IR TV Review: STAR TREK - DISCOVERY - EPISODE 13 (“The Hope That Is You - Part II”) [CBS All Access-S3]

The progression of connection but also the effects of disconnection have been a larger theme overall within the 3rd season of "Star Trek: Discovery". With the season finale ["The Hope That Is You - Part II", the essence of The Burn and its reasoning are brought into play. The fully constructed reasoning is a little flimsy at times but the overall metaphor is sound despite the aspect that it took this long for the Federation to resolve it. It keys into the Wesley paradox many times in "The Next Generation" where the solution is presented with a sense of inevitability. Ultimately though, the progression does stay in concert with the rest of the season in terms of dealing with identity, trust and loyalty which is something Inside Reel spoke to Sonequa Martin-Green about at the beginning of the season. One interesting spot that was revealed (which isn't a large spoiler) is that the Kelpian on the dilithium planet is played by Bill Irwin (who has done various roles like Doug Jones over the years including TARS in Nolan's Interstellar -- which we talked to Irwin about at SxSW some years ago).

That pairing is understated but speaks to the power of certain performance in the series. Concurrently the negotiation between Osiria and the Federation takes an interesting turn but the question is whether it is one of survival or betrayal. Ultimately it becomes clear. There is a unique MacGuffin (actually two-fold) that comes into play that will definitely play into next season but hopefully (as was indicated the year before) the stories here can progress more back into exploration [and episodic hopefully) with a bit of drama since the crew of Discovery needs a break from stress. The last two episodes do up the ante in terms of action and effects which is definitely felt and needed but the inherent resolution does speak to moving forward. B+

By Tim Wassberg