Star Trek : Discovery Episode 3 “Content is for Kings” Review
Sorry this is a little late guys, I watched the first two episodes on release and really didn’t feel it. I then watched After Trek and spent the 2 weeks hating James Frain for his rudeness towards his British brothers and sisters, British teeth indeed.
I’m struggling to gel with the new series, but I want to carry on to see whether I can regain my love of Trek, and boy this episode certainly delivers.
This review is chocked full of spoilers. Please do not read ahead if you haven’t watched “Content is for Kings”
If last weeks two-parter was the prologue then this week was the main event. With the introduction of Jason Isaacs’ Captain Gabriel Lorca, and, of course, the Discovery itself, ‘Context Is for Kings’ delivered on the “rawer and grittier” Star Trek that lead Sonequa Martin-Green has been teasing since her casting was announced and has allowed the latest franchise entry to really come into its own.
Picking up 6 months after Michael Burnham’s mutiny and the beginning of the Klingon war. We find Michael aboard a prison shuttle on their way to a prison colony. Michael seems to have regained her steely Vulcan demeanour maybe in an effort to safeguard herself for a life in a Starfleet penal colony. Michael’s shuttle is diverted to the USS Discovery after energy sucking bugs drain the shuttle.
The first scene when we see the Discovery is breath-taking. The design is very original series, but it has a very futuristic sexy upgrade. Also did you see its registration? NCC 1031. Is this a nod to Section 31? The Discovery doesn’t seem to have the warm and fuzzies of other Star Trek ships and feels very much like Battlestar Gallactica. You may recognise Commander Landry as Rekha Sharma who played President Roslin’s aide in BSG. Commander Landry adds to the very “woman power” that Discovery is demonstrating.
Unrealistically the prisoners are allowed full access to Discovery. There is a scene where Michael is in the mess hall carrying an actual lunch tray looking for someone to sit with like Cady Heron on her first day at North Shore. A disgruntled shipmate takes a swing at Michael, she takes him and several of his rowdy friends in seconds.
Gabriel Lorca aka Lucious Malfoy
We then meet Captain Gabriel Lorca! Jason Issac’s Gabriel Lorca doesn’t give a great deal away in this episode, he had a fondness for fortune cookies and is brusque with everyone. I feel he is going to be Discovery’s central mystery.
Did anyone notice all the alien skeletons in his ready room? His ready room is filled with alien remains, including the corpse of a Cardassian vole (on his desk) and a Gorn Skeleton (in the cabinet to the left of his desk). The Gorn being there is intriguing as the Federation didn’t encounter the Gorn until the Original Series episode “Arena”
In After Trek, a show that dissects the Discovery episodes, showrunner Aaron Harberts pointed out the discrepancy, explaining that this is part of the mystery of Lorca’s character.
If you were looking for reasons to distrust the enigmatic captain, well this is certainly very shady. It’s also worth noting that the Federation didn’t have much contact with the Cardassians at this point in history either, as they were in an economic depression that would lead to the rise of the oppressive martial state.
The Trouble with Tribbles
You may have also noticed a Tribble on Lorca’s desk! The Tribble trill always makes me smile, but why would Lorca have one? Tribble infestations can stem from just one Tribble, because they reproduce asexually. Yet somehow Lorca has kept his pet from reproducing. The Discovery‘s Tribble might just be their secret weapon against the Klingons! After all, the Tribbles were deemed an ancient enemy of the Klingon Empire. They even fought a war against them…
Sorry I digress. It’s pretty clear from Lorca’s first meeting with Burnham, where he is introduced in darkness, gazing out into space that her presence on the ship isn’t an accident. It turns out the kind of decision-making that got Burnham into trouble is exactly why he wants her on his crew.
Suspicion
Burnham becomes suspicious of Lorca. After sneaking into science officer Lt Stamets’s secret fungus farm, Burnham becomes convinced that he’s researching a biological weapon to attack the Klingons with.
She becomes even more convinced after a boarding mission to the Discovery’s sister ship that’s involved in the same research. It’s gone dark, and Burnham, Stamets and a hilariously expendable red shirt discover a succession of gruesomely twisted bodies. Whatever happened there wasn’t good, and this is surprisingly gruesome stuff. As if that wasn’t enough, the team discover a massive monster that helps itself to the red shirt. Burnham uses some quick thinking to save the team in a sequence that’s more reminiscent of Aliens than pretty much anything in Trek history.
Job offers
Burnham turns down Lorca’s invitation to join his crew. She’s convinced that Discovery’s research violates the Geneva Convention, and that he’s only after her help because he sees her as a genius who’s willing to wage unsanctioned war. In fact, she’s committed to abiding by Starfleet’s principles, even though she’s no longer part of Starfleet. Lorca claims that they’re actually working on a new way to fly. An “organic propulsion system” that would enable the Discovery to be anywhere “and gone in an instant”. He wants Burnham for her ability to think predicatively, not because she shoots first.
She later accepts and unpacks her bag aboard the Discovery. In a sweet scene with Tilly, Burnham mentioned her foster mother, Amanda Grayson. It seems Amanda taught young Michael that the Vulcans’ strictly logical way isn’t the only way. Alice In Wonderland helped to open Michael’s mind up to seeing beyond perceived rules and conventions. But Michael didn’t wasn’t alone in learning at Amanda’s knee. Spock also reminisced about Amanda reading him Alice In Wonderland in Star Trek: The Animated Series.
With actress Mia Kirshner now cast as Amanda Grayson, we’ll soon be seeing the woman herself.
Final Thoughts
This feels like the pilot Star Trek: Discovery should have had all along. Opening with it would have offered an intriguing launch to a series that otherwise asked a lot from its viewers in expecting them to devote 2 episodes to a series before giving them what they’ve been waiting for. If this is the quality of an average episode then Star Trek : Discovery should be an amazing series. It will be interesting to see whether they can keep it up.
Star Trek : Discovery airs on CBS Access (US) and Netflix (UK)
