MarkB
Legend
They're also going in a completely different direction with Stamets than I expected. The initial introduction to his non-linear nature was definitely rather creepy, and I was expecting them to go all mirror-universe / evil-clone with it. The way he was portrayed in this episode was a welcome surprise, and while it still feels like there could be some nasty surprises ahead for/from his character, this once again feels like some great character building, taking the Discovery's crew towards being a fully-functional team.
It was also an interesting way to explore Burnham's character and capacity for romantic relationships. The whole "you have to be romantic in order to save the ship" concept was a little heavy-handed, but the fact that Burnham wasn't retaining those memories allowed it to be an exploration of possibilities without committing her character to an instant relationship - again, strengthening character bonds and rounding out the main cast.
And Harry Mudd's eventual fate was a nice way of tying up the character's story arc in a way that led nicely into his appearances in the original series, also adding a little extra sting to his final fate in I, Mudd. He really never will get away from Stella.
It was also an interesting way to explore Burnham's character and capacity for romantic relationships. The whole "you have to be romantic in order to save the ship" concept was a little heavy-handed, but the fact that Burnham wasn't retaining those memories allowed it to be an exploration of possibilities without committing her character to an instant relationship - again, strengthening character bonds and rounding out the main cast.
And Harry Mudd's eventual fate was a nice way of tying up the character's story arc in a way that led nicely into his appearances in the original series, also adding a little extra sting to his final fate in I, Mudd. He really never will get away from Stella.