Star Trek: Discovery | S1, Ep #10 Recap, “Despite Yourself”

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Star Trek Discovery | Season 1, Episode 10 Recap of “Despite Yourself“

Rob Cesternino recaps the “Star Trek: Discovery” spring season premiere, “Despite Yourself” with Jessica Liese

  • TrentC

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6ef13db3fe961b6359ce463837692a9acf9688eba1498d07b2d7ad6fcaedef20.jpg

    Saru’s threat ganglia are in the pattern of a goatee…I salute the reference Jessica.

    How about just once the alternate versions from the mirror universe are nicer people than the main cast? Wouldn’t that raise an eyebrow.

    I noticed the Frakes-cam was moving during most scenes. Still not onboard with this version of Star Trek. The Klingons look like nuclear mutants and the gold lamé Peter Pan Getaway Boots made me smile. I instantly imagined crew members jogging, laughing and dancing while wearing their disco tshirts and gold booties.

    While the overall tone is dark and interesting, I still find some of the original story progressions hard to accept. Burnham working for Star Fleet and in a capacity to influence and advise senior members of a crew, after being held responsible for over 8000 deaths. Lorca throwing the admiral under the bus and leaving her for dead. Using a human for a cybornetic engine drive conduit that slowly drives him insane.

    The production has great visuals and the actors are fine, it’s too bad that the show started off with such a series of unbelievable events attached to the main character.

  • Chris Basham

    I hear they love the Wand-Off in the Mirror Universe.

    • Pink Pearl

      Mirror Universe Wanda is actually the Emperor.

      • Chris Basham

        …and Boston Rob is the Rob that Sucks

      • Chris Basham

        I commented before hearing the end of the podcast where Rob says “no Mirror Universe comments in the comments section”… oops!

        • Pink Pearl

          You’re forgiven because you were funny.

  • Hornacek

    I liked how Saru’s threat ganglia activated as Tyler walked onto the bridge.

    As far as the humans being in charge of the Federation (in both universes), in season 4 (?) of Enterprise, Captain Archer unites 4 other species to form an alliance in what eventually becomes the Federation. It could be that while there are many other alien races, it’s humans that have the drive to form the Federation,.so of course they would be in charge.

    I’m pretty sure in a previous episode Doctor Culber said that he was not the Chief Medical Officer on Discovery meaning that there at least one doctor on board. Now that Culber is dead (?) I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw one of the other doctor(s), especially since Stamets is still in Sick Bay.

    It looked like Lorca was interested in what was going on between Tyler and Burnham because when Tyler was in the shuttle investigating the Klingon wreckage, the shuttle was going off course and Tyler wasn’t responding (caused by his PTSD). Lorca saw that Burnham was able to calm him down and get him back on track. I think Lorca’s queries to Burnham were more about what was wrong (if anything) with Tyler and if their relationship was causing them (it looks like their relationship is an open secret).

    Haven’t listened to the entire podcast yet, but I did catch when Doctor Culber was talking to Tyler about possible things to look for regarding PTSD, he said the word “Manchurian”, referencing the movie The Manchurian Candidate, where soldiers are captured and brainwashed, with one turned into an assassin.

  • Chris Basham

    The two-part Season 4 Enterprise episodes “In a Mirror, Darkly” are good viewing for a backstory of the Terran Empire and how they discover the Defiant from the prime universe.

    • Pink Pearl

      I had to confess to Rob prior to recording that I have seen very little of Enterprise. It is a big blind spot in my knowledge. (In fact, I know the exact moment I was out on Enterprise: Rod Stewart.) #badtrekkie

      • Chris Basham

        It’s actually some other dude singing that song in the credits, but it’s still horrible. 😛 You’ll love the mirror universe episodes because they actually have a different opening sequence.

      • OMG I bought 3 episodes of ENTERPRISE, E2, NORTH STAR, and CARPENTER STREET, cannot watch most of it though, too much XINDI XINDI XINDI 🙂 Love T’Pol 🙂 seen the double episode beginning a hundred times also CARBON CREEK, Vulcans crash landing 🙂 will have to watch the Mirror episodes again to remind me of those 🙁

      • yeah i hated the theme song at first but it grows on you when you realize how schmaltzy our own space program was when it started, the theme in E seems appropriate ??

      • oh yeah now i know why the E mirror episode caused me to NOT watch them much, seems too simple to just make each character opposite to their original, i would like to see multiverses instead of either-or-verses 🙂

    • I’ll try to watch it before next week

  • Matthew Murphy

    I just hope that when they leave the Mirror universe we find out that the show started in another alternate dimension. It would fill in so many plot holes and make sense for the show being out of canon. It would make the Klingons looking so terrible and having cloaking technology not feel like as much of a screw up.

  • Matthew Murphy

    This was probably the best episode so far, although it had a laundry list of plot holes and poorly thought out scenes. It seems the less Lorca knows you the more he trusts you. A lot of the points Rob made stood out to me as well like Burnham and Tyler hooking up on the ship when Lorca is being tortured. It’s annoying that Burnham is the strongest and smartest person in any universe as well.

  • Hornacek

    POSSIBLE SPOILERS

    According to comments on this episode on AVClub, there is online talk by the showrunners that Culber is not dead. Speculation is that Stamets may save his life with his new abilities.

    Also, there are a lot of AVClub comments saying that the Lorca we’ve seen since episode #3 is Mirror Universe Lorca. We learn in this episode that MU-Lorca went missing months ago. Speculation is that he managed to transport himself to our universe, took our Lorca’s place (no idea where *he* is in this scenario), and that’s why he’s been acting so weird. It would also explain the screenshot of the previous episode where he enters in some override command during Stamets jumps, which causes the ship to come to the MU. Also, MU-Lorca needs Burnham in the MU for … something, which is why he got her out of prison and was so eager to make her a part of his crew.

    I could believe the first one. The second one seems out there though.

    • Matthew Murphy

      I hope it goes down that way. Lorca is more interesting than the rest of the cast combined.

    • Pink Pearl

      Whoa, you called it!

      • Hornacek

        I’d like to take credit for it, but I just read what other people were posting. Was till surprised by it though.