Far from Home

This season's second episode of Star Trek Discovery, titled Far From Home, tells the other missing half of where the Discovery ended up after being separated from Michael Burnham through time travel. The crew crash land on an unknown planet and must repair the sustained damage and leave before a block of infectious ice eats through the hull.

Far From Home is an entertaining follow-up episode where you see the Discovery crew working together and it's like watching every little gear turn in an old watch. It's nice to see Doug Jones' Saru, who's consistently been my favourite part of the show, have the command and lead the crew. That feels right. Again, this reiterates my point that Michael Burnham acts so characteristically un-Star Trek over the last two seasons that the show instantly snaps back to being Star Trek in her absence. Again, my anticipation slowly boils for the upcoming Star Trek: Strange New Worlds with Captain Pike.

The subplots for the crew are also laid in. Anthony Rapp's Paul Stamets and Wilson Cruz's Hugh Culber story feels like it has ended. I wonder what new storyline they will get. I scratch my head at why the crew would keep a loose cannon like Michelle Yeoh's Phillipa Georgiou on this ship. She's always up to no good. The most intriguing storyline involves Lieutenant Keyla Detmer, the pilot of the Discovery with the striking cybernetic undercut hair, who is discombobulated after the crash. I am looking forward to seeing where her plotline leads to.

Tig Notaro is funny and a much-appreciated presence on this show but must the writers have her spouting zingers in every line of her dialogue? It's like they're churning her for every penny's worth. Sometimes it can just be nerdy technobabble, you know.

It's my wish that some of the female characters can be written without this modern sensibility that keeps pulling me out of the story. Often times, they feel and behave like modern women of 2020 and less like a person from the Star Trek universe. It feels as if whenever the camera is not on them, they will pull out their cell phone to tweet about their day. I understand the writers have done this to make the show more accessible to new viewers so they can very easily see themselves in the characters. There are exceptions though. Rebecca Romijn's Number One, Rachael Ancheril's Commander Nhan, and Emily Coutts' Lieutenant Keyla Detmer are great examples of female characters in the show that fit into the universe well. They're just good at their job and they do not exist to make a point. I just prefer it that way.

Far From Home played much more like a conventional Star Trek episode than the previous opening episode of the season, which played more like a Star Wars adventure. With the two new added characters Book and Sahil who are now with Burnham and will eventually meet the Star Trek Discovery crew, it feels like a case of "Star Wars versus Star Trek." It's odd of me to say this and I may regret this later, for where the show is story-wise currently, I am rooting for the Star Wars swashbuckling adventure side of it.

After going through the wormhole, Discovery crash lands on a planet.

This is an okay episode that gives decent screen time to Saru in command of Discovery and some of the lesser visited characters. It also finishes quite strongly.

One plot thread involves an away mission that sets the scene reasonably well. It's great to see Saru in command and his character is very likeable in this episode, embodying many of the Star Trek ideals. He is complimented well by Georgiou who is as opposite as it gets. Tilly doesn't really contribute much for me aside from the cinematic effect of her beautiful auburn curls against a snowy, mountainous backdrop.

Back on board Discovery there seems to be some intrigue surrounding Detmer which hopefully might give her character the attention and depth she didn't receive in the first two series. Scenes between Culiber and Stamets seem to have lost their edge now with everything being happy again.

There was a bit of a space-western feel to it all which for me is a bit of a tired aesthetic within the sci-fi genre. It's not done badly, it just made me roll my eyes given that we are 930 years into the future, with all the intrigue and creative freedom this carries. I found myself wondering if the best they can offer is somebody moseying into a saloon full of suspicious locals and getting involved in a dispute with some desperadoes.

Doug Jones and Michelle Yeoh both give strong performances, although I do not think the dialogue written for the latter (as always) suits her delivery style. It feels too laden with Americanisms for a Malaysian actress playing an Asian character, however Yeoh still manages to pull it off.

My god this show would be great without Burnham. Just put the former Empress in charge!

For me, this episode came down to the genuine heart displayed by the characters. Discovery has a terrific cast, and when they're given good dialogue and their relationships aren't being squeezed with a heavy hand to wring out maximum drama, the whole crew really shines.

What struck me in this episode, though, was how perfectly Saru embodied the values of both the Federation in-universe and the franchise on a meta-level. He was, as each circumstance called for it, decisive, commanding, sensitive, pragmatic, smart, nurturing, and unwavering in his principles. Doug Jones knocked it out of the park with a performance that celebrated both Saru's restraint and his honesty. He's a complex character who has undergone plenty of growth throughout the series, and even though he's only "acting" captain at this point, he's established himself as a match for the upper echelons of Trek captains.

Plus, I could watch Reno and Stamets arguing all day long.

I like this show. The scenery is great and for the most part the cast is likeable. Burnham bores me and Tilly needs a new job. I liked the old Star Trek but I'm glad it's evolved and made the universe more acceptable to a wider audience