Welcome to the final week where we recap, react to, and ruminate about Star Trek: Discovery. Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 Episode 14 had us close to book on another story and left us with a lot of questions about Season 3.
This post will contain minor spoilers. So, don’t read ahead until you have watched Episode 14.
As with previous posts in this Star Trek: Discovery series, there won’t be a lengthy recap. I won’t even do the normal “what we learned” recap because I don’t want to spoil too much. So, I’m just going to do a very brief summary. Once again, I’ll be pulling reactions and ruminations from my Star Trek community.
Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 Episode 14: “Such Sweet Sorrow Part 2” Recap
In Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 Episode 14 – “Such Sweet Sorrow Part 2,” there is a lengthy battle with Control, Culber and Stamets reconcile, Spock and Burnham have to say goodbye, the crew of the Discovery makes it to the future, and we learn the reason why Spock and Sarek never spoke of Michael.
Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 Episode 14: “Such Sweet Sorrow Part 2” Reactions
A lot of people are still trying to digest some of the events from the Season 2 finale of Star Trek: Discovery. Reactions to the finale are rather polarized. Yet again, with such a short season, the writers had to tie up a lot of loose ends.
As a result, for me, parts of the episode suffered. Though, I’m not sure everyone reading this will agree.
I could rant for days about how Culber and Stamets reconciling so easily is a huge disservice, not only to these characters but also to people just coming out of trauma and the pressure put on them to simply pick up and navigate relationships with ease. Of course, I’m glad they reconciled. How it was done was very poor and they deserved much better this season. So did viewers.
I wish that the final exchange between Spock and Burnham had happened earlier to allow more of an impact. That scene should have had a huge emotional impact on me, like the emotional impact I experienced when Burnham said goodbye to Sarek and Amanda. But it didn’t. My emotions were flat throughout all of their exchanges because a whole bunch of exposition was added to tie up the season instead of solely focusing on this relationship.
All that said, the heart of Star Trek was very much in this episode with a lot of focus on the theme of family.
I’m also rather curious about Star Trek: Discovery being set in the future.
On the other end of the spectrum, Ani Hatzis had the following reaction:
I can’t praise the season finale enough. For me, entertainment has been as perfect as it gets. Could have been a movie blockbuster as well. There was everything I expect. It’s been the best season finale of Star Trek, and one of my favorite episodes ever.
First and foremost, there was this epic excitement building up from the first scene. I could barely keep myself on the seat, that’s how thrilled I have been. I’ve also admired how much essence of Star Trek was at display. Starfleet’s finest crews. So much collaboration and sacrifice. I almost cried a few times. The last scene of Pike and Cornwell was heartbreaking. I will miss her character so much. Then there was Stamets and Culber, and I fully understand that Culber realized only in that very moment how much Stamets means to him. He probably returned from Enterprise and intended to have a talk with Stamets first, but everything changed during the battle.
Beautiful shots of the Enterprise again. They also reached a new level for space battles in Star Trek on par with Battlestar Galactica (remake) and Star Wars, in my opinion far more realistic than what we normally see in other Trek shows or even movies. There was a true feeling of destruction and violence. It was also great how they did cut to the combat scenes with Control/Leland vs. Georgiou and Nhan, the moment the gravitational system failed. Awesome.
I also had to giggle and laugh a few times, e.g. Georgiou welcoming Control, Reno talking back to Saru, Saru citing Sun Tzu, or Spock asking, “You detected an anomaly, captain?” with that gentle irony that’s so typical for him.
There was awesome music and special effects. Michael’s jump out of the hangar, but even more so her first-time jump was stunning and beautiful. And so were the effects when Discovery was pulled into the wormhole. Wasn’t this a heartwarming reference to Star Trek: The Motion Picture? Speaking of references, the episode had so many, but one of my favorites have been at the end, when Spock walked over to his science station. There was even this ridiculous “squint-through-a-pane” device.
This episode was packed with so many fine things, I could keep writing and writing. Of course, they also had to answer quite a few questions regarding canon, and they did so. I wonder if sending Discovery into the future was a response to the canon extremists. But then again, I’ve thought that Georgiou would be in the new Section 31 show, but she is now in the future. That will be very interesting.
After watching it three times, and appreciating so much Pike, Number One, and the Enterprise, I wonder if they are going to pull off a new Enterprise show around Pike. It was like the perfect spin-off from here. I would love that. I’ve grown very fond of them.
I already felt almost sorry after the first season that the nay sayers and haters missed out so much. But this season was spectacular. To them I say: Hab SoSlI’Quch!
Can’t wait for the next season and the new shows! For the Trekkie in me, a dream came true. To everyone who participated in this show: majQa’!
Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 Episode 14: “Such Sweet Sorrow Part 2” Ruminations
Family is difficult. Not everyone has a blood family on which to rely or one that brings them comfort and safety. And even if they do, it’s not all sunshine and roses and unicorns.
When your sense of family and safety has been shattered, trusting and having faith—necessary elements for building a chosen family—is difficult.
Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 will go down as one of the best seasons of Star Trek to exist, if not the best. It tackled extremely difficult subjects that are interconnected: the intersections of trauma, self-sacrifice, faith, family, finding one’s place in the universe, and re-learning to trust.
While I personally wanted more from “Such Sweet Sorrow Part 2” because of my own deep connections to these themes, this feeling does not diminish the power of this season.
Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 is validation for every person whose safety was violated so profoundly, the result was post traumatic stress. It is validation for every person who has had to reconstruct a family of their choosing and relearn to trust and have faith or are still in this process. It is validation for every person who has felt untethered and lost, and the steps they continue to take to find the thing that grounds them.
Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 is the first time a television show accurately and responsibly showed the many faces of post traumatic stress. It is my hope this season will show people that those of us who live with post traumatic stress are not dangerous or broken or can’t be trusted. We have a wound and need compassion and understanding and the space to heal.
And if you are lucky, we will bring you into our chosen family over whom we are extremely protective because of the wars—both literal and metaphorical—we have survived together.
Until next series, Live Long and Prosper!
