Despite Yourself

It's amazing to me how much they were able to squeeze into this episode...SPOILERS AHEAD!

So we pick up Discovery with a captain and crew who have no idea where they are and after a little effort we find out it's the Mirror Universe. I love a good mirror universe story because it reminds us that the peace and harmony the Federation enjoys was hard earned and didn't come easy. Here in this universe Burnham is assumed dead, Lorca is a fugitive on the run, and Capt Tilly runs Discovery with an iron fist. (which makes for some great comedy)

While Ash and Burnham get closer we find out Ash is having major mental issues leading him to Lrell in the brig. She uses a Klingon prayer to either bring up memories or a hidden personality. Many seem to believe this is Voq altered to look human but I'll let the story keep it's secrets and unfold as it should. This freaks out Ash and leads him to Dr Culber to run tests on him. I don't want to give away the episodes big twist but it fits as Culber is so worried about his catatonic partner (Anthony Rapp) that he doesn't see the threat right in front of him.

As we get into the final part of this episode we have Burnham and Lorca going on a secret mission to the mirror version of USS Shenzhou. There are some wonderful fight scenes, perfectly timed slow clap, and even the agony booth!

Long Live the Empire and Long Live Star Trek Discovery!

This is a reprise of an original Trek episode. A parallel universe finds the crew exchanging places with another Discovery. The problem is that this ship is a warrior ship which is more Klingon than Starfleet. Death and manipulation is a part of life although to succeed there still must be knowledge and expertise. They do a nice job of pulling this off. The acting is cranked up a notch.

This is actually a good episode but the character of Tilly is so annoying, played badly by an actor who is not capable of the role she has been given. I suspect nepotism of some sort. I worry about the rest of the series if she has a prominent role. She's horrible, both as an actor and as a character, and detracts from the overall quality of the show.

When this series is on, it's really, really on. "Despite Yourself" offers the best of Trek in all it's techie, backstory-rich, high-concept, high-adventure, character-driven greatness. And as always, this show looks amazing. The revisit of a story line that ties this series to a thread started with Classic Trek work effortlessly. Nothing feels forced here. Tilly is used to excellent comedic effect when she has to take on a role she is uncomfortable with. And, everyone shines, really. One of the things I appreciate about this series is that the plot is always moving forward. The writers don't set up a mystery and drag on the reveal for months of twists and turns. This episode is replete with plot movement, making it very satisfying after the cliffhanger before the holiday break.

My only gripe was that the tech and Trek history references were so thick that I had to hit "pause" a few times to explain things to my +1 who is not a Trek fan, but has been watching with me since "Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad" (the one with Dwight from The Office in it haha). A couple times she was like, "Whaaaaattt in the h*** are they talking about?" Yay for smart sci fi. But, man. All the science.

For me, "Despite Yourself" worked on every level. Star Trek: Discovery is earning it's place as one of the strongest Trek outings yet!

My, my doesn't this show bring out epic levels of Trekie saltiness... Every review is either a 1 or and 8,9,10, split about 50/50.

Luckily for us, the reviewers appear to be in a minority... An average 8.6 IMDB review is rather remarkable considering the slow, sputtering start this series had.

As someone in their 40s, I was never a fan of the original series. It was already terribly dated by the time I was old enough to understand the social and political statements that they were attempting to make.

As such, I never saw Mirror Mirror. So I'm approaching this show with fresh eyes having only even been a fan of the orginal movies, TNG and the recent post TNG films.

Sure, it's an expositional show and as such, some of the dialogue appears a little forced, but it's likely this arc will continue for a number of episodes like the Ghost Ship arc.

I'm looking at this episode as a sort of Pilot for an alternative universe thread and I'm expecting some interesting reimagining of characters killed in the original pilot...

I'm not a big fan of the "alternate reality" genre but I'm buckling up for an entirely darker, more adult themed show than the original, rather prissy premise allowed and I'm starting to like what I see.

Very much.