'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 3 Episode 4 Review: Hugh Culber's compassion takes center stage with trip to Trill
Spoilers for 'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 3, Episode 4 - 'Journey to Trill'
Out of all of the 'Star Trek' television shows, it's 'Discovery' that has grown into being the one where the crew feels the most like family. There's a warmth there that breaks through the stiff, Starfleet formality that marks other shows, and while the crews of other starships through 'Star Trek' history may or may not be closer than the crew of 'Discovery' that wears their hears on their sleeves, and this episode was a prime example of that.
When it comes to the heart of the Discovery, you need look no farther than Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz), whose compassion takes center stage in the first half of this episode. The events of the past three episodes have been so whirlwind that the crew has not really had time to process just how much they've lost and left behind, a fact that has not escaped Culber. He sees how stressed they all are, and like the excellent medical officer he is, he lets his new Captain Saru (Doug Jones) know that while the crew is physically fine, that's not the same thing as healthy - leaving Saru to have to figure out a way to help his crew heal from their trauma.
That's not the only move that Culber makes, however, as he wisely recommends that Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) accompany new crew member Adira (Del Barrio) down to the planet of Trill as Adira seeks help in unlocking the memories storied in her Trill symbiont. While Burnham herself is still adjusting to life aboard the Discovery, Culber helps her see that Adira needs the kind of help that only Burnham can give.
As Adira processes her trauma to connect to her memories and recall her partner, Gray (Ian Alexander), Saru tries to connect with his crew by giving them a day off, and attempt a nice family dinner. Neither effort goes smoothly, but there's a reason for that - there's a lot of trauma that has remained unprocessed. There are a lot of people, with a lot of pride and fear, who can't begin to heal until they admit they're not fine.
The connection between the two storylines isn't overt, but it is strong. While not being entirely a downtime episode, this episode nonetheless puts the breaks on the search for the Federation and gives key characters time to process a lot of the trauma they've been going through. It's a deeply sentimental episode, and it rings sincere. The unfolding of Adira's story is, in particular, powerful and heartwarming - to say nothing of it being an important step forward for representation in the 'Star Trek' universe, naturalised in a way that not many shows do as easily.
With Season 3, 'Star Trek: Discovery' appears to have really hit its stride, finding out just what sets it apart from the rest of the 'Star Trek' universe. It's not the timelines, the strange rewriting of continuity, or even the gorgeously CGI effects that make the show one of the best-looking 'Star Trek' experiences week after week. What ties 'Discovery' together, more than any other 'Star Trek' media before it, is how much of a family the crew is, for all their faults and flaws.
The next episode of 'Star Trek: Discovery' airs November 12, on CBS All Access.
