Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum

DVD, Star Trek: Discovery S1 (Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum)

As you would expect from the author of Trek novels, Kirsten Beyer gives us a traditional episode that wouldn't look out of place on any of the other series' if the Klingon element were omitted. I knew we would be getting a Saru episode at some point and I had the impression Beyer was to be the writer of it, so this must be the one. I wouldn't say we delved that deeply into his character, personality or background, but it does feature him more heavily than the other episodes have and I suppose this is the closest you're going to get to a character focused instalment on a series that has places to go and serialised development points to hit. There are actually three stories to a greater or lesser degree: that of Burnham, Tyler and Saru on planet Pahvo; Admiral Cornwell and L'Rell on the Sarcophagus ship which Kol stole; and a tiny little side story of Tilly showing some compassion for Stamets as he experiences disorientation due to his regular exposure to the mycelial network that enables Discovery to make its outlandish jumps. I found all three to be of interest where sometimes, and too often, the series feels too broad or lacking in the personal. For this one episode at least, I didn't find Tilly annoying or Stamets objectionable, and I appreciated the character work Beyer brought to it. This is more along the lines of what I'd like to see from the series - most episodes I feel like I'm merely there to spot the deep Trek references that only very familiar viewers would notice, so this one was more directed at me and at the same time had nothing of note in referential regard.

When Cornwell tells L'Rell that the Federation has no death penalty, that's not quite true - I wish she'd said 'save one,' because we know that Talos IV was decreed off limits on penalty of death after Captain Pike's experiences there, and this was ongoing even during Kirk's tenure, so unless the Federation took several years to decide on this order, then they do indeed have a crime punishable by death. However, this level of detail is splitting hairs stuff and it would be just as easy to say that Cornwell knew about this situation only it wasn't necessary to bring up in this conversation. If we're talking details I don't like (and I too often find myself doing it watching this series), then the episode began in typically battle-heavy mode. Not that I mind that in itself, and it was almost sad to lose the USS Gagarin to the unfair advantage of the Klingons' invisibility screens (which Kol is now sharing out among those Houses loyal to him), but it's often the aesthetics that bother me, and once again I cringed when the ships, especially the Starfleet vessels, were pew-pewing out laser blasts of Phaser fire rather than the powered up screech of a beam. It's the little things, always the little things. I felt pretty fortunate that nothing else in the episode got under my skin so that I was practically enjoying this little bit of planetary exploration as far as it went, as well as the other strands that played out between.

I didn't quite understand for a while what the Landing Party was on Pahvo to do, but it's clear by the end of the episode that the planet gives off some kind of signal or sonar 'beacon' that can disrupt the invisibility of the Klingons and if they could amplify it to a greater degree then it would be possible to negate the enemy's advantage. It does appear to be farfetched that one planet could cover all of space, but ignoring the more realistic side of things, it gives them a chance to show a land-based mission. I'd like to know where the security officers were. I know Tyler was along, and we know Captain Lorca isn't the type to be that careful about protocol and procedure (one reason the series has so much more of a casual attitude than other Trek), so I see he was sufficient for the protection of his fellow officers. It was good just to be out of space, and if there's something missing (alongside things such as the flashbacks to the Shenzhou that I thought we'd be getting more of), then it is strange new worlds, which makes this episode stand out all the more. We do learn a little more about Saru, that he's got a huge range for detecting danger, and that he can run really fast (which we get to see, done in a reasonably good way), and the story is fairly clever in that you're never quite sure what's going on: at first there's suspicion about the Pahvans, these energy beings that were reminiscent of the spores (and seemed to act in the same way as we see Tyler suddenly poof into sight alongside his crew mates), then they seem welcoming, if inscrutable.

Events take a sinister turn as Saru allows them inside his head during the night and communicates the war with the Klingons, but then goes all hippyish and pretends he's contacted Discovery and they've been allowed to remain on the planet indefinitely. So you assume what usually happens in these Trek situations has happened: that he's been taken over by the aliens who want to keep them for nefarious reasons. Except in the end it was Saru acting under his own will because for the first time in his life he had an absence of fear. This was the point of the episode, a small character revelation, but nonetheless important. I didn't feel it quite had the emotional weight it needed, but that's the price of making your series heavy on the action and set-pieces to the detriment of getting to know the characters. If it's an early step towards the more character-driven nature of Trek then I applaud it and certainly felt pity for Saru, who I like a lot, but there remains a long way to go, and I sense the audience isn't clamouring for this direction nowadays so I won't hold my breath. I continue to see Saru as a brother creature to Odo (when he held out the green rock for Tyler to touch it reminded me of the Female Changeling teaching Odo about being a rock in 'The Search' on 'DS9'), both coming from a species that acts most prominently from fear, both having learned the need for it to survive the ravages of predators all around them, the look, the voice and even, sometimes, the attitude helps to connect them, too.

