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Boy, talk about your over-packed, mid-season filler episode. Star Trek: Discovery‘s third season, eighth episode, ‘The Sanctuary’, is just that. Each season of the series has had a season long story arc and then has reset for the next season. This season’s reset put the crew 930 years into the future and smack dab in the middle of a new mystery, The Burn. After locating the remnants of the Federation — and did anyone ever get back to that guy on the planet Burnham landed on in the season premiere? — in about five minutes time, and swiftly being welcomed back into the fold (although with not exactly open arms), one has to wonder if the Starship Discovery actually belongs in this Starfleet. Because more often than not, everyone on the ship seems frustrated by having to follow protocols instead of being able to do their own thing. Saru’s already been forced to demote Burnham as his Number 1 after 24 hours on the job, and this week Detmer has to ‘go rogue’ to save Discovery, Burnham and Book. So if the ship remains tethered to Starfleet by the end of the season remains to be seen.
But the big news this week is that Stamets and Adira (most Adira) have located the source of The Burn. And there’s a signal coming from the middle of it. A Starfleet distress call. And … music. The same music Michael heard on the seed ship and the same music Gray played on the cello (which Adira has taken up now). But, well, that’s all we’re getting on The Burn this week because someone felt it was more important for Book to take Michael to meet his family. And help save his home planet Kwejian, which has been overrun by ‘sea locusts’ that are destroying the planet’s crops. But what they don’t know is that this is a set-up as well as Book’s brother Kyheem is also working in cahoots with the Orion Osyrra (played by Janet Kidder, niece of Margot), the aunt of the guy on the salvage planet (whom she kills after losing the antenna-less Andorian Ryn). Osyrra wants Ryn, and she shows up ready to do what she has to do to get him off Discovery, which is officially there as an observation vessel. Osyrra doesn’t care, and no amount of Saru’s diplomacy is going to make her back down. And if she can’t fire on Discovery, she will carpet-bomb Kwejian, destroying acres of crops, and quite possibly killing everyone on the planet, including Burnham and Book.
As she launches her attack, this is the part where Detmer ‘disobeys an order’. Since Discovery officially cannot engage with Osyrra, Detmet suggests taking a non-Starfleet ship to go on the attack. Luckily, they have one in the cargo bay — Book’s ship. Detmer makes like Luke Skywalker and locates, with the help of co-pilot Ryn, the one vulnerable spot on the Death Star, I mean Osyrra’s ship that will put an end to the bombing of the planet. With a heavily damaged ship, Osyrra assures Saru that now that he and the Federation have messed with the Emerald Chain, there will be consequences. Something tells me Admiral Vance is not going to be thrilled with this new development. But Book has learned that while Kwejian is his home, Discovery is where he wants to be after seeing how the and the Federation helped save his planet from Osyrra and the locusts (the ship was able to amplify Book’s and his brother’s empathic powers to send the locusts back to wherever they came from), as well as other planets in need. At least Michael doesn’t have to choose now between duty and love.
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Elsewhere in the episode, Georgiou’s condition appears to be getting worse, but she’s resistant to any help Doctor Culber offers. She does finally agree to have a full body scan but before it was complete she had another episode of terrifying memories, and her body experienced some weird distortion before she violently awakens from the sedation. She continues to put up all of her walls with Culber while its pretty obvious she’s freaking out on the inside (but how much danger can she be in if she’s getting her own series?).
Perhaps the most groundbreaking moment for the franchise came when Adira came out to Paul as non-binary, informing him that the preferred pronouns are they/them, because Adira has never felt female or male. Only Gray knew this and now Gray is suddenly not speaking to them. For them to confide in Paul is a major step, and it also helps humanize Paul a bit as he becomes more of a big brother figure to Adira (and Hugh likes how this has softened Paul a bit as well). The timing of this moment could have been better with the announcement the day before air that Elliot Page came out as non-binary. I’m sure that there will be the usual backlash but the Trek franchise has always dealt with real world issues. And it’s probably not a coincidence that Jonathan Frakes directed this episode as his Will Riker once fell in love with Soren, a member of a race that did not conform to gender specificity. So bravo to Discovery for letting Adira (and actor Blu del Barrio) be their authentic selves.
New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery stream every Thursday on CBS All Access.
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