Logline
When Captain Burnham is trapped within a “mindscape” designed to test her worthiness to retrieve the Progenitor’s powerful technology, Book, Rayner, and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery must hold off the Breen long enough for her to escape.
Written by: Lauren Wilkinson & Eric J. Robbins
Directed by: Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour
I thought the “challenge” was a little on the obvious side, but then it’s the sort of thing that would be obvious to someone not undergoing it.
Book’s reaction to the Kweijian artifact was probably David Ajala’s best work on the series so far, really great stuff.
Moll usurped the Primarch perhaps a little too easily, but I like Eve Harlow’s performance enough that I really don’t care.
Lastly, it’s a small thing, but I thought the Badlands looked really great. They finally seem as hellish as they’ve always been described.
Reno partying with Hysperians –– now that is a show I want to watch
I enjoyed this episode immensely and was on the edge of my seat for most of it. I thought Burnham’s plan to fool the Breen was pretty ingenious.
I’ve also found my new favorite place in the Trek universe. Imagine getting to explore that library.
I found it unexpectedly upsetting when the shelving was taking hits from the Breen.
You should watch this week’s Ready Room.
It is a real place you could explore!
If I ever make it up to Canada (and it is open to the public!) I will absolutely. I looked up photos and while it is obviously much smaller, it is a very beautiful library.
The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library doesn’t seem open to the public all the time, but it does have events it seems.
https://fisher.library.utoronto.ca/fisher-events
Also it has participated in Doors Open Ontario which is an annual event for a few days in May, when many publicly funded or non-profit buildings that usually have restricted admittance, are open for viewing.
https://www.doorsopenontario.on.ca/toronto/thomas-fisher-rare-book-library
I thought that the twist to Burnham’s mindscape challenge would have been that she needed to empathize with others, and thus take a look at what Book was reading the whole damn time.
Turns out holographic facsimiles of people you know get bored, too.
Something about the former Primarch really reminds me of Sarris from Galaxy Quest.
They’re both cartoon villains. It works for a comedy movie, not so much for a serious TV show.
Annotations for 5x08 up at: https://startrek.website/post/10307058
Sonequa gave possibly her best performance of the whole series in this episode. I know everyone makes fun of how much Burhnam cries, and like- it is a lot, but this time it really felt like she was being maximally vulnerable.
Also I really liked the Klingon(?) lady. Did not expect that to be her personality based on the promo pics.
the Klingon(?) lady
Efrosian, apparently!
