Superstar Trek: Discovery is in point of fact just right with era. We knew this virtually straight away when one among its earliest episodes to in point of fact wow us used to be “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad,” a satisfying era loop caper. We knew it once more, when it flung warning to the air and catapulted itself right into a destiny deny Superstar Trek display had visited but on the climax of season two. And now, because it stares ailing its ultimate finish, Discovery as soon as once more turns to era—and twists it, to seem again on its lengthy, ordinary commute.
“Face the Strange” is a deceptively easy episode at the floor, and a daring travel for a display on its utmost lap: in lieu of increasing the chase between Discovery and Moll and L’ak as they hunt for extra clues to the Progenitor tech, it virtually actually slams the brakes on the entirety in order an attractive tiny personality piece, now not only for Michael Burnham, however to offer era to discover Discovery’s team, or even its newcomer in Commander Rayner, who continues to be suffering to evolve to Discovery’s extra personable option to hierarchy. Next retirement Trill with Adira unknowingly tagged by way of Moll, the Discovery heads to coordinates the place it expects to seek out the then piece of the puzzle, handiest to seek out… not anything. However what Adira used to be tagged with, it seems, wasn’t a monitoring tool, however a “Time Bug,” a work of Krenim generation held over from the Temporal Chilly Warfare (some other stunning little bit of the usage of Discovery’s dealing with of era, on this case the passage of it, for a amusing Voyager/Endeavor nod!). The Pace Computer virus infiltrates Discovery’s programs, and locks them ailing—now not by way of disabling the send’s programs, however by way of trapping them in a spiraling layout of era loops.
Burnham and Rayner—who had been busy arguing within the in a position room over Rayner’s abrasive temper—are partly unaffected by way of the malicious program’s looping, having tried to beam again to the bridge on the exact life it activated. Presen they’re stuck in the similar looping, being shunted from side to side in Discovery’s timeline, they continue to be conscious between each and every loop that one thing is improper—and that in the event that they don’t set aside their variations and disable the malicious program, Discovery can be close ailing presen Moll and L’ak remedy the clues to the Progenitor tech and doom the galaxy (to the Breen, of all community, we be informed in one of the vital loops!).
That is already a in point of fact amusing thought, as a result of as we up to now mentioned—Discovery is aware of do a killer era loop tale already, and has identified how to do this for an overly lengthy era. However what crucially units “Face the Strange” excluding “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad” (god bless the display additionally toned ailing its love of lengthy episode titles) is a context that the episode itself in the end performs with: this type of episodes got here simply seven tales into the display’s life. The alternative is the 59thand within the era among them Discovery has achieved such a lot, modified such a lot, and evolved in its personal self belief, that it could importance a indistinguishable construction and structure like this once more to not say “hey, look Star Trek fans, we can use the same tropes as the shows you loved,” however to in lieu say “hey, how do we use this trope to make a Discovery story?”
The solution is in each its characters—in fact, in particular Michael—but in addition within the masterful method “Face the Strange” makes use of the idea that of era looping to revisit a number of key moments from Discovery’s metatextual presen, giving Burnham, who went via all of it, and Rayner, because the newcomer, (and in the end Stamets, who because of the spore pressure tardigrade DNA, can’t be suffering from era loops—a delightfully sharp nod again to “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad”!) a prospect to peer simply how a long way this team has come via and what kind of it’s modified all of them alongside the best way. Via Michael and Rayner’s ocular as they puzzle out the development of each and every loop, and what they wish to do to ban the malicious program, we get to walk via such a lot of Discovery’s presen—from it being inbuilt drydock in San Francisco, to the life it jumped to the thirty second century, to combating off the Emerald Chain in season 3, and, maximum crucially, climaxing again within the early days of season one when Michael used to be nonetheless only a downtrodden turncoat slightly given a 2nd prospect by way of Starfleet nearest the beginning of the Federation-Klingon struggle. And with that viewpoint, and the carried consciousness from loop to loop, each Michael and Rayner matching come to know what Discovery has been via the entire higher.
