What's Past Is Prologue
- Episode aired Jan 28, 2018
- TV-14
- 44m
Lorca plans to move forward with a coup against the Emperor, propelling Burnham to make a quick decision to save not only herself, but the U.S.S. Discovery.Lorca plans to move forward with a coup against the Emperor, propelling Burnham to make a quick decision to save not only herself, but the U.S.S. Discovery.Lorca plans to move forward with a coup against the Emperor, propelling Burnham to make a quick decision to save not only herself, but the U.S.S. Discovery.
- Ash Tyler
- (credit only)
- Bryce
- (as Ronnie Rowe Jr.)
- Terran Officer
- (uncredited)
Featured reviews
DSC is having the best 1st season of any Trek series ever. The story telling is superb, the characters are well written and supremely well acted. Doug Jones is mind boggling with how he can emote wearing his Saru makeup. The man can ACT!
It's nice to see people who initially, and blindly, jumped on the hate bandwagon finally realizing how incredibly wrong they were and admitting they are enjoying DSC. And the remaining purists are now far outnumbered and keeping to the shadows hugging their "great bird of the galaxy" dolls. DSC is here for the long haul!
"It's harder for an Uncivilized Man to pretend to be Civilized, than it is for a Civilized man to pretend to be uncivilized." - Mr. Spock, "Mirror Mirror"
But when that uncivilized man is Lorca, we find that what is difficult is not impossible, Mirror Lorca finds himself in the Prime 'Verse, and was able to take command of one of two experimental Discovery class ships, and even manipulate Stametz to find ways back to the Mirror 'Verse. When Admiral Cornwell started seeing through it, she was talked into taking over Sarek's dangerous mission, which put her out of the picture. She was Mirror Lorca's biggest threat.
We can go back and watch the previous episodes, and see that something was off with Lorca from the start. It all seemed so logical, but everything Mirror Lorca did, foreshadowed what was to come.
Georgiou, a merciless Emperor facing deposition, although not like Prime Georgiou, is still a competent commander knows her ship, is integrated into it. As vicious as she is, she still has feelings for Michael, which may or may not make her Manipulate-able.
Mirror Stametz work was a perversion of the Spore drive, and is destroying the whole network. Is there a solution to this, which will open a door back to Prime Verse, that won't blow up discovery?
For this to happen, Michael has to work on Mirror Lorca and Georgiou, a three-way conspiracy. And Michael makes a tacit commitment to keep Mirror Georgiou alive.
The Character who wins Most Improved award is Saru, who has become a more than adequate Captain. And this also pushes actor and stuntee Doug Jones into a starring role. I'm very impressed, from Abe Sapien to Saru. Doug has been a multitude of weirdly designed angels and daemons in several Guillermo del Toro films. My favorite being the Angel who saves Hellboy in "Hellboy 2 The Golden Army." I have to admit, although I like the actor and the character, I had issues when he took command and was trying to "score" his performance by comparing to Captains April, Archer and Pike.
Getting back to the Prime Verse is only half the problem, it all depends on when they get back. With only a couple of episodes left, can we really say that the Mirror 'Verse is done with us yet?
This has been the longest incursion into the Mirror Verse of all Trek, and the elongated storyline was quite a welcome thing.
I certainly don't care for what haters think, there are too many morons in this planet, and putting just one stars is more then obvious how childish all of you are. Go watch the old episodes of ST, you're not obliged to what Discovery become more interesting every new episode and feel bad that others are enjoying.
It's becoming embarrassing have to read your explanation of "why" it's not like the old tv shows - it's simple, people grow up, and the world we live is not a wonderland, and many teenagers prefer to watch more realist stuff then the comedic ones of the old ST. By the way, the franchise is very weak outside US, but ST-D is making it bigger - cause the same fanboys-trekkies didn't went to theaters to watch the ST movies, that is why ST-D got a greenlight for production, and I loved that. The old fanboys are killing the franchise.
Did I said this was the best episode of ST-D? and that it was way more satisfying than TLJ movie - cause it was, hope ST-D gets renewed for 12 seasons.
This is an enjoyable and visually spectacular action adventure that feels closer to Star Wars than Star Trek.
Lorca leads a rebellion against the Terran empire and Burnham, supported by Discovery plays a crucial role in how the events unfold. As an example of thrilling spectacle it is pretty strong, but I get the feeling this might bother Trek purists who prefer the franchise to have emphasis more on characters using their brains to resolve problems (with the odd Vulcan neck pinch or double-handed hammer punch thrown in). Saying that there is some tactical manoeuvring on display, along with the obligatory technobabble, but a lot of what happens comes down to shooting, stabbing, martial arts and explosions.
Visually it is stunning with more wonderfully composed shots, great lighting and colours. This not only creates atmosphere but makes you feel the crew are in a different place, but importantly it conveys the story well. The camera moves a lot more in Discovery than traditional Star Trek, which is a plus point for me.
The only negative aspect is the exposition heavy dialogue that creeps in here and there. It's not as heavy handed as in others, but it still sounds forced and unnatural when it happens.
All performances are good, especially Jason Issacs, Sonequa Martin-Green, Michelle Yeoh and Doug Jones.
Did you know
- Trivia"What's past is prologue" is a line from Act II, Scene I of William Shakespeare's play "The Tempest". It also inspired the title of Past Prologue (1993) as well as Jake Sisko's story "Past Prologue" in The Ascent (1996) and the Star Trek (1966) novel "Past Prologue".
- GoofsWhen Lorca swings the sword at Georgiou after pulling the knife from his shoulder and throwing it, you can see Michael fighting a woman in the background. She throws a punch at the woman that misses her by at least a foot.
- Quotes
Saru: It is well known that my species has the ability to sense the coming of death. I do not sense it today. I may not have all the answers; however, I do know that I am surrounded by a team I trust. The finest a captain could ever hope to command. Lorca abused our idealism. And make no mistake, Discovery is no longer Lorca's. She is ours. And today will be her maiden voyage. We have a duty to perform, and we will not accept a no-win scenario. You have your orders. On your way.
- ConnectionsFeatured in After Trek: What's Past is Prologue (2018)
Details
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- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime
- 44m