We get a lot of Adira's backstory, and we learn that the Starfleet Admiral was not the last host of the Tal symbiote. Rather, Adira's boyfriend became the next host, and when he was mortally injured, Adira took on the symbiote. After properly connecting with the symbiote in this episode, Adira is now Adira Tal, and through a quirk of the joining, she is able to interact with her boyfriend. My only reservation for this part of the plot is why Burnham was chosen to accompany Adira planetside. Wouldn't it have made more sense for Stamets (someone Adira has already bonded with) to go with her?
We also get a good B plot with the Discovery crew beginning to come to terms with the emotional trauma of leaving everything behind. It's good to see Culber trying to step into the role of counselor for folks. We also get a good focus on Detmer, since she's been the one with the most obvious signs of PTSD. Also, although she's definitely in a minor role here, Georgiou was a hoot whenever onscreen (especially her grabbing the popcorn at the end).
Of definite note is the fact that Zora from "Calypso" popped up to help Saru come up with ways to help the crew cope. This may lend more credence to the idea that "Calypso" takes place a millennium further into the future from this point.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
They needed Burnham offworld so she couldn't attend the dinner.
Trill is no longer a Federation member, either. This is gonna be the norm, I think.
But Ardeth Bey shows up next week!
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
I see that Discovery is going to take the “Stargate Universe” approach with a ship’s AI for now, and save the “Andromeda” AI crew member approach for later. It might make for an interesting story, if they don’t make it too blindingly obvious.
But I think it’s just as likely that “Calypso” takes place in pre-season 3 times. After all, we know that Mirror Georgiou has an appointment with running Section 31 on her upcoming show (as they reminded us in a very wink-wink-nudge-nudge fashion a week or two ago). If they come up with some reason to have her go back to 2258 (or whenever; depends on when the S31 show is set), then perhaps the ship has to take the slow path back to 3189, giving the AI plenty of time to develop further.
I don’t think that *anybody* is a Federation member at this point. And that raises the question, how many planets will be actually happy if there’s a Federation again? Obviously some of the fringe couriers won’t like it, but I can imagine there will be plenty of planets whose societies adapted to the isolation and don’t want to connect with anyone else.
Posted by Spike (Member # 322) on :
So Senna Tal was the 5th host of the Tal symbiont and died in 3187. And one of the hosts was wearing a Starfleet uniform from 2399. So either this uniform stayed in fashion for a very long time or life expectancy has increased considerably.
[ November 06, 2020, 07:08 PM: Message edited by: Spike ]
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
Agreed, unless it’s possible for a symbiont to spend time hanging out in the pools in between hosts.
One thing I’ve been wondering about is how the Trill were worried about having enough hosts... it seems to suggest there’s now more symbionts than humanoid Trill, because we already know thanks to Joran Dax that most Trill can be a host. And now medical technology is sufficient to stabilize the non-Trill joining (which seemed to work pretty well for Riker in “The Host”, at least in the short term).
Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :
quote:So Senna Tal was the 5th host of the Tal symbiont and died in 3187. And one of the hosts was wearing a Starfleet uniform from 2399. So either this uniform stayed in fashion for a very long time or life expectancy has increased considerably.
If we assume Trill have lifespans similar to humans, and we know Leonard McCoy was still alive in 2364, at approximately age 137 ... this doesn't seem entirely unbelievable, especially if medical technology is able to continue to extend the lifespan (certainly makes the Vulcan's 200 year lifespan a bit less impressive!)
Posted by Dukhat (Member # 341) on :
Perhaps the host with the PIC Starfleet uniform was the first host?
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Given the large number of extras at the end, there’s no reason for them to have limited the number of Tal hosts for budgetary purposes. So there were... six hosts including Senno and the kid? I’ve always worked on the assumption that being joined extended normal host life, but Dax doesn’t really bear that out - even accepting that some hosts were brief at best (Joran for one), nine hosts in ~250yrs isn’t great. So either general medical science and Trill medicine got a whole lot better, so the first five hosts lived to about the age of 200 each, or only a few turned up - but then Adira only named a half dozen names...
Yeah, a good episode. Also, it did more to address the stress and unusual situation the crew were dealing with than all seven seasons of Voyager...
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
Well, I can think *one* reason to limit the number of hosts on screen... the time and talent it takes to painstakingly paint those Trill spots on the actors.
I still figure that symbionts don't have to immediately go to a new host if they don't want. Dax strikes me as a potential outlier in more than one way... first, numerous instances of reckless or uninhibited behavior (Torias, Emony, Curzon, and Jadzia). That's a partial explanation for the shorter average lifespan of Dax's hosts (though obviously Curzon bucked that trend somehow). Second, Dax probably decided they would be bored just hanging around the pools in the Mak'ala caves, and generally went straight from host to host.
It seems to me that having "gap years" between hosts sounds more plausible than 200+-year lifespans for every host.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Do symbionts fuck? Obviously they have to reproduce, right? That's gotta happen at some point when they're not joined.
....I hope.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
“Hey baby, wanna come back to my symbiont sex cave?” “It’s not a symbiont sex cave, Kev, it’s a symbiont cave. And we all live there. I’m in the pool next to you, for fuck’s sake!”
I forgot that they don’t have to be Joined all the time!
I’m a bit puzzled by the much-hyped casting of Ian Alexander. He (trigger warning: may get pronouns wrong here) is a trans man (boy? He looks about 12 ffs), but they’ve cast him as I think a “cis man” I think, there’s no reference to him not always having been male. Is that the point? That a trans man is a man, and can play a (this is so the wrong word to use, but I’m floundering here) “normal” male role? It’s a bit confusing given his pairing with a nonbinary actor whose character is apparently going to change from identifying as female to nongender as she/they gets used to being Joined.
Posted by Dukhat (Member # 341) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lee: Is that the point? That a trans man is a man, and can play a (this is so the wrong word to use, but I’m floundering here) “normal” male role?
![[Wink]](wink.gif)