Spoilers Star Trek: Discovery 2x06 - "The Sound of Thunder"

[CorporalClegg]

Okay episode but I wasn't blown away by it. Chalk it up to more of a 'not my cup of tea' thing than actual quality.

And the Ba'ul guy's voice wasn't working for me. Without subtitles, I doubt I could even understand him. It was like someone doing a bad James Spader impression through a megaphone strait into a rusty oil barrel.

 

[Cyrus]

Fantastic episode. A great standalone story that also ties well to the season arc. Loved it.

Harberts and Berg are still listed as exec producers, so the showrunner shakeup must have happened after this.

Monologue was by Saru. Those that are bothered by Burnham's voice doing this should be happier this time.

They used scenes from the short Trek nicely as flashbacks.

The planet scenes looked fabulous. Discovery has done a great job with alien planets, the Pahvo planet was good too. Hopefully they will go to more planets in the future

This episode gets a 10 from me. Boey and Erika once again write the best episode of the season (so far).

Agreed. They wrote the best episode last season too (Into the forrest). The section 31 series is in good hands.

 

[Xerxus]

I really hope that the Red Angel does not turn out to be any of our cast. Especially Michael.

I felt the visceral emotions from Saru. It was kind of scary and I might side with the Ba'ul on this one.,

 

[NeoStar9]

Another amazing episode. Great visuals for the Baul and their ships and stronghold!

 

[The Habs Fan]

Harberts and Berg are still listed as exec producers, so the showrunner shakeup must have happened after this.

They were fired between production of last week’s episode and tonight’s episode. They’re probably still credited as executive producers because this episode was written while they were still the show runners. I expect it will be the same for next week’s episode and possibly even episode 8.

 

[Gov Kodos]

Spock has been running Section 31 from the beginning. That's how he could stay in contact with Talos 4, hanging out with Romulans and taking advantage of the Klingon moon blowing up. He's been an agent all along.

 

[jfordny]

I really hope that the Red Angel does not turn out to be any of our cast. Especially Michael.

I felt the visceral emotions from Saru. It was kind of scary and I might side with the Ba'ul on this one.,

Yes, I'm not sure why anyone - Pike, Burnham - would be convinced that the Kelpians will create some just new balance. They were the original predators, after all. And Saru certainly is undergoing some personality changes minus the fear ganglia.

I find it hard to believe the planet will become some model of interspecies cooperation, but maybe I'm just cynical.

 

[Lord Garth]

I love the camera work while Saru and the Ba'ul are arguing! That's worth an extra point all by itself. Whatever I rate this episode, it's getting a +1 on top of it, just for that.

 

[Kane_Steel]

Last Week:
- Spore magic, contrived writing, energy transfers, nonsense.

- The adventures of Jar Jar Tilly and her equally shameful sidekick in mushroom land.

- Yeoh chewing up the scenary in a cheesy embarrassing performance, doesn't bode well for the 'spinoff'

- The complete bastardization of Section 31.

- Pike cucked by Admiral Holdo.

- A very intentional view of Culber's taint, thanks for that.

Overall, a terrible hour of television that sealed this series as damaged beyond repair. More importantly is it showed that the producers and writers don't value the intelligence of their intended audience, and can resort to bad 'comicbook logic' to explain away their spore magic. I couldn't suspend disbelief for this nonsense.

Trek has tried some 'out there' ideas before as one-offs (looking at you Voyager and Threshold), but this spore garbage is so inherently linked to the Discovery series and it's identity, on a recurring basis, that it is impossible to get onboard with the show if you can't buy into the concept.

Last Week: 0/10


This Week:

5/10

- Liked the production value and effects

- Liked Doug Jones' performance, looks like he's the show's mvp.... low bar though

- Enjoyed Sonequa's hilariously bad facial expressions. A gif of her shaking her head in disapproval of Saru is needed.

- Disliked Tyler. They completely altered his character again.. he's suddenly a morally gray Section 31 agent who shares their ideals and 'values' .... Clear that the writers room doesn't really care for the character, unless he's being used to advance Burnham.

- Disliked Pike. Anson Mount is talented, but this is the point where I can definitively say the Jeffrey Hunter Pike was better. Hunter's Pike had agency and was authoritative. He was almost like Jason Isaacs' portrayal last season. Mount has the potential to give a strong commanding presence onscreen, but his portrayal comes off really boring and subdued. He provides levity at times, and that was refreshing in the early episodes of this season... but in crisis situations, he comes off as weak. Especially how he constantly turns to Michael for guidance and always influenced by her, most notably in today's bridge confrontation scene. When Pike gave an order, he should have stuck with it. Michael is constantly undermining him and that's intentional.

That tells me that Pike will likely be gone after this season. He is being written as disposable. Just a generic Captain to fill the role and to draw in fans. No real development of his own and not written or performed in a compelling manner.


Ultimately, I can't get on board with Discovery and what it stands for any further. I gave it a fair chance. Gave the S2 premiere a good rating, but the ugliness of S1 and more divisive elements of the show are still very present.

Does anyone have any idea when STD's "Spock" will appear? I'd prefer to avoid future episodes and only check out the ones that introduce his character.

 

[thribs]

It’s the girl from the Ring.

