Trekathon 924: Whistlespeak (DIS)

What’s that Flip? Timmy’s down a well? Spoilers.

Wow, an actual Star Trek episode going on here. It feels like it’s been a while with Discovery.

Once again, it’s the episode with fewer distractions in terms of C, D and E plots that leads to enough time to focus on telling a story that has life, characters and messages. It feels like a classic Star Trek story told well, which doesn’t rely on gratuitous action. The writing also draws out the three characters needed to carry the plot forward efficiently and clearly, trusting the actors to deliver what is needed.

It’s a reminder, as we grind towards the end of this series, that Discovery does have an excellent core in terms of the characters, actors and settings. But there are just too many distractions from that core in most episodes in terms of telling four ongoing stories, or the seemingly irresistible temptation to dive into more trauma stories.

Quick hits:

  • That is some flashy direction in the opening sequence.

  • Oof, creepy use of ‘AI generated relatives’ there.

  • The new flash transporters have lost the ‘ceremony’ of the old ones.

  • This whistle speak really sounds like R2D2 contaminated the society.

  • Yep, Stamets would definitely flirt with someone about their brain physiology.

  • The ‘Human’ brain is one of the most complex things in the universe? That is some terrible anthropocentrism.

  • It’s nice to see a ‘local religion’ that feels well justified in terms of its components.

  • Why aren’t they cheating? They could easily cheat without being caught and it’s for a good purpose.

  • Tilly’s sotto voce ‘sacrifice’ is an all timer clip.

  • Leaning into the Prime Directive violation pretty hard there.

  • For an episode titled ‘Whistlespeak’ there is really almost no whistle-speak. Colour me a little underwhelmed.

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