Star Trek: Discovery 4x7 "...But to Connect" Review

rating: ***

the story: With two options on how to proceed in confronting the crisis, an unexpected roadblock emerges in Zora's willingness to cooperate.

review: I enjoyed this much better than "Stormy Weather," and yet I'm not sure the resolution with Zora, the ship's computer now become its own entity, was entirely nailed.

Next Generation had previously tackled, in a number of ways, the upper thresholds of artificial intelligence, both in Data and within the ship's computer itself, among others, and of course Voyager's Doctor ("Latent Image," in particular), so Zora's arc was very much familiar, although approached from its own unique vantage point.  The problem is the viewer's ability to fully invest in a character they can't see but only hear.  in the Short Trek "Calypso," we did see Zora.  In a sense, the lasts two seasons have been competing with "Calypso," which was a standout experience on any number of levels.  Even its central character, Craft, has had a kind of stand-in with Book, who in "Connect" makes a bold decision I'll get back to later.  There's also the somewhat tangled web of those directly involved in her arc this episode.  David Cronenberg's Kovich gets arguably his biggest spotlight as part of it, as he's tasked with deciding how to handle Zora's evolution.  Stamets, surprisingly, is the one who has the biggest problem with it, and I'm not sure the episode nails his role.  Gray and Adira show up as Zora's cheerleaders, though neither one has particularly strong material to show for it.

Anyway, the episode presents two possible solutions to the crisis at hand.  One, once Zora agrees to cooperate, is to confront, peacefully if at all possible, those responsible for the anomaly, which involves a gathering of delegates to reach that conclusion, including a representative of Earth (that's another fun point to pick back up from last season).  The other is a weapon (evoking Insurrection) developed by Tarka, the tactless genius (whose very existence has finally convinced Stamets to find some) from "The Examples," who provides another welcome dose of friction, and in the end, an offer too tempting for Book to pass up.

(It's also worth noting that the potential enemy comes from beyond the Galactic Barrier, which we learned a few episodes ago; this is of course an unexpected reference to The Final Frontier; this whole arc has been drawing on familiar franchise lore, a deliberate bid to get fans who don't think Discovery is familiar enough to consider it well within the franchise fold after all.)

Unlike the talkiness of "Weather," the constant barrage of chatter works well in "Connect," an excellent example of Star Trek's intellectual proclivities.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - Zora's arc ought to evoke plenty of familiar associations.
• series - The progress of the season arc advances in a carefully calculated way.
• character - Zora is once again the standout character in what is very close to a defining episode.
• essential - It feels like the show was hedging its bets with her.  Maybe I'm not being fair.

notable guest-stars:

David Cronenberg (Kovich)