Posted in: Paramount+, Review, Star Trek, TV | Tagged: Blu del Barrio, Callum Keith Rennie, doug jones, Ian Alexander, paramount, star trek, star trek: discovery, Tara Rosling, Wilson Cruz

Star Trek: Discovery S05E03 Thoughts: Burnham's Trouble with Trills

Star Trek: Discovery ends up back on Trill as the series' farewell tour continues with surprise dangers as Rayner acclimates to the crew.

The next stop on the Star Trek: Discovery farewell tour is Trill in the episode "Jinaal." Despite prior history, the Trill make Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) answer a riddle for the plot, not because they're friends or anything. With the away team set, Adira (Blu Del Barrio) reunites with their old flame, finding out things aren't what they seem. Meanwhile, the next key to the puzzle falls within a former Trill host so Dr. Culber (Wilson Cruz) volunteers himself as bait and host. The other arcs involve Saru (Doug Jones) accepting his new role as an ambassador with his partner Ni'Var President T'Rina (Tara Rosling) and being provisionally demoted, now first officer Commander Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) trying to get the jump on the movements of Moll (Eve Harlow) and L'ak (Elias Toufexis). In contrast, Tilly (Mary Wiseman) tries with futility to organize a crew orientation with him.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 'Jinall' is a Bit of a Mixed Bag

What stood out in this episode was Cruz and Rennie's performances. There's such a relaxed and organic way Cruz's Trill alter ego in the face of the neuroticism and chaos that await them. The threats ahead are atypical and on par with the series, propping up most of the excitement of the episode. Meanwhile, Rennie continues his no-nonsense attitude as his stricter ways rub Tilly the wrong way when he requests only five minutes each to know his crew. It's a fun and awkward sequence to show the series can adapt when it comes to contrasting personalities, and having everyone sound the same tonally gets bland after a while. It's also not a formula that's always easy to pull off because it's so easy to fall into predictable cliches.

Rayner is not there to make friends, nor should he, because he's so driven by purpose and fulfilling his duty, not to mention that outside-the-box thinking has generally served the crew and, by extension, the franchise well. Directed by Andi Armaganian and written by Kyle Jarrow & Lauren Wilkinson, "Jinall" is a little of a letdown given how many subarcs are needed to fill the time and its predictability, with Cruz and Rennie being the episode highlights. Star Trek: Discovery streams on Thursdays on Paramount+.

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