![]() ![]() In just this episode, we get the Discovery’s arrival at the Federation’s new headquarters, a debrief sequence, the Discovery’s quest to a Federation seed vault ship, the solving of the seed vault’s familial mystery, a mini-character study of Nhan, and a compromise within the Federation hierarchy. ![]() Then again, this episode was already clocking in at the 55-minute mark, much longer than your average length of network TV and the longest episode of the season so far. While that’s also an interesting angle to explore, there are several moments during which it seems like “Die Trying” is trying to place the various Barzan characters’ decisions in the context of their culture, but never actually figures out how. While this is a thematically rich idea to explore, the episode never really explains what that means, instead leaning into a story about Nhan’s own regrets about having left her homeworld behind. In the story of a Barzan father desperate to save his already-deceased family, kept in stasis on the seed fault ship, we learn that Barzans have a different cultural understanding of death than we do. While “Die Trying” cleverly uses the mission as an excuse to explore Nhan’s Barzan culture, there really isn’t enough time to do the narrative ambition justice. Listen, it’s a MacGuffin crisis with a MacGuffin mission, but it does give our gang a chance to show the Federation what they’re made of-and a chance for us to get to know Commander Nhan a little bit better, before she leaves the ship for the foreseeable future. Their only hope of survival lies in a Federation seed vault ship located too far away for any ship without a spore drive to make it there and back in time. This test takes the form of a last-ditch effort to cure a group of alien refugees suffering from prion disease. “Die Trying” is about the crew of Discovery working to prove to Admiral Vance that they are a much better asset together than apart not by pulling a Kirk and stealing the ship to make a point (as Burnham basically suggests), but by playing by Saru’s rules for now and going through the proper channels… because, you know, the proper channels still exist and, in a quasi-lawless future, that’s not nothing. This wouldn’t be good for the Discovery crew and, frankly, it wouldn’t be good for the Federation. To tear away the little piece of home they have left would damage everyone’s already fragile mental states even further. They have already lost everything they have ever known. As Michael points out, it’s not simply that the ship and its various crew members will not be as effective apart, it’s that members of the crew might never recover from that separation. ![]() And, ultimately, yes, the Discovery believes they can find a place here, that they can be of use.Īt first, Vance plans to separate the crew of the Discovery, which is a horrific idea from the viewpoint of the Discovery and us viewers. This 32nd-century, post-Burn Federation isn’t bad they’re just tired and forced to be smart about their resources. It might have been tempting to make the Federation evil or compromised or an absolute mess here, but I’m glad Discovery didn’t go in that direction. Saru and Michael’s initial conversations with Admiral Vance are not as warm and welcoming as the Discovery might have hoped for, but it’s easy to understand given what we know of the state of this corner of the universe why the Federation is so damn cautious. Much of the dramatic tension of the episode comes in the question of whether Discovery still fits inside of the Federation. This isn’t a Federation of five-year missions of exploration this is a Federation just trying to solve the latest crisis. The Federation is in survival mode too, and arguably more exhausted than the crew of the Discovery-after all, they have been in survival mode for much longer, since the mysterious Burn more than a century ago. It’s much smaller-both in terms of number of ships and number of member planets. They find the Federation and it’s frankly in better shape than I expected, but it’s still not the organization they left behind. ![]() Like so much in this excellent Season 3, the Discovery’s hope is rewarded, but not without its nuances and complications. Instead, Discovery has put all of its faith in this new future: in the belief that, once they find the Federation, everything will make sense again. It’s painful for them to think about the past, which represents an immeasurable loss. Without a Federation or Starfleet to report to, Discovery has been in survival mode (relatable). Starfleet is a hierarchal structure, and its ships are part of a larger organization with a larger purpose. Since the Discovery first landed in the 32nd century, the ship and its crew has been searching for the missing Federation. This Star Trek: Discovery review contains spoilers. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |