WHY WE LIKE IT: A lot of character turning points.
WHY WE DON'T: Bit of a patchwork. Ron Moore could sue.
REVIEW: In the long-form story-telling the CBS All-Access shows have shown a preference for, there are going to be episodes like this where the A-plot is fairly slim so that they can service a variety of subplots and characters. In such cases, I think it's pretty natural to like a lot of the character-building moments and find the plot itself rather unremarkable. In this case, the latter concerns a mission of mercy to Booker's homeworld, where an analog of climate change has disrupted the ecosystem, and there just aren't enough empaths around to "ask" the gasbag locusts to go back out to sea rather than ravage the crops. In fact, the Emerald Chain, a branch of the Orion Syndicate you could say, has been taking advantage of the situation, trading with the planet at inflated prices, and blackmailing its leader into getting Booker back there with the Andorian he broke out of a work camp. (And can someone use 32nd-Century medicine to regrow his antennae? Please? No? I guess there are limits.) WHY they want Ryn back is probably the weakest part of the episode - he's the only one that knows the Chain is running out of dylithium, which would weaken their position if it came out. So then, why let him survive in a work camp? Why doesn't he tell everyone seeing as they're after him? He just tells Tilly in confidence. If everyone knew, 1) predatory syndicates would keep the Chain busy, and while they might want revenge on him, it wouldn't be a priority to silence him specifically. Anyways...
The A-plot is eventually resolved by techno-boosting Book's and his brother's powers until the locusts leave (some have asked if they now starve, but think of it as population control - some have fed, others will die, the population will eventually shrink to manageable levels). The Chain's massive ship, the Viridian, creates problems and a chance for action, with Detmer getting her groove back, piloting Book's ship manually, and doing the Millennium Falcon thing on the Destroyer-like Viridian with wild abandon. Her subplot is resolved. The story has two other major impacts. One is that though Discovery was supposed to act as an observer, it made enemies of the Chain, and they're holding the entire Federation responsible, not believing for a second (or caring) that Detmer had really gone rogue. Maybe it'll work on the Admiral, but seems like Discovery keeps disappointing (and I'm over it, guys, the bureaucratic impediments don't and CANT' stick, so why have them at all?). The other is that though the Federation seems to be mistrusted everywhere Discovery goes, their actions, their very retro ethos, changes minds. And in this case, that mind is Book's, who decides that the Federation (as represented by these throw-backs anyway) IS a good thing and he wants to be a part of it. Well hey, they just saved his world from an ecological and political threat AND kind of helped restore his bond to his brother - cue his nephew cutely staring at Linus during a tour of the ship.
A couple of subplots are certainly more central than others when it comes to the rest of the episode. One is seeing Tilly as First Officer. Though I was critical of the logic, she acquits herself quite well, being very good at the admin stuff, asking Ryn to respect the captaincy with aplomb, and bringing a light touch to the command duo. Saru is also new to this, and there's fun to be had with his choice of a catch phrase. I was mostly wondering if Tilly had some kind of ad hoc committee thinking possibilities up, somewhere in the background. The other subplot of note concerns Georgiou's crippling flashbacks, which appears to be more physical than previously thought. It would seem Cronenberg's character might have been right that Terrans (Mirror Universe humans) are genetically or atomically different from our universe's - I mean, if the weird moment when she gets distorted, somewhat like the Barzan who was out of phase in Die Trying, is anything to go by. I'm almost surprised her condition is known and that she's been forced to get treatment, but no way Burnham would have kept it to herself. Like a wounded animal, she lashes out at everyone around her, especially Culber who shows a lot of patience (mixed with "real talk") dealing with her.
The investigation of the Burn proceeds apace and the Stamets-Adira team has found its point of origin, a nebula that's still emitting a signal. It's both a Starfleet distress signal AND that piece of music that's becoming a recurring motif among Federation worlds. A nebula?! This really IS ripping off Battlestar Galactica. And not really needed given there's a detectable distress beacon too. Stamets and Adira's relationship keeps growing, and I love them to bits, Anthony Rapp even showcasing his piano skills, playing with Adira at the cello. And this is the episode where Adira finally asks someone to call her they/them, and happily, it's not a symbiont-related change. They've always felt neither female nor male, though they'd only shared it with Gray (who she has trouble accessing of late), and now, Stamets. Though if it's an issue for them, the knowledge should be generalized aboard ship. Hopefully, Stamets' easy acceptance of the facts will allow them to open up more, and in fact, Culber doesn't question it when Stamets refers to Adira as them later. The show is also servicing Linus as a the ship's resident comic relief, his annual shedding adding to the frequent levity of the shipboard scenes.
LESSON: When explosively shedding, take your meals in your room.
REWATCHABILITY - Medium: While a number of characters' stories are advanced, it's at the cost of a consistent story.
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