Star Trek: Discovery streams Thursdays via Paramount+ in the US. Here in the UK and internationally episodes air Fri-Sun at 9pm on PlutoTV and will be available to purchase on Digital platforms the same day.
Synopsis
Saru returns to help the U.S.S. Discovery uncover the mystery of an unusually destructive new force. As Burnham leads the crew, she must also find a way to help Book cope with an unimaginable loss.
Review
With last week’s season premiere – reviewed here – Star Trek: Discovery came flying out of the gate at breakneck speed. This week the series has chosen to maintain that pacing in a relentless but welcome continuation of the story. For what could be the first time in Discovery history, we’re seeing the formation of a solid overarching theme.
With the mysterious DMA (Dark Matter Anomaly) threatening our characters futures, Discovery has a brand new purpose and its one the writers are keen to communicate right from the outset.
Having destroyed Booker’s (David Ajala) home world of Kwejian, the stakes are already world-endingly high. The next logical step in the story is to take all of the emotions rolled up in that planetary destruction and place them wholeheartedly in to trying to resolve the problem. Writers Anne Cowell Saunders and Glenise Mullins carry off that duty perfectly with a scenario that required Book to be in the centre of the action.
Ultimately Discovery will have to slam on the breaks at some point. Most likely in next week’s stand-off with a Qowat Milat nun. But for now it’s full steam ahead for the entire crew of the U.S.S. Discovery. Therein does line an inherent flaw. In only the second of thirteen episodes there is just no way that Captain Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and co. are going to be able to solve this problem. Their efforts are futile but undeniably compelling to watch.
Last week I complemented the writers for really doubling down on their character focus and this week is no different. The emotional repercussions of last week’s mission to the space station are weighing heavily on Tilly (Mary Wiseman). But in a breath of fresh air, Tilly isn’t afraid to share her concerns for herself with Dr. Culber (Wilson Cruz). Though it’s only early days, we’re seeing the individual development for many of Discovery’s crew which is a welcome change from them serving the series’ narrative.
As with the previous episode the use of video wall technology and VFX is nothing short of cinematic. A scene in Burnham’s quarters featuring new holo-tech which has been installed on the ship is the perfect example of enhancing the series’ environments with this new technology. Sonequa Martin-Green and Doug Jones – returning to the ship as Saru – are, once again, fully immersed in the alien world around them, rather than staring at a green screen. This change in production methods has certainly had far reaching benefits on the cast.
It would be remiss of me not to mention Jeff Russo’s outstanding score. The complexity of the music has stepped up to match the series’ action-packed pacing. Star Trek has always been known for its brilliant music and Discovery should absolutely not be overlooked.
Verdict
“Anomaly” continues the high pacing of last week’s season opener. Two episodes in and Star Trek: Discovery season 4 seems to be relentless in its search for action, thankfully for us its search for character is equally as determined.
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