Line #49 Recap/StarTrekDiscoveryS2E14SuchSweetSorrowPartTwo


1	''Enterprise'' and ''Discovery'' engage the Section 31 fleet to buy time for Burnham and ''Discovery'' to flee into the future.
2	----
3	!!Tropes in this episode:
4	* ArcWelding: Most, if not all, of the complaints about how ''Discovery'' allegedly violates canon are addressed before the end of the episode. Everything pertaining to ''Discovery'' and her crew, particularly the volatile topics of the spore drive, TimeTravel, and [[AIIsACrapshoot Control]], are declared ClassifiedInformation, while Section 31's screw-ups lead Starfleet to exert more oversight over it, with the implication that this is what causes the group to become the shadowy organization that it was introduced as in ''[=DS9=]''.
5	* ArtisticLicensePhysics: That [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin blast door]] to the briefing room aboard ''Enterprise'' must be MadeOfIndestructium indeed for Captain Pike to feel basically no effects from an armed photon torpedo (read: an uncontrolled [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill matter-antimatter explosion]]) going off mere meters away. Pike even ''watches the explosion'' through a transparent window in the blast door and doesn't even appear to be blinded, while Cornwell is [[HeroicSacrifice vaporized instantly]] on the other side. ''Some'' of this can be explained as the explosion taking the path of least resistance out into the vacuum of space, but it's pretty jarring when the ''Enterprise'' loses most of the forward quarter of her saucer section while Pike survives at what is essentially point-blank range.
6	* AttackDrone: Control's fleet deploys [[ZergRush great numbers]] of automated drones, countered by the tactical drones from ''Discovery'' and ''Enterprise''.
7	* BackToBackBadasses: ''Enterprise'' and ''Discovery'', along with their fighter craft squadrons, take great care to cover one another when surrounded by the Section 31 ships throughout the battle.
8	* TheBattlestar: ''Enterprise'' and ''Discovery'' each launch several entire squadrons of fighters, shuttles, and up-armed maintenance pods, while pounding away at the Section 31 ships and tanking hits with their shields to protect each other.
9	* BeamSpam: ''Enterprise'' and ''Discovery'' cut loose with multiple phaser volleys.
10	* BecauseDestinySaysSo:
11	** At the beginning of the previous episode, the time crystal gave Burnham a vision of the battle, with ''Enterprise'' being nailed by an undetonated photon torpedo, and Leland boarding ''Discovery'' and attacking the bridge crew. To prevent this, she hatches the "travel into the 32nd century" plan. Alas, once the plan is underway, everything that Burnham saw still comes to pass, and she has a brief HeroicBSOD over how she [[YouCantFightFate can't seem to change the future]]. Spock suggests that the reason that the crystal showed her that future was so that she could change it, getting her back on track.
12	** Subverted with Pike. He reasons that, because he ''knows'' what his future is, if he stays with the torpedo, it won't detonate with him present. Cornwell convinces him to leave by pointing out the hundreds of lives that he's risking if he's wrong.
13	* BigBadassBattleSequence: The Battle near Xahea is one of the largest in the franchise's history, involving squadrons of [[ZergRush small craft]] and dozens of [[TheBattlestar larger ones]] and lasting over 3/4 of the episode.
14	* BittersweetEnding:
15	** The crews of ''Discovery'' and ''Enterprise'' manage to prevent Control from getting its digital mitts on enough of the sphere data to evolve, and what's left of the rogue AI has been dismantled, rendering the BadFuture that Gabrielle Burnham arrived in as an averted AlternateTimeline. However, ''Discovery'' is stranded in the future with no way back to its own time and has been [[DeathFakedForYou falsely declared destroyed with no survivors]], so nobody stupid enough to search for the data will be able to find them.
16	** Spock only knows that Michael and the rest of the crew are safe because of the final red burst, knows he'll never see her again, and can never even speak of her because, well aware of how dangerous the sphere data is, he's ensured that anyone aware of what really happened to ''Discovery'' [[LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain is sworn to secrecy about the ship under penalty of treason]].
