TL;DR – A beginning and an end all wound up into one

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix subscription that viewed this series.

Terra Firma Part 1 Review –

Today we continue our walk through the looking glass as we make our mark on the Mirror Universe. But it is also an exciting episode with regards to relationships and even the past as it comes full force into the future.

So to set the scene, we are still on the ISS Discovery as Emperor Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) has decided not to kill her daughter Michael (Sonequa Martin-Green) but instead reach out to her in the only language she understands … pain. But the question is – is that enough? Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

Before we dive into the central portion of today’s episode, I just wanted to talk a moment to talk about the fun they were clearly having with the Mirror Universe. I mean they flipped and inverted the main titles, which is such a small thing, but it is those touches that make things shine. All the cast is also having a blast. I think it would be refreshing to play a version of your character that you can take to the extremes, but it does not matter as much because they will only be around for an episode or two. Which means that it is time to shout out poor Landry (Rekha Sharma), who they keep bringing back just to kill off.  The costumes, setting, action all completely fit the tone, and it also meant that we got our first reference of Denobulans since Star Trek Enterprise. However, it was a missed opportunity not to get a Lorca (Jason Isaacs) cameo.  

Of all the episodes that we have had on the show, this has been the first one that actually dived into who Emperor Georgiou is as a person. We know about her quips and biting tongue, we know about how she views the world, but not a lot about who she is or how she has changed. Well as the emotional core of the episode, we get to see all of that, how her bond with Saru (Doug Jones) changed who she was and how that would also change the world. But more we see that she has become someone who can find a different path than the one that was laid out for her. Probably the most significant line in the entire episode was when Saru has that moment of realisation and declares that “You’re not Terrain”.

When we return to the present, we discover that Carl (Paul Guilfoyle) is actually the Guardian of Forever, something I got wrong when I was writing my review last week. Still, some eagle-eyed people did spot the references in The Star Dispatch newspaper, so respect to those who caught the references. It was a nice touch to add the original voice line from The Original Series.  I don’t think it was surprising to see where she ends up at the end of this episode given that two of the writers (Be Yon Kim & Erika Lippoldt) are writing her spin-off series. Though that being said, I assumed that she went back to where Discovery left from, but they do not make that clear so that could still be a surprise.    

Back on the ship, we get the ting up of a number of the plot lines going on. While Adira (Blu del Barrio) and Stamets (Anthony Rapp) got the distress call, they had been struggling to connect with the ship at the middle of it all, and annoying Jett Reno (Tig Notaro) in the process. But after last week’s pep talk by Saru, Book (David Ajala) was able to save the day. We also got another conversation with Charles Vance (Oded Fehr), which is increasing my ‘something is rotten in the state of Denmark’ sensors. We end on the crew coming together no so much to morn Georgiou but to celebrate who she was Irish Wake style. This was a touching moment, and I like when the show takes the time to show the crew hanging out.

In the end, do we recommend Terra Firma Part 2? Yes, yes we do. While it was a goodbye to one of the cast, it was not a goodbye forever. It was also another intense episode in what has been a solid season so far, and we are rapidly getting close to the end.     

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you seen Star Trek Discovery yet?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day.   

Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Star Trek Discovery
Directed by – Chloe Domont
Written by – Kalinda Vazquez, Alan McElroy, Be Yon Kim & Erika Lippoldt
Based off – Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry
Created by – Bryan Fuller & Alex Kurtzman  
Production/Distribution Companies – CBS Television Studios, Roddenberry Entertainment, Secret Hideout, CBS All Access & Netflix. 
Starring in Season 2 – Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Mary Wiseman, Wilson Cruz, David Ajala with Michelle Yeoh and Hannah Cheesman, Rekha Sharma, Daniel Kash, Paul Guilfoyle, Hannah Spear, Oded Fehr, Blu del Barrio, Tig Notaro, Emily Coutts, Patrick Kwok-Choon, Oyin Oladejo, Ronnie Rowe Jr. & Sara Mitich,