The phrase so far so good seems to sum up this second episode of the new season. This weeks offering was perhaps the most Star Trek like episode we have had to date.
Whilst the mystery of the red bursts and Spocks disappearance were still a motivating factor the story was an independent one that explored a central tenet of Star Trek, General Order One or as many of us know it the Prime Directive.
Anson Mount shone again as Captain Pike and I was great to see an old fashioned Away Team with someone other than Burnham always having the answer. Likewise on the ship whilst Tilly began to experience something new in her pursuit of understanding the dark matter and Detmer got to do some nifty flying.
It was nice to have no ‘bad guy’ to oppose the crew, they were dealing with a situation. Yes there was technobabble and a hail mary pass to succeed but at its heart the episode felt like a TOS or TNG episode. There was a moral dilemma here one that Burnham disagreed with, however she pulled her neck in and followed her Captains lead.
Saru continues to be one of the standout characters in the show and sadly the by product of giving the rest of the crew more screen time he has had less however that which he has had have been superb. Throughout the first season he seemed to me to be Starfleets beacon aboard Discovery and again he extols the virtues of what it is to be a Starfleet officer and a member of the Federation.
As usual the graphics and visuals were excellent and it was nice to see so many well lit shots of Discovery herself.
The core story of the remote colony reminded me of the Voyager episode The 37’s and the Luddite nature of the community DS9’s Paradise. New Eden blended these two themes into the overall narrative to create an engaging moral story.
Unlike last week, there wasn’t a single thing that jumped out as a glaring juxtaposition in the Trek universe which was a nice respite for a series that has consistently challenged even the strongest threads of canon.
Season 2 is shaping up nicely and I find myself itching for the next instalment to see where the Red Angel story line is heading.
Into the Nebula 
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