17	** Meanwhile, the oversight that Section 31 will now be subject to because of their literally near-apocalyptic screwup will likely cause backlash that probably makes them even more secretive by [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine the 24th century]]; on the subject of the 24th century, the Control shitstorm will probably contribute to discriminatory attitudes towards [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Data]] and [[Series/StarTrekVoyager the Doctor]]; and Starfleet has lost hundreds of people, including an entire starship crew and [[HeroicSacrifice a flag officer]], and revolutionary propulsion technology to the [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong phenomenally dumb decision]] to grant an AI created by an amoral-at-best black ops agency any authority on tactical decisions.
18	* BlatantLies: When [[InterrogationMontage Pike, Spock, Tyler, and Number One are debriefed after the battle]], they all claim that ''Discovery'' tried to spore-jump from the battle, but exploded. It's pretty obvious that they took the time to get their stories straight, and the admiral points out that it doesn't explain certain sensor readings.
19	* TheBusCameBack: The Klingon cleave ship returns for the first time since season 1's "Battle at the Binary Stars"[[note]]where it made its first appearance by ramming and destroying Admiral Anderson's flagship, the U.S.S. ''Europa''[[/note]].
20	* CallBack: Burnham's time-traveling includes multiple clips from the episodes in which the Red Bursts occurred.
21	* CallForward:
22	** The ''Enterprise'' losing much of the forward section of her primary hull is a close mirror for the ''Enterprise''-E losing her bow in ''Film/StarTrekNemesis'' (even though the causes are an explosion and [[RammingAlwaysWorks ramming]] respectively).
23	** The undetonated photon torpedo lodging itself in the hull of ''Enterprise'' and then exploding after a failed attempt to disarm it calls to mind a similar scene from the "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS4E8YearOfHell Year of Hell]]" in ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''.
24	* TheCavalry: A fleet of Klingon warships under L'Rell's command and Kelpien-controlled Ba'ul fighters led by Siranna arrive right when ''Discovery'' and ''Enterprise'' are on the ropes.
25	* CombatSadomasochist: When her ship takes a hit, L'Rell is slightly wounded, bleeding from the head. Her reaction is to start laughing at her failed attempt at a "bloodless chancellorship." Then she gives graphic encouragement regarding the sort of destruction that she expects her warriors to wreak on Control's ships.
26	-->'''L'Rell:''' ''(laughing)'' And I thought my chancellorship would be bloodless!\
27	'''Tyler:''' ''(to bridge officers)'' chaHDaq baH! Qangra' [=QIHqangwI=]'pu' tIQaw'! (Return fire! Destroy those who would harm your chancellor!)\
28	'''L'Rell:''' Day Soch yIja': [=DISqa=]'vIrIy Suvbogh qoq yo'Daq yIbaHrup! tugh mayIttaHvIS qIvDu'maj [=SIch=] jaghpu'ma' pIgh! (Tell the D-7 to target the drone fleet that attacks ''Discovery''! We will wade knee-deep through the ruin of our enemies!)
29	* ContinuityNod:
30	** The Starfleet regulation that Spock cites is the same one that the Department of Temporal Investigations cited to Captain Sisko in [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS05E06TrialsAndTribbleations "Trials and Tribble-ations"]].
31	** Two of Control's larger ships meet their end at the [[RammingAlwaysWorks prow of a cloaked Klingon Cleave Ship]], much as USS ''Europa'' did in the previous season.
32	** Saru quotes Sun Tzu, much to Georgiou's surprise. Over a year ago, Saru recognized another Sun Tzu quote by his own Georgiou.
33	* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Leland-Control dies by having the nanites in his body painfully ripped out of him by a magnetized floor.
34	* DamageControl: ''Enterprise'' deploys a number of DOT-7 drones to help repair the hull damage, while Tilly re-energizes ''Discovery''[='=]s DeflectorShields.
35	* DeathFakedForYou: Pike and his officers all ensure that ''Discovery'' is recorded as having been destroyed in battle.
36	* DentedIron: ''Enterprise'' has a large chunk of her saucer section destroyed during the battle, yet she's still flying under her own power and is fully repaired after four months in drydock.
