Because it aired a number of weeks in the past, I preserve referring to what nonetheless stays the standout episode of Discovery’s last season to this point: “Face the Unusual,” an unbelievable hour of tv that used a format the collection excels at to mirror on how far its central character and the collection itself has come. This week, the present type of does that concept once more… it’s simply nowhere close to as truly good at it.

That’s to not say there isn’t some gratifying stuff in “Labyrinths,” which chases up final week’s simmering stress with the Breen within the hunt for the last Progenitor clue right into a full on shoot out aboard and across the secret interstellar library housing the traditional data of tens of millions of species. There’s truly fairly a bit!

The library setting itself is a enjoyable one, particularly anchored in a pleasant visitor efficiency by Elena Juatco as Hy’Rell, a remarkably chipper librarian who slides effortlessly right into a time-honored Star Trek visitor position slot of “little alien sicko” as she leads Michael Burnham towards the clue. When the time finally comes for the episode to show right into a full on combat with the Breen, the motion is thick and quick and successfully pays off on numerous the stress and menace established final week—largely in that, boy howdy do our heroes not wish to mess with the Breen—whereas additionally delivering a short, however compelling twist within the villain’s subplot as Moll and the remainder of the Breen crew start to appreciate how fully unhinged Primarch Rhun has turn into in his quest for energy over the Imperium. The issue is that, Hy’Rell apart, these thrilling developments come fully within the final quarter-hour of “Labyrinths.” Many of the 40 earlier than that contain a clue “puzzle” that requires numerous re-treading floor for Burnham that’s simply performed in a far much less attention-grabbing approach than this season already has.

Upon finding the uncommon Betazoid textual content she was searching within the library’s archives, Michael opens it as much as uncover a metallic card that, upon her activation, principally sends her right into a coma in the actual world, whereas whisking her unconscious away right into a psionic duplicate of the library and its myriad hallways. There, guided by a distinctly unhelpful illustration of Guide, she has to determine what take a look at she’s dealing with that can deem her worthy of finding the ultimate clue. And right here’s the issue that this season of Discovery has had quite a lot of occasions to this point: a season about fixing clues on a treasure hunt is simply attention-grabbing if the puzzles themselves don’t contain our characters needing to act like they’re dumb. Writing a very good puzzle then, is extremely onerous, and the present… does probably not do this right here.

Michael, virtually as irritated because the viewers inevitability involves be, is left to spend the majority of “Labyrinths” wandering between bookshelves as she wonders out loud what’s occurring, if she’s discovered what the take a look at is, after which the psionic Guide-alike coquettishly going “maaaaaybe” earlier than revealing that she has, the truth is, not figured it out but. Sonequa Martin-Inexperienced and David Ajala do their finest right here—Martin-Inexperienced actually conveys a substantial amount of frustration at not determining the puzzle, given the stress and stakes round her, that resonates with the viewers, and Ajala has a great deal of enjoyable breaking out of Guide’s ordinary characterization to ship this mind-facsimile of him with a humorous, successfully annoying grace. However as a result of the state of affairs largely leaves Michael trapped on her personal attempting to determine what she’s even meant to be doing, there’s nobody for her to actually bounce off of: the Not-Guide is there to be a irritating impediment moderately than a sounding board as a part of the take a look at, so conveying Michael working by way of the logic of all of it turns into moderately moot.

Finally, simply in time, she snaps—and realizes the take a look at is much less of a puzzle, and extra about her personal character. As relentlessly self-critical as she is, she begins to rail on the Not-Guide about her fears and doubts, her want to hunt validation for a task as a pacesetter that she one way or the other nonetheless views as precarious, regardless of incomes it many occasions over, or means to push individuals away to save lots of the frustration and concern that she might need failed them (Precise Guide particularly). As issues look more and more dire for her inside her thoughts and out because the Breen launch their assault on the library, it’s revealed that this certainly was the take a look at, not a labyrinth to flee or a puzzle to decode, however a judgment of her character, to hunt assurance that she will be trusted to do the suitable factor with the good energy that she seeks.

All this is able to be good if that wasn’t additionally virtually precisely what “Face the Unusual” was about a number of weeks in the past, and performed rather more successfully. The time-loop construction of the episode was higher paced and a stronger format for a puzzle for our heroes to unravel, and in giving her Commander Rayner as a assist character to bounce off—and finally actually having to face her former self from Discovery’s earliest days—Michael had precise characters to work issues by way of and be taught issues about herself, and them, alongside the way in which. All Michael learns right here is that she has her coronary heart in the suitable place, however must face her concern of disappointing these round her by realizing that these persons are round her as a result of they care about and respect her and the journey she’s gone on during the last 5 seasons. That is the lesson she’d already discovered in “Face the Unusual”— it’s simply that this time, she was rewarded with the data of tips on how to get the final clue. And even then, it’s nonetheless a lot much less satisfying as a result of, past being a journey we’ve already seen her tackle this season, the path to get there was simply nowhere close to as participating. There’s a distinction between reinforcing a personality beat and rehashing it, and “Labyrinths” positively leans in the direction of the latter, sadly.

Fortunately although, as we stated, the puzzle arc of the episode wraps up proper as we get into the motion with the Breen—and there’s an attention-grabbing mirror not less than between Michael and Primarch Rhun, who we see finally pay the last word value for not realizing how the promise of the Progenitor tech’s energy has made him blind to his personal connections and failings. As he turns into more and more extra bullish and violent, first assaulting the peaceable library after which trying to renege on a Breen honor-oath to Michael to stop additional hurt in change for the clue supplies, we get to see Moll slowly persuade Rhun’s males that issues are going sideways. When the time comes that Rhun takes a step too far, she’s capable of lead a short however efficient rebellion to depose Rhun and take his place, working on the idea that she will use the Progenitor tech to revive L’ak to life and take her place because the official spouse of the inheritor to the Breen throne.

It units the stage for Discovery’s last showdown by giving us a way more private antagonist than Rhun—who served his objective over the previous couple of episodes nicely sufficient anyway—and by bringing it again to 2 figures pushed by a necessity to attach and discover power in love in Moll and Michael. It’s a disgrace the setup to get there was a little bit of a dud, however not less than that’s out of the way in which now. As we head into Discovery’s final two episodes, we will put the puzzles apart and get to the guts of what the present desires to finish its journey saying.

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