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The essence that “Star Trek: Discovery” is trying to maintain in the sense of its progression is reflecting canon while still maintaining mystery and a sense of tension. With the aspect of “Through The Valley Of Shadows”, the foreshadowing continues and starts an infrastructure that interrelates in an odd way to aspects of “The Wrath Of Khan” but it also offers a bigger perception without either actor ever revealing it of the deep seated secrets or regrets with Spock, whether it be in the outcome of this escapade of “The Red Angel”, the perception of “The Managerie” or even Spock’s eventual second family in the Enterprise crew of Bones and Kirk and his eventual death and resurrection. To do this in a larger structure with the fact that certain ripple effects might literally wipe Michael Burnham out of the timeline at a certain point is a real perception. While reflexive, the show is still working on the basest psychological constructs. And especially within this idea, the concept of time, hinted at in the texture of “Interstellar” and its reflections of relativity, really gives an undeniably concept of the larger ideas that Discovery is playing with. Anson Mount shines in this episode as Pike and again gives clarity of the embracing of his ideas and what creates the shell of the man he becomes, both literally and figuratively. What is really reassuring is the adherence to the original series and its eventual progression and not the timeline of the new movies which while interesting for the big screen is not as integral a story as this one is turning out to be.

By Tim Wassberg