37	* DiplomaticImpunity: Po invokes diplomatic immunity when Pike asks why she's flying a stolen shuttle in the middle of the battle, before explaining ''why'' she stole it in the first place.
38	* DynamicEntry: The Klingon fleet's arrival is heralded by a decloaking "cleave ship" slicing straight through one of the Section 31 vessels. This is followed by several Ba'ul fighters and D-7 battlecruisers coming in with guns blazing.
39	-->'''L'Rell:''' yo'Daq yIbaH. Hoch yIQaw'. (Fire on the armada. Destroy everything.)\
40	'''Weapons officer:''' lu', [=QangwI=]'. (Yes, my chancellor.)\
41	'''L'Rell:''' Heghlu'meH [=QaQ=] jajvam! (It is a good day to die!)\
42	'''All:''' Heghlu'meH [=QaQ=] jajvam!
43	* EnemyMine: L'Rell arrives with a fleet of Klingon warships, accompanied by Kelpien-controlled Ba'ul starfighters, to aid the Starfleet forces. L'Rell {{lampshades}} this by pointing out that she wouldn't consider the Kelpiens or Starfleet ''friends'', but nonetheless sees no problem with fighting to defend the Klingons' future.
44	-->'''Pike''': I see you brought some new friends!\
45	'''L'Rell:''' Not the term I would choose, Captain. However, the Klingon Empire will always fight to preserve our future.\
46	'''Pike:''' Works for me!
47	* EndingTheme: A mix of the ''Discovery'' theme with the soprano singer from [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries the original series]].
48	* EurekaMoment: When the Kelpiens accompany the Klingon Cleave Ship to the battle, Spock realizes the nature of the time loop that Burnham created and tells her how she needs to proceed.
49	* ExplosiveInstrumentation: As usual, sparks and debris fly all over the place on ''Discovery'' and ''Enterprise'' during the battle.
50	* FaceDeathWithDignity:
51	** After closing the blast door to protect the rest of the ''Enterprise'', Admiral Cornwell calmly stands and faces the torpedo before it detonates.
52	** Averted by Leland-Control, who dies screaming, having failed at his mission.
53	* TheFaceless: {{Downplayed}} with the admiral who debriefs Pike and his officers. His mouth and the back of his bald head are shown in close-ups, but not his eyes or any other features.
54	* GigglingVillain: Perhaps to remind the audience that she's not strictly a ''[[TokenEvilTeammate good]]'' [[EnemyMine guy]], Georgiou giggles happily to herself as she watches Leland-Control die screaming.
55	* GravityScrew: During Mirror-Georgiou and Nhan's fight with Leland-Control, the artificial gravity in the hallway fails, causing the gravity to shift wildly and send them sprawling over the walls and ceiling as they struggle to adapt.
56	* GunshipRescue: L'Rell shows up with the Klingon cleave ship and several D-7s in the middle of the battle, accompanied by a Ba'ul fighter wing piloted by Kelpiens led by Saru's sister Siranna.
57	* HeroicSacrifice: Admiral Cornwell manually seals a damaged blast door between the rest of ''Enterprise'' and an undetonated torpedo lodged in the forward saucer. The detonation still vaporizes a good chunk of the primary hull, but her sacrifice saves the rest of the ship.
58	* HesBack: After Spock spends the season SeriouslyScruffy and wearing civvies, the season ends with him clean-cut, clean-shaven, and wearing his blue Starfleet uniform.
59	* IKnowYouKnowIKnow: Leland-Control accurately predicts that Mirror-Georgiou has hidden the Sphere data in the spore drive control room and intercepts her there. However, Mirror-Georgiou knew that he would figure that out, and led him there on purpose in order to use the spore containment cell to kill him.
60	* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Downplayed. Stamets takes a piece of shrapnel in the chest as he, Spock, and Burnham rush the Red Angel suit down to the shuttlebay. Tilly and Lt. Nilsson have to bring Stamets to sickbay, where Dr. Culber takes over.
