The trail to the final Progenitor clue takes Discovery to the Badlands, where an interstellar traveling archive holds the item they seek. But the inevitable associated test sees Burnham drawn inside her own mind, where she has limited time to escape. Meanwhile, the Breen are approaching the Archive with hostile intent, and Moll is trying to exert influence over the Primarch and drive a wedge between him and his crew.
This deep into the season, we're basically "pot committed" to all the story threads that have been laid out. It really doesn't matter than Book is awkwardly squeezed into stories where he doesn't belong; we're going to keep doing that (two different ways this week!). It doesn't really matter if you're invested in Moll and her potential redemptive arc; we're doing it either way. Fortunately, even though this episode by necessity included these less successful elements, the rest of the episode was basically all stuff Discovery does very well.
Once again, Sonequa Martin-Green demonstrates that she's one of the all-time heavy hitters for acting on a Star Trek series. As Burnham sat dying in the fading lights of her mental "Archive," what impressed me is that this time, Martin-Green didn't turn the emotional dial up to 11 as we've seen her do (wonderfully) before. Instead, there was a fatigue woven throughout her emotional revelation; this wasn't a dam breaking, but a clenched muscle being relaxed. But I was just as moved watching character and actor grapple with "the big stuff" in a very well-realized scene.
While Sonequa Martin-Green may have had the best moment in the episode, some other performers had strong moments too. As much as I've rolled my eyes at the forced inclusion of Booker this season, David Ajala was actually very good in the moment where Booker interacts with the Kwejian artifact. And on the other end of the emotional spectrum, Tig Notaro killed it with the comedy in a brief scene with Stamets and Adira. I could do with so much more Jet Reno than we ever get, but I suppose "leave them wanting more" is the right way to use the character.
I feel like special recognition is also due to guest star Elena Juatco, who played the quirky "librarian" of the alien Archive. I do credit the character with being an interesting concept and having some fun dialogue, but I really think the performer brought a lot to it, elevating the quirky ideas without making it all seem silly. And I want to give another shout-out to Patrick Kwok-Choon as Rhys. He's been on this show for ages, thanklessly spouting a little technobabble here and there, but this week he actually got to sit in the captain's chair and confidently whip out orders. It feels like it must have been a super-satisfying moment for the actor.
The visuals of modern Star Trek continue to impress. The interior of the Archive was a wonderful set, a "Library of EVERY Congress" in scale and scope. It was created consistently enough that it wasn't always obvious how much was virtual and how much was really there, and felt so "worth it" that I didn't mind the conceit that helped pay for the production of it (that Burnham's vision was set in the very same location).
This felt to me like one the strongest Star Trek: Discovery episode in several weeks. I give "Labyrinths" a B+.
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