'Star Trek: Discovery' Recap - 'Despite Yourself'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

When we last left the intrepid crew of the U.S.S. Discovery, the situation was…bittersweet. After all, the crew had in fact found a way to defeat the Klingon cloak at last following an incredible battle with the Ship of the Dead and the data from that battle would soon serve all of Starfleet well in the war effort. But alas, the good feels that came about from that moment were quickly soured by the fact that a botched jump sent them to an unknown location, leaving the audience hanging on an incredible cliffhanger, one that thankfully wrapped up in epic fashion last night.
 
Because holy cow, Star Trek: Discovery not only found a way to make sure the cliffhanger paid off in spades, but ‘Despite Yourself’ also introduced a terrifying new twist into the mix as well. Because in this tale, we came to learn that there is far more to Lieutenant Tyler than we were previously aware of, and what we learned…is bad news for the crew of the Discovery. In fact, it would seem that Tyler is a Klingon agent of some kind, and that his flashbacks are nothing more than memories of whatever procedure he underwent before coming aboard the ship and our first real clue to his true identity came about during that chilling scene where he spouted off the prayer to Kahless, in perfect Klingon no less, shortly after confronting L’rell in her cell.
 
Yet while that alone would have been enough to hammer home the point that Tyler is sleeper agent for the Klingon Empire, the show actually took this storyline one step further, by also demonstrating that he’s extremely dangerous as well. Because after finding out from Doctor Culber that the Klingons did some serious alterations to his body while he was being ‘tortured’ and that he needed to be pulled from active duty to undergo more testing, he quickly killed the Doctor without giving it a second thought and just like that, an awesome character has disappeared from the show, and all we can do at this point is wonder and speculate as to what other trouble Lieutenant ‘Tyler’ is going to stir up down the line.

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​However, despite the fact that moments such as that made this episode supremely bleak and dark, there was some fun to be found in this particular episode, since we learned early on that the Discovery did not venture to some unknown part of uncharted space, instead they arrived in a place that has captivated fans of the franchise for decades now…the Mirror Universe. Yes, the dimension that gave us evil Spock with a beard returned to the saga in this tale and the fun in question came about from watching the crew do their best to adapt to this new world since there wasn’t a clear way back to their own universe, and it was simply a delight to watch Cadet Tilly become the ‘Captain’ of the I.S.S. Discovery and relish in the part, in order to keep the crew safe.
 
But, that was really the only joy to be found in this tale. Because once the fan service came to an end, it was back to that darker storyline, since one cannot forget that the Mirror Universe is a cruel place and in order to properly fit in there and execute the plan to gather information on the U.S.S. Defiant so that the crew could find a way home, Burnham had to give in to her primal instincts and shed her civility, and the end result of letting all of that go, made for an ugly scene wherein she was forced to see Cooper die at her own hands to ‘reclaim’ her rightful role as Captain of the I.S.S. Shenzhou and honestly, one has to wonder, if Burnham will ever be the same after dealing with this savage alternate universe, where murder is celebrated in the name of the Terran Empire, because this place is clearly rattling her. 
 
In the end however, this was in fact, quite the amazing midseason premiere for this show. It’s simply wonderful to see the Mirror Universe on display again, since it’s a place we haven’t visited since Star Trek: Enterprise and well, I love that the crew is going to have to find a way to balance the best and worst parts of themselves to survive this parallel dimension. But more importantly, I think the biggest issue still hanging over this episode is the whole mess with Tyler, and I’m getting the feeling that the fan theories revolving around the possibility that Tyler is in fact Voq, might ring true. After all, it’s clear Tyler means a lot to L’rell, and the fact that he knew the prayer to Kahless, is something we would expect from Voq. Either way, the crew is once again in quite the pickle and considering the bad shape that Statmets is in right now, I certainly hope Burnham can get the intel she needs quickly, before this place breaks her and also so they can get back to their own universe, and save the Federation from certain doom. Until next time. 

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