[Guest]

EPISODE DISCUSSION:
If Memory Serves

This thread is for pre and post episode discussion of the 8th episode from season 2, If Memory Serves. If you do not wish for spoilers, then you have missed all the warnings in the title and activity stream, shocking! So if you are reading this post, then you should turn away now.

The episode first airs on the 7th of March for American viewers and the 8th of March for international viewers.

[JByb04]

Since our international members haven't seen this episode yet.

You're in for one heck of a ride.

[Rellimie]

Yeah, that beginning.......

[Morris]

'If Memory Serves' is the best episode of Discovery yet, BY FAR!!! No spoilers, but WOW! I hope this signals the direction for the rest of the season. I was totally drawn in by this episode. I didn't even hate Burnham, which is saying something! I have never liked her character, but she was actually quite good in this episode!

To all who have turned away from Discovery, it's time to take another look...even it's only just for this one episode! It's really that good, IMHO!

Cheers!!!

[Bridger]

It was for sure their best episode yet, if they can keep it up it would help the show a lot.

Edit: The things that are totally bogus is of course the shuttle that can fly with Warp Speed and has a build in Transporter but the one thing that urges me the most is the Forest on Vulcan.

[Strathkin]

I too was quite impressed.

[merTYol]

i loved how they linked the whole thing to the Cage.. very delicately.. a Superb episode..

[Mack]

Great episode indeed! Hopefully they keep this up!

[Bridger]

One other thing is that, I am disgusted with are the Starfleet Admirals in this show (era), for some reason they are all the complete opposite what it means to be a Starfleet Officer in this episode it was more like they acted like Romulans and I would not be surprised if the Vulcan would be one.

[Petrarch]

To be fair though, Star Trek in general has never really been great with presenting Admirals. They were all forgettable, stuffy and not worth the attention given to them, at least until Admiral Ross appeared in DS9. Ross ended up becoming an attempt to buck the trends of the past and present a character who was both believable and convincing as a flag officer.

Admiral Forrest became another character who managed to pull it off convincingly too.

The rest of them? Filler characters at best.

[Morris]

One other thing is that, I am disgusted with are the Starfleet Admirals in this show (era), for some reason they are all the complete opposite what it means to be a Starfleet Officer in this episode it was more like they acted like Romulans and I would not be surprised if the Vulcan would be one.

Section 31 does seem to have a very Tal Shiar vibe about it.

That being said, it has been a common trope throughout Star Trek, having the evil/ corrupt admiral(s) causing trouble. The Bluegill Parasite infestation of Starfleet Command, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek: Into Darkness being quick examples that come to mind. I believe that it's unfair to knock Discovery, or it's era, for producing admirals with questionable motives. I think that it's a reflection of human nature. Humanity may have improved vastly in the future, but human nature still produces some who succumb to their baser natures, and positions of power allow them to explore that.

[Sul-Matuul]

Good Lord what an episode!

That was awesome. From the amazingly well done intro flashback to refresh our memories of the pilot and also a nice appreciation of the same episode in the actual scenery from the DSC version of the planet too (the plants were the same but much better done with modern effects).

And it was nice to finally see Spock get some speaking parts and explain what the hell is going on too!

Admirals in Trek have always been a bit crappy tbh, appart from Ross from DS9 and obviously Kirk & Spock in the TMP era (though Kirk does break a lot of rules!). So i don't see a problem with them tbh. All of the other admirals we've seen before have to be perfectly frank, been ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥s or traitors mostly! (TNG: Conspiracy & ST: Insurrection for example).

One thing I find a bit weird is how everyone is just normal with the resurrected Doc walking about clearly not being his usual self. I mean should he not be back on Earth getting debriefed and a psych evaluation at least? I'm guessing he'll be key to a further plot at some point, he's clearly not the same person he was before.

Tyler clearly didn't sabotage the Spore drive, it was probably the "possessed" Ariam who is most likely working for whatever party from the future messed with the probe and seems to be launching those planet killer weapons in Spock's visions.

Now what those future bad guys are is pretty intriguing.....can't wait for more on that plot thread.

[Novalance]

Admiral Ross did work with 31 though (Spoilers for those who have not seen that DS9 Episode) Also, I enjoyed this weeks episode looking forward to the next one!

[rsciw]

Am I the only one getting bored with temporal / time travel stuff in ST?

Wonder too, and may also possibly be a plot point in the S31 spin-off show, when or how it'll be explained that S31 gets split from officially being Starfleet, as they were represented in DS9 e.g. The admirals' behaviours etc. suggests that their course of thinking and direction they're taking may sooner or later clash with what Starfleet / Federation stands for, and split off?

I always viewed and still view them similar to Cerberus in the Mass Effect series. Resourceful, intelligence-heavy, not necessarily purely evil, always out for what's best for humanity / Federation, no matter the costs, even if it may leave a pile of bodies behind.

[Strathkin]

Good Lord what an episode!

...

Tyler clearly didn't sabotage the Spore drive, it was probably the "possessed" Ariam who is most likely working for whatever party from the future messed with the probe and seems to be launching those planet killer weapons in Spock's visions.

Now what those future bad guys are is pretty intriguing.....can't wait for more on that plot thread.

Yea in the last episode discussion I thought Ariam had something done to her by the Probe. This certainly I think confirms it, and she more than anyone, is likely doing things without her knowledge--like Pike had claimed can happen to Section 31 Operatives.

He's got the right principle, but completely missed who, or better yet, whom is doing it and for what reasons.