The Sounds of Thunder is an okay episode ofStar Trek: Discovery.
The Baul are faceless techno-freaks who rule with advanced weaponry and omniscient surveillance devices.
Sarus race, the Kelpians, are super-chill, earthy spiritualists tending peaceful gardens near crimson-sanded coastal real estate.
Michael Gibson/CBS
And Sounds of Thunder goes the extra half-mile to complicate our understanding of this dynamic.
In the distant past, Baul were nearly hunted to extinction by tyrannical Kelpians.
The episode, written by Bo Yeon Kim and Erika Lippoldt, also benefits from the focus on Saru.
Jones performance exudes low-key whimsy on a TV series thats full of uber-dramatic aggro action.
His return home has moments of poignance.
(His father is dead, culled by the Baul.)
So the main character and the main setting are both torn in two directions: cool!
But Saru is experiencing personality changes after the loss of his threat ganglia.
Hes fearless, and also maybe superstrong.
Sounds of Thunder whiffs toward sending this cerebral fussbudget on aRAMPAGE!!!!
Hes talking back to Pike.
Saru Goes Bad could be a compelling plotline, maybe.
Hes talking about aggressive revolution, starts firing sharptooth daggers out of his gangliatic region.
Great Scott, arent these the same murderous instincts that made his people tyrants generations ago?
ButDiscocant quite own this episodes best idea.
Sarus rebellious fervor simmers.
And then the Baul initiate a genocide unit so much for moral ambiguity.
This leads to a brewing internal conflict betweenDiscoveryand Section 31.
What are the odds?
Im beginning to love Mounts sturdy performance, and he put a deadpan spin on that line.
Who is the Red Angel?
is the questionDiscowants us to start asking.
But right now, the potential answers are not so intriguing.
Its a time-traveling being pursuing its own agenda.
Adding Spock toDiscohas been a disaster for Michaels role in the show, entrapping her in tangled backstory.
Still, I like The Sounds of Thunder for one simple reason: THERE IS SO MUCH AIRIAM.
Multiple lines for Hannah Cheesmans savvy starbot!
Thousands of years worth of statistical measurements.
Airiam is, apparently, a Very Effective Alien Officer, cutting months off the spheroid data dump.
Can Airiam be the Red Angel?
