After a shaky few episodes, Star Trek Discovery returns to more positive form in Season 3 with episode 11, Su’Kal. *Warning: Spoilers Lie Ahead!*
Those last few episodes definitely went off on a bit of a tedious tangent and wasted a fantastic opportunity to get into some more interesting drama. Thankfully we’re now much more on solid ground and the writers of Star Trek have remembered how to Star Trek.
What we get in ‘Su’Kal’ is a nice mix of action, mystery, science, and psychological drama, with an added dose of moral and emotional catch-22. Crew members are challenged and questions are asked, which is what the best Star Trek shows do. Here, they finally get around to investigating the Nebula which appears to be the source of the ‘Burn’.
Previously, they had triangulated the source of the signal that spread throughout the galaxy wiping out any ship with an active warp core, but instead of going straight there they spent three episodes in a cul-de-sac. This was infuriating, but does mean that we are beyond ready to get into this piece of the arc. Because of that it’s totally possible that the audience may be less critical of what they do next. Generally though, this isn’t a big issue, but does factor into whether most people accept Osyraa (Janet Kidder) as a serious villain, who is somewhat of a cartoon. Osyraa is after the spore drive, so we knew she would appear sooner rather than later.
Much of the action happens on the planet within the nebula that is now home to the crashed Kelpian research ship. Dr Issa (Hannah Spear) is long dead, but sensors have detected a life sign that appears to be the Dr Issa’s child, who has somehow survived for 125 years on his own. This sets up a very Star Trek encounter, with Saru (Doug Jones), Michael (Sonequa Martin Green), and Hugh (Wilson Cruz) beaming into the crashed ship looking slightly different than they expect.
In order to help Su’Kal survive, his mother has programmed a series of holo-programs to educate him and keep him safe. Thinking that the away team is part of that, their appearance is shifted to fit in, making Saru a human, Michael a Trill, and Hugh a Bajoran. While not strictly necessary to the plot, it does give us some extra fun, but the choice of species they change into makes no sense. For instance, why change Saru at all? It would have been advantageous for him to stay Kelpian and not become human, so it is a very strange twist that is both odd, and then underused. Once the shift is made, it doesn’t appear to have any impact on the story at all after that.
The episode essentially becomes a psychological mystery, with the away team trying to understand what is happening on the ship. Su’Kal’s fear, and manifestation of that fear are a well-worn trope, but for some reason it doesn’t grate that much. Maybe this is because the way they investigate it just seems to work, and it doesn’t cross over into anything too ludicrous; Aside of course from his fear being the potential cause of the ‘Burn’, which hopefully won’t be entirely true, and that some other mechanism is at work alongside that.
Outside of the nebula, Tilly (Mary Wiseman) has been justifiably given the con, so becomes Captain for the episode, which gives us some nice character moments as she works through her nerves. Across the majority of the crew there are also good character moments as well, as each of them accepts Tilly as Captain and the group moves forward together. Even Book (David Ajala) seems to be gelling with the Discovery crew and plays his part.
The exception this episode is yet again, the oddity that is Michael. They have flip-flopped endlessly with her character and you never quite know which direction things are going to go in. At one stage in ‘Su’Kal’ they even have her questioning whether Saru will be able to do the right thing when called for. This is possibly the most ‘pot and kettle’ scenario we’ve had for a while, and they really need to sort out how they are going to handle her character in the future.
Fortunately for Captain Tilly and her crew, Michael’s nonsense doesn’t have an effect on her plotline, but Tilly does have to deal with Osyraa. As the ‘big bad’ for this season, Osyraa and the Emerald Chain continue to underwhelm, and still seem less organised than the Kazon. There’s no sense of a real threat or grand criminal enterprise that would back her up. When Servalan turns up in Blakes 7, the 70s sci-fi series, you get a real sense of menace. This may be in part as she was played very vampishly and with relish by the late, great Jacqueline Pearce, but you did also get a sense of the organisation behind her. That is what they need here, but what we get instead is a wafer thin villain.
Having said all that, the action on the Discovery is not the principal storyline here, so can put it to one side slightly. What is most important is what happens on the crashed ship, and that definitely maintains interest. The only flaw is that it should have been labelled as a two-parter, rather than just a normal episode as it is left incomplete. We’re definitely back on track though, so here’s looking forward to next week and more proper Star Trek!
