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Reviews
Y: The Last Man: Neil (2021)
Yorick is supposed to be less than likeable
I have seen a couple of reviews berating the character of Yorick, but they are missing the point (which was also true of some early reviews of the source material). Unlike many other graphic novels or TV series, the central character* is not a saviour, reluctant or otherwise, and he is not going to immediately pick up the gauntlet. This just makes the premise more interesting - what if the whole human race was doomed to extinction, and the only instrument of avoiding that outcome was a selfish loser?
* I use the phrase "central character" loosely - Yorick is clearly central to the plot, but at this stage he is more of a plot device and the momentum of the story is primarily driven by the other characters around him.
Star Trek: Discovery: Unification III (2020)
As someone who likes the show, this episode was painful.
I think this is my first review in roughly 18 years of using iMDB... I am usually pretty live and let live about shows, never understood the hardline hater approach that some people take to sequels, prequels and spin offs. I like or I dislike, but never get bogged down and always approach the next thing on its own merits.
As such I always liked Discovery. Yes, there were continuity gripes that mildly irritated, but I could see past them and look at the bigger picture. And I really thought that season 3 seemed like a turning point, a new future where I they could do whatever they wanted without fear of tying themselves in knots. And so far, I have loved it... until this episode.
The title was my first point of concern. "Unification" was an intriguing 2-parter in TNG, that both brought up and quelled some continuity issues of that era. To name this episode as a direct continuation was bold, but in my mind a mistake, a dilution of the predecessors. But then there were two significant plot points that stretched the credulity of this episode to breaking point.
SPOILERS FOLLOW: The decision of Captain Saru to make Ensign Tilly his new acting First Officer was completely left field, and frankly absurd. I like Tilly, I think she is a breath of fresh air from the usual Starfleet tropes, but there is nothing about her that suggests that any Captain would choose her as their second in command. Of course, the coming episodes may write her character in such a way that she steps up and finds her inner "Number One".... but to do that they likely need to seriously dilute what made Tilly such a refreshing character in the first place. Surely there were others on board who were more naturally suited to the role? Nahn is unfortunately gone, and Stamets may be too obvious... but Owo could have been a very solid and dependable traditional Starfleet choice, whereas Detmer would have been really interesting - at face value a strong and composed officer, but with those recent flashes of uncertainty.
And then they brought in Burnham's advocate... wow. The personalisation of story threads to Michael Burnham was already stretching credulity, coming across like a Trek effort to rival the Skywalker-centric Star Wars, but to bring "mom" back like this? I could have just about handled the expected descendant of Spock, turning up and calling Burnham "aunty", but this? The actress did a great job in the court scene, appearing to be attacking her own "client" whilst actually building her up, but why did it have to be that character? And now that door is open, who next? Will Harry Mudd turn up again? Maybe Captain Archer makes a quantum leap to the future for a chinwag? An appearance by Q is theoretically possible, but... please don't.
I really hope this is just a blip in a show I look forward to watching each week. I like the characters, old and new (although I found the previous platonic friendship with Book more refreshing, before it became "oh, this is her new boyfriend") and I am genuinely interested to see how the mystery plays out. And, being the completist I am, I will likely watch the show however turgid it may become. But I really, really hope they shed their reliance on past trek and boldly go where they have never (or at least rarely) been before....