Star Trek: Discovery 4x2 "Anomaly" Review

 rating: ***

the story: Book takes the lead in investigating the cosmic disturbance that destroyed his world.

review: The season premiere was mostly about getting comfortable in the new future setting; "Anomaly" is, effectively, a second premiere, in that it establishes what the season will actually be exploring, a black hole phenomenon that will be causing cataclysmic destruction wherever it travels.  As I write that, I call to mind not just the Nexus ribbon from Star Trek Generations but the Crystalline Entity from The Next Generation, not to mention V'Ger from The Motion Picture and the probe in The Voyage Home...So there's a lot of history behind this new arc.  By the end of the episode, our crew learns one incredibly inconvenient fact about the phenomenon: unlike the others it won't be able to be tracked...

Book debuted last season as a kind of replacement for Ash Tyler, a would-be love interest for Burnham and a rogue agent playing by his own rules.  As is pointed out during this episode, he isn't even a part of Starfleet, and so he doesn't have to take orders.  Although it's also pointed out that as long as he works alongside our crew, his decisions still affect it and so he has to take that into account.  This leads to an adventure alongside...Stamets??

That's one of the reasons I like the episode.  Too often Stamets, even more than Culber, has been defined almost solely by his relationship with Culber.  Introduced initially as a brilliant scientist on the cutting edge, Stamets drifted away from the plot and started worrying only about his lingering connection to the spore drive, the fate of Culber, and then "adopting" Adira and Gray.  "Anomaly" feels like a direct attempt to course correct, forcing him to have a long episode with a different character, and even a whole experience that grounds him in matters that finally force him to focus on his abilities.  

Saru returns to help consult on the new crisis, and now we have him returning to his original role as a trusted ally of Michael Burnham, which like last episode feels like an attempt to remind viewers that, yes, Burnham is okay to like, her old reputation finally consigned to the past, if indeed it were ever applicable.  She takes very much a backseat the whole episode, actually, even though of course she has every reason to take a personal interest in Book's escapade.  

And yes, as the internet has pointed out, this is the first time two episodes in the franchise have exactly the same title.  Next Generation indeed had "The Emissary" and Deep Space Nine "Emissary," and "The Muse" while Voyager had "Muse," but this is the first time there's no quibbling.  Enterprise had "Anomaly," too, during its third season, in which it explored a region of space with weird properties and of course a whole crisis around them.  It seems fitting.

Also fitting are appearances from several familiar species, including a representative from the Ni'Var (the reunited Vulcan/Romulan peoples) and a Ferengi, the first live action appearance since Enterprise as Starfleet considers how to handle the crisis.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - Given all the roving threats in Star Trek lore, it seems fitting for Discovery to explore such matters in one of its season arcs.
• series - Like the first season, which unrolled its premise over the course of several episodes, this second episode of the fourth season has as much to do as the premiere.
• character - It's a spotlight for a grieving Book, and a very welcome fresh look at Stamets.
• essential - I'll reserve full marks on this one if only because no definitive points are made.

notable guest-stars:

Oded Fehr (Vance)