Burnham and Book race to evacuate a group of stranded colonists in the anomaly’s path as one of the Federation’s brightest scientists comes aboard the U.S.S. Discovery to do high-stakes research with Saru and Stamets.

After a week off, where a certain series regular departed the Discovery (incidentally, the crew appear to moved on very quickly!) the DMA is back front and centre as the show’s focus. Except that it disappears and then reappears a thousand light years away, suggesting that it’s not a natural phenomenon and has been artificially created. If this wasn’t unsettling enough, the DMA is on course to reach a non-Federation colony of 1,200 who will need to be taken off-world in quick time.

Six of the would-be evacuees are political prisoners, who the local magistrate is prepared to leave behind. This doesn’t sit well with Burnham and Book, who take a side mission to liberate them. The added complication is that one of them doesn’t feel he deserves to be saved, and then the prison’s defences kick in. Elsewhere, Stamets and Saru have to spar with visiting scientist Ruon Tarka to gain a better understanding of the DMA, while Culber has a very blunt conversation with Kovach (the excellent David Cronenberg), who hits a raw nerve with his suggestion that Culber has saviour’s complex. It’s a strong episode that juggles action, questions of morality and some smaller character problems – just like the best Star Trek does.

Verdict: A stronger focus and some significant character moments make for an engaging hour. 8/10

Nick Joy