Star Trek: Discovery: Season 1, Episode 10 "Despite Yourself"

 Star Trek: Discovery: Season 1, Episode 10 "Despite Yourself"

January 07, 2018

The Mirror Universe! That is what we explore in “Despite Yourself.” This is a great episode that has some shocking jaw-dropping moments and some well-earned comedy. This rendition of the Mirror Universe changes things up for the Discovery crew. Burnham is presumed dead, Lorca a fugitive, and Tilly is an evil queen. Yes, you read that correctly. Tilly as an evil queen earns some laughs considering how Tilly is in the normal world. There are some sad moments that happen. I did not expect Culber to die considering how progressive the show was trying to be. Considering that Culber is an openly gay character on the show, it is slightly disappointing he met his demise so early even if it fit the narrative. That said, I have a feeling that we will not be gone for long. In addition, there are some fine fight scenes and some great character moments. This episode was directed by Jonathan Frakes, who of course has a huge part in Star Trek lore. There is plenty to digest, but in the end, this is a good old-fashioned mirror universe story.

Taking off directly where the last episode ended, the crew find themselves stranded in a Klingon ship wreckage. After some simple maneuvering, they discover that they are in a mirror universe, or an alternate universe. Stamets was supposed to deliver them to the nearest star base, but he did one jump too many. Stamets now lay in a catatonic state. Ash and Burnham grow closer to one another, but Ash has some major mental problems of his own. L’Rell is held prisoner in the brig and her interactions with Ash make it seem like he may be a Klingon trapped in a human body…like Voq as some people are suggesting? Ash goes to Culber to get a good look, and this is where we run into some problems. Meanwhile, Burnham and Lorca go on a mission to mirror universe U.S.S Shenzhou.

Jonathan Frakes directed a wonderful episode with many fun callbacks to the older series. Jason Isaacs continues to shine as Lorca, especially when he has to take a backseat to…ahem…Captain Killy. There are fun humorous moments but also moments that drive up the stakes. One of the better episodes of this season!

My Grade: A

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