Item: Star Trek: Discovery
Rating: 8.6
Author: Scott Collura

Full spoilers follow for this episode. Be sure to also check out our interview with production designer Tamara Deverell about how Star Trek: Discovery redesigned the USS Enterprise bridge.

The penultimate episode of Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 is very much about setting the table for the hopefully grand finale, putting various pieces in place and taking care of certain emotional threads for the characters before what could, conceivably, be a big shift next week.

Who knows what Discovery has in store for us with its S2 finale, though certainly the rumors and fan speculation are running rampant. And it’s not like the show hasn’t taken its share of swerves in the past. Could it be that Michael Burnham and the crew of the Disco really will be catapulted 950 years into the future in next week’s episode, as is the plan established here, where they will live out the rest of their lives?

Star Trek: Discovery's Redesigned USS Enterprise Bridge

Of course, the precedent is already there for the Discovery, if not her crew, to be displaced a millennium from the show’s current era. In the Short Trek “Calypso,” a now sentient Discovery was in fact still in operation, if not Starfleet service, in that future period. The thing is, that story indicated that the Disco crew had abandoned the ship long before the events of the episode. But who knows? And setting a third season of the show in the far future of the Trek universe would certainly be a cool new direction to take.

It also makes sense that the show would tie into “Calypso,” as most of the other Short Treks have now been touched upon this season. First it was Saru’s back story and home planet, and now "Such Sweet Sorrow" gives us the return of Tilly’s pal Po, queen of the planet Xahea where the latest mysterious signal has appeared. (And sorry Harry Mudd, but I don’t know how it’s possible to tie into your Short Trek at this point.)

All of which is to say… some kind of big finale is being set up here. And one can only hope that it’s all worth it, because as cool as this episode is in its way -- yay, Enterprise bridge! -- it really does feel like all set-up. Lots of plans that don’t work. Lots of saying goodbye. And then lots more saying goodbye.

The extended cold open is the most thrilling part of the episode, as we join the crew as they abandon ship to head over to the Enterprise. Detmer shows off her awesome piloting skills as she rolls the Discovery over the Enterprise to engage the coupling procedure (cool walkways with force fields!). We see Spock looking out a window at his ship, the Enterprise. And then of course there’s the reveal of the redesigned interior of the iconic ship itself.

We’d glimpsed the red-highlighted corridors of the ship back in the first episode of this season, but now we’re really onboard the Enterprise. Once Burnham, Pike and Saru got on the turbolift, with those hand-grip thingees, it was clear that production designer Tamara Deverell and her team were going for classic touches of the old NCC-1701 (no bloody A, B, C, or D).

At this point, fans are either down with Discovery’s redesign of this era of Star Trek or they’re not. For me, I’ve come to see it as a necessary evolution for the franchise. It’s a new interpretation and vision that isn’t constrained by the tools and budgets of old. From the red railings to the chairs to that viewing device at the helm console to the captain’s chair, this iteration of the iconic bridge feels just right for the visual world that Discovery has created. Heck, the conference room even has one of those blocky tabletop tri-screens!

Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 Photos

Of course, Burnham being Burnham, she can’t help but grab the time crystal on the Discovery, which gives her a vision of everyone dying (quite dramatically). So when the auto-destruct of the Disco fails, and torpedoing the ship also proves futile, she realizes that they need a new plan. Which brings us back to the whole concept of her Red Angel-ing it into the future with the Discovery in tow, where Control can’t get a hold of that precious sphere data that it wants so badly.

And the whole crew, or at least the above-the-line talent, decide that they’re going with Burnham, since it’s going to be a one-way trip. This allows for second-tier players like Detmer and Owosekun to get a bit of back story shading, though again with the goodbyes! We also get a nice scene between Burnham and Tyler, who is not going with them. He has other plans which we’ll learn about next week. But when Burnham turns and runs back to him crying after their goodbye, it’s yet another Peak Sonequa Martin-Green Acting Moment.

Questions and Notes from the Q Continuum:

What other Trek show would spend the money to have that oh-so-brief (but very nice) opening of Sarek and Amanda on the beach?
Why is everyone ignorant of Po’s unbelievable dilithium discovery?
The credits indicate that Yeoman Colt, a character from “The Cage,” is present in this episode, though I’m not sure which one she was on the Enterprise.
No voice command needed for the auto-destruct?
Georgiou is comic relief half the time these days, like when she suggests firing anti-matter into a nova. Who cares if it kills millions?
“This is crazy. We have a spore drive!”
There was no confirmation that Po left the ship, eh?
Admiral Cornwell’s back! Will we see her next week though? Who can say!
I’m not sure where Stamets and Culber stand now? At least they’re… friends?
Captain Pike leaves the Discovery in a much different manner than her first captain did.
So Pike always knew about the Mirror Universe. He shoulda told Kirk, or at least Spock.
Who’s the new captain?!

Verdict

"Such Sweet Sorrow" does a good enough job of setting up the stakes for the season finale, but it kind of loses its momentum after the excellent first chunk of the episode. Getting to finally see the interior of the new (old) Enterprise is terrific though, and once again Sonequa Martin-Green is the glue that holds the whole story together. Next week: 1,000 years into the future! (Maybe.) For more on “Such Sweet Sorrow,” listen to Scott Collura's Transporter Room 3 podcast review here.