“Context is for Kings,” the third episode of Discovery, seems almost like an episode of an entirely new show. Six months have passed, and it feels like the passage of time has affected not only the characters, but us, the viewers. Here are some thoughts on what has gone on since Michael Burnham was sentenced as a mutineer. There are spoilers, so reader beware.
1. Captain Gabriel Lorca
I’ve been waiting to meet Jason Isaacs’ character since episode one. It’s a strange first encounter; we’re used to traveling through the world of Star Trek via the captain’s eyes. This is one of the first times we’re seeing a captain through another character’s eyes – the main character that is not a captain. We get the impression Lorca is a military man as he tells Burnham about an eye injury he suffered in battle. It’s no accident Burnham wound up on the USS Discovery after her prisoner transport shuttle is saved by the Discovery, a fact she recognizes and addresses with the captain. He assigns her to work with the ship’s science officers. As Lorca and Burnham were talking, I thought I heard a tribble noise. You know why? IT WAS A TRIBBLE. Is it in the captain’s office to keep him calm? I have so many questions about the tribble. I hope there’s no quadrotriticale on board.
2. Tillly
Burnham is assigned a roommate once she is aboard the Discovery, and that roommate is Tilly. She serves as a foil to Burnham in personality and in energy: bubbly and positive and can’t stop talking. I can’t say I was too into her “you can’t sit with us” moment of “we have assigned seats” when Burnham tried to use the workstation next to her on Discovery. Wiseman even states that her own personal character flaw is that she cares too much about what people think, while Burnham doesn’t care that everyone hates her, since she’s an infamous mutineer and all. I see what the writers are trying to do with this character, but it seems too forced at this point in time. I can see how she is meant to be seen as endearing, but it just didn’t come across in this episode. I’m hoping I grow to like Mary; it didn’t happen in this episode.
3. Science and exploration vs. military aggression
Throughout the world of Star Trek, there has been an ever present conflict between the ideals of science and exploration – and the need for military aggression. Is there a way to balance these in a utopian future? In The Original Series, Khan Noonien Singh was genetically engineered by science to possess a superior intellect, but was aggressive militarily while on the Enterprise. These two characteristics could not coexist in one human being – so he and his crew were marooned on Ceti Alpha V where they couldn’t harm others. On Discovery, an away team travels to Discovery’s sister ship, the USS Glen, and science officer Paul Stamets goes on a tirade explaining to Burnham that he and his partner were happy in their lab, “and then your war started and you corrupted our research.” He even refers to Captain Lorca as a war monger. Starfleet is out there exploring strange, new worlds, but also engaging in conflicts with alien species. Stamets wants us to believe science and exploration are disrupted by military aggression. We will see if he’s right.
4. Weird four-legged monster
So the boarding party lands on the USS Glen and things get weird. Not the good kind of weird. Bodies are smashed and contorted into unimaginable shapes, and it’s not just human bodies, there are Klingon bodies as well. They’re not contorted, but most certainly dead. The landing party sees a mysterious monster, and in one of the most memorable moments of the episode, a Klingon, totally out of character, shows up on the scene basically shushing the Federation officers by holding a finger to his lips….and then some kind of giant four-legged mole monster kills him. There’s a convoluted chase scene and somehow Burnham traps the monster inside a Jefferies tube. She is quoting Alice in Wonderland as she’s working her way into a narrower part of the tube. More on Alice later. The monster appears at the end of the episode-trapped by Captain Lorca in some sort of science lab where animals go to become corpses. Or at least that’s what it looks like as the camera pans out.
Continued below5. Random Thoughts
– The pacing of this series has so far been frantic. The special effects budget is obviously massive, and I understand, and frequently condone, the use of cliffhangers to increase audience interest. Though, it is not necessarily a traditional Star Trek trait. Generally, in an episode of ToS, The Next Generation, Deep Space 9, and Enterprise there is one specific problem the characters encounter together and solve together-then onto the next episode. There are exceptions, as in “The Best of Both Worlds,” where Picard’s resistance is futile and he is assimilated as Locutus of Borg, but this is a two part episode, not a serialized show. I’m not sure I enjoy this departure from the usual Trek style. Only time will tell.
-At the end of the episode we get more face to face time between mutineer Burnham and Captain Lorca. Burnham accuses him of trying to use her criminal status as a means to persuade her to do anything he commands. The captain shows Burnham that the Discovery isn’t creating a weapon, but in fact a new way to fly; a faster way to fly. He insists he did choose her to help, but not for the reason she thinks, “Universal law is for lackeys, but context is for kings.” Title of episode! Lorca goes on to say, “You helped start a war. Don’t you want to help me end it?” She’s a human/Vulcan rebel. That’s what he needs. Though the captain does seem to be hiding a few things…like that weird four-legged monster.
– Alice in Wonderland – I can always get behind a literary reference. We learn Burnham’s Vulcan foster mother read this story to her and her foster brother. It taught her that the real world doesn’t always adhere to logic. As an audience, we know, neither does she.
