WOW! OK, loved it, just loved it. Ok, Lorca doing the right thing and saying the right thing. Being a Starfleet Captain as we have come to know them. Burnham showing guts and self sacrifice, compassion and brains, and retrieving her captains badge which is more of a touchstone for her than the telescope ever was. Ash and his troubled past with the Klingons resurfaces and perhaps he has some sort of implanted conditioning which allows L'Rell to influence him, well that could be a problem. Perhaps his feelings for Burnham might somehow temper that influence. Obviously L'Rell is is deep into some sort of convoluted plot, but to what purpose and what is Voq up to and where is he. Stamets appears to have brain fried himself after turning out to be a fine officer ( I have actually begun to like him a bit), did he know that last jump would fry him, did he purposely set them astray? Is he going to survive? Is this the end of the spore drive and why we revert to warp drive and dilithium crystals? This cloaking technology is obviously flawed so it probably isn't the same as later types and perhaps that preserves the cannonical time line, it is A cloaking technology but not THE cloaking technology. Where are they? Has this been a Voyager like shift? Thrown deep into Klingon territory and fighting to get home? Or is it someone we have not met before's territory perhaps someone who has had their run ins with the Klingons? So many questions. I really liked the pace of the episode, the intro scene was back again and this was a snappy and high paced roller-coaster of a ride. The violence was fairly moderate and plot essential which I am sure Valerie will appreciate. With Kol dead I guess there is going to be a power struggle created by that vacuum at the head of the Klingon empire and all sorts of intrigue and maneuvering is therefore possible for Voq to return. The Disco being lost in unknown space gives ample room for a more episodic format and for the war to be a less pressing problem given that the crew will have no information or intelligence about the conflict whilst out of contact. Their actions with respect to the war would be severely curtailed as they would not know what would help or hinder the Federation's position. If this has been a very long intro into a more familiar format and feel going forward then I feel that would be a mistake, I want them to keep the more edgy and modern feel they have introduced whilst maybe being less adversarial going forward.
