‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Recap – ‘Perpetual Infinity’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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

If there is one thing so many of us strive for in life, it’s closure. Because no one likes the prospect of having unfinished business lingering about, and that’s why we are more than happy to confront those who have done us wrong when the opportunity arises, or why we are eager to properly say good bye to someone important to us, since either one of those options will give us the closure we so seek. And this particular concept is on my mind, simply due to the fact that it was quite the focus of last night’s episode of Star Trek: Discovery. For ‘Perpetual Infinity’ finally put Commander Michael Burnham face to face with her long missing mother, giving her the opportunity at last to enjoy a little closure when it comes to one of the darkest chapters in her life.
 
But, getting to that point was no easy task. For the Commander needed to heal, and her mother only wanted to speak with Captain Pike and her little chat with Pike was one filled to the brim with vitriol, and rightfully so. For over the course of the hour, we learned that the elder Burnham has been through utter hell, since she escaped in the suit mere moments before the Klingons could harm her all those years ago, and it took her 920 years into the future, well after Control wiped the galaxy of all biological life, save for the colony that the crew stumbled upon earlier this season. And we also learned that she’s been fighting the good fight against Control for quite some time now, and she’s the one that was responsible for the crew’s encounter with the Sphere since that omnipotent creature holds the key to Control’s evolution and it was her hope that its data would be safe aboard Discovery.
 
Which is why she made the suggestion to the crew that they outright destroy the data so it cannot fall into Control’s digital hands, and that was sound advice that both Burnham and Pike could get behind. But the data refused to disappear willingly and while the crew worked to figure out how to purge it, Burnham finally got the reunion she’s waited twenty years for and well, that did not go quite the way she wanted it to. For dear mother seemingly wanted nothing to do with her daughter, citing how she’d watched Michael die countless times as a fine reason to let go of her family life and focus only upon saving the galaxy and well, this cold attitude was something that Michael refused to believe was genuine. But before she could bring her mother’s guard down and uncover her true feelings, a devastating problem arose aboard the Section 31 ship that changed the course of this tale.

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​For last week, a strange moment wherein Captain Leland was seemingly attacked by his own ship led to our worst fears being realized. Because it turns out that Control had indeed infiltrated the computer systems of his Section 31 ship and it had plans to make use of Leland to get exactly what it wants and in a strange, Borg-like sequence of events, Control downloaded itself into Captain Leland’s body. And it started its quest toward self-awareness by ordering Lieutenant Tyler to head over to the Discovery and steal the data outright, something that Ash didn’t quite feel right about, and he followed his gut feeling that something was wrong about all of this and refused Leland/Control’s order, prompting the cybernetic being to move on and use Georgiou as its next agent to foil Discovery’s bold new plan to defeat their digital nemesis.
 
For the crew came up with the idea that if they downloaded the Sphere’s data into Doctor Burnham’s suit, they could send the suit into the timestream for all eternity where Control would never be able get its hands upon it, and in the process, they would be able to rescue Dr. Burnham from a time jump as well, and the execution of this plan, allowed for all kinds of chaos to break loose. For as the good Doctor and Philippa chatted for a brief moment, the former Emperor came to realize that Leland had been compromised by Control and in a violent sequence of events, Lieutenant Tyler was injured when he discovered the truth about Leland, and crew members of the Discovery lost their lives in a firefight with this hybrid being and worst of all, the crew was forced to send the suit and the Doctor back to the future to keep Control from getting anywhere near the Sphere’s data.
 
Yet, while this stalemate seems ugly in its own right since Control did get fifty-four percent of the Sphere’s data, it was not a total loss. For now, the crew knows exactly what their enemy wants, and are actively working to formulate a plan to fight Control and keep it clear of the knowledge it so desperately seeks, and Commander Burnham…finally got the closure she has been searching for. Because shortly before the portal pulled her mother away, the good doctor finally lowered her guard and let her daughter know just how important she is to her, and how much she loves her and that she has spent ages fighting to keep Michael alive and it was wonderful to see Burnham get exactly what she needs and I’ve no doubt that defeating Control now has a little more meaning to Michael since its end…may bring about a reunion at last. Either way, this was an intense episode when all is said and done, and the endgame between Discovery and Control is staring to build and it would seem that we are headed for an explosive season finale when all is said and done. Until next time. 

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