61	* KeystoneArmy: The entire Section 31 armada is unmanned and remotely controlled by Leland-Control. When Mirror-Georgiou kills him, all the ships go dormant, and Pike orders ''Enterprise'' to destroy the now inert drones to ensure that the AI cannot escape.
62	* LaymansTerms: After Detmer gives Number One an absurdly technical explanation of what they need to do to get Burnham to a safe point to open the wormhole.
63	-->'''Detmer:''' Commander Burnham needs to remain at the outermost radius of the battle at .0004 arc-seconds.\
64	'''Number One:''' In English, please. I can't blow a path through what you're saying.\
65	'''Detmer:''' Tight enough so none of the Section 31 ships get pulled into the future, loose enough so none of our guys get destroyed by the event horizon.
66	* LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain: As per Spock's recommendation, everyone with knowledge of ''Discovery'' and her true fate is ordered to never speak of it again under penalty of treason. This includes Sarek and Amanda, who agree to the restriction despite their diplomatic immunity.
67	* LovesTheSoundOfScreaming: Mirror-Georgiou's explicit goal in her confrontation with Leland-Control is to make him scream. When she finally succeeds, by trapping him in the spore drive's reaction chamber and magnetizing it to pull him apart, she watches while happily [[GigglingVillain giggling]].
68	* TheMainCharactersDoEverything:
69	** Admiral Cornwell and Number One ''both'' head belowdecks to the ''Enterprise'''s briefing room to try to defuse the photon torpedo lodged in it (instead of, say, a damage control team). Shortly thereafter, Captain Pike orders Number One back to the bridge and heads down himself to try to help Cornwell with the effort before the torpedo explodes. They do call for a [[BombDisposal munitions expert]] first, but due to the ongoing battle, there's nobody left who isn't already working elsewhere.
70	** Similarly, Chancellor L'Rell does not delegate the responsibility of sending reinforcements to assist the Starfleet forces fighting against Leland-Control, and instead arrives on the battlefield as a FrontlineGeneral in command of a warship (she even gets there ''before'' a fleet of Klingon D-7 battlecruisers can arrive). Given that Tyler is on the ship with her, this may have been a practical concern, since she faked his death and probably wouldn't reveal that deception to just anyone.
71	* MythologyGag:
72	** As ''Discovery'' passes into and through the wormhole, the view of her crew on the bridge starts exhibiting the same streaming "wormhole effect" visual that accompanied the refit ''Enterprise'''s flawed warp slipstream from ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'' (though without the slow-motion speaking, and thankfully no asteroids were pulled into the vessel's path).
73	** Intentional or not, the premise of the space battle serves as a CallForward to the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "Yesterday's Enterprise", where the starship ''Enterprise'' must protect another Federation starship from an attacking fleet so the other ship can travel through a temporal anomaly. While the TNG example had the ship traveling back in time to prevent a war with the Klingons, this episode has the ship traveling ''forward'' in time to prevent a war.
74	* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Leland-Control deals a lengthy one to both Mirror-Georgiou and Nhan; fortunately, they do their best to return the favour and keep him away from the rest of the crew.
75	* OnceMoreWithClarity: Spock realizes that the red signals that led ''Discovery'' on a season-long chase across the galaxy were Burnham's doing, to prepare for this battle, by setting up elements that would allow our heroes to win.
76	* PlotHole:
77	** In the previous episode, it was established that the time crystal in the Red Angel suit would burn out as soon as they used it to travel to the future. In this episode, before opening a wormhole to the future, Burnham is able to travel into the past five separate times in order to create the first five red bursts. After she and ''Discovery'' have arrived, she's able to go back one last time to create the final red burst. Spock's claim that it would "ultimately lead" to the time crystal burning out leaves some wiggle room, since Burnham moving herself through time would require far less power than moving an entire starship, but Burnham is still able to jump back and create the seventh signal as she intended.
