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    An Obol for Charon (204)

    Visit the Episode GuideSTAR TREK: DISCOVERY - SEASON TWO
    AN OBOL FOR CHARON
    EPISODE NUMBER - 204
    With Discovery caught by a massive object that disrupts its systems, Saru must face the reality of his own ill health. Meanwhile Stamets and Tilly attempt to communicate with an alien organism.

    VISIT THE EPISODE GUIDE >>
    Last edited by GateWorld; 09 February 2019, 12:16 AM.

    #2
    Probably one of the more original episodes of the season. Seemed like there was a lot to unpack.

    First of all the beginning of the episode was awesome. It was great seeing Number One, with far more personality than has typically been attributed to her in ancillary media. The obvious warmth she has for Spock came through from both her and Pike which is great cos it really gives a feel of comaradery.

    Seeing an actual staff briefing was great to see. Linus may actually be one of my new favourite characters.

    The actual threat of the week was very complex so I feel like I'll need to re-watch to unpack it in my head. But I loved having something that felt very TOS and TNG. Just an unknown thing and a problem to be solved. It was particularly interesting as this might be the first time where a problem involved the universal translator in depth.

    The set up of Saru's death was of course an obvious fake out but that didn't matter much once it got to the point when Burnham helped him off the bridge and every staff member stood to look back it. That was a tear jerked. As was his entire scene with Burnham.

    Possibly not the best episode of the season but definitely a great one and still shows that it's heading in the right direction
    Please do me a huge favour and help me be with the love of my life.

    Comment


      #3
      So about that ship....I have a feeling it was not, but damned if I didn't IMMEDIATELY think that it was a 2019 version of a First Federation ship.

      And then, toward the end of the episode, didn't its explosion rather uncannily resemble the red bursts that herald the appearance of the Red Angels?



      Originally posted by P-90_177 View Post
      The set up of Saru's death was of course an obvious fake out but that didn't matter much once it got to the point when Burnham helped him off the bridge and every staff member stood to look back it. That was a tear jerked. As was his entire scene with Burnham.
      While this irritated me as really obvious right from the get-go, it was really nicely presented, and now I'm very curious what this evolution means for how Saru acts going forward.
      "A society grows great when old men plant trees, the shade of which they know they will never sit in. Good people do things for other people. That's it, the end." -- Penelope Wilton in Ricky Gervais's After Life

      Comment


        #4
        I am not going to lie, a little drop of tears showed up in my eyes when everybody stood up on the bridge for Saru. I really loved that they deepened his character and race, because there were so many new lore information. And finally we have seen a very emotional version of Michael not just the clear logic thinking "pseudo-Vulcan" himan lady.

        I also loved the multilanguage scene. Klingon, Mandarin, Swedish, German, Italian, Arabic, Hebrew... I have no idea what language is Wolof. I have to google it.

        The ep's main first contact plot also looks promising, it depends how they use this "Dead Sea Scrolls" for the next episodes or even seasons. I am guessing the dying alien have seen the Red Angels before, so maybe there is periodic return of their appearance. My other guess would have been if Saru can see the the near future, then maybe his race could be a link how Spock could do the same. But then the solution of this episode was also built on Saru, so probably the main story won't go this direction.

        The tech lab scenes were also great. The acting, the discussions, the special effects were all great. I love such little informations, when they name alien races, so it was cool to hear what is "May". I had this feeling that maybe the spore drive hurts some lifeforms, because they have to provide a very strong reason why this technology won't be used in the near future.

        Talking about not working tech. I also loved the little explanation why the Enterprise hasn't got holograms...

        The next episode is also looks amazing and this whole season was great so far.
        "I was hoping for another day. Looks like we just got a whole lot more than that. Let's not waste it."

        "Never underestimate your audience. They're generally sensitive, intelligent people who respond positively to quality entertainment."

