‘Forget Me Not’ – Star Trek: Discovery Season Three, Episode Four. Reviewed by Philip Bates.
Join the crew of the Discovery for a dinner party. Here, they’ll be reminiscing about the past and cornering the market on pain.
Starters
‘Forget Me Not’ begins with Dr Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz) being concerned about the mental wellbeing of his peers, and he advises Saru (Doug Jones) find a way to bring them all together.
The ship’s curiously personable AI suggests means of relaxation including yoga, therapeutic colouring books, and comedic films starring silent movie stars.
Adira (Blu del Barrio) goes to Trill with Michael (Sonequa Martin-Green) to uncover her symbiont’s memories. She needs to enter the Sacred Caves of Mak’ala to recover her memories but the people of Trill are offended by the fact one of their sacred symbionts has bonded with a human, so instead instruct Adira and Michael to leave the planet.
Mains
Squid.
Shooting.
Squabbling.
Dessert
By the end of ‘Forget Me Not,’ a sense of community is re-established.
There is, at least, hope for the future again.
Tensions nonetheless continue to bubble under the surface.
Comments to the chef
‘Forget Me Not’ is a welcome change of pace for Star Trek: Discovery: finally, the crew are met with a warm reception. That is, until Adira and Michael arrive on Trill, where things get frosty again.
Still, Guardian Xi (Andreas Apergis) gives a truly affecting performance considering he’s not in the episode much; he’s weighed down by the hopelessness of the Trill’s situation, but brave enough to do what’s right in the face of opposition from his peers. We’ve not really seen this sort of tragic disposition otherwise – these emotions bubble under the surface for many while they engage in plenty of action scenes – so it’s a refreshing and poignant display.
Similarly affecting is Blu del Barrio, who absolutely shines in ‘Forget Me Not.’ And is helped along by special effects that are both creepy and astonishing.
The scenes with Gray (Ian Alexander) and Adira could become sickly sweet if it weren’t for The Spoilerific Thing That Happens. A little too much sugar. There’s a great pay-off at the end, fortunately.
Just the right amount of sugar is sifted through the sequences on the Discovery, as Saru struggles to piece the crew together, restore a working equilibrium, and generally bring harmony to this inharmonious era (inharmonious for those on the NCC-1031, because this run of Star Trek is hitting a fine tone indeed.)
It’s hard to narrow down the highlight of this episode. Adira’s journey is a wonderful one, and you really warm to her in ‘Forget Me Not,’ after being somewhat awkwardly shoehorned into the previous story. But… It’s so pleasing to see the rest of the main cast bouncing off each other and colliding in spectacular fashion while they have dinner.
This also gives us chance to see a bit more of Detmer (Emily Coutts), Owo (Oyin Oladejo), Nhan (Rachael Ancheril), and Nilsson (Sara Mitich). We don’t yet know what’s up with Detmer, but could fans be prejudging, thinking that it’s something to do with her implant – but could her strange behaviour be a type of grief? Should Adira’s fugue state clue us in as to what’s going on with Discovery’s pilot?
Okay, I’m being disingenuous. We all know the highlight of the episode. That end scene. Fantastic.
Compliments to the chef.
But what did you think of ‘Forget Me Not’? And are you enjoying this series of Star Trek: Discovery so far? Let us know in the comments below.
Star Trek Discovery Starfleet Academy scarf – available now from Lovarzi!
Leave a Reply