Hello Glenn and Valerie,
Just a note to say thank you both for your wonderful podcast! I ran across it a few weeks ago while searching for thoughtful analysis of Star Trek: Discovery, and I think The Lower Decks is going to be a new fan home for me for quite some time to come. I've been a longtime Trek fan since my college days, when VOY and DS9 were on the air, and it's been such a thrill to have new Trek back on television. I really appreciate your informed, insightful commentary. It helps me think through each episode from angles I hadn't considered before, and that's exactly what I was looking for.
I've frankly been a little shocked at how many fellow Trek fans have decided to pan this show without giving it a fair hearing, so I really appreciate how you both are laying out your impressions with a reasoned assessment of the pros and cons. Like the both of you, there are certain things that I particularly like and others that don't quite hit home for me, but so far I'm enjoying Discovery overall and can't wait to see what happens in tonight's fall finale.
I had a couple of thoughts that I wanted to share with you. First, is it just me, or did Discovery (the ship & crew) make a rapid transition from a forbidding, unfriendly and perhaps dangerous/unethical workplace to a more sunny, friendly environment that is more typical for Trek? While I don't necessarily object to the transition, it seems to have happened awfully quickly. Perhaps we are looking at the ship through Burnham's eyes, finding it more comfortable as she gains her footing (but again, is it realistic that all of her colleagues would suddenly be fine working with someone they see as a mutineer?). There are of course still some serious open questions about Lorca and Tyler (Stamets gets a free pass with his personality swings due to being high IMO), but what I'm really referring to are the changes involving the overall atmosphere of Discovery rather than specific characters. Curious to know your thoughts.
Separately, about the question you both raised regarding Admiral Cornwell's fate in last week's episode (Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum), it's not clear to me that she is dead... or that she isn't. I feel like they left that open to interpretation, although I fear we may have lost her (and what does that say about Lorca's decision to volunteer her for that task?). It is possible that L'Rell is allowing Kol to think she's dead so that she can steal off with the Admiral later and exact revenge, but whether or not she could even do that is an open question now that she's gotten busted. I guess we'll have to wait and see. I do think Admiral Cornwell deserves/deserved a cocktail of her own, for what that's worth.
Thanks again for sharing your reflections with us each week. I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the fall finale after tonight!
Best,
Rose
Thanks, Kev!
Hi Rose!
First of all, thank you so much for your truly heartwarming words of kindness! We are especially glad to know that we are helping others find positivity and fun in Disco given that it is, as you’ve mentioned and as I’ve anecdotally noticed among friends, a rather divisive show. Dialoguing with listeners helps keep us centered on what the show is doing right (and gives us space to vent frustrations), so we appreciate hearing from you and knowing that you’re out there. :)
We’ve just wrapped up recording our recap of the fall finale, so we look forward to hearing your thoughts once that’s up! Until then, I definitely want to address your question about the rapid change in environment. The truth is, I *wanted* to take that Disco now felt more like a family at face value, but you raise an excellent point. Only 9 episodes in, we are a far cry from the foreboding soldiers with mysterious black badges, Lorca’s creepy science room, and the crew’s outright hatred of Burnham and everything they thought she stood for. I think it’s my very lack of objection to the transition (as in, this is how I wanted it to be from the get go), that let me gleefully forget that, hey, wait a second, that happened pretty darn fast. I wonder if they’ll return to those moments and address them later on, or if it will remain a mystery (much like the still outstanding question of “How and when did Sarek get off the ship?!”). I guess it’s also possible the writers just went in a different direction than they originally intended?
As @kev may pointed out – yay! Cornwell is alive and (kind of?) well. I like that they left the filming of Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum up to interpretation (speculating is fun!), and even more pleased at this positive outcome.
Valerie
Oh, and about that cocktail suggestion – duly noted. I bet Glenn’s already invented ten, but we’ll make sure to give Cornwell her due respect.
Yaay, Cornwell is alive (Oh I just had a Brian Blessed "Gordons Alive moment). I would also like to offer my thanks and appreciation to the team for the podcasts and their interesting and insight filled posts here.
Hello Rose,
Thank you for your very kind thoughts. We're so glad to have you listening and we're grateful for your note.
I have also noticed this general change in the mood and tone of the ship and the crew, and indeed it's something I want to talk about with Valerie on the episode we'll record this evening. This seemed extra clear in the finale, especially in the visual language, which I suddenly found to be warm and inviting in a way that we've never seen on Discovery before. I don't think this is an accident, and I really like your reading that the visual language of the show has been in some part at least through Burnham's eyes and that Burnham now feels at home here. And I think this works as a great transition for the show as it gets ready to move beyond the Klingon War arc and into (I hope) a voyage of Discovery.
And Cornwell!!!!