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Only a few weeks after Discovery confirmed how a lot confidence it had in taking a Star Trek trope it knew it was good at and rattling close to perfecting it, this week we get the collection diving into one other—and probably not discovering a lot curiosity in why it even took it on within the first place.
“Filler” has develop into a grimy phrase in any dialogue of latest TV—robbed of its nuance and that means to primarily denote episodes that didn’t add Info to the Canon or immediately advance the primary plot of a present. Filler episodes, at their best possible, are tales that also advance the world of their reveals, both by inviting us to contemplate it from a distinct perspective, or by permitting characters to sit down with one another past the constraints of driving plot to only merely be—an opportunity to study issues that don’t matter to the primary plot, however matter to creating a collection really feel wealthy, and textured, and compelling. “Whistlespeak,” the sixth episode of Star Trek: Discovery’s remaining season, then is maybe… type of each?
Following the clue traces because of a little bit assist from Kovich—casually beaming Michael into his secret white house hideaway, the place David Cronenberg apparently simply craves the texture of a twenty first century notepad—the Discovery finds itself heading to the planet Halem’no: the location of the clue from one of many scientists on the group that hid the Progenitor tech, whose names and species got to Michael through Kovich’s notepad. Realizing that Halem’no is residence to each a collection of rain-creating climate towers left behind by the scientist behind the crew—and that the planet’s pre-warp inhabitants has gathered its society across the final functioning one—Michael duties herself and Lieutenant Tilly with beaming down, mixing in, and getting the clue hidden inside them as shortly as attainable.
Star Trek loves a narrative about skirting the Prime Directive—the Starfleet mandate that officers can’t, inadvertently or in any other case, affect a pre-warp civilization by exposing them to expertise or the existence of different galactic powers. Discovery’s thirty second century setting is ripe for an attention-grabbing tackle one, on condition that a lot of the technological friction that existed in previous collection that made mixing in powerful at the moment are distinctly each way more fraught (everybody can simply beam-apparate weapons out of their palms, or pinpoint teleport! It’s mainly magic!) and but additionally a lot simpler (don’t have to carry a tricorder out now that it’s been condensed right into a surreptitious contact lens). However whereas “Whistlespeak” is excessive on potentiality—particularly when the meat of its wrestle is concerning the push and pull of scientific rationality and non secular religion—it by no means actually coalesces its concepts into something that feels remotely attention-grabbing.
Take the titular Whistlespeak for instance—a whistle-based lexicon utilized by the Halem’nites to speak over lengthy distance when shouting their normal language would show troublesome. It’s a incredible concept, a lot so we dedicate a complete scene to Tilly watching Michael geek out concerning the anthropological nature of it earlier than they beam all the way down to the planet, excited concerning the parallels it has to their typical lengthy vary communication tech: a basic Discovery second, discovering pleasure within the methods individuals talk and join to one another, no matter their distance, the theme the present has been often unafraid to beat over our heads time and time once more this season. And but, apart from briefly listening to some once they first beam down, it by no means comes up—both as a plot system or a thematic parallel about that concept of speaking throughout distance—within the episode once more!
As a substitute, what we get is mainly a non secular retreat crossed with the worst cross nation race you ever did in school. The non secular Halem’nites have been congregating to the mountain spire hiding the final remaining functioning climate tower—which has left Halem’no arid and sparse of rainfall—as a result of they see the spire as a temple to their gods, the place probably the most devoted can earn the appropriate to immediately petition these greater beings for assist with rainfall. Michael and Tilly, having befriended Ravah, the eager-to-prove-themselves youngster of one of many native non secular figures, shortly uncover that this proof comes within the type of a light jog by way of the native forest made infinitely worse by taking some type of dehydrating dice in the beginning of it, rendering all of the members gasping for air… and, after all, now simply tempted by the bowls of water positioned across the race course.
