DISCO S1E4 "The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry" Review by AnswerMan

Horrible:Meh:Adequate:Good:Fantastic

Reviewing this series is very different from reviewing any other Trek show, and I think I've pinned down exactly why. In a serial like this, where every episode is a cliffhanger, you're left more with thoughts about what is going to happen next than reflections of what already occurred. What eventually goes wrong with the spore drive? How does Burnham end up in charge? Is Lorca a good guy or a bad guy? These are the exciting things about the episode, and yet...they're not really about the episode at all, are they? I'm beginning to think that perhaps I'm going about this all wrong. Perhaps I should watch the entire season, and then go back and review each episode within the context of knowledge that I would possess at that time. After all, this is how I review the other series, since I've already seen them all. But I don't want to get too far behind, so we'll see...



In this episode, a couple of questions that we were wondering are answered right away. For one, everyone knows about the spore drive, it's no secret. We discover this as Lorca is preparing the crew to use it by running battle simulations on the bridge. We also learn why Lorca beamed that awful monster on board. He actually has no clue what it is, but since it is so badass, he wants to see if they can use it (or its parts) against the Klingons in any way. He puts Burnham in charge of this. She becomes convinced that the thing is friendly, and that since it did not invade the old ship, it must have been somehow a part of the crew. In a conversation with Landry, a very obvious parallel between the creature and Burnham is made as Burnham scolds Landry for judging the creature based on one single act from its past, when its biology suggests that it would only act out in self defense. Landry is displeased with her slow speed of progress and decides to just let the thing out and hack its foot off. It eats Landry, which was kind of satisfying to watch, since she was such a horrible bitch. Burnham takes a different approach and befriends the thing. She was right, it's not so mean, and actually its connectedness with the universe and the spores is apparently what the other ship was using to navigate its spore drive. Which....why didn't they already know this. I realize the two ships were working somewhat independently, but it was the same project. For one to be on a track that is that far away from the other just seems unlikely.

Anyway, they figure this all out just in time, since the Klingons are destroying Star Fleet's main source of dilithium, and the only ship that can get there in time to save the mine is one that can appear anywhere in the universe at will. They make this happen, using the creature.

Meanwhile, on board T'Kuvma's old ship, everyone is starving. Voq makes an interesting appeal that in the name of T'Kuvma, the Klingons will resist assimilation. This draws another obvious parallel between how the Klingons view the expansion of the Federation as just as evil a thing as we view the Borg. To not "remain Klingon" is to be assimilated. It's interesting, and again shows us a sympathetic side to the Klingon attack. I would like them even more, however, if they didn't speak in such garbled tones. I hope that when they begin interacting with humans they drop this whole muffled subtitle approach altogether. The albino and his new main squeeze go back to the Shenzhou to retrieve its dilithium processor, while his ship is being taken over by the leader of the house of Kor. Voq's reign is over, and he is relegated to try to churn out an existence on the mostly destroyed Shenzhou.

We have some more decent character development here. The ethical dilemma that Stamets is having while watching his technology be used for war is interesting to watch play out. Lorca makes it clear to him that he is now on a warship, not a science vessel, and that Star Fleet has appropriated his technology for the war effort. He then asks if he wants his name put alongside of the Wright brothers, Elon Musk, and Zephram Cochrane or not. Elon Musk? Really? I rolled my eyes.

The daring rescue of the dilithium mine is a success, with the only casualty an extremely exhausted monster navigator. It's clear that the spore drive takes everything out of the creature. Perhaps this is the downfall of the drive? Like any Adequate serial, "The Buther's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry" leaves us with questions, and wanting more. Will Voq somehow end up back in charge of the Klingon movement? Will the spore drive kill the creature, and if so where can they get another one? By the way, maybe I'm dense, but I just can't figure out that title.....

Published Oct 22, 2017