Star Trek: Discovery - Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum

This episode seems to confirm my theory about last week's episode being filler that could be slotted in anywhere, as you could reverse the order of the two and it would make no difference. This one does advance the main plot though, as well as having a more stand-alone component. But not really stand-alone because even it has to tie into the ongoing story.

Ghosts, aliens or alien ghosts?

Michael, Saru and the new security guy (whose name I'm sure I'll probably learn one day) are on a planet that seems to have some sort of super-powerful transmitter and no intelligent life. The Federation wants to use it to somehow break the Klingon cloaking technology. Of course it turns out that the planet is inhabited by intelligent beings, or rather the planet itself is an intelligent being - it's life, Jim, but not as we know it.

Hope those crystals are USB compatible.

Saru gets sort of possessed by the planet and goes a bit mad, and the other two have to get a signal out to the Discovery. It's not bad, but it's not particularly interesting or original, and of course everyone ends up being OK in the end. Also Michael convinces the planet to help them, but it ends up being too innocent and naïve to understand that the Klingons are bad and instead sends out a signal to the Klingons to ask them to come and talk it out.

Her costume looks less cool close up.

Meanwhile on the Klingon ship, that Klingon in white (who I think is the one who saved the albino's life a few episodes ago?) is being all sneaky and trying to betray the new Klingon boss by helping the admiral escape, which she does, but the head Klingon figured out what she was doing and doesn't fall for it... I think? Except the admiral does escape... maybe? It seems like maybe both the Klingon and the admiral are dead now but I bet neither of them are.

"Could injecting myself with alien DNA have been a bad idea?"

Also the fungus guy is suffering some side effects, like forgetting things and getting confused, and he called Tilly "Captain", so I'm assuming he's getting flashes of parallel universes or alternate timelines or something. But he's not telling anyone about it yet, except for Tilly, who figured it out on her own. So that's going to be a thing in a later episode. It'd be nice to get more of him and Tilly though since they're basically the two characters I actually like.

Also this happened.

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