Captain Burnham and her crew must go where few have gone before: beyond the Galactic Barrier. Meanwhile, Book learns the truth of what drives Ruon Tarka.

It’s been a long road, getting from there to here… and we’re still not there. Discovery’s latest episode loses much of the momentum that it has been trying to build up with an episode that misreads our compassion towards the actions of a supporting character.

Book and Tarka have destroyed the DMA controller, but it reappears immediately, prompting Starfleet’s decision to make first contact with its originators, Species 10C. With President Rillak joining them on the Discovery, Michael takes her crew to the galactic barrier and beyond. That probably makes the episode far more exciting than it sounds, with far too much time spent on Tarka’s back story – his redemption for spying on a fellow prisoner in an Emerald Chain labour camp.

There’s a sense that things are being stretched out to fill the remaining episodes, and I really do hope that we get a satisfying ending. By this point, the series should be on fire – think back to previous years – but instead we are pontificating about a character we don’t really know or care about, and a tepid, would-be romance between Saru and T’Rrina. At least there’s a ticking clock now to move things along: 71 hours to fix things before the DMA starts harvesting Earth and Ni’Var.

Verdict: There’s stuff going on but not a lot happening – I really hope this is the final lull before the finale. 6/10

Nick Joy