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Posted in: Review, Star Trek, streaming, TV | Tagged: Anthony Rapp, Callum Keith Rennie, paramount, Review, Sonequa Martin-Green, star trek: discovery, tig notaro
Star Trek: Discovery: S05E04 Review: Let's Do the Time Warp Again!
Star Trek: Discovery S05E04: "Face the Strange" offers a fun temporal ride with Sonequa Martin-Green & Callum Keith Rennie as the standouts.
Article Summary
- "Face the Strange" pairs Burnham and Rayner in a Dickensian time warp adventure.
- Sonequa Martin-Green and Callum Keith Rennie shine with strong chemistry.
- Bottle episode nods to Discovery's past while focusing on character growth.
- Classic Trek temporal crisis delivers laughs with Stamets and Reno banter.
This week's Star Trek: Discovery has a Charles Dickens-like feel as the series takes a pseudo trip down memory and what might be to come as Capt. Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), her chief engineer Cmdr. Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp), and her new first officer, Cmdr. Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) is in a bottle-type episode where they're stuck in persistent time travel in a non-serial-type crisis in the episode "Face the Strange."
Star Trek: Discovery: Burnham, Stamets, and Rayner in a Temporal Crisis
The events directly follow the previous episode, "Jinaal," where Moll (Eve Harlow) slips a spider-type trap on Discovery to slow them down. She and L'ak (Elias Toufexis) remind us how cruel they can be when they murder a trading partner attempting to double-cross them. As Discovery travels through warp, Rayner is far from meshing with his new crew, stubbornly set in his ways. Just as his captain attempts to provide a pep talk in her ready room, abusing their 32nd-century personal transport tech because heaven forbid people walk anymore. The plot is set in motion as the two start jumping at random points in time.
Burnham and Rayner put aside their differences to orient themselves to the times they're in. Now the episode is careful to pick specific points in Discovery's history to not sound like some random clip show. If you're expecting Michelle Yeoh, Janet Kidder, or Jason Isaacs, you're going to be disappointed. Directed by Lee Rose (Wild Cards, Reginald the Vampire) and written by Sean Cochran, "Face the Strange", as odd a title as it sounds, does a commendable job for Martin-Green and Rennie's characters because it demonstrates how much room for growth both characters still have where it doesn't compromises either's core principles.
As a bottle episode, everyone is given minimal to do, but get your expected contributions from the bridge crew and entertaining exchanges between Rapp's Stamets and Tig Notaro's Reno. Martin-Green and Rennie have wonderful chemistry together. It's almost a shame it's Discovery's final season and I doubt if Rayner survives, we'll see him again in another adventure. Even as a filler episode, and it doesn't dramatically move the story forward, it's an invaluable exposition and a rare nod to Discovery's own past. Star Trek: Discovery streams on Thursdays on Paramount+.
Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Episode 4: "Face the Strange"
7.5/10
Star Trek: Discovery episode "Face the Strange" provided that much needed rapport between established Captain Michael Burnham and first officer Cmdr. Rayner. Sonequa Martin-Green and new cast addition Callum Keith Rennie knock it out of the park working together in and focusing on the issue whereas perhaps the previous seasons might spent more time butting heads amidst the chaos.
Credits
Director
Lee Rose
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