Changes: Terra Firma, Part 2 (episode)

Revision as of 05:30, 19 December 2020

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(written from a Production point of view)

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Georgiou uncovers the true depths of the plot against her, leading her to a revelation about how deeply her time on the USS Discovery truly changed her.

Summary

Teaser

Aboard the ISS Discovery, Joann Owosekun, the head of Emperor Philippa Georgiou's honor guard, throws an enraged Michael Burnham into the brig. She demands that Georgiou kill her for her betrayal, as the law dictates, and tells her that every moment of hesitation will make the emperor appear weaker. Burnham posits that Georgiou has become so weak that she built the ISS Charon as a palace for her retirement. Georgiou insists the Charon is both a legacy and something for the Terran Empire's subjects to live for. Burnham spits on Georgiou's face. Georgiou responds by saying that Genghis Khan maintained power over a vast area by allowing the locals to retain their customs rather than more brutally subjugating them. The Terrans will never get spoils of war in peacetime, Burnham says. The Romulans, Klingons, Andorians and Tellarites are forming an alliance against them called the Coalition, she adds. The Denobulans, Coridanites and Rigellians will follow and should all be attacked now. The Empire cannot fight the entire galaxy, Georgiou says, but Burnham insists they would "think twice about alliances if we flew down and roasted them on spits." But Georgiou says she is changing the rules of engagement and has Burnham thrown into the agony booth, where Owosekun tortures her.

Georgiou watches the proceedings from her quarters. Captain Sylvia Tilly enters and asks why Burnham is still alive. Georgiou insists she is not showing mercy to Burnham. Tilly responds that they must still root out her accomplices and notes that Keyla Detmer likely knew of her plans. Georgiou discloses she will have Burnham turn them in after she is broken by torture, and places Tilly in charge of the interrogation, for which she demands free reign.

Act One

A meal is slid into Burnham's holding cell, Burnham pushes it aside violently. Tilly tells her she predicted to Georgiou that she would not eat it and says she will have Dr. Hugh Culber force-feed her later. The guards drag Burnham back into the agonizer, where Tilly demands she swear allegiance to Georgiou and name her co-conspirators. Burnham refuses and Tilly takes pleasure in activating the agonizer before leaving her to sleep in the device. During the night, Owosekun tortures her further. Burnham continues to reject food over time, and Culber arrives to force-feed her. At one point, Burnham awakens to find Detmer outside her cell as Georgiou observes remotely. Detmer urges her to give in and reveals that no one has heard from Gabriel Lorca, who recruited Burnham into the plot against Georgiou.

Later, Georgiou visits an unconscious Burnham and reminisces about Burnham childhood. She was quiet when awake but screamed at night in her sleep, "fighting to escape." One night, Georgiou stopped restraining Burnham and she sleepwalked to a field of fireflies, which calmed her, allowing Georgiou to carry her back to her bed. They did that each night, but Burnham never recalled it when awake. Georgiou says she was saddened when Burnham outgrew her night terrors, though she wonders if she ever truly did. She unveils a small globe filled with fireflies and urges Burnham to trust her. She leaves and Burnham awakens, turning her head to see the fireflies. She eats a piece of bread, staring contemplatively.

Owosekun brings Burnham to Georgiou’s quarters, where Saru attends to her. She kneels and salutes, and Georgiou dismisses Owosekun and Saru. She apologizes and pledges allegiance, though Georgiou says she only sought to rule her empire with Burnham. She offers not only to name her co-conspirators, but to execute them herself. Georgiou tells her to have Detmer assist her. Burnham tells Georgiou she can trust her again, though the emperor appears skeptical and tells her not to return until she proves herself.

Ellen Landry walks down a corridor when she is fired on by Detmer. The two trade fire briefly before Landry incapacitates her. Walking away, Landry is shot by a waiting Burnham. Later, Burnham and Detmer enter Georgiou’s ready room, where Owosekun and Tilly have joined her for a drink. Burnham throws onto the table before her the badges of Landry, R.A. Bryce and more than a half-dozen other conspirators. Burnham then fatally stabs Detmer in front of them. "Now it's done," she says.

In Georgiou’s quarters, she and Burnham share a meal served by Saru. Burnham remarks that the kitchen has stopped serving Kelpien and Georgiou responds that Kelpien flesh is "too high in cholesterol and stringy." Saru agrees and departs. Burnham says she "came to the light" weeks prior but remained in the brig out of stubbornness. She also notes Georgiou used "back channels" to sabotage the alliance against the empire, which Georgiou says was not difficult. Burnham notes that Georgiou listened to her about the threat, and Georgiou demands she tell her the truth from now on. Burnham says she does not know where Lorca is and deflects a question about whether she still loves him, though she vows to kill him. She tells Burnham to track him down.

