{"id":7866,"date":"2021-07-26T08:00:10","date_gmt":"2021-07-26T15:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=7866"},"modified":"2021-07-27T17:43:46","modified_gmt":"2021-07-28T00:43:46","slug":"mark-watches-discovery-s03e13-that-hope-is-you-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2021\/07\/mark-watches-discovery-s03e13-that-hope-is-you-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Discovery’: S03E13 – That Hope is You, Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the thirteenth and final episode of the third season of Discovery<\/i>, the crew tries to thwart Osyraa, while the away team works to save Su\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kal and themselves. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to finish.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For discussion of torture, trauma, death (including brief mention of dead bodies), and grief<\/b><\/p>\n

There is another post on the Master Schedule that is set to go up in two days, so if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re hoping this contains any sort of grand summary of my feelings on Discovery<\/i>\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, actually it might. Probably not extensively so. But I will<\/i> look at my season three predictions, talk about Star Trek<\/i>, and then write a little more (probably a lot more) about the end of Mark Watches and the functional end of Mark Does Stuff.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For now, I want to keep this focused, so friends, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s talk about \u00e2\u20ac\u0153That Hope is You, Part 2,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the utterly stunning season three finale of Discovery<\/i>.<\/p>\n

The Crew<\/b><\/p>\n

Over the course of the previous two seasons\u00e2\u20ac\u201dbut even more so in season three\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthe writers have given more space to the rest of the bridge crew. For example, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153People of Earth\u00e2\u20ac\u009d allowed us to see how close many of these characters were because they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d spent time at the Academy together. They bonded there, and they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve since bonded because of all the ridiculous (and traumatic) things that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been through. Deciding to stay together and join Michael in the future\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d argue that this only brought them closer.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And here, in the big finale of the season, that closeness absolutely mattered to the story. Led by Captain Tilly, they face down not just impossible odds, but the limitations of their oxygen-needing bodies as Osyraa more or less throws a tantrum and decides to murder everyone else on the Discovery<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tilly leads them, thankfully due to her closeness with Michael. Even as Tilly\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s body fights against what is happening to her, she still pushes on and still pushes others<\/i>. She is every bit the captain in this role, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, and it was incredible to witness. I also loved that Owosekun\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s advantage from abalone diving paid off here, too, and she was allowed to not only save the day, but was saved by one of the DOT-23s as well. I was admittedly very worried that she was going to be fridged by the plot, but I can now see this story for what it is. The closeness of the bridge crew is what the writers played off of in order to make this a more upsetting and tense episode. I genuinely thought someone was going to bite the bullet for most of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153That Hope Is You, Part 2.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d IT WAS VERY TENSE, OKAY.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m so glad they all survived, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m even more glad that they had one another.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Resisting Osyraa<\/b><\/p>\n

One of the things I feel Discovery<\/i> manages particularly well is balancing the mechanics of the plot with emotional weight. Both Michael and Book are put through the ringer here, so to speak, as Osyraa uses (nearly) every available tool at her disposal in order to get what she wants. Initially, she wants the location of the dilithium planet in the nebula, and she knows Book has it. So, through the torture of Book, she aims to get it.<\/p>\n

But the writers use this plot beat to do a number of things. First, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the emotional intensity of it all. Book\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s empathic nature makes the neural lock that is forced upon him a million times more painful than what we saw with Stamets. Unsurprisingly, both Zareh and Osyraa don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t care about suffering in any meaningful way; to them, it is a tool, a means to an end. Which is finally contrasted with the actual<\/i> caring nature of Aurellio, who performs a fascinating role in this episode. The writers carry though on the scenes he had with Stamets in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153There is a Tide…\u00e2\u20ac\u009d by allowing him to openly defy Osyraa. Unfortunately, she then reveals to Aurellio that even he<\/i> is a tool to her, a means to an end that she may have felt affection for, but still a means to an end. His refusal to harm Book breaks his view of someone he saw as almost… I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like. Like a matriarch, I suppose? Osyraa wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153good\u00e2\u20ac\u009d leader to him; their relationship was a lot more intimate than that.<\/p>\n

