This week on Star Trek: Discovery — the Vulcans and Romulans have reunified! OK, so specifically, last week’s episode ended on a glum note, with Michael Burnham being demoted, and unsure of whether her heart still lies with Starfleet. However, her family’s legacy pulls her back in when it became clear the Burn’s origins may lie with the twin species, and who better than Spock’s sister to sway them into rejoining the Federation?
“Unification III”
Written by Kirsten Beyer
Directed by Jon Dudkowski
1. A Worldbuilding Buffet
When Discovery left the 23rd century, they had no idea the Romulans were Vulcans, as Kirk and Spock had not uncovered that yet. We get to experience their surprise as we learn the two peoples renamed their shared homeworld Ni’Var, and their wonder at their old enemies being allies as we delight in Spock’s dream coming true. However, reunification is a delicate, ongoing process, and we see President T’Rina (Tara Rosling) must balance the concerns of the Vulcans, Romulans, and Romulo-Vulcans (whose respective representatives here are played by Emmanuel Kabongo, Oliver Becker and Stephanie Belding).
Much is this is conveyed via the new idea of T’Kal-in-ket, the ancient right to a debate that cannot be denied, which Burnham invokes. The whole process is intense, dramatic and gruelling, as Burnham’s integrity and motives all come under fire. It is a great exercise in worldbuilding, as we see how each faction has their own take on logic, and the tensions between the groups, with it being implied that the Romulans were made to feel guilty for not wanting to leave the Federation, and thereby indirectly blamed for causing the Burn.
2. Legacy of Spock
It was so great seeing Discovery and The Next Generation bridged together through the use of footage of Ethan Peck’s Spock in flashback, and then of Leonard Nimoy from the original “Unification” two-parter that Burnham and Booker watch. It was always regrettable that Nimoy is no longer with us: I think he would’ve been delighted to learn Spock had a sister, and this is the closest we’ll ever get to seeing them together onscreen. The moment also implies that Picard’s combadge had a body-cam installed inside, or that Data records everything — it’s always amusing to see footage from Star Trek actually appear within the show.
3. A Bittersweet Reunion
In a neat bit of synergy with Picard, Burnham is given an advocate from the Qowat Milat, the Romulan practitioners of the Way of Absolute Candor, dedicated to lost causes: they turn out to be none other than her mother, Gabrielle. (It’s nice to see humans are still taken in on Ni’Var.) Gabrielle is not here to coddle her daughter though, as during the hearing she undermines and questions her too, forcing her to embrace the Way of Absolute Candor and realize she doesn’t know why she’s here: after all, honesty is the best approach. Michael admits afterwards she wishes Gabrielle had done her parenting beforehand, but it was good to have someone ask why she wants the Burn data: if not for the Federation, then who?
4. To Protect and Serve
Eventually, Burnham realizes she’s jeopardizing the peace between the Romulans and Vulcans by forcing them to agree to hand over their data, and desists: she will instead give them whatever she finds on the Burn, so they can factor them into what they’ve learned. Burnham realizes she must not come as interrogator, but as a helper, which is what the Federation must be (as Pike once said), a peacekeeping and humanitarian armada, not some empire reclaiming its former territories. It’s ultimately this restraint that convinces T’Rina to give their data to Burnham.
5. Humility
The theme of humility is also evident in Tilly’s subplot, when Saru asks her to be his acting first officer. Tilly’s only an ensign, so it’s no wonder she and Stamets are stunned by the idea, but Saru believes her experiences now outweigh whatever rank she left the 23rd century with. Stamets tells the rest of the command crew, who all exclaim that Tilly “say yes” to the offer. It’s a sweet, uplifting moment that reminds us uncertainty is sometimes the best sign of a born leader, and also, weirdly, reminds me of a Snow Patrol song:
Continued belowGiven how nostalgic the whole episode is, I really shouldn’t have been surprised by the memories it awakened.
Bonus Thoughts:
– President T’Rina’s name sounds a lot like the human name Trina, but it’s only natural after several centuries that Vulcans would adapt our names into their own language.
– This week’s ship namedrop tribute is the Yelchin, named in honor of the late Kelvin Pavel Chekov portrayer Anton Yelchin.
– Speaking of which, one wonders if Burnham will ever learn of her brother’s ultimate fate in the films’ timeline.
– This was a bit of a bottle episode, taking place entirely on sets: Ni’Var’s glowing atmosphere implies the planet has become very different from the arid world it was before, so I really hope we get to see the surface soon.
LLAP folks: see you next time for “The Sanctuary.”
