STAR TREK: DISCOVERY
SEASON 1, EPISODE 15
SEASON 1, EPISODE 15
Will You Take My Hand?
Series: Star Trek: Discovery - (2017 - 2024)Season: 1
Episode #: 15
Original Airdate: February 11th, 2018
Writer(s): Akiva Goldsman, Gretchen J. Berg, and Aaron Harberts
Director(s): Akiva Goldsman
Guest Stars
Michelle Yeoh as Emperor Philippa Georgiou
Mia Kirshner as Amanda Grayson
Jayne Brook as Vice Admiral Katrina Cornwell
Mary Chieffo as L'Rell
James Frain as Sarek
Clint Howard as Orion Male
Michael Ayers as Transport Officer
Matthew Binkley as Shavo
Emily Coutts as Keyla Detmer
Riley Gilchrist as Admiral Shukar
Anthony Grant as Er'toom
Julianne Grossman as Discovery Computer
Harry Judge as Admiral Gorch
Morgan Kohan as Weapons Trader
Patrick Kwok-Choon as Rhys
Crystal Leger as Klingon Player #2
Clare McConnell as Dennas
Damon Runyan as Ujilli
Sara Mitich as Airiam
Oyin Oladejo as Joann Owosekun
Ronnie Rowe Jr. as Bryce
David Benjamin Tomlinson as Klingon Player #1
Bree Wasylenko as Shava
Stardate: Unknown
Synopsis
With “Captain” Georgiou now in charge of Discovery, the bridge is being run very differently: militaristically, with the intent to strike a deadly blow at the heart of the Klingon Empire. The bridge officers are, one-by-one, put in their place by Georgiou, who sets the tone for the mission. Georgiou goes a step further out of the crew's comfort zone by brutally beating the imprisoned L'Rell in an attempt to torture the information of a possible access point to the caves on Qo'noS; one that would allow a drone to map the whole planet. Burnham's declaration of "there's another way" leads Georgiou to Tyler/Voq, where the Captain is skeptical that he'll be of any use. Fortunately, Tyler/Voq does possess – and provide - the necessary surface layout of Qo'noS, indicating that the best entry point would be at an old temple underneath an Orion embassy and trade outpost.
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Georgiou, Burnham, Tilly and Tyler head to the surface, under the guise of human arms traders, in an attempt to locate the temple entrance. Georgiou decides to seek information within the confines of an Orion brothel while Tilly is left to stand guard and Tyler and Burnham go into the gambling hall. Tilly immediately panics and huffs on an Orion drug that is proffered to her, promptly rendering herself unconscious. Meanwhile, Burnham has a flashback to her abuse as Tyler aggressively plays a Klingon gambling game. As Tilly awakens, she finds the man who drugged her slowly cutting her valuables from her person. Offering no resistance, he volunteers information about the volcanic activity of this region and allows Tilly to grab the cutter from his hands, which she then uses it to investigate the drone box that she had been carrying. Unfortunately, upon opening it, the true contents are revealed -- a hydro-bomb.
Tilly quickly puts the pieces together, and realizes that the hydro-bomb plus an active volcano will yield a life-destroying catastrophe that will have dire consequences for the entire planet of Qo’noS. Tilly calls Burnham to warn her, and gets just enough information out before Georgiou returns, knocking Tilly out with a single blow. Georgiou then heads for the temple and deploys the bomb into a subterranean cave.
Back on Discovery, Burnham takes her case directly to Admiral Cornwell, who reminds everyone, lest they forgot, that the Federation is about to go extinct. After arguing back and forth about principles and what it means to be in Starfleet, Burnham convinces the Admiral into an alternate, risky plan - one that involves their Klingon prisoner. The plan would set L'Rell to fill the power vacuum since the deaths of T'Kuvma and, later, Kol. Tyler helps to convince L’Rell to assist with the plan, reminding her of who Voq was. After L’Rell agrees, Burnham beams back down to the surface and ultimately convinces Georgiou to relinquish the detonator in exchange for her freedom. Reluctantly, she agrees. The detonator is then encoded to L’Rell’s bio-prints, which prevents anyone else from exploding the bomb that is now lodged deep within Qo’noS.
Burnham and Tyler, in the aftermath, say their goodbyes, as Tyler chooses to go with L'Rell, to try and make a positive difference in the galaxy. L'Rell makes her pitch, to the laughter of the remaining Klingons. But when she holds the detonator to the bomb that could lead to the destruction of Qo’noS, and makes her demands, the tide turns, and the other Klingons offer no resistance. Hundreds of light years away, the Klingon fleet withdraws from the Sol system, and the war between the Federation and Klingon Empire ends.
With peace now restored to the Federation, Burnham reunites with her adoptive parents, and has her Commander rank restored, as she is officially pardoned by the Federation. She makes a grand speech about the ideals of Starfleet, about not giving into fear, about adhering to your principles even when the outcome is uncertain. Tilly, Stamets, Culber (posthumously), and Saru are all honored by the Federation. Finally, they all board Discovery again, and warp towards Vulcan to pick up their new, as yet unnamed, captain. En route, they intercept a garbled distress call for help. Dropping out of warp, they hail the unknown vessel. After clearing up the interference in the distress call, they determine that it is coming from Captain Christopher Pike, commanding officer of the USS Enterprise, NCC-1701.
Trailer
Posters courtesy of Laz Marquez and J.J. Lendl
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