        "Individual science fiction stories may seem as trivial as ever to the blinder critics and philosophers of today, but the core of science fiction, its essence, has become crucial to our salvation, if we are to be saved at all."

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by DigiFluid View Post

          While this irritated me as really obvious right from the get-go, it was really nicely presented, and now I'm very curious what this evolution means for how Saru acts going forward.
          It irritated me a little too. But that's interesting isn't it? I mean episodic tv shows back in the day did that all the time, and we knew as viewers the person wasn't going to die but we went with it anyway. Our expectations have really changed in a serialised TV era.

          Originally posted by Platschu View Post
          I am not going to lie, a little drop of tears showed up in my eyes when everybody stood up on the bridge for Saru. I really loved that they deepened his character and race, because there were so many new lore information. And finally we have seen a very emotional version of Michael not just the clear logic thinking "pseudo-Vulcan" himan lady.

          I also loved the multilanguage scene. Klingon, Mandarin, Swedish, German, Italian, Arabic, Hebrew... I have no idea what language is Wolof. I have to google it.

          The ep's main first contact plot also looks promising, it depends how they use this "Dead Sea Scrolls" for the next episodes or even seasons. I am guessing the dying alien have seen the Red Angels before, so maybe there is periodic return of their appearance. My other guess would have been if Saru can see the the near future, then maybe his race could be a link how Spock could do the same. But then the solution of this episode was also built on Saru, so probably the main story won't go this direction.

          The tech lab scenes were also great. The acting, the discussions, the special effects were all great. I love such little informations, when they name alien races, so it was cool to hear what is "May". I had this feeling that maybe the spore drive hurts some lifeforms, because they have to provide a very strong reason why this technology won't be used in the near future.

          Talking about not working tech. I also loved the little explanation why the Enterprise hasn't got holograms...

          The next episode is also looks amazing and this whole season was great so far.
          Huh... You know honestly the possible usefulness of the download hadn't occurred to me, but you're right, that likely will end up leading to a clue in regards to previous red bursts and such.

          Saru could never see the near future. His threat ganglia were just provided him with an uncanny instinct for danger. But I'm also interested in what this means for his future. He still can't interfere with the Kelpian's natural development as a pre-warp society, but perhaps he could get Starfleet to step in to stop the Ba'ul from interfering with another culture, depending on what their relationship with the Ba'ul is.

          I also loved the tech lab scenes. Honestly I can never decide on a favourite character in this show because Saru, Stamets and Tilly steal every scene their in. I love how despite being clearly depressed Stamets is over Hugh, he lights up whenever he has to do anything with the spores, or any time he has to work with Tilly. The scene where he has her sing her favourite song was amazing. Again another tear jerker of a moment.

          It also raises a great reason for why they can't use the Spore drive. Because, I think it was demonstrated in season one that it just works too damn well, but if you have an alien culture that is harmed by its use then of course Starfleet isn't going to use it. Particularly if that race is a threat (Anyone else think that scene where they realise Tilly wasn't in the Cocoon any more was very Stranger Things-esque?)
          Please do me a huge favour and help me be with the love of my life.

          Comment


            #6
            Linus looks like a cool guy and I am happy not just to see him again, but also part of the conversation. And they also added some details about his race too. Well done! I love named alien races.

            What I have meant that there is no logic reason for feeling "danger". Once I walked alone in a national park and some vultures / hawks / whatever horrible birds started to fly circles on the sky above me and I have just realized that I am in Spain and dangerous carnivores can exist in the mountain where I was hiking, so what if some animals will attack me?! So it was a similar moment what Saru could feel in danger situation. Not necesserily sure danger, but possible danger. I really loved how they talked about his anatomical advantage that he can see a bigger spectrum of lights as well.

