Such Sweet Sorrow

*** (3 out of 5)

With a ticking clock to save all living things, and a Section 31 Skynetfleet bearing down upon them, Discovery evacuates to Enterprise with the intention of scuttling the ship. 

As holographic communications are now equated with Control’s trickery, Number One has sworn Enterprise off them forever. We still trust our good chums Georgiou and Ash, of course, who spent a ton of time with Leland the Roiling Mass of Infectious Nanomachines. Georgiou even has a new dungeon guard uniform, and Ash can wander off, on his own, with any shuttlecraft he fancies.

The self-destruct is not responding, because the priceless Sphere data has self-preservation skills, so we're back to "throw all this volatile knowledge far into the future to be safe". The 5th Red Angel Signal of 7 takes Discovery to Xahea, the planet with a Midgard Serpent eating it or something. A real Van Art planet. Tilly's whiz kid chum Queen Po hands them her recrystalizer to power their journey, so Georgiou doesn't get to set off a supernova with a ghastly death toll.

 

“I love you. All of you. Thank you for the greatest moments of my life.” says Michael to the bridge crew. When??? Which of these ceaseless explosions and fraught horrors and upsetting concussions have been the greatest moments of your life?

"I wish there was more time... there isn't." They have SO MUCH SPARE TIME FOR TEARFUL GOODBYES! Sarek and Amanda even heard with their souls that there was trouble and drive up in their personal spaceship just ahead of what is about to be a baby tribble in a kill zone!

Instead of a solo suicide mission, everyone on board (as represented by a double handful of familiar faces) agrees to follow Michael into hell, unless they’re getting a Spin Off... into Space… with Section 31.

Hang on, those evacuation walkways seem ludicrous to me. The effects are shiny & elaborate, but why stretch them out from the FARTHEST point from the other ship? Why not dock saucer edge to saucer edge? 

Speaking of docking, my first thought and last thought when Ash and Michael kiss was “Gross”. Unless Klingons are big teeth brushers, can she still taste Georgiou from when Ash ate her? Mentor- The Freshmaker! 

Detmer’s best friend is Tazzy. How do I know? I'm a big fan of superanemic.

Oh, when did we arrive on the control deck of a TRON Recognizer? Nope- this is the Enterprise at Red Alert, I’m afraid. Enterprise bridge is a fine new design, but incapable of activating my nostalgia. Building an entirely new & different thing is not how nostalgia works. But at least it's colourful and at least Georgiou disdains it. 

And I get a few seconds of Pike back in nearly the right uniform. 

No! Don’t you dare kill Jett...

Cliffhanger! Hashtag Shave Spock. 

The Red Angel

 **(2 red angels out of 5)

Depending on what the vague images of autopsy and funeral mean, Dr. Pollard probably did everything she could and/or intentionally deleted Airiam’s digital memories to stop the AI Control’s infection. 

Everyone bonds over Airiam's funeral, including Michael & Nhan, Michael & surrogate-surrogate-mom Georgiou (interplanetary genocidal mass murderer), and Michael & handsome Ash (who ate the righteous version of Georgiou). Also both Ash and Georgiou are working for the dirty tricks squad who are most directly responsible for Control and thereby Airiam's death, so they should always be involved in all of our efforts to fight Control.

Tilly brings a bombshell from Airiam’s files- the Red Angel is Michael.

Because sick days and mental health days don't exist, Dr. Culber is back at work. He's getting some therapy regarding his separation from Cdr. Stamets. This advice comes from Admiral Cornwell, the paragon of making good choices in love. Also on the subject of love, Georgiou claims she’s had both Culber and Stamets, whose Mirror Universe selves were pansexual rather than gay. And Michael kisses on Ash for reasons that escape me. For handsomeness, I think.

Leland reveals that Michael’s parents were not killed because Klingons kill and eat parents whenever girls like telescopes and science, but because Section 31 and Leland personally had the Burnhams building a classified, wormhole-based, winged, time-travel spacesuit powered with a stolen Klingon time crystal. Michael clobbers Leland real good.

To set a trap for the Future Michael, they agree to kill the Present Michael as slowly and painfully as possible with toxic atmosphere and radiation, as you do. It's so horrible that everyone tries to back out except Spock, who pulls a gun to make sure no one will save Michael except the Red Angel. Which happens after the last possible second, but the Red Angel who zaps Michael back to life is Michael's mom instead.

And then Control stabs Leland in the eyes. There doesn't seem to be a reason. For handsomeness, I think.

Light and Shadows

 **(one light and one shadows out of 5)

Pike and Mike recovered Spock's shuttle with Georgiou inside, so when Mike recaps this for Pike as "we know the shuttle that he stole disappeared somewhere in the Mutara Sector" it doesn't really track. My headcanon also probably doesn't work, but it will have to wait. 

Pike and company do forensics on the Red Angel's time travel antics, having Saru's visual evidence now that it's a person in a suit. There's a Time Hole spewing time back into the universe, so be alert for Groundhog Day radiation.

Commander Burnham uses a shuttle with Star Wars or even Dune speed capabilities to make the Kaminar to Vulcan trip during a commercial break, simultaneous with Ash and Pike's 5 minute trip to the time hole.

Sarek's deep in meditation to find Spock in the Force, but Amanda has been hiding him in their standard Kir'Shara basement cave while he has a standard severe mental breakdown. You've heard his voice, now enjoy his beard.

When Sarek learns of this, he continues his bizarre track record of emotionalism and logic leaps by declaring Section 31 is their best bet to heal his unresponsive and raving son! Their Noggin Technicians wear clear plastic raincoats in dark metal rooms and defer to the unseen "Control", so that's clearly legit.

Forced by questionable circumstances to work together, Pike and Ash fight a Matrix Squiddy from the 27th century before Stamets the Tardigrade Time Powers guy saves their bacon. In case the grabby Doc Ock arms were getting a little too Marvel, Lt. Com. Airiam is secretly compromised by literally the three dot sigil of DC's Brainiac. (Oh, shows what I know- that's the mathematical symbol for "Because"!)

Georgiou seizes command of Section 31's Leland with blackmail- she knows Leland had Michael's parents killed.

Michael, knowing of her brother's form of dyslexia, discerns Spock's repeated numerical sequence is backward coordinates for planet Talos IV. Road Trip!