78	** The previous representations of the seven red signals indicated that they came from several different places across the galaxy, spread over "thirty thousand" light-years. This episode changes that fact to show that the seventh signal came from the same location as the second one (Terralysium), and places them both 51,000 light-years away from Federation space (deep in the Beta Quadrant). Also, Burnham creates the sixth red burst while guiding ''Discovery'' through the wormhole, which shouldn't have been visible from the outside, and even if it was, ''Discovery'' and ''Enterprise'' were only about an hour at high warp away from Xahea, where the fifth signal occurred.
79	** The SFX doesn't jive with the dialogue. The Klingons consistently refer to "the D-7", as if talking about a single battlecruiser sent to aid in the battle, but a half-dozen D-7 battlecruisers are shown warping into the battlefield and wading into the fight.
80	** ''Discovery'' was fully evacuated in the previous episode -- said to be less than an hour prior to this -- and it was noted that only a skeleton crew would remain on board the vessel to guide her through the wormhole. Yet during the battle, the ship is at least as visibly crowded as it has normally been (Sickbay is particularly full of medical staff and injured crew), and early in the next season, Tilly will claim that there are 88 people onboard. Who they are, and the fact that they likewise were willing to volunteer for this mission, is never discussed -- and we can't even give the {{handwave}} that they're all {{Red Shirt}}s, because one of them is CMO Dr. Pollard.
81	* RammingAlwaysWorks: Justified, as the Klingon cleave ship appears to be built specifically to ram and destroy enemy vessels.
82	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: The admiral who debriefs Pike and his officers could have court-martialed them for hiding the truth; instead, he decides not to pursue the issue and instead agrees with Spock's recommendation to classify all data regarding ''Discovery'' and Control.
83	* RetroactivePreparation: Burnham goes back in time to create the pieces of the puzzle assembled to finally defeat Control.
84	* TheReveal: The first five signals were sent by Burnham during the battle, each one leading to an element that they would need to complete the mission. The sixth is generated by her as a beacon for ''Discovery'' to follow through the wormhole, and the seventh is sent from Terralysium four months after the battle so ''Enterprise'' knows that they made it there safely.
85	* SavedByCanon: Since trapping Spock in the future obviously isn't an option, his shuttle winds up disabled while he's protecting Burnham, and ''Discovery'' must keep her shields up to survive the trip through the wormhole, forcing ''Enterprise'' to beam him back.
86	* SaveThisPersonSaveTheWorld: The five previously-detected red bursts lead ''Discovery'' to the people and places that they need in order to win the battle.
87	** Jett Reno was stranded aboard the U.S.S. ''Hiawatha'', and has the NervesOfSteel to get the time crystal charged in time to escape Control's forces.
88	** Terralysium is Dr. Gabrielle Burnham's base of operations and a safe haven for ''Discovery'' to arrive in the future.
89	** The signal at Kaminar led the Kelpiens to evolve past ''vahar'ai'' and discover their true nature, in order to have the HeroicWillpower needed to join the battle and save ''Discovery'' and her crew.
90	** Boreth is the only place that Pike and ''Discovery'' could obtain a new time crystal to use in the Red Angel suit.
91	** Po on Xahea is the only person possessing the technology to charge the time crystal.
92	* ScottyTime: Defied; at the start of the episode, Burnham asks Reno if she can charge up the time crystal any quicker, but Reno retorts that it's only even charging as quickly as it is because she already bypassed the safeties, and that to go any faster would require violating the basic laws of physics.
93	* SecretKeeper: Members of the crew of ''Enterprise'', any left from ''Discovery'', Sarek, Amanda, Tyler, and a few others who know, lie and claim ''Discovery'' was destroyed in the battle, thus keeping it secret that it (and the Sphere data) escaped to the future.
94	* StableTimeLoop: Spock realizes that, before Burnham can go to the future from where it's assumed that she can never return, she has to first create the Red Bursts responsible for [[RetroactivePreparation putting together the pieces]] to allow for that moment of the present to take place. The only reason that Burnham knows where and when to send the first five signals from is that ''Discovery'' has already received them. Burnham didn't come up with this plan, time itself came up with this plan.
95	* TemptingFate: When Leland-Control demands that ''Discovery'' surrender the Sphere data, Mirror Georgiou points out that he's outnumbered 200 to 30. He responds by telling her to count again, and hundreds of drones peel off his ships, giving him numerical superiority in both capital vessels and fighters.
