Welcome, one and all, to my continuing ‘Quick Thoughts on Star Trek Discovery’ series. Today’s episode, ‘Light and Shadows’, was an interesting one. It certainly pushed things forward in terms of the Spock and Red Angel storylines, but it wasn’t perfect by any means. Let’s have a look at what happened.
- It was quite clear from the opening that Spock and the Red Angel were going to be the focus, and we see very quickly that the episode will be split between Michael hunting for her brother and Pike trying to track the time travelling meddler.
- Captain Pike and Tyler got plenty of time together this week. Pike was all about stamping his authority over Tyler in a non-aggressive manner, demonstrating not only his loyalty to Spock, but his lack of love for Section 31. There was a lot of fun to be had with the duo though. From the time rift foreshadowing of Pike shooting Tyler to the actual event, the old fleet trick of burning fuel to the attack from the future modified probe, the two made for compelling viewing.
- Speaking of the probe, it did give rise to Pike beginning to lean toward the Red Angel potentially being a threat. That the probe appears to have infected Airiam makes me happy, because it means we will finally get to learn a little more about her.
- Spock is back, though he’s not doing well. The exchange between Sarek and Amanda felt off to me. I understand the idea of a mother’s instincts being strong and that she of course wants to protect her son. But to throw the whole ‘I don’t live under your authority, I am your partner’ in Sarek’s face when she’s been hiding Spock rather than working with her husband felt hypocritical. It did lead to Sarek affirming his love of his children though, so that’s good. It looks like we’re heading to Talos IV too, which has been visited a few times in The Original Series. We know Pike has already been there too. How? Because that’s what happened in the original pilot for Star Trek, which was set a few years before this episode.
- The scenes featuring Section 31 were good. Leland comes across as being a good person willing to do bad things, but is quickly revealed as manipulative. What I loved about it was that Georgiou pretty much became the master manipulator in the scenario. She helped Michael, blackmailed Leland, and took control. She’s a great character like that.
- The Discovery crew had a mixed bag of it, in my opinion. It’s always nice seeing Saru take control, and he does well here. Meanwhile, Tilly and Stamets continue to be a pleasure in terms of their working relationship. Tilly was strangely pessimistic during the initial crisis with Pike and Tyler disappearing. It was a massive change from her over-excitement with the time rift, and really felt like it was flying I the face of the message of hope against all odds that the series has pushed so far. I mean, maybe her recent experiences made her a little more grounded or wary when under pressure?
- In all, that was a lot of fun. Like I said, not perfect, but it was still fun.
So, those were my thoughts, but what about yourselves? Are you watching Star Trek Discovery? How are you finding this second season? What did you make of this episode? Let me know in the comments below.
Matt Doyle Media 