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Posted in: Paramount+, Review, Star Trek, TV | Tagged: Callum Keith Rennie, david ajala, Elias Toufexis, Eve Harlow, Review, Sonequa Martin-Green, star trek, star trek: discovery
Star Trek: Discovery S05E05 Review: A Moll-L'ak Down Memory Lane
Eve Harlow and Elias Toufexis shine as we find out more about Star Trek: Discovery season five "villains" Moll & L'ak in "Mirrors."
Article Summary
- Eve Harlow and Elias Toufexis take the lead in exploring Moll & L'ak's past.
- Star Trek: Discovery encounters a wormhole echoing a classic Star Trek episode.
- Epic faceoff in "Mirrors" builds emotional depth for the "villains".
- Star Trek: Discovery streams Thursdays with fresh intrigue on Paramount+.
In this week's Star Trek: Discovery, we finally get the much-needed exposition from the final season's two "villain" characters, Moll (Eve Harlow) and L'ak (Elias Toufexis). The next length of the chase takes the U.S.S. Discovery to an unstable wormhole that's too small for a bigger ship to enter, so Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and her friend with benefits, Book (David Ajala), explore the anomaly. What they find is a giant Easter egg from Star Trek's past. The following contains minor spoilers.
Star Trek: Discovery: An Epic Faceoff with Flashbacks
Much to the protest of Burnham's first officer, Cmdr. Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie), the captain's pulling rank on the away mission to keep up on the trail of Moll and L'ak for herself (and Book). This largely regulates the remaining Discovery crew to a minor C-role of the episode as the story focuses on Burnham and Book's quest to get to the ISS Enterprise and meet with the fugitive duo.
As the story plays out, we learn much more about L'ak's origins and ties to TNG while we see Book doing more to reach out to Moll, given his direct relationship. Given the setup, "Mirrors" is driven by the four actors, but we finally see Harlow and Toufexis allowed to lead front and center when Discovery often plays things close to the chest. Directed by Jen McGowan and written by Johanna Lee and Carlos Cisco, the episode drew clear inspiration from the Star Trek: The Next Generation season six episode "Relics" and the problem Discovery finds itself in. We're also finally given a reason to care for the Shakespearean-esque star-crossed lovers of Moll and L'ak.
As much as Discovery and showrunner Michelle Paradise are set in their ways, I wish the series could do more to trickle humanity across the entire season than just dump it in a single episode. We're more told that Moll and L'ak are in love than shown and "Mirrors" is the first time we feel that. It provides a better balance in the narrative. There's also a bit of an awkward reset with Rennie's Rayner and the rest of the crew because his problem-solving style still doesn't mesh with his new crew. Easter eggs aside, Harlow and Toufexis shine in the episode, and it's a shame, given the wealth of species at Star Trek's disposal, that we still know so little about them and their worlds. Star Trek: Discovery streams on Thursdays on Paramount+
Star Trek: Discovery: Season 5 Episode 5: "Mirrors"
8/10
Probably the best episode of Star Trek: Discovery explores season five's "villains" in the episode "Mirrors" in the flashback-heavy driven episode with Eve Harlow and Elias Toufexis shining opposite Sonequa Martin-Green and David Ajala.
Credits
Director
Jen McGowan
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