TL;DR – A fun romp through the past.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ service that viewed this episode.

Star Trek: Discovery Review –

As we continue our tour through the greatest hits of Star Trek Discovery, today’s episode takes that view almost literally. All of this is wrapped around one of Star Trek’s most tried and true go-to stories: Time Travel.

So to set the scene, at the end of Jinaal, we found that the next clue in the mission was in Tzenkethi space. However, before they left Trill, Moll (Eve Harlow) smuggled a Krenim time bug onto Adira (Blu del Barrio). On board, the bug runs around the ship until it gets to Engineering, where Stamets (Anthony Rapp) notices it just before it activates. Luckily, Michael (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) were trying to teleport when the bug activated because they were now lost in time and constantly shifting as well. Now, we will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

I liked that this episode had a vibe similar to those of Star Trek, which had been released before, while still having its own identity. This had the vibes like episodes such as Voyager’s Shattered, one of the better episodes from its final season, and also Discovery’s own Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad, one of the best episodes from its first season. What is fun is that you get to hit some of the best moments from the past and use them to inform the future. This means that for this episode, it is time to crack open the blue uniforms and head back in time. Look, it would have been nice to see more of past characters reappear. Poor Ash Tyler doesn’t even get name-checked. However, I did enjoy pulling the episode around the old Discovery crew led by Airiam (Hannah Cheesman).

The heart of this episode is following up on the plotline from last week, where Rayner only allowed the crew 20 words when introducing themselves. Rayner comes from a non-collaborative world, so the transition to Discovery is a hard one. Is it surprising that by the end of this episode, he discovers that knowing his crew and letting them shine is a good model? Absolutely not. However, it is still a strong arc, and I am glad it helps give us more time with the crew like Gen Rhys (Patrick Kwok-Choon). The other part of the episode is Micheal metaphorically, and then literally, confronting her past and the growth that she has made since she first stepped on board. This is the part that had the most emotional weight to it, and I think they landed it.

In the end, do we recommend Star Trek: Discovery – Face The Strange? Yes, we do. The episode was like a warm blanket on a cold day. It was comforting and allowed for time to reminisce.

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 – Lee Rose
Written by – Sean Cochran
Based off – Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry
Created by – Bryan Fuller & Alex Kurtzman  
Production/Distribution Companies – CBS Television Studios, Roddenberry Entertainment, Secret Hideout & Paramount+. 
Starring – Sonequa Martin-Green, Anthony Rapp, Mary Wiseman, Wilson Cruz, Blu del Barrio, Callum Keith Rennie, Tig Notaro & David Ajala with Annabelle Wallis, Hannah Cheesman, Eve HarlowElias Toufexis & Ian Alexander and Emily Coutts, Oyin Oladejo, Patrick Kwok-Choon, Ronnie Rowe Jr., Orville Cummings, David Benjamin Tomlinson & Leeu