WHY WE LIKE IT: A great mission for Tilly.
WHY WE DON'T: Really? She leaves?!
REVIEW: Though it's not impossible that Mary Wiseman will return to the role in the future, Tilly's "discomfort" subplot comes to full fruition with her leaving to teach at Starfleet Academy. It's kind of shocking. Aside from Burnham, Tilly is the character I feel is most emblematic of Star Trek: Discovery. Her loss will be felt. I have no idea what's happening behind the scenes, though who knows, it might lead to some kind of Starfleet Academy series down the line. As the title says, All Is Possible. Psychologically, it's an acceptable turn of events. She was ambitiously angling for the captain's chair, but her path mirrors that of many young people (I was one of them) who start on a course of study and switch mid-stream. We're asked to determine what we'll do with our lives when we're teenagers, which is insane. Things change, people grow up, that's what's happening to Tilly. At least she gets a big adventure as a farewell when a simple team-building exercise goes awry and the shuttle crashes on an arctic moon (i.e. Canada).
Team-building is smartly identified as a problem at the newly-reopened Academy. The cadets come from formerly-isolated worlds and that's bred a certain xenophobia in the youth of the galaxy. The kids have various backgrounds to play off against one another, but Adira is also in the group as symbiont or not, they still have something to learn (especially on the social vector). They will all learn to work together in the most dire straights (well, if they survive) and Tilly also learns something about herself and her abilities. It's an exciting monster story, with weird predators drawn to the ship and equipment. The team must race to a higher position to set up a beacon, and their biggest weakness is their individualism. You know the drill, but this is a good version of that story.
The B-plot is no less important. Ni'Var is about to rejoin the Federation, but there's an eleventh hour problem. The former Vulcan requires an exit clause to protect itself from another Burn (i.e. the anomaly), but the precedent would weaken any other agreement with member worlds. So it's the same problem of trust. Burnham and Saru have been ordered to act as a silent Starfleet presence, but in reality, they've been manipulated by President Rillak to act as surprise negotiators. In addition to the deft political story, it also sparks a tender little fire between Saru and Ni'Var's president, a romance we'll see develop over the rest of the series. The leaders have their hands tied by their separate councils, so it's up to the outsiders from a past where the Federation was whole to figure out a compromise. The solution is a bit administrative, perhaps, but it's realpolitik and well presented.
Meanwhile, Culber has been assigned to Booker to help him deal with his incredible loss. The empathic connection Booker feels to his homeworld makes the usual funeral traditions impossible. The materials and places no longer exist. Culber once again proves his worth as a councilor (more than an,y Star Trek character in that post before him), but we're going to start to see him fray at the edges from overwork.
LESSON: Don't get locked in.
REWATCHABILITY - High: An exciting adventure and a political thriller, linked by a common theme, both making a real difference to the show.
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