Later, Saru brushes Georgiou's hair as she remarks that events are unfolding as she hoped. She tells him to remain in her service rather than return to Burnham but he warns her that he is about to undergo vahar'ai and expects to die. He asks her to cull him, but she reveals that vahar'ai is not the end of his life. She instructs him to lock himself away and after a few days will find himself "changed forever." She tells him about his prime universe counterpart, Saru, who became stronger after undergoing vahar'ai. He is surprised by her trust in him, but she tells him she could sense his regret at leaving her was genuine. Saru is distraught when he realizes his sister and family would still be alive had they known, but Georgiou tells him to avenge them by staying alive. "You are not Terran," he says, startling Georgiou, who insists she is and that she will mold her home to what she wishes it to be. Georgiou dismisses Saru and checks her wristband bio-scanner, which still displays green.

Act Two

On the bridge, Airiam reports intercepting a coded message to Lorca’s alias identity from Duggan, who Burnham identifies as one of Lorca’s top lieutenants. The message originated from Risa six hours prior. Georgiou orders Tilly to take Discovery there are high warp, overriding Tilly's offer to go alone with Burnham in a shuttlecraft. Nilsson takes the ship to maximum warp. Upon arriving, Gen Rhys reports detecting a single class-A shuttle and no other warp capable vessels within 100 lightyears. Burnham confirms the shuttle is Duggan, noting that he is a "cheap bastard" who has not bothered to properly fix the craft. He powers up, but Georgiou orders the vessel disabled and Duggan kept alive. A single torpedo does the job, prompting Duggan to hail Discovery. Georgiou questions him over the viewscreen, and Duggan reveals that while she was distracted by the coalition, Lorca rallied the Klingons and Romulans against her. Burnham has him beamed to the brig and orders the honor guard to accompany them while promising Georgiou she is not having second thoughts.

With Culber and others looking on, the detained Duggan quips that in person, Georgiou is not so terrifying and lightly tells her not to trust Burnham. "Of course you can... when I want you to," Burnham says, pulling out a phaser and shooting Duggan in the head. She turns the weapon on Georgiou as Rhys and Airiam enter and kill two of her guards. Burnham reveals she was able to take advantage of Georgiou's second chance to kill her and save the empire. Georgiou responds that even now Burnham can make a different choice, and that she changed after seeing another way to live. Burnham says she never should have trusted her, and Georgiou responds that she "never did... not like [she] wanted to." Suddenly, Tilly, Owosekun, Saru and another Kelpien arrive and start shooting at the traitors. Burnham kills the other Kelpien. Saru kills Culber. Burnham and Georgiou engage in a knife fight; Georgiou gains the upper hand but hesitates to slash Burnham's throat. Meanwhile, Tilly kills Airiam and Owosekun kills Rhys. Georgiou, having been stabbed with a dagger, withdraws her sword and stabs Burnham through the stomach, whispering "sorry." The two lie side by side, dying.

Act Three

Saru holds the dying Georgiou as Tilly and Owosekun observe. She note he survived his vahar'ai. She passes out briefly and awakes to find herself back on icy Dannus V with Burnham and Carl. She is disoriented, surprised to learn she experienced some three months in the space of a few moments. Georgiou, however, is still afflicted and in pain. Carl reveals that he is the Guardian of Forever and the wooden door explodes and reconstitutes as a great time-travel vortex.

Aboard the USS Discovery, Paul Stamets and Adira Tal are having difficulty hacking into the KSF Khi'eth's systems remotely. Adira posits that the ship was trapped in the Verubin Nebula 125 years prior, and thus may no longer be intact. Stamets says something must be sending the signal on repeat and pulls more power for their effort. Jett Reno approaches, irked that they have rerouted so much power for their efforts and interrupted her work transitioning the ship from warp plasma conduits to fully polaric conduits. Adira explains their task and objects to Reno, who is snacking on black licorice, having food in engineering. She replies that it is "not food, it's candy, it's practically an accessory." Cleveland Booker approaches and plugs a glowing device into the console. He explains that static in the space-subspace barrier is preventing their connection. He explains that couriers traveling to remote areas use range extenders to amplify weak subspace signals, though Stamets is skeptical since he obtained the device from the Emerald Chain. Discovery can now link its sensors to the Khi'eth to gather data.

