WiC Watches—Star Trek: Discovery season 2
Episode 213: “Such Sweet Sorrow”
Here’s what you need to know about the penultimate episode of Star Trek: Discovery season 2: there are a lot of goodbyes. Like, a metric f*ck ton of goodbyes. If you’ll remember last week’s episode, Control has literally taken control of every ship and crew member in Section 31, and now it’s following the Discovery around in order to upload the rest of the sphere data so that it can become fully conscious.
Since Pike retrieved a time crystal, all the engineering team needs to do is create a new Red Angel suit so someone can create a wormhole and take the Discovery to the distant future so Control can never get to it. That person is Burnham, who as it happens is the one creating red signals throughout the galaxy. I had wondered if we’d ever find out who was creating the red signals — especially since it was Burnham’s mother who was in the Red Angel suit — and now we finally know: a future version of Burnham has been guiding the Discovery all season long through the use of red signals.
The first thing Pike tries to do is evacuate the Discovery and engage the self-destruct sequence. However, the ship doesn’t explode when the timer runs down. Then, Pike orders the Enterprise to fire torpedoes at the Discovery, but its shields are up. It would appear that the sphere data is protecting itself and there’s no way to destroy it.
So Burnham comes up with the plan to wear the new Red Angel suit and open a wormhole in the hopes that the Discovery (on autopilot) will follow her through to the future where there is no technology because it’s a future where Control has eradicated all life in the universe. Man, time travel is confusing.
Anyway, Burnham has some tearful goodbyes with her crew, with her adoptive parents, with Tyler, and with Spock, then prepares to suit up and jump into an uncertain future from which she will likely never return. But as she approaches the bridge of the Discovery, all of her friends are there and have agreed to jump into the future with her.
It’s an emotional moment that reminds us just how far the character Michael Burnham has come since the first episode of season 1, where she was blamed for starting the Klingon war and was headed to a Starfleet prison for the rest of her life. Just before the episode ends, Control’s section 31 ships jump out of warp, surrounding both the Discovery and Enterprise.
As penultimate episodes go, this was excellent, ver y emotional. The sacrifice Burnham is willing to make sets her up as the real hero of the series. Next week is going to be crazy, and I hope all the loose ends are tied up.