It’s not that the tardigrade was a bad idea - it’s one of the more inventive Star Trek aliens - but what did the serialized spread do for it? Wrapped in a neat bow by the end of “Choose Your Pain,” it’s hard to see why it was worth all the effort. In its totality, the tardigrade dilemma sprawled over three episodes with an ethical question that anyone in Starfleet could answer - don’t torture animals. Saru and Starfleet eventually did the right thing, but the decision doesn’t feel so agonizing when the solution comes so easily. A workaround is discovered in time to save Lorca and the tardigrade is set free to continue exploring the universe all by its lonesome. The tardigrade shrivels and curls into a useless ball - a convenient “cryptobiosis” that requires finding another solution without having to make any hard decisions. Unfortunately, Discovery takes the easy way out of the conflict. So does his anger at Burnham’s duplicity and condescending suggestion that his species’ characteristics have impaired his judgment on the issue. And it makes sense that Saru, operating from the bridge, wouldn’t see the effects the spore drive has on the tardigrade. Saru conflict works really well here too. The choice for Saru is easy: let’s save Lorca first and worry about theoretical tardigrade agony later.Ĭonsistently one of the strongest relationships in the show, the Burnham vs. Only the spore drive equipped Discovery, complete with its tardigrade torture chamber, can make the jump behind enemy lines. Saru, already suspicious of any move Burnham makes onboard (threat ganglia on alert), has additional incentive to ignore the tardigrade’s pain when Lorca’s shuttle is captured by Klingons. Many onboard are easily convinced - maybe the damn thing’s screams of agony were their first clue - but it’s Saru, left in charge while Captain Lorca meets with the Starfleet admirals, that Burnham must convince. “Choose Your Pain” opens with Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) looking to convince the Discovery’s crew that their use of the spore drive is hurting the tardigrade (whose mycelial DNA is necessary for navigation). With well-drawn distinctions and conflicts, the script is marginally better and no one does anything as stupid as Commander Ellen Landry. In most ways, “Choose Your Pain” is better than last week’s clumsy “The Butcher’s Knife Cares Not for the Lamb’s Cry.” The characters are starting to come into their own. The torture drive is one of the more outrageous narrative choices made on Star Trek: Discovery so far, but in the series’ fifth episode, “Choose Your Pain,” the tardigrade’s story ends with a fizzle - the first indication that Discovery’s big experiment, complete serialization, may never pay out enough to outweigh the heavy narrative cost. Even more awful, by the beginning of Star Trek: Discovery Episode 5, “Choose Your Pain,” it’s become a vital part of the war effort. Starfleet built a spore-powered warp drive that works by torturing an animal.
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