            I wanted to point out that the Red Angel must have changed Spock or took over his body (and soul) time to time, because how could he predict an event in advance? You whoever changed him they must follow some kind of plan, because I am guessing Spock could not see the future directly. Maybe they will introduce an "anti-Red Angel" race or something, so we could end up in a conflict of more races, but we don't know yet who is good and who is bad. So far the Red Angels helped in two situations, but it doesn't mean they have good intentions too... Just if it is a recurring event, then I hope they won't go ahead something like the Reapers from Mass Effect.

            My idea was what if the Red Angel came back from the future, where their timeline is deleted / modified. Maybe they already know the TOS timeline, so they warn the young Spock to avoid it. Maybe it is a warning that something will happen with his home planet in the Kelvin Timeline. I believe the writers are merging / reorganizing the timelines and maybe they do it for the hardcore fans, so maybe even a third timeline could be created where the Vulcan survives, but only some part of the reboot movies and the original TOS stories would happen. That is what I am expecting to be the solution of the season. Maybe the spore arc will also join to this storyline, so what if they are aheading to the multiverse of Star Trek? We will see, but as long as they bring such episodes like this, I could watch it for seasons.
            "I was hoping for another day. Looks like we just got a whole lot more than that. Let's not waste it."

            "Never underestimate your audience. They're generally sensitive, intelligent people who respond positively to quality entertainment."

            "Individual science fiction stories may seem as trivial as ever to the blinder critics and philosophers of today, but the core of science fiction, its essence, has become crucial to our salvation, if we are to be saved at all."

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by Platschu View Post
              Linus looks like a cool guy and I am happy not just to see him again, but also part of the conversation. And they also added some details about his race too. Well done! I love named alien races.

              What I have meant that there is no logic reason for feeling "danger". Once I walked alone in a national park and some vultures / hawks / whatever horrible birds started to fly circles on the sky above me and I have just realized that I am in Spain and dangerous carnivores can exist in the mountain where I was hiking, so what if some animals will attack me?! So it was a similar moment what Saru could feel in danger situation. Not necesserily sure danger, but possible danger. I really loved how they talked about his anatomical advantage that he can see a bigger spectrum of lights as well.

              I wanted to point out that the Red Angel must have changed Spock or took over his body (and soul) time to time, because how could he predict an event in advance? You whoever changed him they must follow some kind of plan, because I am guessing Spock could not see the future directly. Maybe they will introduce an "anti-Red Angel" race or something, so we could end up in a conflict of more races, but we don't know yet who is good and who is bad. So far the Red Angels helped in two situations, but it doesn't mean they have good intentions too... Just if it is a recurring event, then I hope they won't go ahead something like the Reapers from Mass Effect.

              My idea was what if the Red Angel came back from the future, where their timeline is deleted / modified. Maybe they already know the TOS timeline, so they warn the young Spock to avoid it. Maybe it is a warning that something will happen with his home planet in the Kelvin Timeline. I believe the writers are merging / reorganizing the timelines and maybe they do it for the hardcore fans, so maybe even a third timeline could be created where the Vulcan survives, but only some part of the reboot movies and the original TOS stories would happen. That is what I am expecting to be the solution of the season. Maybe the spore arc will also join to this storyline, so what if they are aheading to the multiverse of Star Trek? We will see, but as long as they bring such episodes like this, I could watch it for seasons.
              I highly doubt it in terms of the stroy arc. It's too complex. Remember they only have a dozen episodes to tell this story. Plus this season is striking me more and more like a "it's not the destination that matters but the journey" kind of situation. I suspect by the end that we will know maybe a few new things about the Angels but otherwise they will remain a fairly unknown entity. So far this season has been entirely character centric and I believe that it will remain so right up until the very end. Otherwise they'd never even imply that they'd create a sort of Star Trek multi-verse given how the TV series and movies are owned by different companies.

              Oh.. also, Wolof. It's the native language of the Wolof people in Senegal.
              Please do me a huge favour and help me be with the love of my life.

