I enjoyed it, but it was very much in the service of setting up the next episode.
Also, as for the auto destruct - couldn't they just put a timer on a photon torpedo or something?
There's just a lot of shit on this show that doesn't make sense.
Just in this episode alone:
1) The spore drive is still operational, meaning they could have jumped away from Section 31 to anywhere in the galaxy and had more than enough time to charge the time crystal.
2) The evacuation corridors, never seen before on Star Trek, are entirely unnecessary given that the ship has multiple transporter rooms and shuttle craft.
3) Section 31 somehow disrupts subspace communication stopping Discovery from alerting Starfleet about the Section 31 threat, but Discovery is still able to communicate with Enterprise when they are light years away.
4) They are on the run from Section 31 but Sarek and Amanda manage to just show up all the way from Vulcan just to say goodbye. That entire scene could have been achieved using the telepathic link Michael and Sarek both have from the mind meld.
5) Sarek could have resolved issue #3 by relaying a message to Starfleet himself, but doesn't.
That's just off the top of my head. I'm sure there are more issues.
J. Michael Staczynski wrote entire seasons of Babylon 5 by himself because he recognised that handing individual epsiodes off to different writers would make long story arcs too difficult to put together. This season of Discovery has had about 20 different writers, some of which seem to have no f**king idea about Star Trek at all. I know I keep harping on it, but that minefield episode was just sheer stupidity written by someone that had no idea Federation starships have weapons with mine clearing capabilities.
Pike has been an absolute revelation, thankfully taking some of the focus away from Michael Burnham. As much as I don't think Star Trek needs another series based on the adventures of the Enterprise, he truly needs his own show. I would have loved to actually see more of the relationship between Stamets and Culber, but instead they commit the writing sin of telling instead of showing which is another huge issue with this show.
Ugh... This show has too much JJ Abrams influence in it. He sets up compelling situations but then can't deliver a pay off. Last season ended with a dull fizzle, and with Pike's departure I fear more of the same. Michael Burnham is just such an unlikable piece of shit despite the intent of the writers, and there's nothing redeeming about the character whatsoever. I understand the creative decision to have a show that isn't centered around the captain, but they've really failed to execute on that concept here. She completely undermines Saru who may as well give up the first officer role to her. She is consulted about and has an opinion on absolutely everything and always get the final say. They throw her into scenes just to say "hey, I trust this guy implicitly and that's why you should do what he says!" as if her judgment is what the captain must always rely on.
Even previous Star Trek shows had episodes that barely involved the character the entire show is centered around, but not this one. Michael has to be front and center every time and it's just ridiculous. The show suffers because of the terrible writing of her character and the extreme levels overacting from an overly emotional Sonequa Martin-Green who is supposed to be playing a character raised on Vulcan. I can't feel anything at all for most of the other characters because they get so little time to breathe and come across as little more than glorified extras, and even when something happens to them (like when Tilly got kidnapped by the fungus blob) the focus is always all about how Michael feels about it.
I mean, holy shit... Spock's parents turned up to say goodbye to Michael and not their own son!
I don't want to make it sound like I hate this show, because I really don't. I always wanted to see Star Trek take the same approach as the Battlestar Galactica reboot did with multi-season story arcs and a high budget. Now that we're actually getting it I can look past some issues like occasional really bad writing and a loathsome character like Burnham, but it could be soooo much better than it currently is.
