We get some time to breathe in “The War Without, the War Within” as we spend much of our time getting caught up on the last 9 months. Turns out having a flagship disappear for almost a year in the middle of war has consequences. We get some time to explore that, as well as to unpack Starfleet’s next steps to stem the Klingon advance.
This room to breathe also gives us a chance to explore the changing relationships of the Discovery crew.
Behind the Camera
David Solomon takes a turn behind the camera for what looks to be his only involvement with Star Trek up to this point. Outside of “The War Without, the War Within” he has done a lot of fan favorite shows like Firefly and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It’s great to have him also contribute to the Star Trek universe.
Lisa Randolph is back as the writer of this episode! We literally _just_ saw her with “The Wolf Inside.” Even though that was just two episodes ago, it feels too long. She was masterful in ratcheting down the pace of the episode, without eliminating any of the overall tension. The Star Trek universe is a wild place right now, but so are the personal lives of these characters. Randolph seems to have been the perfect choice to tackle that.
In Front of the Camera
- Jayne Brook as Admiral Cornwell is back! It’s been a while since we’ve seen her, as we didn’t encounter her counterpart in the Mirror Universe. The war has hardened her.
- Riley Gilchrist puts on the Andorian makeup for the first time since “The Wolf Inside,” this time as the Admiral version of Shakur.
- Michelle Yeoh is back as an Emperor without a throne. I have no idea where they’re going with this one, to be honest.
- James Frain comes back as Sarek, and I always find this to be a good development.
- Mary Chieffo is still continuing to rock it in the brig.
- Raven Dauda, first introduced in “Vaulting Ambition” also nabs some screen time here as Dr. Pollard.
Listen in as your hosts, Jason and Joe, review the happenings of each episode on our Star Trek Discovery podcast. Released every Monday after Discovery’s release! You might wanna subscribe in iTunes. It’ll improve life and happiness.
Also, check out our other Star Trek podcast that has us going through the franchise in stardate order. It’s fun.