Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 Episode 3 Review: Point of Light
Diana Keng
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If there were any fears that this season would be a limited to the search for the red light bursts and, tangentially, Spock, Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 Episode 3 laid those to rest.
Not only does it deal with Tilly's ghost buddy, May, the big development from Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 Episode 2, but it takes us to Q'onoS where L'Rell and Tyler are having issues.
No duh.
Best part, hands down, was Georgiou's return as a Section 31 operative.
Sure, it's all a build-up for her new show but how awesome was that entrance?
Related: Get CBS All Access via Prime Video Channels for hit Show, Exclusive Originals, & Live TV
Back on the central track, the surprise visit from Burnham's adoptive mother, Amanda, provides more insight into Spock's situation but Michael taps into her superpower and manages to alienate another family member
With all that jammed in there, it's no wonder the structure of the episode suffers.
This narrative is a potpourri of plots with only the briefest of attempts to tie them together.
In fact, I'm not sure there even was a dominant storyline at all here.
Since there is no red light burst to chase, we could assume the search for Spock (!) takes precedence.
Very much an assumption though.
After initially assuming he was onboard the Enterprise, then to discover he had taken a leave, only to find out he was in a psychiatric facility, it's almost laughable for Pike to be informed that he's now on the run for murder.
It's like a game of Three Card Monte or, in this case, Hide the Vulcan.
Pike: Was she this bossy as a kid?
Amanda: On Vulcan, we call it persistent and yes, she was. She learned that from me.
But Burnham doesn't make much progress with the information Amanda stole.
They spend a lot of time discussing possibilities and blaming themselves for Spock's issues.
The backstory of the Red Angel is bewildering. It's so completely at odds with the rational nature of Vulcan and has such potential to blow Burnham's ideology to bits.
Unfortunately, I expect it'll be a rather mundane or, at least, logical explanation in the end.
How can she not know what tears are? That's impossible. Show me a teenage girl that's never cried. You can't. I know. I'm a xenoanthropologist.
Burnham
Tilly's whole ordeal ends that way, after all.
They had introduced May in a pretty dramatic and spooky manner, almost Sixth Sense-y in its reveal on Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 Episode 2.
There was the dark matter blast, her mysterious appearance in sickbay, her affectionate helpfulness, and her complete confidence in Tilly.
And she turns out to be an interstellar fungal infection.
Yuck.
Stamets: Just as I suspected, you are hosting a eukaryotic organism.
Tilly: A fungus?
Stamets: Obviously, multicellular since it has ...opinions
Now that they've captured her/it/whatever, it'll be interesting if she turns out to be the spore drive's new pilot.
And while I'm thinking about the spore drive, when last we left our heroes, weren't they still in the Beta Quadrant? Guess Stamets had to gear up again?
Then there's the Klingons. Where Tilly shares a total of three scenes with Burnham -- only one where they discuss anything meaningful -- the entire Q'onoS narrative is connected through that one super awkward holo-call between Tyler and Burnham.
Related: 19 Times the Enemy Was Closer Than We Knew
I'll own the fact I'm still grumpy about the whole Voq/Ash thing, so I really didn't care much for all the drama L'Rell and Tyler were wrapped up in.
And, boy, was there a lot.
Politically, it's always crazy when Klingons are involved, and L'Rell's rise to chancellorship through holding the planet hostage was particularly unusual.
Throw in the human-looking consort and a secret baby? Yeah, it's a mess.
Nice of Georgiou to sort things out for her, wasn't it? The woman is effective if nothing else.
It was smart to NOT disintegrate Kol-Sha with the rest of the guards when she arrived.
However, how did L'Rell explain three Klingons who simply disappeared while serving Kol-Sha in L'Rell's residence?
Georgiou: Control believes that misfits have merit so we keep busy.
Tyler: I'm surprised you call yourself a misfit, Emperor.
Georgiou: The freaks are more fun.
I'm not sure how I feel about Tyler joining Section 31.
I totally get why they want his "skill set" but ... still grumpy.
I can only hope that if he's running with Yeoh, he may not be back on Discovery, having awkward holo-calls.
One other thing to think about when you watch Star Trek: Discovery online: Klingon technology. WTH?
Not only do they have the ability to turn a Klingon physically into a human, they have face paint with micro-listening ability?
Furthermore, why would they ever need face paint with micro-listening ability?
This was a bridge episode with a boatload of exposition. Entertaining enough but not all that cohesive.
Which plot thread did you like best?
Diana Keng was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is a lifelong fan of smart sci-fi and fantasy media, an upstanding citizen of the United Federation of Planets, and a supporter of AFC Richmond 'til she dies. Her guilty pleasures include female-led procedurals, old-school sitcoms, and Bluey. She teaches, knits, and dreams big. Follow her on X.
