Into the Forest I Go

Suddenly, something different happens. The Pahvo plot reaches its climax, with klingons and Federation command and admiral Terril mixed in.

The Discovery can possibly help the pahavans, but only at a great personal cost for one or perhaps several members of the crew. Can individual sacrifice and human ingenuity save the day when the Klingon death ship joins the fray?

An intense episode with a classic star trek style twist at the end.

Enjoyable and the most intense episode so far.

"Into the Forest I Go" is a very satisfying Star Trek: Discovery episode. In line with the previous episodes, there is hardly any room to breathe. I love this energy! We have space battles, the return of Admiral Cornwell from the presumed dead, a battle between Burnham and General Kol (who was not an entirely interesting character), and Stamets making an incredible 133 spore drive jumps. So buckle in and get ready for the ride! I know that people nitpick the series about certain things. Mine would have to be the characterization, or lack thereof, of the Klingons. L'Rell is seemingly the only semi-interesting Klingon because everyone else just grunts, growls, and double crosses one another. So, I guess it is as good as any time for Kol to meet his demise. The battle was thrilling. There is also some closure in terms of Captain Georgiou whom sadly the show seemed to put on the backburner. Tyler also has plenty to do. He is given a secret mission and it looks like his PTSD will be a factor in episodes to come. One can imagine why after watching that uncomfortable sex scene with L'Rell. And the ending! What are all those destroyed Klingon ships? I cannot wait to find some answers!

In this episode, the crew of the U. S. S Discovery is still trying to understand the invisibility cloak that the Klingons feature. Still at Pahvo, Lorca is given the order to stand down and retreat. Sensing a way to destroy the Klingons once and for all, he refuses the Starfleet orders and plans to use the spore drive, 133 jumps to be precise, to destroy The Sarcophagus. Stamets is at the end of the line as it is clear the spore jumps have been getting to him. Lorca sends Tyler and Burnham to the Klingon's ship to perform a stealth mission. If all goes well, Lorca's bold moves will make the Federation victorious.

Relentless is an opportune word to describe the episode. It does not stop. I believe this episode will be the bridge to expand the universe. There is some talk here about how alternate universes exist. Perhaps this is what we see at the end when Stamets dutifully performed his 133 jumps but landed the ship in a floating Klingon ship wreckage? There could have been some more exploration within Tyler's PTSD battle, but that is just a minor quibble. I am excited for the back half of the season!

My Grade: A-

I've been a reasonably faithful Trek watcher for a long time. Love all the incarnation of the Trek universe. Some more than others. So far, I've be mightily impressed with the new Trek discovery. It definitely feels fresh, well acts, superbly produced and movingly directed.

I'm sure for those looking for plot holes and other supposed inconsistencies with previous incarnation of Star Trek will find plenty. For me personally, the diversity of characters in colour, orientation and personality makes this a true Trek show for our time.

Keep it up Discovery, I love where you're going!

I had written a review of the show at the end of episode 4 and I wasn't positive at all. I am still bothered by the appearance of the Klingons (unless they will change with an incident to what we know of the Original Series), there are still strange mistakes where there shouldn't be any (e.g., why do we have a Vulcan admiral when we all know Spock was first Vulcan to serve in Star Fleet?), however, the show started to feel like Star Trek proper from episode 1x06 onward. Besides, never mind Star Trek proper, it has turned into a really good to watch show. I hope the trend continues after the series' year's end break. I am very satisfied with the show right now as episodes 1x06 through to 1x09 are really good episodes except for the bullshit about Sarek mind-meld and guilt trip. Interestingly, the series I had thought was better, The Orville, is trying too hard to become Star Trek that I am not even bothering to watch it after episode 6. Life is funny like that. Finally, one should really appreciate how great an actor Jason Isaacs is.

So, the Pahvans have forced a confrontation between Discovery and The Klingon Ship of the Dead, and eventually between Michael and Kol.

Between Tyler and L'Rell... Between Lorca and Cornwell.

Between Stamitz and himself. And Dr Culber.

Discovery seems to have set up these conflicts within previous episodes. We know Lorca is already running on the edge of sanity, and Cornwell knows it, is ready to perform her Admiral's prerogative. But Tyler, who seemed so.. Stoic? This episode reveals his inner daemons as well, and it is much worse than we expected.

L'Rell seems to have designed events so that she would end up on Discovery. She seems to have made a kind of pact with Cornwell, even while breaking her back. The question is... Why?

Discovery pushes the boundaries of social interaction, which makes it all the more interesting to watch the interactions between different characters develop, especially the relationship between Saru and Michael. He still has some deep resentments toward Michael, and his species, which evolved as "Prey", lives always in Fear. Until the previous episode: For the first time in his life, he had found some peace from that state of perpetual alertness in which he lives, bestowed upon him by the Pahvans. But what were their motives? Saru seems to have accepted Michael as a member of his crew, and no longer as a threat.

And even as Tyler is becoming close to Michael, it is suddenly revealed that he has warp core damage. And now, the cause of that damage is in the Brig.

Star Trek has always been about The Human Adventure, and these explorations into our Psyche's reveal the complexities of that Frontier. And now, Discovery has been shunted "Where no one has gone before", and there is no Traveler, Wesley Crusher, or Kosinski to help them figure it out. But they do have a Stamitz... But his eyes have glazed over and he's gone all "Barrier of the Galaxy" on us.

Side note: Spock was not the first Vulcanian to join Starfleet, it was T'Pol. And The Intrepid was wholly crewed by Vulcanians.