It’s an episode that’s highest for a last season—standalone plenty that it’s also merely only a stunning era loop state of affairs, but in addition vitally knowledgeable by way of Discovery’s historical past over the utmost 4 seasons in order a in point of fact touching life of acknowledgement for the layout because it seems to be again on how a long way it’s come. It’s amusing ocular the impaired blue metal uniforms once more, or ocular Stamets figuring out {that a}) he’s a tiny frightened he can temporarily uninhabited engineering of officials with a unconditionally pretend spore breach blackmail, or b) he old so that you could do this even sooner by way of being a large asshole. It’s simply as amusing to peer Rayner, who’s nonetheless immune to tied to Discovery’s team, melt as he sees the entirety they went via to get to the place they’re now, and slowly however certainly importance the issues he’s picked up about them to his benefit. It’s each extraordinarily amusing and extraordinarily just right that, within the utmost era loop eager all through Discovery season one, we now not simply get to peer how chilly and independent the bridge team had been again upcoming, however that Discovery in any case does justice to its former cyborg crewmate, Airiam (the returning Hannah Cheesman), making her trust in Michael key to preserve the life—3 seasons within the making, however a much more becoming see you to the nature nearest her clunkily unceremonious demise in season two.
However above all, “Face the Strange” is Michael’s episode, and her go is the only tested maximum of all. As a result of when you’re taking to narratively walk again in era to Discovery’s first season, neatly, up to she doesn’t need to, you’re going to have Provide Michael face While Michael. Sonequa Martin-Inexperienced performs the come upon to perfection: two determinedly cussed girls with issues they nonetheless need to turn out to each themselves and the sector, driven in each and every alternative’s faces. That it turns into a knock-down reflect fit punch-up is deeply humorous—becoming the aggression if Discovery’s actual wartime surroundings presen additionally simply making it the inevitable consequence of placing two unstoppable forces in each and every alternative’s method. However Martin-Inexperienced sells simply how a lot of a extra there may be between Michael’s presen and her presence in those moments with implausible appeal and subtlety. The display in point of fact hammers house that presen there are nonetheless issues about Michael which can be nonetheless Michael, the younger girl petrified that she had deny park onboard a starship in season one and the undeniably heroic captain of season 5 constitute a important go the nature has been on.
Crucially, alternatively, presen Burnham vs Burnham ends together with her tide self Vulcan neck-pinching her presen self, the fresh life the life is stored is finished now not by way of Michael, however Rayner, in any case studying the keys to figuring out what makes the Discovery team tick. Next While-Michael wakes up and, being so desperate to turn out her use, takes the Rayner and future-Stamets on at phaser-point in Engineering as they get ready to in any case break the Pace Computer virus, it’s Rayner who steps in to get her to backpedal, creating a connection—by way of leaning at the issues Michael had advised him about herself of their argument at first of the episode—and getting Michael to peer that one life she’s taking to turn out herself on an extended, painful, however rewarding trail forward of her… if handiest she stops being so cussed for a rattling 2nd and allow them to save the destiny. Despite the fact that she doesn’t commit it to memory, it’s the precise highest recommendation season one Michael wishes—recommendation she’ll be informed the dehydrated method via Lorca’s betrayal. And in having it handed onto her from Rayner, a person who Michael herself has begun to support develop and tied to others once more nearest all his personal frustrations and hurts, in point of fact hits house simply how a long way she’s come.
“Face the Strange” is an episode Discovery may handiest snatch off as soon as, as its go involves an finish—and it does so virtually completely, a shockingly compelling importance of a time-and-tested Trek structure to inspect the metatextual and textual go it’s been on those utmost seven years. Presen there’s nonetheless extra adventures to walk on simply but—with the Pace Computer virus prevented, the race between Discovery and Moll and L’ak is now tighter than ever—this used to be a stunning prospect to whip a life and feature its heroes and the display matching whip hold of the way a lot it’s grown: and the way in a position it’s to bid see you.
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