Star Trek: Discovery 5×04 “Face the Strange” brings us a classic Trek trope, learning to connect and communicate, and learning how to face down our past. It’s a bumpy ride, complete with a creepy time bug! Tap that personal transporter, and let’s dig into our review of Star Trek: Discovery 5×04 “Face the Strange.”
Time is Bugging Out!
Star Trek: Discovery 5×04 “Face the Strange” gives us a pointed little throwback to Star Trek: Voyager with the Krenim Chronophage, aka “Time Bug.” In case you need a refresher, the Krenim are a technologically advanced humanoid species that Janeway and the crew of Voyager encounter in episodes 3×21 “Beyond and After,” 4×08 “Year of Hell,” and 4×09 “Year of Hell, Part II.” The idea of any Krenim tech that can mess with time like that legitimately makes me ill and fills me with dread. Which for the most part, is how I felt watching Star Trek: Discovery 5×04 “Face the Strange.”
To be clear, I don’t mean that pejoratively. The feeling of being trapped in an impossible time loop with minimal hope of escape should make the viewer feel dread. Star Trek: Discovery 5×04 “Face the Strange” is very effective in that way. Plus, the whole thing is hinged on a creepy, transparent time spider that can send you through time and leave you who knows when?! *shudders* It’s a fearful prospect and Michael, Rayner, and Stamets all handle the situation well, and I give them props for that. I don’t know that I could have kept a cool head. But speaking of handling yourself well, let’s talk about what that means in a literal sense in Star Trek: Discovery 5×04 “Face the Strange.”
Facing Your Past (Self)
As we grow and change, it can be difficult to reconcile who we are now and who we used to be. Star Trek: Discovery 5×04 “Face the Strange” forces Michael and Stamets to do that in a very literal sense. Stamets doesn’t have a literal face-off with himself, but he is forced to remember that he used to be a rather surly fellow. He is irritable and short with his coworkers, and a little self-obsessed. Admittedly, I found Paul to be abrasive in the early seasons of Discovery.
Paul now finds his earlier self to be abrasive too, and it’s painful to look back. However, it’s played for laughs in Star Trek: Discovery 5×04 “Face the Strange.” “Alright, I am very grumpy! I am absolutely irate and I need to be left alone!” while funny, is a stark contrast to who Paul is today. Paul seems to be a bit embarrassed of his past self, while also being proud of how far he’s come.
Michael, on the other hand, must literally face her past self. Michael not only has to fight down the feelings of hopelessness and despair her younger self feels, but also has to defeat herself and those feelings to succeed in her mission. Further, the way she speaks kindness to herself in her defeat is emotionally poignant.
While I am no counselor nor do I have a counseling degree, I do know that in counseling, a counselor might ask you to think about what you might say to your younger self. How would you encourage yourself or speak truth into your own life? What drives Michael more than anything in this scenario is her hope. Hope is what keeps us going when there is no other logical reason to keep moving forward. It’s that hope that saved Michael and brought her to where she is today. It is the blessing of hope she leaves with her younger self. Facing our past helps us to understand how to move forward.
Connection is a Choice
Michael and Gray both said in last week’s episode Star Trek: Discovery 5×03 “Jinaal,” that connection is a choice. Rayner choosing to make connections and to share more personal details about his life in Star Trek: Discovery 5×04 “Face the Strange” works gorgeously. It’s nice when a gruff guy like that puts down the old battle axe and uses something other than fisticuffs to get the job done.
Rayner recognizes his gruffness can be hurtful, and changes his attitude to help Stamets. He connects with Rhys over his love of 23rd-century ships, specifically the Crossfield. But most poignantly, he shares with younger Michael that he too lost his family young. That was an unexpected and intimate detail. Those personal connections save the day in Star Trek: Discovery 5×04 “Face the Strange.” Choosing to connect matters. It’s a theme we’ve seen present throughout Star Trek: Discovery’s entire run, and it’s one I’m sure we’ll see more of as the series comes to a close.
Final Thoughts
Star Trek: Discovery 5×04 “Face the Strange” is nearly a bottle episode, save for the opening scene with Moll and L’ak. We don’t get bottle episodes often in modern Star Trek, so it’s fun when we do. We get these great character moments with Michael and Rayner connecting with the crew in different ways, which is par for the course in a bottle episode. It was also nice to Airiam again, even in a bittersweet sort of way. I appreciate the humor of “SPORE LEAK!” and also more Jett Reno. “Are you stuck in a time loop?” Does she know? Is she just messing with Stamets? Someone should ask Tig her thoughts on the matter.
Before I close, I would be remiss if I failed to mention the brief, but poignant scene between Michael and Book during one of the time jumps. It says much with a little. First up, we have shirtless David Ajala which is wildly distracting for Michael and anyone with eyes. The attraction is obviously still there. That kiss is not played up for purposes of deception; it is real and it is hot. But it’s much more than just physical attraction. The “I love you” is sincere, earnest, and felt with the passion of a million fiery suns. I need Michael and Book to make up like yesterday. I hope we don’t have to wait too long for them to work things out. As Rayner says, “Stubborn, but in a different way.” Let’s hope that stubbornness doesn’t take too long to work itself out.
What do you think of Star Trek: Discovery 5×04 “Face the Strange”? Leave me a comment and let’s talk Trek.
The next episode of Star Trek: Discovery will air on April 25, 2024, on Paramount+.