Well, not anymore. I am curious if Aurellio will join the Federation and appear in season four!<\/p>\n

Anyway, BACK TO BOOK AND MICHAEL. Oh my god, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s another wickedly cool thing in this episode: After Book and Michael are separated, THE DUAL FIGHT SCENES. Book fights Zareh while Michael and Osyraa have a brutal confrontation involving one of the most disturbing bits of imagery on the show. I love how the action scenes (once again!) communicate moral stances or emotional themes, which has been one of the most remarkable things about Discovery<\/i>. Here, both Book and Michael are fighting for hope<\/i>. They believe that the Federation can offer the universe something good, and they refuse to give Osyraa and Zareh the tools to destroy that. And at the end of the day, both Book and Michael desire<\/i> that hope more than the other side. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s how interpreted Michael\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s eventual victory after Osyraa shoved her into a column of programmable matter in order to basically drown her in it. (Good fucking BYE, this was so disturbing.) Michael fought her way out of it and killed Osyraa because she doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t give up<\/i>. I have written a lot about Michael\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s canonical need to save the world, and indeed, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a HUGE part of her characterization. Sometimes, that desire is a flaw and has gotten her in trouble, but here, Michael\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s relentless pursuit of what is right and what must happen gave her the advantage over Osyraa.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I fucking love it. I LOVE IT SO MUCH. I love that Michael\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s success throughout this whole nightmare is what inspires Tilly to admit the truth: that the crew needed Michael Burnham to lead them in order to save the others. Not just that, but they needed Book, too. BOOK CAN OPERATE THE SPORE DRIVE. Oh my god, this is HUGE. Because won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t this allow other Kwejians to become navigators??? I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THIS.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I love Michael Burnham so much. I genuinely think she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of the best written characters in Trek<\/i> history, and Sonequa Martin-Green has done the most incredible job with her.<\/p>\n

The Truth of Su\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kal<\/b><\/p>\n

Before I jump into the resolution of the mystery of the Burn, I have<\/i> to talk about Gray. This episode takes a real-life thing from a metaphor to actuality: the desire to be seen. Gray, who mysteriously can only be seen by Adira, is brought to life by the holographic program on Su\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kal\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ship. I feel like that confirms outright that somehow, Gray is a sentient being, not someone that Adira is imagining. Granted, the show had already started treating Gray that way through Stamets and Dr. Culber, which I still appreciate! But what a MOMENT, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. Oh god, season four has<\/i> to address this. HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE WHEN THEY LITERALLY DIED. I mean… this is Discovery<\/i>. We know it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s possible for someone to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153die\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and still come back. Also, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think the show has ever outright said it, but I feel like Gray is coded as being trans? Which would make this whole subplot amount to the show saying that trans people deserve to be seen? WHICH IS SUCH A HUGE LEAP FROM PREVIOUS DEPICTIONS OF TRANS PEOPLE ON TREK<\/i>. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know, I feel like that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a solid reading of his character, even if Gray hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t discussed it out loud, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m just… really, really happy that we got this confirmation and will most likely see an expansion on Gray in season four.<\/p>\n

