Burnham and Spock encounter the Talosians, and Chris Pike has an unexpected reunion…

Again, this is an episode that is nigh on impossible to discuss without spoilers, but let’s just say that if you’re a Star Trek fan, this is the episode that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Discovery is in the same timeline as the 1960s series.

Spoilers follow.

When Doctor Who celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2013, the special episode opened with the original title sequence from 1963. Discovery has gone one better with this episode – there’s a “Previously on Star Trek [and note the logo]” that recaps an episode that was made a mere 55 years ago… and wasn’t even broadcast as a standalone for many years after that. Jeffrey Hunter, Leonard Nimoy and Susan Oliver’s appearances in The Cage set us up for Anson Mount, Ethan Peck and Melissa George reprising the roles six decades later, and there’s never a shadow of the doubt that the 21st century characters are the same.

As I said in last week’s review, it was pretty much a given that bringing Pike on board Discovery would mean a visit to Talos IV, or at the very least a revisitation of the events of The Cage, and we get that in an episode that builds on the legacy of Star Trek’s very first tale. Kudos to the actors playing the younger Burnham and Spock – Arista Arhin and Liam Hughes – who make the crucial scene between the siblings credible, enabling the jumps to Sonequa Martin-Green and Peck to work, as well as to Mount who recreates the chemistry with Melissa George that Hunter had with Oliver.

If that plotline was all we had in the episode, it would make it a standout – but it’s not. Section 31’s pursuit of Discovery, and the ensuing problems they face (some of which are effectively self-inflicted by Captain Leland) add a level of tension – and give Michelle Yeoh plenty of opportunity for Georgiou to let loose. The ongoing question as to what’s going on with Airiam – and if it’s linked to Section 31 – remains.

And then we have Stamets and Culber. And Culber and Tyler. When people have been through near-fatal illnesses, they tend to reassess everything around them; people with amnesia are told of the feelings that they’ve had but they’re not things that work on a toggle – you can’t just “switch on” the way you feel about someone. I had really hoped that Culber’s return would be treated properly, and that’s very much the case – Saru’s actions when Culber attacks Tyler are a little unconventional (as Pike rightly calls him out on later), but he’s right. Culber has to face his murderer; and he has to try to find his own path. Those expecting a “happy ever after” for Stamets and Culber, I suspect, are going to be sorely disappointed. If it is coming, it’s going to have to be earned. The hard way.

I’ve noted before that this season has felt a little reminiscent of beats from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, and the final moments reinforce that. But the spin that’s been given so far has worked very well – roll on the next six episodes!

Verdict: Pretty much everything you could want from a Star Trek episode rolled into one. 10/10

Paul Simpson