              Comment


                #8
                I don't remember whether Saru and Michael served together for 7 years on the Shenzou. That is the reason it has felt a bit out of place that she has never heard about his sister and she was just mentioned in the beginning of this season, while now they completly admitted their feeling to each other and basically they adopted each other as siblings. What I wanted to say, if you work with someone and they have definately worked as important officers, then you would know such things about your co-workers, wouldn't you?

                The same goes for his language. I know Saru described his overprotective and shy feelings about it, but how could he never ever say it? But the episode is still great.

                Other observation was that Saru was accepted like a brother, while Philippa left a message that she has accepted Michael like a daughter. Maybe there is a connection between the two cases, or they just a bit lazily reused this conversation plot. I mean it is nice and really touching and emotional, but 2 cases in 2 seasons were a bit too much.

                Thanks for the Wolof update.
                https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolof_language

                The title also has got two nice mythological reference :
                https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obol_(coin)
                https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charon
                "I was hoping for another day. Looks like we just got a whole lot more than that. Let's not waste it."

                "Never underestimate your audience. They're generally sensitive, intelligent people who respond positively to quality entertainment."

                "Individual science fiction stories may seem as trivial as ever to the blinder critics and philosophers of today, but the core of science fiction, its essence, has become crucial to our salvation, if we are to be saved at all."

                Comment


                  #9
                  They did serve together for 7 years. Saru was already a lieutenant on the Shenzou when Burnham was brought aboard as first officer. But keep in mind that even just before the Battle of the Binary stars they seemed to have more of a professional rivalry than any kind of friendship. As a first officer I can imagine that Burnham would want to keep a lot of the crew at arms length cos that was when she was still her Vulcany self. Saru meanwhile saw Burnham as in the way. As he explained in season 1 the presumption was she'd get her own command and he'd become Georgiou's XO. It's only really been while they've been aboard the Discovery that they've been in a position to open up to each other. And I can believe that Saru would be the more closed off of the two, but Burnham opened that door to friendship first by giving him Georgiou's telescope and opening up her feelings to him throughout several occasions in season 1. After all that he trusts her now. Possibly more than he's ever trusted anyone except maybe Georgeou.
                  Please do me a huge favour and help me be with the love of my life.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Maybe it's my lack of Trek knowledge speaking, but this episode was far from my favorite. Too many randoms, too many questions.

                    Well, reading the comments here I feel shy a bit to admit I was fooled by Saru's death, I really thought it was real. I still don't understand, he's just fine right out of nowhere, not afraid anymore... hmm? That sequence was weird to me. Also felt cheated a bit because they really set him up for his final moment, and pulled a plot shield at the last minute.

                    I also noticed that Burnham's reaction at the moment Saru handed her the knife, and when she tears doing saying she can't, was very weird also. She was fine, then hardcore tears down, then 0.05 seconds after she's fine again. Might just be me though, but the acting seemed off on that one.

                    How exactly did they record 100k years of history from just an explosion...? ''Scientists will study this for the decades to come'' All I'm picturing is a bunch of white dressed men with glasses looking at a clip of an explosion over and over again, taking notes.
                    Spoiler:
                    I don’t want to be human. I want to see gamma rays, I want to hear X-rays, and I want to smell dark matter. Do you see the absurdity of what I am? I can’t even express these things properly, because I have to—I have to conceptualize complex ideas in this stupid, limiting spoken language, but I know I want to reach out with something other than these prehensile paws, and feel the solar wind of a supernova flowing over me. I’m a machine, and I can know much more.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Chaka-Z0 View Post
                      How exactly did they record 100k years of history from just an explosion...? ''Scientists will study this for the decades to come'' All I'm picturing is a bunch of white dressed men with glasses looking at a clip of an explosion over and over again, taking notes.
                      The explosion that we see is just the visible spectrum of light. Note what Saru was saying -- that he was seeing a kaleidoscope of colours in patterns, that were not visible to our eyes. That colour and pattern display was transmission of information, like how fibre cables here on Earth today transmit data in the form of pulses of light, only more advanced because this is Star Trek and the civilization in question is 100,000 years old. The explosion of the ship was one final, huge burst of data in the form of light and light patterns, not visible to human eyes but recorded by Discovery's sensors.
                      "A society grows great when old men plant trees, the shade of which they know they will never sit in. Good people do things for other people. That's it, the end." -- Penelope Wilton in Ricky Gervais's After Life

