It’s a good bonding moment entirely sold by the actors performing their roles with the addition of guilty impressions on Burnham and Rillak’s faces because they know about the danger to Earth. There is some attempt to force an emotional connection to the threat of death through the bridge crew having an inspiring moment of solidarity where they talk about where on Earth they will go when the crisis is over and what they will do when they get there. Visually the show is as impressive as always with the barrier itself looking particularly monstrous and imposing.
This is a trap that Star Trek stories often fell into in the past so it’s disappointing to see it deployed so liberally here. Ultimately it boils down to some technobabble, promises of destruction if the technobabble doesn’t work, impressive effects shots and then the solution. The clear intent is for the dramatic heft to be found in the tight timeline how the characters keep their minds on the task at hand in spite of their awareness of it but since only Burnham and Rillak have the information for most of the episode that doesn’t come across. What doesn’t help is that both the problem and the solution consist of empty technobabble that carries no dramatic weight on its own. So much time is spent on the immediate problem of leaving the galaxy that the threat of the DMA feels very far away. Unfortunately that urgency doesn’t come across in what the episode delivers. It’s a defined timescale with failure spelling devastating consequences for most of the characters the audience are invested in. This establishes that Discovery has to make First Contact with the enigmatic Species 10-C and convince them to turn off the DMA before it forces most of the characters to experience what Book has. That’s definitely not the case here which makes it stands out even more when a tight timescale is established with Vance’s communication about the DMA being a few days away from Earth, Ni’Var and basically everywhere else important to most of the main or recurring characters on the show.
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