Star Trek: Discovery (3×09) Terra Firma, Part 1 Review

For our review of the last episode of Star Trek: Discovery, click here.

Synopsis: The U.S.S. Discovery crew journey to a mysterious planet in hopes of finding a cure for Georgiou’s deteriorating condition. Stamets and Adira make a stunning breakthrough with the newly acquired Burn data. (IMDb)

Finally, Discovery revs up the action and speed of its storytelling in a myth-laden episode. As the first part of an obvious two-episode arc, Terra Firm manages to act as both a strong standalone story while also creating a good amount of intrigue and suspense for its second half. It seems like Discovery is in its multi-episode story arcs rather than its bottle episodes. Anyway, onto the episode and all its David Cronenberg-ness (yes he is back!)

The story follows the developing condition of Georgiou as Kovich reveals that she is dying due to being both out of time and out of dimension. Their solution? Find a mysterious particle on Dannus V to hopefully cure her of this ailment. Admiral Vance surprisingly agrees and the Captain and Number One send off Burnham and Georgiou, even with their own awkward hugs! They descend to the icy planet which feels really reminiscent of the season one pilot where Burnham last saw her own Georgiou. They bicker and talk about how they are both nothing like their doppelgangers to remind themselves of the distance between them, even if the face they are looking at looks familiar.

They arrive at their destination to find Carl, a man reading tomorrow’s newspaper that tells of Georgiou’s death. He says that there may be a way to cure Georgiou, but it isn’t without its obstacles. Of course, she doesn’t care about what she may have to face so long as she lives and Georgiou enters the mysterious door. This brings her back to the Terran Empire in the 23rd century. It’s the day before Lorca’s coup and she decides to take action. Rather than let Mirror Burnham die, she convinces her to turn to Team Georgiou. This Terran Universe shift allows many of the actors to act out of character include Sonequa Martin-Green and Mary Wiseman.

As this situation unfolds, more people attempt to thwart Georgiou including Stamets, Killy and Burnham herself. Georgiou manages to get help from slave Saru to learn more about Lorca’s plan, but everything comes to a head when the crew determines that Georgiou knows too much. Burnham goads her to strike her down, but she gives mercy to her and rewrites her own history. However, that isn’t how things work in the Terran Universe and everyone will be disappointed in her lack of ruthlessness. Meanwhile on board Discovery, Adira and Paul have unlocked what is inside the nebula at the center of The Burn. Turns out it was a ship of 31st century Kelpiens who were searching for dilithium that may be caused The Burn event, but that’s a cliffhanger for next week. Book is also looking for a way to be useful, but with not much going on Saru tells him to learn more about Starfleet to be helpful later.

Captain’s Log

• When will Georgiou die?
• Will Book and Ryn be new permanent crew members?
• What other species will Discovery manage to bring into their New Federation?
• What happened during The Burn?
• Will Tilly be a good Number One?
• What is the Emerald Chain’s plan?

What did you think of “Terra Firma, Part 1”? Let me know in the comments below!

If you liked this, check out my YouTube channel The Film Fanatic, my other reviews and my website!

Please read our other reviews here and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter, follow us on Instagram, and also like us on Facebook.

Dylan Phillips