{"id":7834,"date":"2021-06-02T08:00:33","date_gmt":"2021-06-02T15:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=7834"},"modified":"2021-05-24T15:30:31","modified_gmt":"2021-05-24T22:30:31","slug":"mark-watches-discovery-s02e08-if-memory-serves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2021\/06\/mark-watches-discovery-s02e08-if-memory-serves\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Discovery’: S02E08 – If Memory Serves"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the eighth episode of the second season of Star Trek: Discovery<\/i>, I now know a new type of pain. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Star Trek<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For discussion of consent, PTSD, trauma.<\/b><\/p>\n

HOLY SHIT, THIS RULED!!! We now have canon directly interacting with The Original Series<\/i>, as well as the answer to Spock and Burnham\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s past, Spock\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mental anguish, a huge moment between Culber and Stamets, Airiam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sabotage… how the FUCK did so much happen in one single episode???\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s go.<\/p>\n

Moving On<\/b><\/p>\n

I almost typed, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s start with the most upsetting subplot,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d but… yeah. Spock\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s whole story is a nightmare. Anyway, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s start with pain and probably end with it, because every plot just hurts! I think it was a difficult choice to make to have Dr. Culber end where he did in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If Memory Serves.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (And god, what a TITLE. The obvious association is with Spock\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plot, but it fits Culber\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story, too!) As Stamets says, Hugh\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s return is absolutely a miracle.<\/p>\n

But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not Hugh\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s perspective. To Hugh, this is all a waking nightmare. Part of that comes from how utterly unprecedented this! There is literally no<\/i> history of any human going through what Hugh has. What is the experience like when your body is reconstituted from DNA? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s understandable, then, that Paul would want to ground his husband in all the things that made him Dr. Hugh Culber. At the same time, as Hugh struggles with his existential crisis, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear he is increasingly irritated by how Paul defines him. And wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t that be confusing to any<\/i> of us? What if our lives and our identities and our feelings were forced on us by external forces only?<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also obvious that Hugh is struggling to feel anything<\/i>, and thus, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not surprising that he seeks out pain. Like… whew, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a little too close to home, first of all. I know exactly<\/i> what that toxic desire feels like. (And I would not be surprised if a later episode ties it to PTSD, either. I think that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an unspoken element of Dr. Culber\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s characterization, too.) Here, Hugh picks a fight with Paul, then goes off to pick a fight with Tyler. And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not that either confrontation is without understanding! Oh, both of them make sense, and as Saru correctly notes, there is some<\/i> catharsis achieved through what Hugh does. But is it enough? No. Not for Hugh. Even after fighting Tyler, he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t magically feel like all is right. If anything, he still feels terrible because he has no clue who he is anymore. (Which of course added that fascinating layer to the fight between Hugh and Ash.)
\nSo I saw his demand in this episode as one of freedom: Hugh needed the space to figure out his sense of self outside of his relationship with Paul. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still an absolutely crushing scene, even while I understand Hugh\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s motivation. This is all Paul ever wanted, and now? His \u00e2\u20ac\u0153miracle\u00e2\u20ac\u009d has become his own personal nightmare, too.<\/p>\n

I hurt. I HURT.<\/p>\n

Captain Pike<\/b><\/p>\n

I LOVE THAT WE GET MORE OF CAPTAIN PIKE HERE. While Burnham and Spock take center stage in other parts of the episode, the focus does occasionally shift to Pike, giving us his point of view when it comes to the Talosians and Vina. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a masterful way to add a layer of emotional depth to this episode and<\/i> to the character of Pike. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s say you hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seen that other pilot for Original Series<\/i>; I still think \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If Memory Serves\u00e2\u20ac\u009d does a fine job grounding the audience in the history here. We still discover that Pike once traveled here with his crew, that Spock was with him, and that he met the only human survivor of a crash on Talos IV. We learn just enough about the Talosians to understand their role in the story and to also see them as FUCKING TERRIFYING. Oh my god, Melissa George does such a fantastic job conveying the quiet terror of being forced to live with the Talosians. All of this certainly informs Burnham\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s interactions with them, yes, but Pike\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s emotional closeness to everything matters a great deal to the story. The final twist wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have even been possible if not for Pike\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s trust of Vina!\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You know what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also great? How complicated Pike\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s relationship with Ash Tyler has become. WHICH IS NOW AT A VERY BAD PLACE AT THE END OF THIS EPISODE. Airiam is the saboteur!!! Not Tyler!!! And yet, Pike can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see how his own perception of Tyler and Section 31 is making it easier for Airiam to hide in plain sight. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s understandable, of course, especially since Section 31 so clearly is willing to openly lie to get what they want. They were also going to violate Spock\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s consent to get to his memories!!! Of course Pike isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to trust a Section 31 agent!\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Memories<\/b><\/p>\n

Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, all the Talos IV stuff is phenomenal. Truly. I really loved that the writers found a means to give us these flashbacks while tying them into some other part of Trek<\/i> canon. I believe the script is so much more entertaining because of that. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an external reason for Spock to share his memories of the Red Angel with Michael, just as much as there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an external reason for Michael to relive one of the worst moments of her life.<\/p>\n

Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s start with the future first. So, we have absolute confirmation that the Red Angel is human and that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a time traveler. That knowledge is coupled with the reveal of how Spock got in the state that he was in: He stopped experiencing time in a linear manner. Instead, time was more fluid for him, and his logical mind could not keep a grasp on… well, anything<\/i>. With Michael\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s help, he was able to get to Talos IV, where he knew the Talosians could help him.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But the future that the Red Angel let Spock glimpse… lord. Yes, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a possible timeline, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also an intensely grim one. Someone wipes out all known life in the universe. Who that is remains a mystery, BUT I think I have a theory? I think that it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just a coincidence that the ships that perpetrated mass extinction looked a lot like the modded probe that attacked Pike\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s shuttle in the previous episode. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a little suspicious. What if that force is also responsible for the re-programming of Airiam??? What if they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re trying to guarantee the future that Spock saw?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s certainly a huge thing to deal with. The imminent death of the universe… yeah, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a problem. Perhaps THE problem of all time. Knowing that certainly helps understand Section 31\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s intense motivation. Are they also aware of what the future holds? Or is there a part of this that we the audience don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t understand yet? Is Section 31 a lot more knowledgable of what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s happening than they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re letting on? That wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t surprise me, to be honest. I still don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t trust Leland. (I still find Georgiou endlessly<\/i> entertaining, and watching her subvert and annoy Leland is an absolute joy to watch.)<\/p>\n

Yet as thrilling as it was to learn all of this, I found that I was YEARNING to learn the truth about what had driven Spock and Michael apart. If you watch the video for this, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see that I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t sure that the reveal itself would be as bad as the hype. Like… was what Michael did as terrible as the show made it seem to be? Even as the actual memory began to unfold and I figured out that she was basically saying awful things to Spock to get him not to follow her, I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t certain this was irreparable.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ha. Yeah, it was REALLY AWFUL!!! It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear that Burnham had an intensely close relationship with Spock because she knew exactly<\/i> what to say to utterly GUT him. And the problem in the moment was that Spock kept applying logic to what Burnham was saying while also trying to appeal to the humanity he knew she was trying to help him with! AND IT BACKFIRED TERRIBLY. Another layer of tragedy is that in one respect, Spock deliberately became the person Burnham said he was going to become. So, even though he fully understands why she acted as she did and<\/i> she probably didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean it, he still is cold. He still has tried his hardest to shun and repress his humanity. His appreciation of her did not feel<\/i> like appreciation, did it? It was sly. Condescending. Maybe even a little cruel, since Spock knows this isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the outcome that Michael wants?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Like the Stamets\/Culber plot, I think it was a better story choice to go the more difficult route because it feels more honest. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s infinitely more complicated because Spock is probably not going to give Burnham the absolution or forgiveness that she wants. But what will their relationship look like going forward? Does he at least respect her? Can their relationship even change? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m digging Ethan Peck\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s portrayal of this character, though, and I remain just as intrigued by Discovery<\/i> as ever. This season is simply magical, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m so glad I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m watching it.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If Memory Serves\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":"