Star Trek: Discovery review, Episode 313: “That Hope Is You, Part 2”

Star Trek: Discovery ends its third season with a thrilling, if somewhat predictable, episode.

With season 3, Star Trek: Discovery has boldly went where few Trek shows have gone before: the distant future. It was hard to guess where things were going, but many fans were betting that things would be very different by the end

Well, the end is here, and it feels very reminiscent of what viewers have seen before, but this time with a few new faces along for the ride. Season 2 left us with a game-changing cliffhanger, whereas this time everyone learns that everything is pretty much okay.

That said, everything up until the ending is some of the best stuff the third season has dished out, and the episode overall is solid from start to finish. It could be that the creators thought everyone could use a happy ending after a tumultuous year, which is nice but doesn’t do the rest of the show justice.

“That Hope Is You, Part 2” starts in the Nebula as Culber and Saru figure out that Su’Kal was the cause of The Burn, and that they must tread carefully lest he cause another catastrophic incident. They’re shocked and relieved to see Adira with some much-needed medicine. Grey is there too, and Culber and Saru see Adira’s lover in person for the first time.

Back on the Discovery, Osyraa shuts off the life support systems on the lower decks, leaving Ensign Tilly and the rest of the escaped hostages trapped with little time left. Stamets pleads with Vance but is sent away for his own safety and against his will. The fleet from Nivar arrives after receiving Burnham’s distress signal but Michael convinces Vance to let the Discovery escape.

Osyraa desperately wants the location of the Dilithium, and since Book won’t give it away, she tortures him in front of Burnham. The evil Emerald Chain leader then threatens the lives of her friends on the Lower Decks.

Burnham gives in and offers to get Book to give up the info. But in a slick maneuver, she activates emergency quarantine shields and escapes with Book.

Burnham sends Tilly a message that triggers a memory that enables her to enact a plan that will cause an explosion that will kick the Discovery out of warp (*whew*), allowing their allies to catch up. Meanwhile, the escaped hostages decide to try and stop Osyraa.

Saru tries to connect with Su’Kal by teaching him how to make a signature Kelpian dish, and struggles to explain why the Kelpian Starfleet Captain looks like a human. Things start to get hostile when The Burn comes up as a reason that no one from the Federation ever came to rescue Su’Kal.

Then the monster that Su’Kal fears shows up, and Saru tells him he needs to face his fear or they will all die. They realize the Holo program has deteriorated, indicating there isn’t much time left. Su’Kal reveals that when he was young, he was terrified when he went outside, but Saru says he is not alone now.

Adira asks Culber about Su’Kal’s connection to all this. He believes Su’Kal was able to cause The Burn because of the massive amount of radiation and Dilithium he was exposed to while in utero, giving him extraordinary and devastating abilities. Culber thinks that if they can’t get him away from the Dilithium, he may be safe.

Back on the Discovery, things are frantic. Burnham, Book and the others pull off the plan to kick ship out of warp with a little help from the sentient Sphere data. Osyraa orders her ship, the Viridian, to contain the Discovery.

Book throws Zareh to his death, and Burnham survives digital quicksand to shoot Osyraa in the head. Michael then resets the Discovery’s systems, giving her control of the ship. She beams all regulators off the vessel and restores life support systems to all decks.

With that taken care of, Tilly puts Burnham back in charge of the ship. Aurelio, Osyraa’s scientist, believes that Book’s abilities will allow him to use the spore drive and get to the Nebula, escaping the Viridian.

The Discovery drops its warp core to blow its way out of there and save the characters in the Nebula before it’s too late. Burnham orders the warp, and in the last second, Book pulls off a jump to the Nebula, where Su’Kal is struggling to turn off the Holo. He finally does, making Grey disappear. The simulation ends, revealing a decaying ship on an unstable wasteland of a planet. He asks the computer to show him his mother’s death, where she tells him not to touch the console until the Federation arrives. His reaction to the loss of his mother and family is what caused the Burn.

Su’Kal turns around to see Saru and the others in their true form, realizing he is no longer alone. The Discovery arrives and beams everyone up. They reunite, relieved to have survived this ordeal. Saru will travel with Su’Kal to help him along his journey, and Michael is offered the position of Captain on the Discovery, with the mission of hauling the world’s newly mined Dilithium.

The problem here is Michael’s character. It’s like they took the rebellious side of Picard and turned it into a persona. When Jean-Luc broke the rules, there was something reserved about it; he never seemed happy with having to violate regulations. Burnham throws the book out of the window so often I’m hard-pressed to recall a time when she actually listened to her commanding officer. Vance praising her for being a loose canon over shows why the Federation isn’t doing so well in the future, and it had nothing to do with the Burn. It’s the poor decision-making that’s the issue.

Meanwhile, Su’Kal is essentially a Jean Grey-level mutant and a significant amount of Dilithium gets brushed aside like it’s nothing. These things seem like they should be much bigger deals. It could be that Discovery bit off more than it could chew in season 3.

One thing the show doesn’t get enough credit for is the visual effects, which were the biggest highlight of the finale. The music, costume, and makeup departments also all deserve top-notch honors. But the ending of the season was nothing to write home about.

Episode Grade: B-

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