 

[Tuskin38]

I love the camera work while Saru and the Red Angel are arguing! That's worth an extra point all by itself. Whatever I rate this episode, it's getting a +1 on top of it, just for that.

Uh angel?

 

[Lord Garth]

Uh angel?

Fixed that.

 

[thribs]

Another Control reference. Obviously Clamfandango doesn’t know the true power of it.

 

[Lakenheath 72]

Spock might probably show up next week.

I would say, based on what was said in this episode and the precedent set in TOS, where after Kirk altered the balance that there were groups of experienced specialists picking up the pieces, so to speak, (ex. "Miri" and "The Apple" and "The Return of the Archons") that the Federation was actively involved in the creation of a new balance on this planet.

My biggest issue was the camera work. Can we please stop the quick transitions? It was really galling early in the episode when they were discussing the red signals, right before the discovery of the signal near Kaminar.

The purpose of this Control is somewhat similar to the Control of the novels.

 

[Cyrus]

Ultimately, I can't get on board with Discovery and what it stands for any further.

If this means we will be spared your reviews then it's probably a good thing

Does anyone have any idea when STD's "Spock" will appear? I'd prefer to avoid future episodes and only check out the ones that introduce his character.

Darn it!! Spock appears next episode.

 

[thribs]

I can’t help but feel like they’ve done a very bad thing.
Looks like they get attacked by Sentinels from the Matrix next week.

 

[eschaton]

I'm going with eight out of ten.

There was a lot I liked about the episode. Saru getting another focus episode was great, considering he's become one of the best parts of the entire show, and Doug Jones is arguably the strongest character. I liked that they felt they didn't need a B plot to carry the episode as well, just reducing non-essential characters to a scene here and there (basically they pulled a DS9). Visually the episode was great as well.

However, it was not perfect. I had...issues...with how the Ba'ul were portrayed. Like others I had a hard time following the discussion because the vocal effects used were so overwhelming. They reminded me of Armus from TNG - which isn't a good thing at all. In general I think it was a mistake to play up the sinister/evil appearance so much. A reveal of a more ordinary look would have worked as well, considering their motivation was in turn fear of the Kelpiens. I also feel like some of the technobabble exposition via the sphere download was a bit too much.

That said, it was a major step up from last week.

 

[Tuskin38]

Spock might probably show up next week.

He’s in the trailer

 

[Tuskin38]

Last Week:
- Spore magic, contrived writing, energy transfers, nonsense.

- The adventures of Jar Jar Tilly and her equally shameful sidekick in mushroom land.

- Yeoh chewing up the scenary in a cheesy embarrassing performance, doesn't bode well for the 'spinoff'

- The complete bastardization of Section 31.

- Pike cucked by Admiral Holdo.

- A very intentional view of Culber's taint, thanks for that.

Overall, a terrible hour of television that sealed this series as damaged beyond repair. More importantly is it showed that the producers and writers don't value the intelligence of their intended audience, and can resort to bad 'comicbook logic' to explain away their spore magic. I couldn't suspend disbelief for this nonsense.

Trek has tried some 'out there' ideas before as one-offs (looking at you Voyager and Threshold), but this spore garbage is so inherently linked to the Discovery series and it's identity, on a recurring basis, that it is impossible to get onboard with the show if you can't buy into the concept.

Last Week: 0/10


This Week:

5/10

- Liked the production value and effects

- Liked Doug Jones' performance, looks like he's the show's mvp.... low bar though

- Enjoyed Sonequa's hilariously bad facial expressions. A gif of her shaking her head in disapproval of Saru is needed.

- Disliked Tyler. They completely altered his character again.. he's suddenly a morally gray Section 31 agent who shares their ideals and 'values' .... Clear that the writers room doesn't really care for the character, unless he's being used to advance Burnham.

- Disliked Pike. Anson Mount is talented, but this is the point where I can definitively say the Jeffrey Hunter Pike was better. Hunter's Pike had agency and was authoritative. He was almost like Jason Isaacs' portrayal last season. Mount has the potential to give a strong commanding presence onscreen, but his portrayal comes off really boring and subdued. He provides levity at times, and that was refreshing in the early episodes of this season... but in crisis situations, he comes off as weak. Especially how he constantly turns to Michael for guidance and always influenced by her, most notably in today's bridge confrontation scene. When Pike gave an order, he should have stuck with it. Michael is constantly undermining him and that's intentional.

That tells me that Pike will likely be gone after this season. He is being written as disposable. Just a generic Captain to fill the role and to draw in fans. No real development of his own and not written or performed in a compelling manner.


Ultimately, I can't get on board with Discovery and what it stands for any further. I gave it a fair chance. Gave the S2 premiere a good rating, but the ugliness of S1 and more divisive elements of the show are still very present.

Does anyone have any idea when STD's "Spock" will appear? I'd prefer to avoid future episodes and only check out the ones that introduce his character.

I’ve stopped taking anything you say seriously

 

[Kane_Steel]

I’ve stopped taking anything you say seriously

Don't be so fragile.

Try to avoid posting these useless replies to every criticism of Discovery that undermines your 'love' for the show.

You seem to do this a lot, and others have noticed.