Category: Star Trek

Stardate not given: Starfleet reinforcements arrive to assist the Shenzhou, with further ships on the way. As Captain Georgiou orders Burnham escorted to the brig, the shooting begins, and heavy losses are incurred on both sides. Admiral Anderson arrives, commanding the Europa, and tries to broker a cease-fire with the Klingons, only to have his ship rammed head-on by a cloaked Klingon ship. The Shenzhou is in no shape to keep fighting, but when the Klingons begin retrieving their dead from the vacuum of space, Captain Georgiou decides to attach an armed photon torpedo warhead to one of the floating Klingon corpses, causing critical damage to T’Kuvma’s ship. Georgiou and Burnham beam aboard the ship to try to capture T’Kuvma, which would disgrace him in the eyes of his society, but their mission has a far higher price than they expect – and rather than making T’Kuvma a pariah, they make him a martyr…and the Federation and the Klingon Empire are now at war.

teleplay by Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Harberts
story by Bryan Fuller
directed by Adam Kane
music by Jeff Russo

Cast: Cast: Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Lt. Commander Saru), Shazad Latif (Lt. Ash Tyler), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Cadet Sylvia Tilly), Jason Isaacs (Captain Gabriel Lorca), Michelle Yeoh (Captain Philippa Georgiou), Mary Chieffo (L’Rell), James Frain (Sarek), Kenneth Mitchell (Kol), Chris Obi (T’Kuvma), Terry Serpico (Admiral Anderson), Sam Vartholomeos (Ensign Danby Connor), Arista Arhin (young Michael Burnham), Emily Coutts (Keyla Detmer), Javid Iqbal (Voq), Ali Momen (Kamran Grant), Clare McConnell (Dennas), Thamela Mpumlwana (young T’Kuvma), Damon Runyan (Ujilli), Tasia Valenza (Computer Voice), Chris Violette (Britch Weeton), Romaine Waite (Troy Januzzi)

Notes: This episode includes a mention of the last Klingon/Federation battle taking place at Donatu V, a planet first mentioned in The Trouble With Tribbles (1967), though Trouble established that battle as having taken place in the 2240s, not a century ago. Donatu V was a Klingon planet by the 24th century (DS9: Sons And Daughters). The unusual design of the Shenzhou‘s transporter room – an early reveal of which caused fan uproar – is cited as being an outmoded transporter design still in use aboard the Shenzhou due to the ship’s advanced age.

Representatives from House D’Ghor and House Mokai stick around to listen to T’Kuvma’s sales pitch; other known Klingon houses include Duras, Martok, Mogh, Korath, Kozak, and Antaak, though it is not known how fragmented this system of Klingon society might have become by the 24th century. (It is clearly stated that the Klingon Empire is currently comprised of 24 Houses.) Voq says that T’Kuvma devised the cloaking device; though in much official and unofficial backstory surrounding Star Trek III: The Search For Spock, the Klingons are said to have gotten cloaking technology from the Romulans. Both could be right: perhaps T’Kuvma is padding his resume just a bit. When T’Kuvma is shot by Burnham, his blood briefly vaporizes purple – the color of Klingon blood as it appeared in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (in nearly every other instance in the franchise, it appears red).

Chris Obi is the latest crossover actor to have appeared in both Star Trek and Doctor Who, having appeared in the 2011 Doctor Who episode Closing Time.

Credited, but not appearing in, their second episode in a row are series regulars Shazad Latif, Anthony Rapp, Mary Wiseman, and Jason Isaacs. Not showing up is good work if you can find it.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

No stardate given: Burnham, having been let in on the secret of Discovery‘s experimental “spore drive” that allows the ship to traverse trails of microscopic organic particles throughout space, is re-adjusting to wearing a Starfleet uniform (albeit one with no rank). Captain Lorca assigns Burnham to work on weaponizing the creature that nearly killed the Discovery boarding party aboard the Glenn, and assigns Commander Landry, Discovery‘s security chief, to work with her. Landry’s impatience leads to a fatal accident (for her), while Burnham continues to warn anyone who will listen that the creature, a kind of macroscopic alien tardigrade, is not inherently violent. A Klingon attack on one of the Federation’s most important dilithium mining facilities forces the Discovery into action, and the still-not-fully-functional spore drive must be used…whether it gets Discovery to the besieged planet, or drops it into a situation even more dangerous than a Klingon assault.

written by Jesse Alexander and Aron Eli Collette
directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi
music by Jeff Russo

Cast: Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Lt. Commander Saru), Shazad Latif (Lt. Ash Tyler), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Cadet Sylvia Tilly), Jason Isaacs (Captain Gabriel Lorca), Michelle Yeoh (Captain Philippa Georgiou), Jayne Brook (Admiral Cornwell), Mary Chieffo (L’Rell), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), Kenneth Mitchell (Kol), Rekha Sharma (Commander Landry), Dennis Andres (Engineer Rance), Emily Coutts (Keyla Detmer), Jordana Blake (Betarian Girl), Julianne Grossman (Discovery Computer Voice), Javid Iqbal (Voq), Sara Mitich (Airiam), Oyin Oladejo (Joann Owosekun), Christopher Russell (Milton Richter), Tasia Valenzia (Shenzhou Computer Voice)

