#his entire sibling trauma is an overly dramatic version of my own

[nururu]

It's so wild how much I relate to sanji....... it's why we have beef. It's like if I was a cat who saw myself in the mirror for the first time and started attacking

[musicin68]

Thoughts on Star Trek: Discovery

Totally disco.

I FINALLY started watching Discovery. Rather than binge it, I'm trying to take a moment to jot down a few thoughts in between episodes. A good exercise for me (if I write it enough I'm sure I can train my brain out of wanting to spell Michael with an 'eal' at the end). And maybe fun for those who have already seen it and want to laugh at my wild conjectures.

Spoilers follow.

I should state up front that I have been spoiled a little bit based on fics I have read and screen caps/trailers I've seen. This is what I know going in:

→ 1. The mirror universe features prominently in the series or at least the first season. I am a Trekkie of old so the fact that there are "bad" versions of everyone is just expected.

→ 2. There are mushrooms. Or a fungus. Time-traveling mushrooms? Which might be just a fanfic thing (and there is an author I owe a comment to), but seems weirdly specific...so I am going with "that's a thing" until I discover otherwise.

→ 3. Michael was raised on Vulcan by Sarek, making her Spock's eight hundred and twenty-third foster sibling, or thereabouts.

→ 4. Michelle Yeoh is hot.

Episode 1: The Vulcan Hello

Is that the ghost of ST:TNG I see lurking around that well? You've served as her first officer for seven years, have you? FINALLY ready for your own command?

Sorry. I have to take just a moment and mourn the missed opportunities of yesteryear. How awesome would it have been to promote Riker to Captain and Picard to Admiral and perfectly logically keep them both on the Enterprise? Certainly better than having to write stupid excuses for Riker turning down command after command after... but I digress.

You know, Vulcans always struck me as the shoot first, ask questions later type. No? No. Hahahaha, no. But I can see the logic so...I kinda like it. I do question Sarek's wisdom in letting a very distraught Michael in on this particular diplomatic option, but hey as a parent I am guilty of shitty judgement from time to time when it comes to my kids too.

Michael's confrontation with Captain Georgiou is disturbingly specific. I'm trying to save the lives of everyone on this ship. I AM TRYING TO SAVE YOUR LIFE! She is so intense. I realize she is probably projecting her childhood trauma onto the present and Philippa is a parental figure to her, BUT I cannot help thinking: What does she know that we don't?? Is she from the future? Did a future Michael ambush present Michael on her way back from her father-daughter talk and stuff her vulcan-neck-pinched body in a closet? Don't kill Michelle Yeoh! She is at least 70% of the reason I'm watching this right now. If she dies we'll only have the evil version! And boy wouldn't that be a missed opportunity. I would watch an entire episode of her acting opposite herself. Oh goddamnit. She was listed in the credits as a "special guest star." Future Michael you're doomed to fail!

How long does a vulcan neck pinch last? (See answer below.) That seemed awfully short. Either Philippa has a remarkably strong constitution or Michael isn't very good at them. I wonder if future Michael has gotten better.

Solve for ×, where × = duration of unconsciousness.

On the upside, we get to see the Captain go General Leia on Michael's ass. AND she sticks to her principles and doesn't shoot Michael first either. Even on stun. I think I love her.

Overall, it was a great start. I'm sure the Klingons are important, aside from being a device to fuck everything up for the awesome women running this Federation starship...but I'll be honest, even as dramatic as their scenes were in tone and editing, they were remarkably uncompelling. Which, now that I think about it, feels really odd.

→ There's a guy (I think it's a guy). He wants to do a thing. And keep the Klingons from dying out by uniting them. Or he just wants to be in charge. Not sure. Both? Whatever. Light the beacon, Pippin! (Oh! Voq! The white skinned Klingon with something to prove. What do you know, I remembered his name! How about that. Yeah, I'm probably gonna keep calling him Pippin.)

Maybe it's not so odd. For the first time in... ever?... I was just shown a Federation starship on which the two highest ranking officers are women. My inner child is dancing and screaming "yay, that could be me!", and my inner old woman is gesticulating rudely and screaming "it's about time you fucking cunts!". So yeah, it's pretty hard to muster up interest in that Klingon dude's overly dramatic party.

Questions going forward: → 1. When are we going to get Shohreh? Paging Admiral Paris, Admiral Afsaneh Paris. Season 3? 4? → 2. Will I keep watching this show when it turns out Michelle Yeoh is not in every episode? → 3. How emotionally fucked up is present Michael going to be when she finally gets out of that closet?