As Michael Burnham and the bridge crew fight to retake their ship from Osyraa and her goons, Saru and his away team try to help Su'Kal come to terms with his traumatic past... without triggering an emotional outburst that would jeopardize everything.
There was a ton of action in this final hour, but as well-staged and expertly filmed as it mostly was, it was all frankly quite dumb in a variety of ways. As Osyraa flees in the opening teaser, an entire HQ full of Starfleet ships all firing on Discovery for several minutes can't take it out? (I mean, even before Admiral Vance agrees to let it go -- a decision I cannot imagine him making, given the stakes.) The epic fistfights atop moving turbolift cars were visual nonsense -- why would there be all this empty space inside the ship, and how does that conform to what we know the outward appearance of the ship to be? In the confrontation in the data core, why does Osyraa think she's killed Burnham after shoving her into that "Superman III computer wall?" (And why hasn't she, other than "Burnham is the star of the show?")
These sorts of holes in the plot were hardly confined to the action sequences. Osyraa's swing back to villainy seemed as hard and as unmotivated as her swing away from it in the previous episode. And after being established as an important character last week, Aurellio had absolutely nothing to do with saving the day this week; it seems he was only being positioned as a regular fixture for next season? (Good thing the computer somehow knew not to beam him away when Burnham ordered it to get rid of all the bad guys!)
Still, the episode was not bad on balance, because the more personal content mostly landed well. Having Hugh (and Saru) be able to see Gray Tal was an element that made the whole gymnastics of the hologram environment worth it. Watching the death of Su'Kal's mother was moving, even if it was a moment we all could anticipate. (Bill Irwin really was a strong guest star as Su'Kal.) The return of the lonely, loyal character Sahil from the season premiere was a lovely accent. So was the quote from Gene Roddenberry that capped the entire episode.
Things also seem set up interestingly for season four. The writers will no doubt craft another season-long arc, though I do like the way the table seems set for more self-contained stories if they want them. Michael Burnham finally getting the big chair? About damn time. And Paul Stamets seems setup for a big crisis of self: he's no longer as unique as he once believed himself -- not necessarily the best scientist/engineer on the ship (with Jet Reno around) and not the only way of operating the spore drive (with Book around). That leaves him his family... but he almost lost that, and blames Michael Burnham for it. Stamets is gonna need a ship's counselor.
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