Someone who should be in fear is Admiral Cornwell, captured by the Klingons when they tried to abduct Sarek a couple of episodes ago in 'Lethe' and got her as a consolation prize. She could have been dead already, but it turns out that Kol's holding her as prisoner. It feels like a long time since we got another Klingon-centric continuation and now more than ever I felt they were very much like the Goa'uld on 'Stargate,' the ships so reminiscent of those ancient Egypt-inspired vessels on the inside. The new Klingon ships are plain ugly on the outside, a mess of mass, bits and pieces far removed from the clean lines and sharp shapes of what we know as the Trek aesthetic. But there's nothing I can do about it, so I try not to dwell - I even thought the lower angles we saw Kol from, much of the time, made him look like a normal 'TNG' era Klingon, and it's only when you get a view above him or his head moves that you see the ugly, misshapen dome to ruin the effect. I'm still waiting to see other Houses, though I don't think there are going to be any other physical types represented as I first hoped, from what I hear. The House of Kor is spoken of again (where exactly is Kor?), which is one of the only references (along with General Order Number One about not interfering with pre-warp sentient species), but it's L'Rell that is the interesting character: what is her purpose, she's like a chameleon, jumping from friend to enemy every time? She tells Cornwell that T'Kuvma's successor (Voq), is gone forever and she's feeling alone, but she must have planned to go somewhere when they escaped.

You'd think Kol would be more suspicious of her, considering all that's happened, and now her prisoner has to be subdued to prevent escape. You can tell the Admiral still lives in spite of the extensive damage done to her, L'Rell dragging her to some morgue where she finds the bodies of other Klingon allies, I suppose, dismembered and left to rot. She already hates Kol enough to hope to blow up his ship, so revenge appears to be her only motive, though whether she was serious about her request for asylum, I can't tell. She's always seemed like an opportunist that jumps whichever way the wind blows, but you could also say she's prudent, especially for someone of her race, and particularly at this time in history when they seem more animal-like than any other period we've seen. And it was brave to share her defiance of Kol with a Starfleet Admiral who could have dropped her in it, so she doesn't seem to have the same low opinion of the ability to trust them as her former leader, T'Kuvma, did. Her storyline remains in flux. We know she doesn't have anyone else to trust so I imagine another escape attempt will be forthcoming, especially with the Admiral still kicking (you see her moving slightly when she's on the floor), and if this was a truly traditional episode it would be a two-parter since what comes next must be tied directly to the events shown here: the Pahvans have foolishly sent a signal to the Klingons in what Burnham believes is an attempt to promote harmony between the warring sides. It worked with the Organians, but somehow I don't see conflict being written out by these writers, no matter how much Trek influence Beyer's allowed to bring!

The other plot, not really a plot as such, so slight is it, about Stamets' experiences in the machine, is worth noting for further pointing to the Mirror Universe that we know is coming (Jonathan Frakes let the Agoniser out of the bag mentioning the MU before the series even started when talking about the episode he'd directed!). It seems that Tilly will be a Captain there as Stamets calls her so when he steps out of the spore drive interface and eventually admits that the knowledge he has changes when he's in there sometimes. This would seem like as good a way as any to connect with the MU, something I had wondered about, though I still don't know how they're going to get away with the knowledge of it at all since Kirk and crew were the first to discover it. I really hope they tie into the 'Enterprise' episodes that dealt with it, and although the MU isn't the way I'd have chosen to go for an aspect of Trek to explore, I'm still curious as to its purpose and usage to come. While I can't say this was a thrilling or gripping episode, it wasn't offensive, wasn't boring and a few character beats snuck in, so it actually makes me want the next part, even though I don't see how the Klingons could threaten the Pahvans as Burnham fears. I do wish the political side of the Klingon war had been played up, and the complexity and fruitful denseness of Trek could have been delved into, when the series has felt too surface and light. But it is Season 1, and that's usually the season that is weakest in a Trek series. This episode moved in the right direction - now I'd like to see a Trek expert like Beyer directed by a Trek veteran Director like Frakes to really see Trek again. And it would also be nice to have longer episodes sometimes as this is shorter than most Treks.

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