I’m back. Discovery really decided to make a clean break in this season finale; a clean break from the storyline we all know as Star Trek. Let’s explore how the writers did this in “Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2.”
1. ACTION
Man, if there’s anything I can say about this episode, it’s that there’s action. So much action. The episode is about 85 percent action. This is no joke. Most of the notes I took revolve around the action, notes such as: crazy CGI budget!, time suit is real cool looking, lotta alien species on the bridges of Enterprise and Discovery, lotta action sequences, drones!, lotta pensive stares from our characters, lotta bridge jostling, these ships can take a lot of punishment, cute robot repair people, and the list goes on. I like some quality action, but there was very little in terms of plot throughout this entire episode, and the plot that was there was challenging to follow. Though, things do get better, plot-wise, as events unfold.
2. Federation
Things do not look good for the Discovery and the Enterprise during their battle with Control. In fact, it appears the two will be unable to defeat the AI and Section 31’s secretive and high-tech fighting machines (drones, they’re really into the drones in this episode). Luckily, just like Han Solo arrives to help Luke blow up the Death Star, the Kelpians, led by Saru’s sister, and the Klingons, led by L’Rell and accompanied by Tyler, arrive to save the day. Without this help, our two ships would not have made it. L’Rell doesn’t have many lines in this episode, but she does utter one of my all-time favorite Klingon proverbs, “today is a good day to die.” Luckily, she, and our heroes, do not. Here we see various species coming to the aid of Starfleet, perhaps a glimpse into the future of the United Federation of Planets.
3. Michael Burnham, the Red Angel
Together, Spock and Michael solve the mystery of the Red Angel. It takes all season, but we are finally here. Michael herself was the Red Angel. She sent the signals to ensure the Kelpians, Queen Me Hani Ika Hali Po (or just Po), and Jett Reno all converged in this one moment to help Discovery and Enterprise; she set these very events in motion and now we get to see her travel as the Red Angel and we get to see these past events through her point of view. After Michael accomplishes her mission of setting the 5 signals we saw this season, she has to say goodbye to Spock. It’s the kind of goodbye that is real, the kind that is truly a goodbye. I really enjoyed the duality of these siblings; they compliment each other, even if they don’t always get along. They are so different, but this is what makes them both rely, successfully, on one another. Spock tells Michael he will watch the stars for her and that he loves her — a major step for logical Spock. He knows this is goodbye forever. Michael tells her brother that she loves him and that life won’t be the same without him. All this time spent searching for Spock, and the two will never see each other again. Parting is such sweet sorrow for these siblings, but it will never be morrow.
4. Separation
They’re gone. Those crew members that went with Michael on Discovery. We see just the Enterprise and hear the ToS music as she flies off. We see the separation of Spock and Michael, of the Discovery and the Enterprise, of friends, and of loved ones in this episode. Spock does mention that time is relative, but even he can’t cross the divide and travel 500 years into the future to see the sister he lost, as she did her duty, and led the Discovery away from Control and into the unknown. Next, we travel to San Francisco, to Starfleet’s headquarters. There’s no cut to “get them back, get them back,” as there is in The Voyage Home, Discovery is gone for good. The remaining crew is being questioned: Tyler, Spock, Number One, Georgiou, and they’ve all vowed to keep Discovery’s fate a secret. And here we’re left with that clean break; there will be no disruption to the canon of Trek, and we’re left with a possibility of two, or more, shows, Discovery, and those Section 31 spinoffs. Spock can’t speak of his sister, ever, which jives with Original Trek, Spock shaves his beard, and the Enterprise is off to continue as we know it. But Discovery’s mission, that is a mystery left for Season 3.
Continued below5. Random Thoughts
This episode opens with questions about existence, and the conclusion of this episode ends with the fact that we need to leave the question of existence up to faith. I’ve really been enjoying the variety of women portrayed in this series; they all have different personalities, from Tilly to Michael to Queen Po to Jett Reno, but they all have one thing in common — they’re smart. They can solve problems. And they get s*$t done.
Overall, I liked this ending to Season 2. It was definitive in many ways and left us with a distinct course for Season 3. Were there parts I didn’t like? Of course, but the split was necessary and leaves Discovery with a path unencumbered by Trek cannon. She can chart the course she wants from now on.
