Burnham gets some answers, while Pike and Tyler have to work together to save Discovery…

Every time I think that this show can’t improve on certain areas, it does so – and the short version of this review is, if you’ve not seen Light and Shadows yet, go ahead and watch it now. We’ll wait.

From hereon in, there are spoilers. It’s not an episode that’s easy to discuss in general terms.

There are two A stories at work here – Michael Burnham returning to her parents’ home on Vulcan, discovering the truth about what has happened to Spock, and then her encounter with Section 31; and Pike and the Discovery dealing with a space time rift near Saru’s home planet, Kaminar. Both were given equal weight, and both showed just how much this series has progressed this season.

Dealing with Burnham and Spock first – for all those purists who complain that having Sarek and Spock in the same scene violates canon as established in Journey to Babel: go and rewatch that original series episode again, and note exactly what’s said. (It may not be the same in the Blish adaptation.) Then compare that with what happens in the scene: there isn’t a contradiction. And as for that bombshell at the end of the episode – did anyone seriously think that Pike would be in this season without a visit to Talos IV?

Ethan Peck’s performance as Spock is hard to judge based on this evidence, but he certainly seems to have the same qualities as Nimoy and Quinto, the two main actors against whom he should be judged. (Yes, Leonard Nimoy played the part for longer, but for a 21st century audience, Zachary Quinto is Spock.) He is something of a blank canvas at the moment, being used more as a catalyst for some interesting dramatic moments between Sarek and Amanda as well as between Burnham and Georgiou… And I wonder just how much we can believe what the former ruler of the Mirror Universe is saying about Section 31… Always good to see Michelle Yeoh in fight action, and I loved the little moments between her and Burnham.

Talking of which, in retrospect it seems more than a little surprising that there’s been no discussion of Ash Tyler’s murder of Dr Culber. Okay, yes, it was Voq who was responsible, but as Pike reminds him, it’s hard for others to tell them apart (although no one has actually tackled him on it… nor was there any reference to Culber’s resurrection). Tyler’s reading of Pike is harder for the audience to judge: we simply know Enterprise wasn’t involved in the Klingon War (there’s a novel coming out about it in the summer with a fuller explanation), so until Pike actually admits to Tyler that he might be right, we are justified in assuming the Section 31 agent is pushing things.

The time rift story – complete with a creature from The Matrix attacking the shuttle – is suitably tense, and Stamets’ involvement is a good build on from the Harry Mudd time travel story last season. It’s also nice to see a calmer version of Tilly. But didn’t anyone worry about the effects of the time rift on Kaminar?

People have commented that unlike other Star Trek series, we’ve not had episodes of Discovery that focus on some of the secondary characters, but I strongly suspect that Airiam is going to be front and centre in the not too distant future.

Verdict: Halfway through this season, and Discovery is absolute must-watch TV, with this episode another standout. 9/10

Paul Simpson