I was excited to see Number One from the Enterprise and in the old Enterprise uniform, and portrayed by Rebecca Romjin. Truly an homage to the original Pilot and its Number One portrayed by Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, who played a wonderful assortment of characters in the various Star Trek universes. Also regarding the killing off of an important character, I always felt the demise of Tasha Yar (portrayed by Denise Crosby) by that oily blob near the end of the first season of Next Generation was the most affecting for me.
This episode was a huge mess. If it continues on this path, I'm gone. How many subplots were there--- 3, 4, 5 ?--- all happening at the same time? Isn't one "Perils of Pauline" at a time enough? This is getting ridiculous. And way too much overemoting, overacting and slow drawn out talky patches that, I guess, are supposed to be heart-to-hearts but were just tedious. And bunches of it made little or no sense. Icccchhhh!
2
Actually, pretending to kill off a character while not actually doing so is a fine old Trek tradition. Kirk was killed in "Amok Time" ... oh, no, wait, it was just Dr. McCoy's clever use of a neural paralyzer.
Scotty was killed in "The Changeling" ... oh, no, wait, Normad brought him back to life when Kirk ordered it to do so.
McCoy dies in "Shore Leave" ... oh, no, wait, the people who run the planet "fixed" him as if he were only a balky engine.
Spock dies in "Return to Tomorrow" ... oh, no, wait, that was just a ruse to fool Henoch; it wasn't actually a killing dose of poison.
Chekov dies in "Spectre of the Gun," but it turns out that was just an illusion put into their minds by the Melkots.
So Star Trek has done this a lot, from the beginning. There are things I dislike about Discovery, but I think you're dinging it for the wrong reasons.
3
A long-dragged out "death scene" where no sane person really believed Saru would die. And for me Reno is the most annoying character ever on Star Trek, her lines are not funny, can't even stand her delivery.
1
Re: Saru's "death" scene...I think that you are missing the larger picture here.
His "death" scene performed a much larger function, life-changing for Saru and potentially transformative for his race, the Kelpians. I don't know how the Kelpians came to be prey and food for the Ba'ul, whether it was evolutionary or whether they were artificially bred that way. But they are a sentient species who experience an oppression by the Ba'ul.
I could argue, that like the best Trek that there is a loose analogy to life on Earth here, to any peoples who oppress other peoples. Saru now knows that his people do not have to submit to the Ba'ul anymore. They now know that they can throw off the oppression they have experienced from a more powerful species.
As I said, this is a transformative moment.
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No, they did not actually kill of Spock until after Nimoy actually died. (OK, Spock does die, becomes Jesus, and is reborn - same dif). "What was the point of wasting Doug Jones’s excellent performance portraying a dying man when he wasn’t actually dying?" The purpose of all acting to get the audience to emote. Audience trust? The purpose of all mass media is to get the audience to continue to watch so they make more money, which killing off favorite characters does not do. Seems they just did not wait long enough for Saru's resurrection for Deb - Geschmachssacke.
Excessive fear is a disease, ask any psychotherapist, especially the late, great, Dr Albert Ellis of NYC. The obstacle was his fear. Conquering a planet does not conquer fear. Desensitization, confronting and replacing the illogical beliefs causing fear, does.
I agree with Deb about the Friendship - I thought, "were did this come from?"
I agree that the lighthearted exchanges add a lot.
It is clear to me that Starfleet wants to know what the lights are and that Pike is pursuing that goal - has a broad mandate, not a to do list - and Spock, because he has had visions of the "angel" since birth, since the "angel" started appearing with the lights, Pike is pursuing his best shot. Starfleet having other ships and if they are correctly pursing Spock's trail, their trackers will certainly see that the two efforts are converging on the same, but only Pike has a good trail to follow, at least at this point.
I really wish Tig Notaro's comedic talent were not wasted on Discovery. She would have been a great match for Orville, a far better show. I was sorry to see her own show end on Amazon and hope she gets some better more appropriate roles in the future. Jet Reno on Discovery is not it.
2
This season seems to change Burnham character as more of secondary. The focus is more on the captain and Tilly. They tend to get the more engaging stories.
I hope that this is temporary and we see more intersting stuff for Burnham.
When episode 1 ofthis season I really thought they were going to "shake things up" as Anson Mount said. Sadly, the series continues a downward spiral marked by melodrama and an overabundance of plot lines. The more than capable actors are being wasted. This should be fun. Instead I feel like crying after every episode.
3
A roller coaster of interpersonal drama and violence have marred this series. Perhaps too many creators at play.
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@Robyn - Spot on.