‘Star Trek: Discovery 1×09 – Into the Forest I Go’ Review
Last week’s episode ended on a cliff-hanger with the U.S.S. Discovery awaiting the arrival of the Klingons. This week comes the battle, and with it important events that set up the return of Star Trek: Discovery after its short break until January.
With the Klingon ship due to arrive, Lorca (Jason Isaacs) is given orders to leave the area and keep his ship safe. Bypassing the orders given to him he decides to take the battle to the enemy, using the unique assets of the U.S.S. Discovery to end the war.
With Discovery taking a break, this episode had to go out with a bang, and it definitely does that. Pushing Stamets (Anthony Rapp) to his limits as the navigator not only has the desired effect, but it also seems to doom the ship and its crew to an unknown area of space. I’m sure I’m not the only person who thought “well this just became Voyager” at the end of the episode.
When it comes to the Klingons, a huge blow was dealt, but a fan theory may have been proven. All I will say is keep an eye on Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif). If you want to know about this theory, then simply search it, I won’t spoil it here but there are many places to read about it. While it seemed a little way out at first, this episode goes a long way to prove that it may be right.
While the theory may be proven wrong, one thing that we do see is the effects of PTSD on Tyler. Whether it be through torture or some other procedure, it puts him into shock, and it is good to see Star trek: Discovery handle the subject well, highlighting how it can incapacitate the sufferer when it comes into effect. Just what caused this PTSD though is going to be important, especially with the connection to L’Rell (Mary Chieffo) who is now a prisoner on the ship.
When it comes to Michael (Sonequa Martin-Green) and her place on the ship, this once again comes to a head when she requests to be allowed to go on the mission onto the Klingon ship. Butting heads with Lorca, we see that she as a character has grown, no longer is she the mutineer, but is still willing to fight her corner when she needs to, even when arguing with the captain. Luckily it works out well for them all, and she gains some newfound respect from the crew.
With this episode of Star Trek: Discovery ending the way it does, it raises a few questions for the audience. One of the most important of course is just how far did they travel? Is this a series changer from what we should expect? Is this really Voyager? I guess it depends on how much you liked Voyager as to how that question will affect you.
Once the show returns in January we may find that the ship is able to return home quickly, or it may be that the show is taking a new turn. With talk of not only space, but also different dimensions, there is great potential. We do have to remember that this is Star Trek though, pulling the story too far away from Federation space is often a bad idea, and in the middle of the Klingon war, it could also be disastrous.
The cliff-hanger for the episode is one that keeps us on tenterhooks until the new year, and there will no doubt be a lot of discussion on what the ending means for the show. If Star Trek: Discovery is going down the Voyager route, then that is a brave move, though it may allow the show to have some breathing space when it comes to having some freedom from the dreaded Star Trek canon. The question is though, just how many fans would want another Voyager?
****½ 4.5/5
Star Trek: Discovery is available in the UK every Monday on Neflix.
