8 Ups & 2 Downs From Star Trek: Discovery 5.7 - Erigah

By now, we're all pretty used to Commander Rayner's grumpiness and foot-in-mouthisms in front of his superiors. Typically harmless, or at least well-intentioned, and at times even rather endearing, this week Rayner's more acerbic nature could have gone either way in our appreciation, but for a few oddities in the revelations about his past.

Rayner does certainly need to rein in the constant questioning of the higher-ups in particular. In the round table meeting with Admiral Vance, President T'Rina, and Captain Burnham, Rayner is more than just forthright with his opinions, he is downright hot-headed, dismissive, and even overtly insulting. He outwardly states that "All Breen are the same," that "The word diplomacy is not even in their vocabulary," and calls T'Rina's definition of it "a pipe dream".

It's not just a (rather epic) nod to canon, then, but very much a dressing down when T'Rina calls Rayner out for his "xenophobic comments," i.e. his mention of the Romulan saying "never turn your back on a Breen". Burnham, having already ordered Rayner to wait outside, is equally curt with him after the meeting has ended, expressing her concern about his ability to handle the situation. "Dismissed," Burnham concludes.

All of this was bordering on a) insubordination and b) one step forward, several light-years back in terms of character development for the Commander, but, given what we do learn about him in Erigah, we can probably forgive him a little forthright grumpiness. What clinches this as a DOWN, however, is not the substance of his backstory but the fact that Burnham was seemingly unaware of it in the first place.

During a one-on-one chat with Burnham later in the episode, we find out that Rayner's homeworld, Kellerun, was once conquered and occupied by the Breen, used as a staging area in one of their wars. Rayner was the only member of his family to have survived the brutal period.

The scene is profoundly touching, but we wondered if all of the information Rayner revealed, as personal as it was, should have already been available in some form in his Starfleet records? Furthermore, in Mirrors, for example, Burnham had been reading up on Kellerun culture enough to use that knowledge as a distress signal. You'd think, therefore, that the Breen occupation of the planet wouldn't have come as such… news!