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by DigiFluid View Post
                        The explosion that we see is just the visible spectrum of light. Note what Saru was saying -- that he was seeing a kaleidoscope of colours in patterns, that were not visible to our eyes. That colour and pattern display was transmission of information, like how fibre cables here on Earth today transmit data in the form of pulses of light, only more advanced because this is Star Trek and the civilization in question is 100,000 years old. The explosion of the ship was one final, huge burst of data in the form of light and light patterns, not visible to human eyes but recorded by Discovery's sensors.
                        I actually didn't get that it dumped data via the explosion. I took that it merely finished the upload before the explosion happened. But otherwise that's dead on.
                        Please do me a huge favour and help me be with the love of my life.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by DigiFluid View Post
                          The explosion that we see is just the visible spectrum of light. Note what Saru was saying -- that he was seeing a kaleidoscope of colours in patterns, that were not visible to our eyes. That colour and pattern display was transmission of information, like how fibre cables here on Earth today transmit data in the form of pulses of light, only more advanced because this is Star Trek and the civilization in question is 100,000 years old. The explosion of the ship was one final, huge burst of data in the form of light and light patterns, not visible to human eyes but recorded by Discovery's sensors.
                          Oh okay I didn't catch that, thanks!
                          Spoiler:
                          I don’t want to be human. I want to see gamma rays, I want to hear X-rays, and I want to smell dark matter. Do you see the absurdity of what I am? I can’t even express these things properly, because I have to—I have to conceptualize complex ideas in this stupid, limiting spoken language, but I know I want to reach out with something other than these prehensile paws, and feel the solar wind of a supernova flowing over me. I’m a machine, and I can know much more.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by Chaka-Z0 View Post
                            Maybe it's my lack of Trek knowledge speaking, but this episode was far from my favorite. Too many randoms, too many questions.

                            Well, reading the comments here I feel shy a bit to admit I was fooled by Saru's death, I really thought it was real. I still don't understand, he's just fine right out of nowhere, not afraid anymore... hmm? That sequence was weird to me. Also felt cheated a bit because they really set him up for his final moment, and pulled a plot shield at the last minute.

                            I also noticed that Burnham's reaction at the moment Saru handed her the knife, and when she tears doing saying she can't, was very weird also. She was fine, then hardcore tears down, then 0.05 seconds after she's fine again. Might just be me though, but the acting seemed off on that one.

                            How exactly did they record 100k years of history from just an explosion...? ''Scientists will study this for the decades to come'' All I'm picturing is a bunch of white dressed men with glasses looking at a clip of an explosion over and over again, taking notes.
                            The implication in regards to Saru is that the predator species on his planet either engineer kelpiens to be afraid or merely take advantage of a particular stage of their life cycle and kill them before they can lose their threat ganglia. Either by culling them or getting them to kill themselves under the guise of being merciful (kill yourself or this intense pain will never end). I actually really like the notion that Kelpiens have threat ganglia up until a particular point of their lives then lose them. Kind of like a Kelpien form of puberty, because fear for the youth of a species makes a lot of sense. Young cannot defend themselves as well as adults can.

                            As for Burnham, some people do just react that way, and that's without Burnham's Vulcan upbringing. You can see her struggling to keep her emotions in check until the point when she just can't help herself and sobs uncontrollably. After Saru's ganglia fall off then her scientist mind kicks in and she's too busy thinking about what just happened to be upset and she gains control quickly. Vulcan-ness aside I've met people who can do that in real life.
                            Please do me a huge favour and help me be with the love of my life.

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