Star Trek Discovery - The Wolf Inside
Any questions?
Or, should I say, any questions left? Star Trek Discovery definitively revealed the "Wolf" that prowled inside Ash Tyler was indeed the Klingon, Voq.
Many had guessed correctly at this and last week's episode had 95% confirmed it. All that was left was for Tyler to mouth these words and reveal himself to Burnham. Well done by the Star Trek Discovery Social Media universe.
Equally as clever, Star Trek Discovery inserted this story line beneath the introduction of Harry Mudd. A significant and popular side character in Star Trek lore. Kudos for that.
So, is it over? Did the Klingons fail? Given how easy it is to insert yourself into an enemies warship in this series I would prepare yourselves for the re-introduction of L'Rell and an eventual Klingon rescue. (Please tell me they wouldn't be so naive as to put Tyler/Voq in the same cell as L'Rell.)
L'Rell's main opponents in the Klingon empire seem to have been eliminated so it remains to be seen if she has any allies left there or at least a back up plan to get off the Discovery. Hmm, is this where my alleged "complicity" by Lorca comes into play? If the Klingons were playing a long game, Lorca's may be even longer. (We'll get to this soon.)
Any Other Questions?
The identity of the Terran emperor of course.
Many, including myself, had guessed it would be the "evil" twin to Captain Georgiou. The Emperor arrived just in time to foil the escape plans of the Alien alliance. If there were any survivors, I would think Michael Burnham would now be seen as a traitor in two galaxies. (Although, ultimately, Alter-Sarek would know the truth.)
It's always good to to see Michelle Yeoh. Especially wielding a sword as she did at the end of the episode/preview. (Who could forget her classic turn in the movie, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"?)
I would imagine in the Mirror Universe, as in any other, the sword would just be a powerful symbol.
But what was it Eddard Stark said from Game of Thrones?
Do we have an execution in the offing? Swords are good for that.
Perhaps the Emperor, now that she has her would-be usurper in custody, will finish the job herself much as she did when she fired upon the Alien alliance. Beheading the traitorous Lorca with a sword would send a powerful message to the rest of the Mirror galaxy not to cross her.
Unless, there is one more question to answer.
The Lorca Long Game
Did you see that look Lorca gave to the Emperor as she demanded Burnham to take a knee? He seemed to have slightly tilted his head in recognition of her.
You're going to have to strap on your gold plated Terran-tin-foil hat for this one. It's my belief Lorca wasn't lost from the Mirror universe, he was sent from it!
This piggy backs on the theory that the Lorca in "our" universe prime was lost there and using Discovery to get back to his own universe the whole time. In other words, he's the evil twin acting as the good one until he can find his way home.
But, the twist here being, he wasn't lost, he's been on a mission from the Terran Empire!
What do they want? I'm not sure, maybe the Tardigrades in their universe were killed off as any other alien species would be when they proved to be a threat to the empire. However, this spoiled their chance to power their own Spore Drive. So, they had to reach out to "our" universe to find a solution. I'm thinking they used the "Defiant" information to make the crossing.
Perhaps, even crazier, the Terran Empire wants to extend their reach to another universe. Much like the Borg tried to expand into fluidic space until they ran into Species 8472. (We all know how that turned out for them.)
One Last Question
So, you may be asking yourself, "Why don't they use their version of Stamets to power the Terran Spore Drive?"
Maybe they did.
He could have easily met the same fate as "our" Stamets and now they both find themselves in that "Clearing" in that "Forest" that Stamets has been referring to in various episodes. Including this one.
Tilly mentioned to Saru she found signs of an "Internal trans-dimensional portal". I'm thinking this was Terran Stamets' way of calling to our Stamets to bring him there. The theory behind this meeting would be to discuss their intertwined fates and the fate of both universes.
Despite his "Evil" nature, Terran Stamets knows well of the price one pays when crossing to and fro from one universe to the other. I would think the havoc caused by the Spore Drives has a lot to do with his calling to our Stamets too.
Evil, not stupid. A possible callback to the logic of the Mirror Spock from the first "Mirror Mirror" episode of the original Star Trek series. (He reasoned it was better to return the prime Kirk to his universe and take advantage of his situation.)
One Last Warning
If you recall, Stamets also warned to, "Stay out of the palace." I was hoping "The Palace" was some trans-dimensional gateway best left alone because of the harm it would do. Now it seems obvious The Palace refers to the seat of the Terran Empire and home to the Emperor.
Why stay out? Is the mirror Burnham or good Lorca being held there? Their fates about them being missing could have been just a ruse. Revealing this to Burnham could end all hope of her returning to her own universe. The Emperor didn't reveal as much, but, who knows the depth of her perfidy!
By the way, "The Forest" looks a lot like jungle from the planet of Pandora in the movie "Avatar" doesn't it? (See above picture.)
How does all of this tie into the fate of "Mirror Discovery"?
She and her crew may have been deliberately sacrificed in this ultimate power play of the Emperor and Lorca. Or she may be sailing about killing as many Klingons as she can before she is brought back with working Spore Drive tech. Or holding Cornwell hostage. That seems to be the poor Admiral's fate. ;)
Odds and Ends
Poor Saru is a slave aboard the Shenzou. Burnham didn't have the heart to tell Saru prime he and his people had an awful fate. Burnham did decide to call slave Saru by his name. This respect is what probably led to slave Saru rescuing his Captain when Tyler attacked.
Why "Airlock" your victims ala "Battlestar Galactica" when you can just transport them into space. Same awful fate.
A little narrative foreshadowing here using dialog. An intimate moment between Burnham and Tyler. She muses about everyone's humanity when she really in the arms of a Klingon. The wolf inside.
All hale mirror Voq! Great sense of timing from our alter-Klingon friend. His presence leads to Tyler/Voq's breakdown and his eventual outing to Burnham.
The tether is broken now. How traumatic that must have been for Burnham. It really seemed as though Tyler wanted to preserve his humanity and his relationship to Burnham. But, the trigger of seeing his alter self was just too much.
Please tell they won't put him in the same cell as L'Rell. That would be a face-palm spanning two universes.
Is he salvageable? He and L'Rell could be held as hostages to the Klingon Empire but chances are they wouldn't want them back. Better to die a martyr than to be captured.
Shazad Latif's character has been such a great plus for the show but the damage has been done. Can Tyler be re-programmed? Would it be worth it?
It was pretty clever of Burnham to sneak the plans/info back with Tyler. My only fear is, that's what the Terran Empire wanted her to do. Just another part of their infiltration into "our" universe.
They are either that evil or I am that paranoid.
Hopefully, we haven't seen the last of the Mirror Sarek. However, it made me think this, if Starfleet is evil in the mirror universe, does that mean the purist rebel faction won the Vulcan civil war?
It'll be pretty interesting to see what Stamets and his mirror version come up with. Can evil Stamets be trusted? I'm guessing yes, If evil Spock could understand reason from the original "Mirror, Mirror" episode then I would think the Stamets version could also. Especially if it is to his advantage. Is he in league with the Mirror Lorca?
It makes me think the title of this episode is really a backdoor clue to the real identity of Lorca not just a reference to Tyler/Voq.
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