Captain’s log: 2257

The Discovery is still in orbit around Pavho when Into the Forest I Go begins. Written by Bo Yoen Kim and Erika Lippoldt this episode first aired on 12 November, 2017.

Captain Lorca (Jason Isaacs) disobeys orders from Starfleet Command and uses the spore drive in an attempt to discover the secret of the Klingon cloaking device as well as to lead an attack on the sarcophagus ship and maybe bring an end to the entire Federation/Klingon conflict.

There continues to be character development for Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) who finds herself in a similar position to that of her character’s in Battle at the Binary Stars. She has a new perspective now, and handles it better.

There is also a nice character moment, between her and Ash (Shazad Latif) when he confides in her that he was sexually abused by L’Rell (Mary Chieffo). Not all the character moments are dark however as Stamets (Anthony Rapp) and Culber (Wilson Cruz) share a kiss, but then something horrible happens.

And of course there is the whole problem with Stamets continually being the human component for the spore drive that is having a prolonged effect on him. Something Culber is beginning to realise.

And trouble comes home for Lorca when Burnham and Ash bring back Admiral Cornwell (Jayne Brook) from the Klingon ship. And as the episode closes we get a suggestion about something more concerning Ash, his past and L’Rell.

There’s a lot going on in all of these episode, and that’s one of the things I like about the season arc nature of the series, though I do find myself wishing for the occasional stand alone story that has no effect on the arcs.

We’re left at the end of the episode with Stamets injured from the spore drive and the Discovery in an unknown stretch of space surrounded by wreckage…

Captain’s log: 2257

Jonathan Frakes directs his first Discovery episode with Despite Yourself, an episode written by Sean Cochran. It first aired on 7 January, 2018.

The strange realm of space Discovery finds itself in after its last use of the spore drive is in fact the Mirror Universe. With Stamets unable to power the drive, the crew have to find a way back to their own universe (which I’m still not convinced is the Prime Universe, but more likely a Parallel Universe).

Unfortunately, that may mean masquerading as their Terran Empire counterparts, and their are some pretty shocking revelations regarding that. Tilly (Mary Wiseman) is the captain, earning the name Killy, in this universe and Lorca is a fugitive and Burnham is presumed dead following an attempt on the as yet unseen Emperor. Burnham was supposedly killed by Lorca in her attempt to protect the Emperor, and Lorca went on the run afterwards.

Ash, at the same time, begins to suspect that his time with the Klingons and his torture by L’Rell may have more to it than he first believed. This is something that Culber has begun to suspect, and comes with disastrous results.

In terms of continuity, the crew learn about the Defiant that ended up in the Mirror Universe from their own, landing somehow in that universe’s past as established by The Original Series and Enterprise.

The Human Adventure continues next week as I continue to explore the first season of Star Trek: Discovery on blu-ray, now available from Paramount Canada. Boldly go…