Star Trek: Discovery Review: Su’Kal (Season 3 Episode 11)
After investigating the cause of the Burn all season, Discovery finds a shocking answer on Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 11, “Su’Kal.”
Discovery decides to go on a rescue mission after finding a life sign on the stranded Federation ship that sent a distress signal. It turns out Saru has known all along that Dr. Issa the Kelpien in the video is pregnant, and so it must be her child who survived all these years.
It’s a risky move, especially as Vance shares that the Emerald Chain is amping up its attacks and targeting Kaminar in an attempt to lure out Discovery.
Why Saru is willing to put one life above all others, after he wanted to do the opposite for Georgiou, doesn’t make the most sense. However, it’s very clear by the end of the episode why the mission matters to the season.
What could have been a relatively straightforward rescue operation turns into something much more unexpected. The rescue team arrives and discovers that the ship is overtaken by a holoprogram gone wrong. Very wrong.
Originally created to help raise Dr. Issa’s child, years of damage led the complex program to malfunction and become a twisted fantasy land. The first sign that something is amiss is that when Burnham, Culber, and Saru arrive, they’re made to appear as Trill, Barzan, and human respectively, to blend in with the program.
Seeing them in these surprising forms is just the tip of the iceberg for strange events to come. As they navigate to find the survivor, they uncover several oddities including a literal holo kelp monster.
Su’Kal, the survivor, believes the outside world is dead after being stranded for so long. He interacts only with holos, exhibiting a tenuous grasp on reality and a childlike maturity.
The strange holo world is detached from reality because it reflects his own detachment.
The episode combines sci-fi and fairy tale elements to a chilling effect. In many ways, Su’Kal is like the princess trapped in a tower, but the monster keeping him there is his own fear.
So instead of welcoming his would-be rescuers, he rebuffs them, favoring the comforts of the holoprogram. The story plays out similarly to Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 5, “Die Trying,” but with even higher stakes than one dying man refusing to be rescued.
Saving Su’Kal becomes an even bigger threat when it’s revealed he can cause dilithium to destabilize when he has an emotional meltdown. After all this searching, they have found the original cause of the Burn.
Culber glosses over how such biological changes could cause such a reaction, leaving plenty of questions about Su’Kal’s nature. But scientific explanations or not, this twist comes as a complete surprise.
The show has spent all season interrogating conspiracies about the Burn, so for the cause to be something so unforeseen is unnerving and a little exciting. Whether you’re disappointed by this development or intrigued by it, you must give credit to the writers for subverting expectations in such a big way.
Meanwhile, acting Captain Tilly must deal with an unexpected attack from Osyraa, who followed Discovery into the Nebula. Seeing Tilly take on a leadership role under such difficult circumstances is a nice arc for the character after we’ve seen her adapt to this future with a lot of maturity.
It’s also a significant contrast to Saru, who’s been struggling to make the hard choices as captain. Tilly makes her choices with authority and seems willing to go down with the ship. Compare that to Saru, who’s distracted by Kelpien lullabies on a rescue mission.
A lot of time has passed since Burnham first gave Saru her blessing to become captain, and the episode raises questions about whether she would make that same decision today. Once they rescue Su’Kal and escape the Emerald Chain, a reckoning seems due.
Despite Tilly’s best efforts, Osyraa takes advantage of Discovery’s vulnerabilities and boards the ship. She and her goons use mind control on Stamets to jump the ship, leaving the away team stranded in a tense cliffhanger.
Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 11, “Su’Kal,” blends fantasy elements with sci-fi for a powerful story of loss and isolation. The Burn is a tragedy in itself, but on this episode, we discover its origins may be even more tragic.
What does it mean for the Federation if this cataclysmic event is the result of one scared little boy? How do they move forward knowing the truth? And does any of it even matter if they can’t defeat the Emerald Chain?
The show has two episodes left to wrap up a complex season-long storyline. But after this fantastic installment, my hopes are high that they’ll stick the landing.
Additional Thoughts:
- Gray returns early on the episode but doesn’t play much of a role. The show doesn’t seem to know what to do with him, but I hope they’ll figure it out soon.
- I’m sure actor Doug Jones is relieved to skip his Saru prosthetics for an episode. It’s fun to see him in human form.
- The mind control tech used on Stamets feels a little over the top. If the Emerald Chain is packing this tech the whole time, why aren’t they even more powerful?
- Grudge literally has her DNA recombined and no one comments on her genetic makeup. Maybe she is just a normal cat after all?
What did you think of this episode of Star Trek: Discovery? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Star Trek: Discovery airs Thursdays on CBS All Access.
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Breeze Riley
Breeze Riley is a pop culture enthusiast who decided to turn her love of watching too much TV into a hobby writing about it. Although she's a convention-going sci-fi and fantasy nerd, she's just as likely to be watching an off-beat comedy or period drama. She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic.