Star Trek: Discovery 5 Ups & 3 Downs From 'Context Is For Kings'
Downs...
3. The Air Vent Sequence
CBS
Despite the fact that Burnham came into her own during Context is for Kings, the scene that was meant to illustrate her combat prowess didn't feel as tense as the build up had implied.
Certainly, the moment the Discovery's crew boarded the Glenn oozed atmosphere, with Tilly, Burnham and the rest all taking the time to witness the horror of an experiment gone awry, but the actual moment the beastie started chasing our heroes didn't seem to convey the same threat.
This wasn't a matter of special effects here either; the creature certainly looked convincing, but the way Burnham and her cohorts interacted with it didn't seem to suggest the same threat. That vent sequence felt extremely derivative from other sci-fi horror classics and, while it was an appropriate way of showing Burnham's tactical nous, it almost seemed to negate the build up we just saw.
Not that it detracts heavily from the episode itself, but it would've been nice if the payoff felt as threatening as the build up did beforehand.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
