Star Trek: Discovery Episode 3.8 Review: Ups And Downs From The Sanctuary

Star Trek Discovery remains fairly in place this week.

Star Trek Discovery Ryn
CBS

The eighth episode of the season, The Sanctuary, has aired and, while there are some flashy moments and some fun dialogue exchanges to be found, not an awful lot actually happens in the episode. We are introduced to Osyrra, the leader of the Emerald Chain, who is suitably nasty. Meanwhile, we inch closer along the drawn out mystery that is The Burn.

Ryn seems to be a great addition to the show and his chemistry with Tilly is evident from their first moment together (which is good, really, considering their relationship off-screen!)

Georgiou has been forced to see Dr. Culber in regards to her worsening condition. However, we don't get much further along the path. We do learn that whatever is wrong with her is killing her, though we look set to (hopefully) find out more about this next week instead.

Overall, this episode ran middle of the road. It wasn't bad by any means and was still worth watching. It is fair to say though that with the season running at only thirteen episodes, having a week off like this has slowed the overall thrust of the season - no matter how lovely Book's homeworld of Kwejian really is!

10. Culber And Georgiou (UP)

Star Trek Discovery Culber And Georgiou
CBS

This week, we open on the scene between Culber and Georgiou. She is in full snark mode, while he is having none of it. His bedside manner, however, is perfect for her - she can attempt to hide from her situation all that she likes, but there is no escaping the truth of that fact that there is something very wrong with her.

While the episode itself doesn't do much to advance this particular story beat - other than to reveal that she is facing death if she goes untreated - the interplay between these two characters marks a high point of the show. Wilson Cruz and Michelle Yeoh clearly enjoy their scenes together and as a viewer, I enjoyed it too.

This is the first time we get to see Culber's office as well, combined with some of the new tech that Discovery has been given for sickbay. There is also a welcome, if brief, return of Dr. Pollard.

Contributor
Contributor

Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"