Discovery: ...But to Connect

Some seasons of Star Trek: Discovery have had mid-season breaks, and some haven't. You might have expected this season to have a break for the December holidays. But nope, we got one episode after Christmas and then a break. That episode was "...But to Connect."

Zora has calculated the origin of the species behind the Dark Matter Anomaly, but refuses to share it with the Discovery crew, prompting a review of her level of intelligence overseen by Kovich. Meanwhile, the members of the Federation debate whether to seek peaceful contact with the DMA aliens, or retaliate against their anomaly with an attack. Burnham and Book argue opposite sides of the debate, fracturing their relationship.

I've noted before that I have liked the way Book's loss has been an ongoing element of this season, not something easily gotten over. With this episode, we learn that this wasn't just about depicting grief in a more realistic way -- it was setting Book up for a realistic "heel turn" here. While his stance in this episode isn't very "Star Trek," it fits with the emotional journey he's been on. (And, after all, he isn't a Starfleet officer.)

While Book joining up with Tarka makes some sense, I'm not sure I needed for Tarka to have ulterior motives. It feels to me a lot like Lorca's arc in season one, despite the fact that the writers immediately took the Mirror Universe off the table. Another character not looking so good this episode was President Rillak. She really has no preference at all in this debate, nothing she wants to lobby for? Her plan is yet again to let Burnham kinda do her job for her?

But then, Burnham is the star of the show, of course. And we did get yet another great "righteous captain's speech," which was delivered with precision as always by Sonequa Martin-Green. Speaking if good speeches -- if anything, Book's argument was even more impassioned (and David Ajala's performance was just as strong). Add in the fun of the slowly evolving relationship between Saru and T'Rina, plus a bevy of background aliens (familiar and new), and I felt it was a mostly satisfying story line, even if it was mostly marking time and setting up a more interesting conflict for the next episode.

Similarly, I found the Zora plot here mostly engaging, but slightly flawed. Well... not "flawed" perhaps so much as "competing with one of the best Star Trek episodes of all time." The debate over Zora's sentience felt a lot like the Next Generation classic "The Measure of a Man." And I suppose why not "remake" that episode (to some extent)? It is more than 30 years old. But I feel like this episode could have distinguished itself if more people than Stamets were arguing about the dangers Zora represents. He's certainly not "right" here, by Star Trek morality... but the entire Discovery crew has a history with Control, so I think it wouldn't have been a stretch for more of them to express misgivings.

It also struck me a bit odd that this ultimately was a family debate over a shipwide issue. That only Stamets, Culber, Adira, and Gray were involved in the discussion seemed rather off to me. (And, for the third straight episode since Tilly left, made me wish Tilly was still around. I feel like she could have credibly taken either side in the Zora debate, and man would I have liked to hear her thoughts.) But at least we did have Kovich there to stir the family pot a bit; the character (and bone dry performance by David Cronenberg) remains a fun element in the show.

I suppose this was perhaps another typical Discovery episode in that the logic and particulars didn't necessarily add up, while the emotional appeal and performances were top notch. I've long since signed on to that kind of show, so this episode ultimately worked for me too. I give "...But to Connect" a B. And I'll look forward to the handoff back from Star Trek: Prodigy to see the last half of the fourth season.