In the event you thought watching individuals jog by way of a forest whereas deeply uncomfortable and dehydrated was usually not enjoyable to observe, don’t fear: it seems, it’s. However Michael shortly and conveniently surmises that there have to be a plot system close by, noticing that some native crops have been modified in colour by what she assumes have to be leaking radiation from the malfunctioning climate towers. Dropping out of the trial to let Tilly carry on working within the hopes a minimum of considered one of them makes it contained in the spire, Michael is after all confirmed proper about all this—and that the final tower failing will result in each Halem’nite perishing anyway—as a result of it’s way more enjoyable to observe a Star Trek character remedy a tech help puzzle than it’s watching them uncomfortably half-run.
The dangerous information will get worse for Tilly when each she and Ravah handle to finish the trial, incomes them the appropriate to total the spire… and be ritually sacrificed through asphyxiation to deliver forth rain. Womp womp! It’s right here the moral dilemma on the crux of “Whistlespeak” ought to actually go into overdrive—is Discovery’s mission to search out the clues to the Progenitors so essential that it will probably override the prime precept of Starfleet? What’s misplaced when this technological development is uncovered to a deeply non secular individuals who have discovered that means past it? At what level does the compassion and understanding requested of Starfleet officers wrestle with the scientific reasoning and logic that guides their responsibility within the first place?
As a substitute, the episode simply type of shrugs and, actually by way of Michael, decides it’ll fill out the paperwork later. And in doing so, any of the type of stress that was pushed by the potential hazard Tilly and Ravah had been in is simply instantly undercut. Michael beams in proper in entrance of Ravah’s dad, who was nonetheless within the spire attempting to consolation his dying youngster from afar, and explains that she’s mainly an alien with expertise akin to the facility of the gods themselves, and that she will repair all of the towers and make it so no extra individuals need to be sacrificed. Bizarrely, he counter argues that perhaps they need to preserve killing individuals anyway, as a result of it’s obtained a type of neighborhood spirit vibe that brings individuals collectively, however at this level each Michael and the episode itself have run out of time to dig into all that, so they only type of sidestep it. And with that, the day is saved, the clue is discovered (not even in the primary spire that was central to your complete episode!), and everybody goes off on their merry method. Eeeeeeh.
Glibness apart, it’s not like there aren’t attention-grabbing concepts in “Whistlespeak”—Star Trek has an extended historical past of attempting to sort out what non secular religion seems to be like in its superior societies, and the way it sits alongside the science-driven reasoning that defines so lots of its heroes. However “Whistlespeak” by no means feels notably itself into diving into these concepts, in a second the place the adventure-driven vibes of this remaining season actually don’t work out in its favors. The present tries to attach all of it again to the characters on Discovery itself—principally in a subplot with Dr. Culber, nonetheless caught on his quasi-spiritual expertise on Trill, and attempting to make sense of that as each a person of medication and science and a accomplice who’s likewise decidedly non-spiritual—however contemplating we’re on the very finish of this recap and I’ve solely simply thought to deliver it up, that ought to inform you how notably trenchant that connection managed to be (the subplot ends, mainly, with Guide telling Culber that generally it’s simply okay to really feel one thing for your self, as an alternative of sharing it with different individuals in your life, and that’s that. Thanks Guide!).
The overarching plot of the season is inched ahead right here—our heroes have the penultimate clue, and have an concept of the place to move for the subsequent—however “Whistlespeak” simply doesn’t make nice use of the time that’s now quickly working out for Discovery to place its geese in a row forward of 1 final sendoff. We’re in a run of episodes this final season that, whereas primarily nonetheless repeating themes and concepts Discovery has already had one thing to say about, nonetheless discovered methods to articulate these themes and concepts, unsubtly or in any other case, in gratifying methods. “Whistlespeak” looks like extra of a shrug alongside the best way as compared, however with it certainly now out of that method, hopefully Discovery can get again to extra attention-grabbing issues as this race attracts to its conclusion.
Star Trek: Discovery is on the market to stream now on Paramount+.
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