon.

[thuganomics85]

Star Trek: Discovery is back for one final ride!  It might not have the star power of Picard or be the close to perfect nostalgia ride that is Strange New Worlds, but it was the first of the NuTrek, so I'm looking forward to seeing how this all plays out.

I'm usually good with placing faces, but it took me until the credits to place Eve Harlow as Moll since I'm use to her as a brunette (remember her best as Maya from The 100.)  On the flip side, I totally knew that Elias Toufexis was L'ak, because that man's voice can not be duplicated.  Part of the reason why I've heard him in various video games (especially Adam Jensen in the Deus Ex series.)  They both were effective enough as adversaries and hopefully they'll be popping up from time to time.

We also get  "Hey, it's that Guy who appears in every Canadian-based show ever!" Callum Keith Rennie as Captain Rayner, who definitely isn't meshing well with Michael and the rest of the Discovery gang.  Since he's listed as a regular, I'm guessing he'll be playing a major factor despite being a captain of another ship.

We will never be rid of Soong since even his androids; or those based on his work; apparently still last into this century.  I wonder if old Dead Fred will somehow get woken up.

Aww, Saru and T'Rina want to tie the knot!  I hope nothing bad happens to either one of them.

Stamets seems to be struggling to find his place since the spore drive has apparently been shuttered.

I wonder if we'll actually see Tilly interact with her students or is that being saved for a potential spin-off?

Yeah, yeah, I'm sure Michael is happy to have Booker back, but I want to see Grudge again!  The queen must not be denied!

Glad Vance is still around.  Oded Fehr needs to be in more things!

Looks like the mystery is going to be connected to an alien race Picard met back during his Next Generation days.  Can't remember which episode that was, but the Romulans were apparently involved as well, so I'm sure fun times were had!

[Affogato]

8 hours ago, dwmarch said:

Played by Salome Jens (the actress who played the main Founder through most of DS9) so kind of, yes. Having said that, there hasn't been an in-universe link yet between the Progenitors and the founders  

Not just the actress, but the makeup. 

[dwmarch]

8 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Looks like the mystery is going to be connected to an alien race Picard met back during his Next Generation days.  Can't remember which episode that was, but the Romulans were apparently involved as well, so I'm sure fun times were had!

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/The_Chase_(episode)

[Stardancer Supreme]

Aah. I'm ready to fly with my captain and the DISCO crew for this finale season!

Since Dr. Kovich is still skulking around, I will expect to see a cameo from Emperor Georgiou to slide us into the Section 31 movie (still should be a proper series!!!).

Is there a glossary defining the numerous directives? Seems like we get new ones every season.

I'm digging Captain Rayner. He seems to be the charming scoundrel type of captain, as opposed to being an overbearing jerk of one.

I also liked Fred. No, we will never be free of Soongs and their legacy work. It is weird that they think that Fred is dead as opposed to being deactivated. Is it that he is so old that he could be permanently damaged? I expected Culber and Stamets to reboot him easily.

Again, I must ask this; is Admiral Vance the only Starfleet Admiral?  I always have to remember that the Federation and Starfleet are 2 separate entities in the 32nd Century!  I like that Admiral Vance also got to join in on the mission after Kovich shut him out of the intel.

Saru and T'Rina are engaged! They better let Saru have his Happily Ever After or I will riot!

Let's Fly!

 

[Tom Boya]

My biggest issue with it was that they're trying to make it like the redhead has a budding romance?

You can only suspend disbelief so far.

[marinw]

So another season-long arc for a plot Lower Decks could wrap up in 22 minutes. I’m here for the ride though.

The actress playing T’Rina must have neck strain from looking up at her betrothed. 

I’m sure Fred can be reanimated. 

 

Edited April 5 by marinw

[Ceindreadh]

16 hours ago, Tom Boya said:

My biggest issue with it was that they're trying to make it like the redhead has a budding romance?

You can only suspend disbelief so far.

The redhead?  Do you mean Tilly?  Why would that require any suspension of disbelief?

[Affogato]

I am just endlessly delighted by the presence of David Cronenberg. 

[AmigaJoe]

On 4/4/2024 at 9:00 PM, PurpleTentacle said:

Literally nothing comes up for me except mirror Detmer being executed by Burnham. If you found something you can just put a link here, you know.

Ah! I'd actually forgotten about that. It may be what I recall. But seems like her sacrificing herself I recall reacting to. Oh well...

[Stardancer Supreme]

13 hours ago, AmigaJoe said:

Ah! I'd actually forgotten about that. It may be what I recall. But seems like her sacrificing herself I recall reacting to. Oh well...

 

Perhaps you are thinking of Lt. Airiam, who did sacrifice herself in Season 2?  Then the actress (Sara Mitich) became Lt. Commander Eva Nilsson, who we haven't seen yet in Season 5.  

[marinw]

Michael must be thinking: "This Picard guy sure get mentioned a lot."

Edited April 7 by marinw

[Ottis]

That was bad. Back to Michael being the snowflake hero with all the answers … except having a ship tracker on her when she needed it. Kind of used to this, but for a brief bit back in the Pike season it disappeared, and that season was so good.

And Book is back. Meh.

Lots of childish action scenes and space chases. Guess it became a kids’ show. Mrs. Ottis said it is now like Star Wars. That split screen was embarrassing. This is like watching Dune andPaul and the Baron have a pod race in the desert. Tonally very off for Star Trek and as embarrassing as the Chris Pine movie space cycle thing..

