{"id":7810,"date":"2021-04-28T08:00:59","date_gmt":"2021-04-28T15:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=7810"},"modified":"2021-04-19T10:01:42","modified_gmt":"2021-04-19T17:01:42","slug":"mark-watches-discovery-s01e11-the-wolf-inside","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2021\/04\/mark-watches-discovery-s01e11-the-wolf-inside\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Discovery’: S01E11 – The Wolf Inside"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the eleventh episode of the first season of Star Trek: Discovery<\/i>, everything is somehow worse than it was before! MY HEART. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Star Trek<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For discussion of death, consent, medical experimentation.<\/b><\/p>\n

Wow, this show truly doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t care about me, my emotional well-being, my heart… NOTHING.<\/p>\n

Stamets<\/b><\/p>\n

Okay, so… maybe<\/i> there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a chance for Dr. Culber??? Look, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know how this myceliar network stuff works beyond what the show has told me, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m also not going to sit here and say I understand like… half of that, either. But I think that perhaps there is a grain of potential in the final image of Stamets here in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Wolf Inside.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make the sting of Dr. Culber\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death hurt any less, particularly because of the tragedy that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still awaiting Stamets. Because y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all… I assume he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be fine at some point, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to wake up, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to have to be told that his partner was murdered while he was dead.<\/p>\n

I am not looking forward to that moment.<\/p>\n

Stamets\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story is also about Tilly, though, and it is also<\/i> just as heartbreaking! Wonderful!!! I loved getting to see Tilly take charge and use her expertise to try to save Stamets. To me, that was a sign that the show is ready to have her grow beyond the role of being a cadet. Of course, that growth\u00e2\u20ac\u201dif it happens\u00e2\u20ac\u201dcomes with a heavy cost, and LORD, this was gut-wrenching to watch. Because Tilly had<\/i> figured out a way to help Stamets!!! She just needed more time<\/i>. (Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t we all?) UGH THIS WAS SUCH A PUNCH TO MY HEART.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s… alive? Sort of? I know we got confirmation that he was<\/i> seeing into the other universe, but what does it mean that he met himself<\/i>? WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN.<\/p>\n

No Rest<\/b><\/p>\n

I just have<\/i> to praise the monologue that Burnham gives early in the episode. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s brilliantly written, and I love that it seems like a mere voiceover, but then leads to the reveal that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what Burnham has saying everything to Ash Tyler. It sets up the theme of what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s to come for both Burnham and Tyler: How can they live in a world that is so evil? What will this place make them do? What tethers them to who they actually?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Burnham has three primary ways in which she maintains her humanity. The obvious (and ultimately the most painful) method is through Tyler. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s such a delight to see that a deeply emotional connection is what works best for Burnham. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m always fascinated by the way the writers choose to engage with her Vulcan upbringing, especially in a case like this. Because I feel like Burnham is subconsciously taking Amanda\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s advice here by not forgetting what it is like to be human. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s newly in love, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all! (Which does lead me to wonder what sort of consent issues are brought up by Tyler\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s condition. To be frank: I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t fucking know!!! I really don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t! I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll discuss Tyler later in detail, but what I mean is that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m trying to consider how informed consent works in this scenario, and I feel like the obvious answer is that Tyler should have told Burnham what was going on with him, but I also like… don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get who Burnham is. Are they a Klingon grafted into a human or vice versa, or something more complicated? How does that inform consent? JUST SOME LIL\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 QUESTIONS FOR US TO PONDER.)<\/p>\n

She also has Lorca to some extent, though she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s limited in her contact with him. That scene in the brig? WHEW. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so, so good, and I love that it demonstrated that Lorca is willing to concede, that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s willing to look at his own bias and make the decision that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s best for the situation. His scenes with Burnham are also a means for the show to build on their relationship. I got the sense that by now, these two understand one another better than they ever have, which is why Burnham felt comfortable enough to speak freely about her suspicion that Lorca\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s torture had made him biased. And Lorca\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s trust in Burnham? I think that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a big reason why he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t fight her on that.<\/p>\n

THEN THERE\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S SARU. Oh my god, watching Burnham refuse to degrade the Mirror version of Saru? There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s both a tenderness in those scenes and a visceral horror. Burnham grants Saru a name in a world where non-human prisoners are slaves to the Terran Empire. SHE GAVE HIM A NAME. okay I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m FINISHED.<\/p>\n

Ash Tyler<\/b><\/p>\n

God, I just feel… bad. Voq is an antagonist on the show, for sure, and through Tyler, Voq has done some truly horrific things. And he may continue to! He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s meant to be a sleeper agent (like I had guessed, but LMAO, I was still so wrong), and his goals are opposed to Starfleet and the Federation.<\/p>\n

But he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also Ash Tyler! That person or personality is absolutely still part of this… I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know. Amalgamation? Which is why the consent issue trips me up. Who is in control of Ash Tyler? Is there a dominant personality? Or was<\/i> there one, and recent events triggered Tyler in such a way that now Voq has taken over? I feel like that explains the events in the rebel camp. And that recent event? Tyler seeing HIMSELF as the leader of the alliance of rebel species and cultures. OF COURSE THAT UNDID HIM. Everything this<\/i> version of Voq was doing ran counter to the whole Klingon purity thing!!! (Which has fascinating implications for the expansion of the Federation, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll save talk for that if it happens in the future.)\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ash is one of the most complicated Trek<\/i> characters I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve come across, even though there are plenty of them\u00e2\u20ac\u201dBurnham included, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m also thinking of Seven of Nine\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwho struggle with humanity and the Other. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what the future holds for him, because I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know that he can ever be seen as fully human, even if he biologically is? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know how anyone forgives him for what he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s done, either, especially Stamets. What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the path forward for Tyler at this point? I LITERALLY DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T KNOW. But I also thought that Burnham sent him to SPACE, so I assume Discovery<\/i> has more tricks up their sleeve.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This episode was STRESSFUL, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Wolf Inside\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– My third novel (and middle grade debut) THE INSIDERS has been announced! Check out the cover reveal and pre-order links here.<\/a>
\n<\/strong>– If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"