'Star Trek: Discovery' Recap: 'Into the Forest I Go'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

It’s been a long time since a Star Trek television series left me filled to the brim with anticipation over where the story is going next, but that’s precisely what Star Trek: Discovery managed to accomplish with last week’s episode. That ending, wherein the crew learned that the Klingons were on their way and a showdown was imminent had me counting down the minutes to this week’s episode and all the mysteries that it could solve.
 
After all, it was the Ship of the Dead headed toward Discovery and that meant the series had some grand opportunities in front of it. For starters, a return of the vessel where Captain Georgiou lost her life could signal a leap forward for Burnham’s long-awaited redemption, or…utter disaster for the crew and as it turns out, ‘Into the Forest I Go’ in essence offered up a little bit of both of those elements by way of a thrilling and satisfying fall finale.
 
So, if anything, let’s talk about the uplifting stuff first because it far outweighed the negative and really, the first thing about this episode that caught my eye, was the fact that this story allowed for the crew of the Discovery to truly shine in every way imaginable. They were dedicated to protecting the inhabitants of Pahvo. They believed in the cause and the fight and it was simply incredible to see the crew rally together and do the right thing, evoking a true sense of Trek and all of the wonderful things it stands for.
 
Even Lieutenant Stamets was willing to go above and beyond in this episode, because despite the risks involved in making 130 jumps to execute the Discovery’s master plan to decode the mystery of the Klingon Cloaking Device, he stepped back into the Spore Chamber with a smile on his face and put himself through complete and utter physical hell to get them the data they so desperately needed and if it wasn’t for his sacrifice, there’s a fair chance that this episode would have taken a far darker turn, and while it was lovely to see Stamets come around full circle in this episode, having gone from stuffy scientist to Hero of the Federation, there were some serious consequences when it comes to his actions.

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​But we will discuss all of that in just a moment, because really, the centerpiece of the night was the fact that this episode truly marked a big step forward for Commander Burnham and her road to redemption. For she too was selfless in this episode, coming along with Lieutenant Tyler to the Ship of the Dead to plant the sensors to gather the data and when it seemed the mission was about to fail, she put herself into harm’s way, helping to save the day and in the process, she also restored a hint of honor to her fallen captain’s memory by retrieving Philippa’s badge and bearing witness to the end of the Ship of the Dead.
 
However, I made mention of some consequences and darker tones in this story and all of that came about by way of Lieutenants Stamets and Tyler. Because we learned in this tale that L’Rell tortured Ash in every horrible way imaginable, to the point where he was frozen aboard the Klingon ship upon confronting her and to make matters worse, whatever she did to him also gave her control over him since it would seem that Ash is quite open to whatever suggestions she has to offer and that could spell plenty of trouble when the series resumes in January.
 
As for Lieutenant Stamets, well…despite the wonder he’s experienced when it comes to traversing the fabric of space and time itself, he finally let Captain Lorca know he’d had enough of being the engine to the Spore Drive and agreed to one last jump…one that ended in disaster. Because something in his physiology changed mid jump, sending the Discovery to parts unknown and it left the Lieutenant mumbling about infinite possibilities while his love and his crewmates stared at his newly altered eyes and that’s where the story ended, shrouded in mystery.
 
Yet, while one might think of this as an unhappy ending, I simply don’t see it as such. Due to the fact that this story has always been about Burnham’s redemption and she’s making great strides when it comes to that and seeing the Discovery vanquish that awful ship closes an important chapter in her life and I cannot wait to see where her story goes from here. But, once the mission resumes in January, the ship does have those uglier mysteries to deal with first and it should be interesting to learn precisely what has happened to both Stamets and Tyler, and find out where exactly in the universe the U.S.S. Discovery has jumped to. Until next time. 

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