‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Recap – ‘Such Sweet Sorrow’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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

The Star Trek franchise as a whole, is good at a great many things, storytelling wise. For this is a saga that knows how to pull at our heartstrings when necessary, it knows how to lift our spirits up by way of heroic moments and breathtaking space combat and of course, these shows tend to be in tune with the modern world since they have all offered up powerful commentary in regard to current events. But, if there’s one thing this saga excels at on a regular basis, it’s building tension and drawing an audience into it, and that particular element is on my mind today, because it’s precisely what this week’s episode of Star Trek: Discovery managed to do.

For ‘Such Sweet Sorrow’ found the crew of this intrepid vessel in quite the conflicted place. Because in the early moments of this episode, everyone was being forced to say goodbye to their home in hurried fashion since last week’s tale saw Captain Christopher Pike make the decision to scuttle the ship to keep the Sphere data’s out of Leland’s hands and while that setup doesn’t quite scream tension, it was Commander Burnham’s second thoughts when it comes to a course of action she initially recommended that helped to create the tension in question. Because Burnham was motivated out of fear and curiosity to touch the time crystal before leaving the ship to board Enterprise and well, what she saw was a disaster in the making.

Because the plan to scuttle the ship wasn’t going to work. The Sphere data would protect itself once again, by raising the shields and disabling the self-destruct sequence and shortly after that, Leland’s fleet would arrive and win the day after destroying Enterprise and critically damaging Discovery, prompting Burnham to ponder as to whether or not there was a better way to handle this crisis, and the appearance of the fifth signal, prompted everyone to wonder the same before coming to quite the bold set of decisions. Because Burnham firmly believed that moving the ship into the future was the key to saving every life in the galaxy, but the only way to move it now, was to build another Time Suit and assume the role of the Red Angel and guide the ship into the future and it was a plan that would require an assist. 

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Which means the crew needed to make a pit stop to confer with an old friend that Tilly made during Short Treks, which sent the ship to Po’s home world, wherein she was recruited to help build a new suit and a new way to charge and power the time crystal and that’s where the episode went to some surprisingly emotional places. Because the crew seemed to realize that the end was near for Discovery and an uncertain future for the crew prompted them all to band together as they worked to prepare for one grand final battle, to the point where several members of the crew agreed to stay behind and help Burnham get the ship through the forthcoming portal and man, this made for some supremely proud and uplifting moments to arise.
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But I made mention of a tense tale, something that quite frankly really hasn’t been expressed in this recap yet and well, that’s because I saved any detailed discussion of that for now. Because I have to be honest in saying, that this particular tale, left me nervous. For Leland’s fleet of nano-fied ships were out there, closing in, and it didn’t matter what Discovery did, or where she went, they were coming, leaving Enterprise as the crew’s only hope for help and that added a new layer of terror to this episode, as did the closing moments, wherein two Captains, Pike and Saru, were staring down a flotilla of ships, filled with violent cybernetic beings, meaning that next week, will bring forth an explosive conclusion as everyone fights for the future of the galaxy…

If anything, this was one entertaining episode, and I really do love the fact that Short Treks keeps slipping into the fabric of this season and clearly, ‘Calypso’, hints at success when it comes to getting the ship to the future. But what isn’t guaranteed at this point, is the survival of either crew, and that leaves me nervous and anxious to watch the finale. However, all ominous moments aside, this was another story filled to the brim with magnificent fan service, since we were finally able to step aboard the NCC-1701 and see that iconic bridge and her historic halls and I won’t lie, I definitely sat up tall in my seat whenever she popped up on screen. Either way, this is it, the end of season two is upon us, and it all comes down to one final battle, just as it should. Until next time. 

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