All right, so!!! Su\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kal!!! Let me start off by saying that I can see a reading of this story that isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t that positive. I won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be surprised if there are folks in the comments who express disappointment with the resolution of the Burn. However, it worked for me, in particular because there is such an immense contrast between the scope of the Burn and the scope of what Su\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kal experienced. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something powerful in the idea that the Su\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kal\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s grief over losing his mother was strong enough to erupt outward and cause a galaxy wide burst of pain. That doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t negate how deeply fucked up and terrible this was, but this one person\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s horrible experience was thrust out upon others. Yes, it isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like Su\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kal knew what his anguish caused, and I am certain he never would have chosen<\/i> to cause the Burn because of his unique biology.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I also know that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153That Hope is You, Part 2\u00e2\u20ac\u009d offers little in terms of rectifying what Su\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kal has done. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m of the mind that this episode didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need<\/i> to do that; we have a new season coming in which the growth of the Federation could also occur alongside Su\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kal\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s growth and trying to reckon with what happened when his mother passed. What I wanted from this season was an answer\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwhich we definitively got\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand a glimpse of possibility, which I also think we got by the end of the finale.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond that, I found this enriching, thrilling, sad, and deeply emotional, especially since so much of this conflict was filtered through Saru, speaking to the first Kelpien he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d seen in YEARS, who also can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see<\/i> Saru as a Kelpien. Thus, Saru\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s task was a million times harder already, and yet? Look how well he was able to communicate complicated and sensitive details to Su\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kal without also being condescending toward him. This was always going to be a delicate nightmare because Su\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kal had been cut off from the outside world. Still, Saru reached deep within himself, and he was able to empathize with Su\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kal while also guiding him toward the truth of the Burn.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And look, I was a little worried that whatever was behind the door that Su\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kal refused to go through would be a bit anticlimactic. Like… what could possibly be so awful that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d avoid it for well over a hundred years? YEAH. HOLY SHIT. THAT. THAT WOULD DO IT. From a visual and emotional perspective, the reveal of what was behind the door Su\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kal ignored was one of the most gut-wrenching things I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever seen. I admit that after somewhat recent events (both the death of Baize and the pandemic) that I am incredibly sensitive to depictions of dead bodies, so I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t prepared for the remains of Su\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kal\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mother, family, and shipmates. Whew, that hit hard<\/i>, and I could feel his anguish through the screen.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yeah. That was absolutely something a person could ignore for a hundred years.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, I loved that this moment of extreme grief was countered with wonder and joy. Moments after turning off the holo and replaying the final seconds of his mother\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life, Su\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kal gets to see Saru in his true form. This final arc built up to that scene so well, and the weight of it all was not lost on me. That meant something important to both<\/i> characters. Because of Saru\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s work with Su\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kal, Su\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kal not only got rescued, but he was granted a chance at a new life, one that was outside<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M EMOTIONAL.<\/p>\n

The Future<\/b><\/p>\n

This season finale wrapped up a number of things, but I adore that it leaves so much open to be explored in season four. I imagine we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to see the further expansion of the Federation. Trill has rejoined! Ni\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Var might join, too! And as Discovery<\/i> spreads dilithium throughout the worlds that need it, that means long-distance space travel can resume. Oh god, how will everything change? The Emerald Chain may have collapsed with the death of Osyraa, but a lot of those bad actors are still around. What of the Mercantile operations? What of all the cursed arrangements that the Chain maintained? I feel like season four will feature a LOT of clean-up of Osyraa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mess-ups, right?<\/p>\n

But on a character level, there are quite a few developments I am anticipating. Holy shit, MICHAEL BURNHAM IS CAPTAIN OF THE DISCOVERY<\/i>. This has been a long time coming, but that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a good thing. The show earned<\/i> this moment by giving Michael a compelling, complicated story, and I am so excited to see what she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll do as a captain.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Which also makes me wonder how that changes her relationship with Saru and with Stamets. Saru is back home on Kaminar, which has CLEARLY changed a great deal since he was last there. As he helps Su\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kal, how will he fit in there? What happens when he returns to Discovery<\/i>? Will he go back to being the Captain, or will it be Michael?<\/p>\n

And then there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Stamets\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s quiet reaction to Burnham as captain. Look, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, I get why he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot more cold toward her than everyone else. They haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t had a conversation since she incapacitated him in the previous episode. It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter that Admiral Vance even told Stamets that Michael made the right choice. Maybe it was the right tactical choice, but he still feels betrayed by what she did. How is that<\/i> going to play out?<\/p>\n

While this is the end of my Trek<\/i> journey for this site, I do hope to watch the show on my own when it comes out. This… this was fucking incredible<\/i>, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. I loved Discovery<\/i> so much, and this finale was no exception. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll have more thoughts on the show as a whole in the wrap-up that comes next, so… see you then!<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153That Hope is You, Part 2\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"