First available for streaming on CBS All Access (later Paramount+) on November 5, 2020. Directed by Hanelle M. Culpepper. Written by Alan B. McElroy, Chris Silvestri and Anthony Maranville.
Adira Tal (Blu Del Barrio) is a young human who somehow joined with a Trill symbiont after the previous host, her significant other, died in a horrific accident in space.
But Adira can't access the memories of the previous Tal hosts. So the USS Discovery takes her to the Trill homeworld, where they can hopefully figure out what the problem is. The Trill are welcoming at first, but then are appalled that Adira is a human. The Trill are divided on what should be done, one Trill even suggests killing Adira so that Tal can be joined to an actual Trill.
Another Trill helps Commander Burnham sneak Adira into the caves where unjoined symbionts leave. After some struggle, and with Burnham's guidance, Adira's able to achieve a sort of zhian'tara (a Trill meeting of symbiont's current host with previous hosts) and recover the memories of the previous Tal hosts, including Admiral Senna Tal.
Meanwhile, in orbit over the Trill homeworld, Dr. Culber advises Commander Saru that although the crew is physically in good condition, they are mentally unwell, and feeling disconnected. Saru decides to give the crew the night off and invites the bridge officers to a private dinner.
The dinner conversation is pleasant enough at first, but when Lt. Detmer can't stop talking about Stamets's blood, the conversation devolves into yelling, and people gradually leave the dinner table.
The Discovery computer arranges a movie night for almost the whole crew, a screening of an old comedy movie from Earth. This really seems to lift everyone's spirits.
Tropes
- Brick Joke: After the Sphere data upgrades the computer, it suggests to Saru that watching the old comedy movies of Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton would help boost morale. At the end, the crew is laughing their butts off at Keaton's Sherlock, Jr..
- Brought Down to Normal: Discussed. After Stamets' injury during the Battle near Xahea, Saru tells him that they need to come up with a new interface for the spore drive so that if something else happens to him, Discovery won't be impacted by the dilithium scarcity like every other ship in the galaxy.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Ensign Tilly invokes the very day of the week when comparing the disastrous senior staff dinner to her dysfunctional family's dinners.
- Captain's Log: This time, it's Culber who's recording a log about the crew's psychological condition."Medical officer's log, supplemental. Our trip to Earth was eye-opening. A reality check, such as reality is. It's starting to hit everyone just how little we have to hold on to. The personal moments we use to define ourselves — birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, funerals — we've jumped past all of them. They feel lost. Disconnected. I tell them I've been alone, I've been lost. Both are survivable, and surviving can become living again. But first, they have to accept help. For a crew of overachievers, that kind of vulnerability can be hard to hold. Five words keep everyone going: "When we find the Federation." It's become a mantra for the crew. In some cases, it seems to help. In others...not so much. Adira, who joined us from Earth, may be able to guide us to Federation headquarters once she regains her own memories and those of her symbiont's former host, Senna Tal. This mission could be a gift, a reminder that we are and always will be connected to something greater than ourselves: the Federation."
- Contagious A.I.: The Sphere data seemingly upgrades Discovery's interface to act more naturally, as opposed to its Literal-Minded interpretations of Saru's requests. This seems to be the first steps to it becoming Zora in "Calypso". Saru theorizes that, absent the need to protect itself, the Sphere data is now trying to protect the crew.
- Continuity Nod:
- An emergency Trill joining aboard a spaceship... now, where have we heard that before?
- In addition, Vos notes that in 2000 years, there's never been a successful joining between a symbiote and a non-Trill host. True enough, given that Riker's temporary joining with Odan almost got them both killed, which would hardly be considered successful.
- A Day in the Limelight: The opening log is from Culber for the first time in the series.
- Dinner and a Show: Saru organizes a dinner for the bridge crew in an attempt to demonstrate a sense of belonging after they've given up everything else. Instead, it only serves to bring the issues that they've been repressing to the surface, and everyone leaves very unhappy.
- Fantastic Racism: The Trill who greet Adira consider them an abomination for being a human joined with a symbiont. Fortunately, they accept them at the end.
- Flying Seafood Special: As Burnham and Adira walk to meet the Trill delegation, they pass by a pond where a fish leaps out of the water a couple times, then the third time stays above the water and flies off.
- Haiku: The bridge crew starts doing this at Saru's dinner, which unfortunately leads to Detmer's breakdown when Owosekun convinces her to participate and she keeps talking about Stamets' blood. Things snowball from there.
- Heroic BSoD: The one that Detmer's been building to for the past two episodes finally boils over. We see her struggling with it throughout the dinner, such as when she refuses to drink (alcoholic) wine during the toast.
- Honor Before Reason: The Trill have become insular after the Burn devastated their population. When Adira shows up, they're so freaked out by a human host that their leader would rather send them back than accept that non-Trill could be viable hosts.
- Irony: In the 24th Century, Trill hosts capable of joining outnumbered Trill symbiotes by a tremendous margin, to the point where the government officially claimed that the number of joining-capable hosts was far smaller in order to prevent internal strife and competition over symbiotes. During the Burn, the Trill population was decimated, particularly joining-capable hosts— now, there literally aren't enough hosts for all the symbiotes.
- Journey to the Center of the Mind: When Adira's communion with Tal goes wrong, Burnham has to go in after them to bring them back.
- Kneel Before Frodo: When Adira is accepted as the newest host of Tal, all the Trill in the cave cross their arms in front of their chests and bow to them.
- Mood Whiplash: During the flashback to Adira's final moments with Gray, they're sharing a tender moment over a homemade quilt— right before an asteroid hits.
- Nice Mean And In Between: Guardian Xi, Commissioner Vos, and Leader Pav, respectively. Xi sees the joining between Adira and Tal as a way to help both the symbiotes and Trill society, while Vos wants to forcibly excise Tal at the risk of Adira's life. Pav (who literally stands between them) refuses to forcibly separate Tal from Adira, but she does consider the joining an abomination.
- Previously on…: We're reminded of the events of the first three episodes of the season.
- The Reveal: Adira got the symbiote from their boyfriend Gray, a Trill who got it in turn from Admiral Senna Tal, and remembers the accident with Adira and Gray's shuttle that resulted in them getting it.
