We learn a lot in this episode, and it had me on the edge of my seat for the whole time. I'm really excited to talk about it.
At the start of the episode, species Ten-C isn't responding to Discovery's message or even showing any signs of knowing that they're out there.
Zora also thinks that something is off from the beginning, but she can't tell what that is because Tarka and Book have disguised themselves. It's frustrating to watch them slowly work towards that answer the whole episode when you know how urgent it is that they figure it out.
Discovery send some DOTs to the hyperfield, but the hyperfield displays even more technology when it sucks the DOTs back in and refuses to let them go. Quickly, it takes Discovery (and Book and Tarka) as well.
Reno watches Tarka closely while everything is happening. I love seeing her suspicious of him because, after watching Book trust him for so many episodes, it feels validating to see someone else feel the same way I do about him. I really, really appreciated her playing a significant role in this episode.
Unsurprisingly, she also realizes that Tarka is going to get them all killed. It's not even remotely surprising, and I'm still so frustrated that Book didn't see that earlier. Reno mentions emotions blinding people to what's obvious, and sure, that's true. But in this case, it seems a little too far to be entirely realistic.
Thankfully, Reno does get through to Book, who confronts Tarka. It ends up going bad for him when Tarka beats him up and locks him up with Reno. He says something about how Book's one of only two real friends he's ever had, and Reno makes a comment about him having a funny way of showing it, once again voicing exactly what I'm thinking. I really appreciated having her in these scenes because I think it made them easier to watch.
They have their first contact with Ten-C, though we don't get to see them up close or anything like that. The species excretes hydrocarbons like those found on their planet, which does indeed seem to be their language, and they give the others flashing lights that are the key to decoding it. They're able to turn it into a mathematical equation with Zora's help and essentially use math to communicate with the other species. METI even gets a shoutout from Michael, which I thought was kind of funny.
Ten-C end up sending a shuttle for the president, T'Rina, Michael, and Saru. I really enjoyed watching them work out how to communicate with the Ten-C once they were there, though I'm not entirely sure why they needed to do it on the shuttle instead of on Discovery. I'd buy it being a way to make sure they're not a danger, but they beamed them back once Book and Tarka broke free instead of keeping them hostage or something, so that doesn't seem to be the case.
It's been a while since a cliffhanger has gotten me like this one has. I'm so frustrated with Tarka but also hopeful that things will work out in the end. Here's hoping.
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