Star Trek: Discovery returns this weekend with episode #10, “Despite Yourself.” Before we preview the episode with our latest primer, let’s catch up on the show so far...
Previously on Discovery...
Michael Burnham, on a fitful journey from pariah to potential hero, must regain the trust of others and reestablish her self-confidence. She also contends with both the inner conflict of being a human raised by a Vulcan father, Sarek, and the results of her mutiny aboard the U.S.S. Shenzhou. Her actions, though logical and well-intended, left her mentor, Captain Georgiou, and many fellow crewmen dead.
Over the course of the first nine episodes, Burnham has gained a friend in Tilly, a possible lover in Tyler, and a supporter — for reasons not entirely altruistic — in the rule-bucking Captain Lorca of the U.S.S. Discovery. The captain is determined to defeat the suddenly united houses of the Klingon Empire ... at any cost.
The Burnham-Tyler relationship faces challenges. Burnham doesn’t feel she belongs on the Discovery, while Tyler’s brutal torture at the hands of the Klingons, particularly L’Rell, haunts him and affects his ability to function at crucial moments.
Burnham’s relationship with Saru remains a work in progress. She’s stood in his way of assuming the captain’s chair before, and he’s admittedly jealous of her. Further, she’s played him like a card, even as recently as in the events of “Into the Forest I Go.” Yet, there’s an understanding between them, even a level of respect that could bode well for the future. Still, every time Burnham is in his presence, his threat ganglia pop. That seems unlikely to change any time in the near future.
And then nearest Stamets. He’s a complicated guy, sharp, smart and impatient with others, even his partner, Dr. Culber, though to a lesser degree. Stamets is also an ambitious astromycologist who — eager to test scientific boundaries (enter the Tardigrade) and pushed to the limits by Lorca, each with very different motivations — is literally now part and parcel of the spore drive powering Discovery on her time jumps. The 133 jumps, though key to helping Burnham kill Kol and Lorca destroy the Klingon Sarcophagus ship, have altered Stamets... and perhaps time and space, too.
In fact, in the final moments of “Into the Forest I Go,” it was a spore drive jump that left Stamets catatonic and the Discovery and her crew lost in space. “Captain,” Saru said ominously, “I’m afraid... I don’t know where we are.”
Next on Discovery...
In the new episode titled, “Despite Yourself," while in unfamiliar territory, the crew must get creative to survive against opposing forces and return home.
Worth Noting:
“Despite Yourself,” the first episode of 2018, kicks off the second chapter of Discovery’s first season.
Longtime Trek favorite and veteran Trek director Jonathan Frakes steps behind the camera for his first episode of Discovery. Be on the lookout for an exclusive follow-up interview on StarTrek.com after the episode airs.
After Trek
When Star Trek: Discovery ends, After Trek begins. Stream it Sundays at 9:30pm ET/6:30 PT. Joining host Matt Mira will be:
