Star Trek: Discovery Season 3.13 Review: Ups And Downs From That Hope Is You - Part 2

Star Trek Discovery Season 3 - Does it go out with a bang?

Star Trek Discovery USS Song
CBS

Last week's episode ended with Discovery's crew in a precarious position, having lost control of the ship to Osyrra, but encountering Zora, in the form of the Dot-23s. Osyrra herself is fed up with Admiral Vance, unwilling as she is to pay for the crimes she has committed. Burnham has been captured by Zareh, just after sending Stamets away aka crippling the ship's spore drive.

Meanwhile, Saru and Culber and, unbeknownst to them, Adira, are still on the dilithium planet with Su'kal.

There are a lot of balls in the air going into this final episode of the season - how to they all land and are those landings satisfying? The truth is...yes and no. Join us now for a look at the ups and downs for this week, starting with the downs.

Downs...

7. Burnham Calls Vance, Away They Go

Star Trek Discovery Burnham and Vance
CBS

This entire call feels highly forced. Burnham, recognizing that Osyrra is just fine with blowing a hole in Starfleet HQ, hurries to tell her she will speak to the Admiral, to convince him to let them go. It feels desperate (nothing wrong with that to be honest) but it also feels a bit unusual that she would offer. She clearly has little faith in the defensive capabilities of Starfleet's base of operations.

The Discovery is surrounded by a small fleet of vessels, yet it easily manages to outmaneuver all of them to continue firing on the base. As Burnham calls Vance, the episode sets it up that this is the only way that Starfleet can survive this situation - although why that is the case simply rings hollow.

The arrival of the Ni'var fleet thankfully isn't played a deus ex machina (so much so that we barely see them) and Vance lets Discovery go, believing at least that with Stamets, the ship can't jump away. It all feels rushed, like it is simply a way to get the ship on the road.

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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"