Episode 2 was actually pretty good, but I had already feared that it might not last. I was right. This week's episode brings back all the worst tendencies the show has exhibited for years. Minimal advancement of the larger story, because the season arc again is (perhaps) not meaty enough to carry an entire season. Flashy effects set pieces for apparently no other reason than to change the otherwise dull pace. No significant interest in actual believable human drama, but instead melodramatic soap opera dynamics and shortcuts to deliver Hallmark-esque platitudes.
Chief example is their overuse of the word "connect". It always seems to come down to "connecting" and touchy-feely faux-emotional solutions. Where's the science? Reason? Logic? Or if not those: suspense, mystery, sense of wonder? All such things mark science fiction as a genre, and Star Trek in particular. Discovery keeps claiming that these things is what it's interested in, but really it's all about sentimentality.
Callum Keith Rennie and his character remain a bright spot in a mostly one-note ensemble (Rapp, Wiseman and del Barrio being the worst offenders) as a focused professional with an edge, but they set him up this way just so he can be lectured by a sanctimonious subordinate about how professionalism should take a backseat to being friends with everybody. I don't know why the writers think such representation will endear anyone to Tilly.
Chief example is their overuse of the word "connect". It always seems to come down to "connecting" and touchy-feely faux-emotional solutions. Where's the science? Reason? Logic? Or if not those: suspense, mystery, sense of wonder? All such things mark science fiction as a genre, and Star Trek in particular. Discovery keeps claiming that these things is what it's interested in, but really it's all about sentimentality.
Callum Keith Rennie and his character remain a bright spot in a mostly one-note ensemble (Rapp, Wiseman and del Barrio being the worst offenders) as a focused professional with an edge, but they set him up this way just so he can be lectured by a sanctimonious subordinate about how professionalism should take a backseat to being friends with everybody. I don't know why the writers think such representation will endear anyone to Tilly.