Notes: Corvan II is noted here for producing 40% of the Federation’s supply of dilithium crystals, but it’s also home to the endangered Corvan gilvo creature prized by Worf’s son Alexander in the TNG episode New Ground (1992). Kol hails from the Klingon House of Kor, which means he may or may not be related to Kor, the Klingon encountered by Kirk on the planet Organia (Errand Of Mercy, 1967). Macroscopic organisms are rare in Star Trek, but not unheard of, whether it’s the enormous energy-eating amoeba that nearly destroys the Enterprise (The Immunity Syndrome, 1968), or macroscopic viruses that swarm aboard Voyager (Macrocosm, 1996).

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Stardate 1308.9: Having deposited a landing party consisting of Saru, Burnham, and Tyler to the planet Pahvo, the Discovery diverts to answer a distress call from U.S.S. Gagarin, under Klingon attack. Lorca’s previous strategy – to drop in out of a spore drive jump and blast every enemy in sight – is no longer a guarantee of success: as more Klingon houses rally to Kol’s side, their ships are armed with cloaking devices. Discovery‘s overwhelming advantage has been negated, and the Gagarin and her crew pay the price for this revelation.

On Pahvo, a planet whose ecosphere audibly sings in a variety of frequencies, boosted into space by a crystalline transmitter that may or may not be of natural origin, Saru’s landing party is there to see if that transmitter can be altered in such a way as to help the Federation’s war effort. But what couldn’t be seen from space is quite visible on the ground: the planet is inhabited by energy beings who are curious about their unexpected visitors. They offer peace to Saru – a peace that he’ll willingly betray anyone to keep.

written by Kirsten Beyer
directed by John S. Scott
music by Jeff Russo

Cast: Cast: Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Lt. Commander Saru), Shazad Latif (Lt. Ash Tyler), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Cadet Sylvia Tilly), Jason Isaacs (Captain Gabriel Lorca), Jayne Brook (Admiral Cornwell), Mary Chieffo (L’Rell), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), Kenneth Mitchell (Kol), Michael Boisvert (Kovil), Conrad Coates (Admiral Terral), Emily Coutts (Keyla Detmer), Anthony Grant (Klingon Communications Officer), Julianne Grossman (Disocvery Computer), Patrick Kwok-Choon (Rhys), Sara Mitich (Airiam), Oyin Oladejo (Joann Owosekun), Ronnie Rowe Jr. (Bryce), Tyler Evan Webb (Klingon Guard)

Notes: The title of the episode translates from Latin to English as “if you want peace, prepare for war”, originating in a 5th century written work, “De Re Militari” (“Concerning Military Matters”). This is not the first Star Trek episode to use a Latin phrase as its title; that honor goes to Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges (1999), an episode of Deep Space Nine‘s seventh and final season.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Stardate not given: The crystalline transmitter on planet Pahvo is sending a homing signal identifying its location to both Starfleet and the Klingon fleet. Though ordered to withdraw to protect the Discovery‘s one-of-a-kind technology, Captain Lorca is ready to stay and fight. Saru and Burnham devise a means of gathering data on the Klingon cloaking device through a series of over a hundred spore drive jumps in rapid succession. In lieu of a suitable tardigrade creature, Lt. Stamets prepares to serve as the spore drive’s navigator yet again, over Dr. Culber’s objections. Burnham and Lt. Tyler beam over to the Klingon ship of the dead to plant the sensors that will gather the data, but discover that they’re not the only human life signs on board: Admiral Cornwell is still alive in Klingon captivity. So is L’Rell, imprisoned by Kol for her treachery. Burnham has to go it alone when the sight of L’Rell leaves Tyler in a state of post-traumatic shock, and to buy time, Burnham reveals herself and challenges Kol to a duel. Though Burnham is unable to overpower Kol, it will be his last fight as the Discovery gains the upper hand by finding the means to defeat the cloaking device. Burnham, Tyler and Cornwell are beamed safely back aboard Discovery, but L’Rell throws herself at Tyler in order to escape as well, and is promptly thrown in the brig. Though weakened, Stamets volunteers to navigate Discovery for one last jump home…though it would seem that Lorca still isn’t ready to return to Earth.

written by Bo Yeon Kim & Erika Lippoldt
directed by Chris Byrne
music by Jeff Russo

Cast: Cast: Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Lt. Commander Saru), Shazad Latif (Lt. Ash Tyler), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Cadet Sylvia Tilly), Jason Isaacs (Captain Gabriel Lorca), Jayne Brook (Admiral Cornwell), Mary Chieffo (L’Rell), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), Kenneth Mitchell (Kol), Michael Ayres (Transporter Technician), Conrad Coates (Admiral Terral), Emily Coutts (Keyla Detmer), Julianne Grossman (Disocvery Computer), Patrick Kwok-Choon (Rhys), Sara Mitich (Airiam), Oyin Oladejo (Joann Owosekun), David Benjamin Tomlinson (Klingon Bridge Officer)

LogBook entry by Earl Green