'Star Trek: Discovery' Recap - 'The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

I think we can all agree upon the fact, that war is complete and utter hell and the spoils that come with it and the impact it has upon the human soul and mind have fascinated us time and time again when it comes to both fiction and science fiction for that matter as well. Yet, if there is one franchise that has made a point to avoid exploring the worst parts of war, it would have to be Star Trek, and the franchise's reason to avoid such matters is obvious; because what the United Federation of Planets stands for; a better life and the betterment of every sentient species in the galaxy...matters over everything else. 

Granted, the saga has highlighted the uglier side of war from time to time, mostly by way of the entire Dominion War storyline in Deep Space Nine, but even then, there was a sense of prevailing hope and dynamic heroism that came with that entire mini-saga. Despite having to make tough choices, we knew that Sisko and his crew were fine beings that stood for something more, somehow making the Federation's cause and decisions just and true, and that sense of nobility in war, is precisely what made last night's episode of Star Trek: Discovery so supremely fascinating because 'The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry' was the polar opposite of that notion, taking us right into the heart of the spoils of war and everything ugly that comes with it.  

Take for example the fear that permeated this episode. Sure, Starfleet is a strong and powerful organization, one that has done a fine job of training its officers how to fight and fight well. But as we all know, the Klingons are a different breed of enemy. They are ruthless, and they are relentless and I'm constantly brought back to the moment in Lorca's Ready Room, where he chatted with Admiral Cornwell about his forthcoming mission because normally, there's a real sense of confidence that pours out from the Admiralty, one that inspires a ship's captain to do their mission and do it well, and that was simply not present here. Cornwell was worried, and that's the first time I've seen that high ranking of an official in the fleet, exhibit genuine fear in that fashion.

If anything, fear served as the engine for this episode, because with lives at stake on Corvan 2, and the possibility of Starfleet losing the war if the Dilithium Mine there were to fall, Lorca pushed his crew like never before. He berated the bridge crew for failing to succeed at battle simulations and of course, with the clock ticking, Lorca pressed the Spore Jump Drive into service, without giving Lieutenant Stamets the proper time he needed to calibrate the navigation portion of the Drive, resulting in a near collision with a giant star, which then led to a gruff confrontation between Statmets and the captain, something that drove Lorca to continue to hammer home what's at stake for the crew if they fail, by playing the harrowing distress calls from the colonists/miners living on Corvan 2. 

---

To make matters worse, this push to get everything that Lorca wanted accomplished in record time, cost one crew member their life. Because Burnham took the slow approach to her mission, which was to discover how to use/weaponize the being the away team discovered aboard the U.S.S. Glenn for the war effort, prompting Commander Landry to speed things up and let the being know known as the 'Ripper' out of its cage to cut off the creature's claw to study it, and that foolish decision ends in bloodshed, and her subsequent death. However, despite Landry's costly mistake, Burnham firmly believes that cooler heads will prevail in getting the answers the captain wants and well...Michael's approach to this whole mess was a welcome respite from the madness flowing from the crew and wouldn't you know it...her calm demeanor helps her to discover that the Ripper is essential to making the Spore Drive work. 

Somehow it and the spores interact in a symbiotic way, and when Burnham finally figures out that the brain of the Ripper, in conjunction with the spores can get the Discovery where she wants to go, the ship is able to jump to Corvan 2 and save the day and Starfleet as well, but her epiphany comes at a great cost. For this innocent creature, one that has zero understanding of what's happening here, has to be physically connected to the Spore Drive, and put through incredible amounts of pain and suffering to make it work and it would seem this particular jump, after enduring so many aboard the Glenn, are breaking this creature's spirits down and filling it with fear since it did its best to hide from Burnham, even when she showed kindness, because it now knows that humans mean it great harm and great pain...

​Yet while all of that made for some tense television, the show did find a way to break up that tension, by following up with the Klingon misfit, Voq, and his crew aboard the massive vessel we saw in the premiere and we quickly learned that despite T'Kuvma's pleas to unite, the Empire has only accomplished some of that goal. Because Voq and his crew, despite playing a vital role in the opening salvo of the war, have been left to forage in the depths in space, to the point where they're out of food and hope and to complicate matters, the return of Kol to the ship, to get his hands on its cloaking technology, seemingly signals the end of Voq's role in uniting the Empire, since Kol gets the crew to turn their back on Voq, before dumping him aboard the remains of the U.S.S. Shenzhou to rot. But it would seem, Voq has made at least one ally in the Empire since L'Rell offers him sanctuary at great cost, all in the hopes of making him the true savior of the Empire, and the Torchbearer to unite the Twenty-Four Houses at last...

If anything, I love the fact that this series is adding a new wrinkle to the Klingon mythos with this whole notion of using religion to unite a race of warriors that only believe in honor and battle and it will be interesting to see where this plot thread goes. But when all is said and done, I loved the fact that this episode was again a grand exploration of the dangerous places that Starfleet is suddenly starting to go and it would seem that officers like Burnham, ones who value life and what it stands for, are going to be the ones responsible for saving Starfleet and the Federation from evolving into a bloodthirsty war machine. Either way, what a wonderful episode, every single week this show just sucks me in and it's simply a joy to have quality Star Trek, back on the air. Until next time. 

---