On the planet, Burnham asks what a Guardian of Forever is. Carl says he is a space-time portal in hiding because many tried to use him to kill people during the Temporal Wars. He is "nowhere near [his[ original coordinates," and Burnham notes that only the Sphere entity, with over 100,00 years of data and access to contemporary Federation databases could have extrapolated his location. Carl says that the still-dying Georgiou was sent back not to be cured, but to be tested to see if she would make different choices, whether her time in the prime universe had changed her. Georgiou says she must have been found wanting since she killed Burnham again, though Carl notes that she tried for peace, saving Saru, which she didn't have to do. He offers for her to walk through the portal, but she refuses to return to the mirror universe. But Carl says he will send her back to a time when the mirror and prime universes were "still aligned" so she will not die. However, he notes her life will still be difficult. She asks if Burnham can accompany her, but Carl says she is where she needs to be. He tells her to walk through when ready and disappears.

Georgiou tells Burnham she gave her "new life" by bringing her to the prime universe. Burnham says her feelings for Georgiou are for her alone, not because of her prior relationship with the late Captain Philippa Georgiou. Georgiou says she wishes she had said all this earlier and that she regrets not telling Burnham about San, but Burnham urges her to tell the people she will meet upon walking through the portal. Before entering, Georgiou turns back and tells Burnham, "This era is different, more Terran than where you came from. Saru has navigated Discovery admirably. But he's not the only one who's suited for the captain's chair. You have always been far greater than you could imagine, Michael." Burnham responds that Georgiou is as well. Burnham offers a Vulcan salute as Georgiou responds with a Terran salute and walks into the portal, which flashes and disappears.

Act Four

Saru reports to a holographic projects of Admiral Charles Vance about their findings, though Vance is concerned about the use of Emerald Chain technology. Booker replies that he ensured it was safe before installing it on his own ship years earlier. Discovery's spore drive makes it more attractive to Osyraa, who is running short on dilithium, calling for extra caution, Vance says. He tells Booker to follow Starfleet protocol if he wishes to remain aboard Discovery, but he replies that Osyraa doesn't follow any protocols and that having him as a non-Starfleet participant could prove beneficial. Saru receives an alert that Burnham is beaming back to Discovery alone, and Book leaves to meet her. Vance questions if Saru is distracted by the Kelpien crew of the Khi'eth and orders him to report as soon as he learns anything further. He also offers condolences regarding Georgiou.

In a corridor, Book tells Burnham he's sorry for her loss and they embrace. Later, in her quarters, Burnham tells Saru they will not see Georgiou again.

The crew gathers to toast Georgiou, with Dr. Hugh Culber calling her "the most stubborn patient I've ever had." Other crewmembers share their ambigiuous opinions about about her. Burnham says she was "like a mother, almost; like a sister, almost. I loved her, and hated her, sometimes both at the same time."

Background information

Continuity

Carl reveals himself to be the Guardian of Forever, first seen in TOS: "The City on the Edge of Forever". This is also the only other episode in which his newspaper, The Star Dispatch, appears.

Reception and aftermath

TRR: "Terra Firma, Part 2" discusses the making of, and events in, this episode.

Production history

4 October 2020: Title publicly revealed [1]

Production

This is one of seventeen Star Trek episodes with titles derived from Latin.

Links and references

Starring

Sonequa Martin-Green as Michael Burnham / Michael Burnham (mirror)
Doug Jones as Saru / Saru (mirror)
Anthony Rapp as Paul Stamets
Mary Wiseman as Sylvia Tilly / Sylvia Tilly (mirror)
Wilson Cruz as Hugh Culber / Hugh Culber (mirror)

And

David Ajala as Cleveland "Book" Booker

Uncredited co-stars

Phi Huynh as an Honor Guard
Bart LaRue as the Guardian voice (archive voice)
Greg Leach as an Honor Guard

Stunt doubles

Christine Ebadi as stunt double for Rekha Sharma
Penande Estime as stunt double for Oyin Oladejo

References

2254; 3064; 3187; accomplice; agonizer; agonizer booth; alliance; Andorians; appetite; artist; backchannel; badass; bed; biodata; bitch; black licorice; bowler hat; bread; brig; Burn, The; "Carnelian"; Charon, ISS; cholesterol; cigar; Class A shuttlecraft; co-conspirator; Coalition; Coridanites; daughter; death opera; Denobulans; DNA; DOT-7; Emerald Chain; emperor; field manual; firefly; floor; force-feeding; ganglia; Georgiou, Philippa; Guardian of Forever; Honor Guard; Hugo, Victor; interrogator; Kelpiens; Khan, Genghis; Khi'eth, KSF; kitchen; Klingon; life signs; Lorca, Gabriel; mirror universe; mother; night; night terror; orison; Osyraa; oxygen; palace; parent; phaser; pain; prime universe; propaganda; quadrant; rebellion; retirement; revolt; Rigelians; Risa; Romulans; rules of engagement; San; serial number; sleep; sleepwalking; spitting; subspace relay; sun; sword; Tantalus field; technical manual; Tellarites; Temporal War; Terra; Terran; Terran Empire; Terran salute; toast; traitor; vahar'ai; "Vicar"; Vulcan salute; warp conduit