And with all that, still mostly boring. "Get the McGuffin! It matters - trust us!"

 

 

 

Edited April 10 by Ottis

[eelpout]

On 4/6/2024 at 9:50 AM, Affogato said:

I am just endlessly delighted by the presence of David Cronenberg. 

and aren't he and his hairline like 80 or something? Amazing. 

[tennisgurl]

Welcome to one last ride with the Discovery crew! Its been a lot of ups and downs but overall its been a fun time, especially the last few seasons. Having Callum Keith Rennie along for the ride should be interesting, I'm always happy to see him and I am curious to see if he becomes a "starts out conflicting with the heroes but isn't so bad" kind of antagonistic captain or "just an asshole" kind of antagonistic captain. 

I was promised getting to see Grudge! We spend al episode with Book and Michael being all awkward and not a single look at the queen herself? 

Will we never be free of the Soongs? They just keep popping up no matter what decade we're in, and it always seems to spell trouble. This whole family just needs to stop...doing all of the stuff that they do. 

Tipsy Tilly! I hope that she can stick around for awhile, I miss her energy. I am also glad to see that David Cronenberg is so connected with the main plot, he's been an unexpected delight this whole series. 

Awww Saru and T'Rina are engaged. I'm very worried them, between the impending nuptials and Saru's near retirement, he better not put on anything red in the near future. 

[millennium]

I had forgotten just how much I hate these characters, and all it took was the first five minutes or so to remind me.   The show didn't even pretend like Book might not be around anymore.  I think he was back before the first commercial break.

On 4/4/2024 at 10:58 AM, MissLucas said:

Never noticed how much Callum Keith Rennie looks like Daniel Craig - or is it just me?

Same ears.

On 4/4/2024 at 10:58 AM, MissLucas said:

I know I'm watching ST Discovery when I catch myself rooting for the villains.

Yup, La'k, Moll and Captain Rayner are my favorite characters so far this season,   Kovich is okay but he lost some stature when he was bested by the almighty Michael in the final scene.

On 4/4/2024 at 10:58 AM, MissLucas said:

Burnham must have gotten a character replacement over the break - or the writers room spent a lot of time watching Marvel movies. The quip quotient was over the top for the first 20 minutes at least.

 

All it did was remind the audience that we're not watching a serious show with serious characters.   This episode could have been based on a video game.  Heck, most of it looked like a video game.

 

On 4/4/2024 at 11:27 AM, NeenerNeener said:

Saru is probably going to die by the end of the season, so we'll all feel sad.

Oh, you're just trying to give me a reason to keep watching this "shit sundae."

On 4/5/2024 at 2:23 AM, thuganomics85 said:

but it was the first of the NuTrek,

I had a different word in mind, but it rhymes with first.

On 4/4/2024 at 10:51 PM, PurpleTentacle said:

I think it might make sense that over the milennia the progenitors evolved into the founders.

The Q  could wipe up the Founders with a paper towel, unless of course Michael Burnham conquered the Continuum in the off-season.  Could have happened.

On 4/6/2024 at 12:34 PM, Ceindreadh said:

The redhead?  Do you mean Tilly?  Why would that require any suspension of disbelief?

Because she's obnoxious and talking like a valley girl in the 32nd century.

 

On 4/5/2024 at 11:55 AM, Stardancer Supreme said:

I'm digging Captain Rayner. He seems to be the charming scoundrel type of captain, as opposed to being an overbearing jerk of one.

In both the final season of Picard and now in Discovery we are introduced to abrasive alpha-male captains (Captain Shaw and Captain Rayner) who apparently want nothing to do with the sanitized, homogenized, vanilla culture of the future.   They're personality-driven cowboys, self-righteous, egotistical and convinced of their own infallibility.  They would have been Kirk's drinking buddies.  That's why we like them, because they vividly capture what this series and NuTrek in general desperately and sorely lack -- human beings.

On 4/7/2024 at 3:09 PM, marinw said:

Michael must be thinking: "This Picard guy sure get mentioned a lot."

Nah, she's thinking, "I wonder if this Picard guy ever heard of me."

 

[Joimiaroxeu]

Another season of Burnham being insufferable. Yay!

Tilly looked different to me. The hairdo I guess. Meanwhile, Oded Fehr's still aging like fine wine.

"By any means necessary." Well, Burnham was guaranteed to take that as a challenge and turn it into an even more complicated mess.

Burnham riding a spaceship like a surfboard will never not be ridiculous to me.

Book! How you doin', baby? 😍

Yeah, Captain Rayner sort of resembled Daniel Craig. I had to look at him hard even though I knew Craig would never be guest starring on a show like this. Does he even do TV roles?

Tilly is so socially awkward. That guy she was talking to at her job was totally down for some grownup activities.

Fred was one weird Synth.

And of course Captain Rayner had to cede control of his ship to Burnham because she insisted it was the only way. 🙄

Poor Saru. Space love is hard and T'Rina knows she better lock him down before he can talk himself out of it.

Kovich let Burnham browbeat him into giving her the top secret info. Whhhyyyy????

"Let's fly." Still has to be IMO the most meh ST captain's catchphrase ever.

This episode certainly seemed to me like they were recycling some things from ST: Picard. At least the show sort of acknowledged it.

Edited April 21 by Joimiaroxeu

[marinw]

3 minutes ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Oded Fehr's still aging like fine wine

Dadmiral!