96	* ThrownOutTheAirlock: A pair of unfortunate {{redshirt}}s are blown out of a hull breach while Mirror-Georgiou and Nhan fight Leland-Control in a corridor aboard ''Discovery''.
97	* TimeForPlanB: And when ''that'' fails...
98	--> '''Una:''' Captain, plans A and B didn't work. We're now into the "Hail Mary" part of the operation.\
99	'''Pike:''' That's been just about everything today.
100	* TimeSkip: The final part of the episode takes place 124 days (roughly four months) after the battle. ''Enterprise'' has been repaired, Pike and his officers have been debriefed, all information regarding ''Discovery'' and Control has been classified and/or destroyed, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Spock has shaved his beard]].
101	* TravellingAtTheSpeedOfPlot: Ash Tyler manages to get to Klingon space (presumably via shuttle), convince Chancellor L'Rell to commit her cleave ship and D-7s to the battle, hook up with a wing of Kelpien-controlled Ba'ul fighter craft, and return to the scene of the battle in practically no time at all to pull a GunshipRescue of ''Discovery'' and ''Enterprise''.
102	* {{Unperson}}: To prevent any possible resurgence of Control, Spock suggests that all knowledge of ''Discovery'', her crew, and her mission be scrubbed from all records, and any mention of any of it be considered treason.
103	* TheUnreveal:
104	** We don't see any details of where or when ''Discovery'' emerges into the future, so as to leave a SequelHook to the third season. By extension, this also means that the lead-up to the events of "[[Recap/StarTrekDiscoveryShortTreksE02Calypso Calypso]]" remains unexplained, as the near-immaculate state of the ship in that short episode (after a thousand years of abandonment) is inconsistent with her heavy battle damage prior to escaping into the future.
105	** In addition, Mirror-Georgiou is last seen down in ''Discovery'''s engineering section, immediately after killing Leland-Control in the spore reaction chamber, suggesting that she's going to the future with everyone else. There is no indication how this lines up with Creator/MichelleYeoh's already-announced starring role as Georgiou in the upcoming Section 31 spinoff series. (This ends up being resolved in a later episode.)
106	** There is no mention of how Siranna and her Kelpien cohorts were able to get control of a Ba'ul fighter squadron, as when both societies were last encountered, they were still deep into an extremely tense standoff. Either the Kelpiens stole and commandeered the fighter squadron, or were granted permission to use them, or they rebuilt the fighters themselves from spare parts and/or wreckage.
107	* VerbalBackspace: Reno, after she realizes that her biting remark was directed at a superior officer.
108	-->'''Saru:''' Hurry!\
109	'''Reno:''' I'm going, I'm going! Get off my ass! ''[beat]'' [[LastSecondTermOfRespect Sir]]! Get off my ass, ''sir''!
110	* WhamEpisode: ''Discovery'' and her crew is sent on a OneWayTrip into the distant future, Section 31 is under new management, and Admiral Cornwell is killed saving the ''Enterprise''. It seems very likely that NothingIsTheSameAnymore from [[ReTool this point forward]] on the show.
111	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
112	** Nhan and Georgiou are not seen after their final scenes, which was particularly enticing to viewers in the latter's case due to her SpinOff series. However, both appear in the next season.
113	** Stamets is left in a medically-induced coma as Dr. Culber fights to save his life.
114	** Also {{inverted}}: while the vast majority of ''Discovery''[='s=] 88 crewmembers were written out of the show at the end of last episode, every single one of them appears to have returned to duty during this one, and indeed are mentioned at the beginning of the next season.
115	* YouAreInCommandNow: With Leland dead and Georgiou thrown into the future (and therefore declared dead), Tyler becomes acting head of Section 31. The admiral who debriefs him makes it official.
116	* ZergRush: Control's fleet is composed of 31 capital ships and hundreds of drones, many of which perform kamikaze attacks.

Context Recap / StarTrekDiscoveryS2E14SuchSweetSorrowPartTwo