Season 1, Episode 10: ‘Despite Yourself’
The mirror universe has offered some of the most ambitious story lines across multiple “Star Trek” generations, allowing both the writers and the actors to reimagine established characters, or even briefly turn them upside down.
So it’s no surprise that this week’s installment of “Discovery” was a strong one, especially because it was directed by someone who knows Trek intimately: — William T. Riker himself, Jonathan Frakes.
Titled “Despite Yourself,” the episode took viewers to a typically unexplored world (a core Trek tenet) while maintaining the herky-jerky pacing and unpredictability that has set “Discovery” apart from its predecessors. (Hey look! Another unexpected death for an underdeveloped main character!)
The episode had plenty of callbacks to serve as Trek fan service — the “agonizer” device, the Terran Empire salute and even the introduction of a story line involving the U.S.S. Defiant. But the mirror universe seemed to be a distraction from the main story: The writers are leaving not mere bread crumbs, but rather entire loaves to telegraph that Tyler is, indeed, our missing Klingon friend, Voq. But he doesn’t seem to remember that. (Or does he? Is that why he killed Dr. Culber?)
I’m still skeptical that this is where the show is heading; it would be too easy. The “Discovery” writing staff has delighted in zigging when other shows would zag, starting with Burnham’s mutiny and the death of Georgiou early in its run. That this mirror-universe episode went so far out of its way to tell the audience that Tyler had been surgically altered tells me there are more twists on the way.
Continue reading the main storyAnd is Culber really dead? I don’t know, and I’m not sure we got to know him well enough to care. If Tyler really is a spy, murdering Culber would make sense, as would how he went about it. Wilson Cruz did a nice job portraying Culber in limited screen time, particularly when paired with Anthony Rapp as Stamets.
What Worked
1. Mean Captain Tilly
Tilly’s transformation into an angry captain in the mirror universe was impressive. She has primarily existed as a foil to Burnham’s dreariness throughout the season, and outside of that, we’ve really seen her be only meek, nerdy and nervous. The mirror-universe arc should allow Mary Wiseman to display more of her acting range.
2. The Original Number One
The last time Jonathan Frakes sat in the director’s chair for something connected to Trek was two decades ago: the 1998 film “Star Trek: Insurrection,” which was, uh, not good. But that came two years after the brilliant “Star Trek: First Contact,” which Frakes also directed. He also directed several episodes of “Voyager,” “Deep Space Nine” and of course, “The Next Generation.”
He did great work in this episode, particularly in the opening scene, during which he effectively ratcheted up the tension as the Discovery crew quickly realized that things were amiss, even beyond the normal scope of time and space. His use of the cameras, which constantly circled the conversations, helped move the story along. In fact, the cameras were rarely stationary, which made the episode even more visually interesting.
I still haven’t forgiven Frakes for this, though:
What Didn’t Work
1. Lorca’s Insistence on Protocol
For some baffling reason, Lorca insists that Culber cannot care for Stamets because Culber’s “medical objectivity” is compromised. “Oh, suddenly you care about protocol?” Culber replies, speaking for all of us. I want to like Lorca. I really do. Jason Isaacs is giving a very compelling performance. But the writers seem to be turning him into a fundamentally different person from who he was earlier in the season. Some might call this character development. Others might say there are more shoes to drop.
I don’t know. But I shared Culber’s incredulity after he reminded Lorca of all the times he’d broken protocol at Lorca’s insistence. Lorca’s response suggests that he doesn’t want to make those mistakes again. But is there another, more qualified doctor on the ship whom we don’t know about?
2. Lorca’s Insistence on Protocol (Part Deux)
Lorca seems to have caught on to the romance between Burnham and Tyler. He walks over to Burnham’s station and tells her she can breathe easy because Tyler is safe after a mission.
“I need to know that I can rely on my crew to act professionally at all times, particularly now,” Lorca says. “We’re in dangerous waters.”
This made me snort. It comes a few episodes after Lorca slept with a superior officer, who repeatedly assailed him for not being professional. Also, perhaps a captain who demands professionalism wouldn’t insist on a mutineer’s becoming a crew member on his ship or on having a phaser within arms reach when he sleeps at night.
Again, this could all be part of Lorca’s newfound betterment as a captain. If it is, it’s seemed rushed to me.
Did You Catch That?!
Honestly, the entire episode was essentially a callback. So in lieu of the usual Easter egg section, here are a few of the Trek elements that were alluded to most blatantly this week:
1. The agonizer from “Mirror, Mirror”:
2. The mirror universe in “Enterprise”
3. The U.S.S. Defiant