The Star Dispatch

Andoria; Augustus; battle royale; blue giant; Centarius; Dominus of Qo'noS; famine; Highness; Iaponius; Imperial Highness; Jenolan, USS; Magnificence; Majesty; Milky Way Galaxy; Mother of the Fatherland; Norpin V; Norpin colony; Norpin colony authorities; Overlord of Vulcan; quatloo; Regina Andor; San Francisco; sector 9; Starfleet Command; Starfleet Command senior officials; Starfleet search-and-rescue officials; supernova; throne world; Tkon Empire; Tkon Empire sun; Tkon Empire throne world

External link

"Terra Firma, Part 2" at the Internet Movie Database

Mirror universe-related episodes

ENT:

"In a Mirror, Darkly" • "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II"

DIS:

"Into the Forest I Go" • "Despite Yourself" • "The Wolf Inside" • "Vaulting Ambition" • "What's Past Is Prologue" • "Terra Firma, Part 1" • "Terra Firma, Part 2"

TOS:

"Mirror, Mirror" • "The Tholian Web"

DS9:

"Crossover" • "Through the Looking Glass" • "Shattered Mirror" • "Resurrection" • "The Emperor's New Cloak"

Previous episode:
"Terra Firma, Part 1"

Star Trek: Discovery
Season 3

Next episode:
"The Citadel"

@@ Line 38: / Line 38: @@
 === Act Two ===
-On the bridge, {{mu|Airiam}} reports intercepting a coded message to Lorca’s alias identity from [[Duggan]], who Burnham identifies as one of Lorca’s top lieutenants. The message originated from [[Risa (mirror)|Risa]] six hours prior. Georgiou orders Tilly to take ''Discovery'' there are high warp, overriding Tilly's offer to go alone with Burnham in a shuttlecraft. {{mu|Nilsson}} takes the ship to maximum warp. Upon arriving, {{mu|Gen Rhys}} reports detecting a single class-A shuttle and no other warp capable vessels within 100 lightyears. Burnham confirms the shuttle is Duggan, noting that he is a "''cheap bastard''" who has not bothered to properly fix the craft. He powers up, but Georgiou orders the vessel disabled and Duggan kept alive. A single torpedo does the job, prompting Duggan to hail ''Discovery''. Georgiou questions him over the viewscreen, and Duggan reveals that while she was distracted by the coalition, Lorca rallied the Klingons and Romulans against her. Burnham has him beamed to the brig and orders the honor guard to accompany them while promising Georgiou she is not having second thoughts.
+On the bridge, {{mu|Airiam}} reports intercepting a coded message to Lorca’s alias identity from [[Duggan]], who Burnham identifies as one of Lorca’s top lieutenants. The message originated from [[Risa]] six hours prior. Georgiou orders Tilly to take ''Discovery'' there are high warp, overriding Tilly's offer to go alone with Burnham in a shuttlecraft. {{mu|Nilsson}} takes the ship to maximum warp. Upon arriving, {{mu|Gen Rhys}} reports detecting a single class-A shuttle and no other warp capable vessels within 100 lightyears. Burnham confirms the shuttle is Duggan, noting that he is a "''cheap bastard''" who has not bothered to properly fix the craft. He powers up, but Georgiou orders the vessel disabled and Duggan kept alive. A single torpedo does the job, prompting Duggan to hail ''Discovery''. Georgiou questions him over the viewscreen, and Duggan reveals that while she was distracted by the coalition, Lorca rallied the Klingons and Romulans against her. Burnham has him beamed to the brig and orders the honor guard to accompany them while promising Georgiou she is not having second thoughts.
 With Culber and others looking on, the detained Duggan quips that in person, Georgiou is not so terrifying and lightly tells her not to trust Burnham. "''Of course you can... when I want you to''," Burnham says, pulling out a phaser and shooting Duggan in the head. She turns the weapon on Georgiou as Rhys and Airiam enter and kill two of her guards. Burnham reveals she was able to take advantage of Georgiou's second chance to kill her and save the empire. Georgiou responds that even now Burnham can make a different choice, and that she changed after seeing another way to live. Burnham says she never should have trusted her, and Georgiou responds that she "''never did... not like [she] wanted to''." Suddenly, Tilly, Owosekun, Saru and another Kelpien arrive and start shooting at the traitors. Burnham kills the other Kelpien. Saru kills Culber. Burnham and Georgiou engage in a knife fight; Georgiou gains the upper hand but hesitates to slash Burnham's throat. Meanwhile, Tilly kills Airiam and Owosekun kills Rhys. Georgiou, having been stabbed with a dagger, withdraws her sword and stabs Burnham through the stomach, whispering "''sorry''." The two lie side by side, dying.