GVN Review: Paramount+ ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Episode 404 – ‘All is Possible’

The one thing about Christmas is that it keeps a taught ship. The holiday season doesn’t concern itself about your television habits and review responsibilities. Thus, I found myself a bit behind on my Star Trek Discovery review for episode 4. On the plus side, I gave you ample opportunity to watch it yourself. On the opposite end, I am finishing this just in time for episode 5 to drop. So, I apologize for that and will try to get myself back in the Captain’s Chair. In the meantime, let’s look at Star Trek Discovery, Season 4, Episode 4, “All is Possible.”

Last time on Star Trek Discovery

Captain Burnham and Lt. Tilly had gone on an away mission to apprehend a member of the QoWat Nivat named J’Vini, who had killed a Starfleet officer. Tilly was sent at the recommendation of Mr. Suru to put her outside her comfort zone. They were joined by two members of the order, one of which was Burnham’s Mother Gabrielle. After helping J’Vini resolve her lost cause, she turned herself in. However, instead of facing Federation justice, J’Vini was turned over to the Ni’Var for extradition to clear the way for the discussion of Ni’Var rejoing the Federation. Much to the chagrin of Burnham, who wanted justice for the dead Starfleet officer’s family.

While this was going on, Lt. Commander Stamets and Book had visited Ni’Var to enlist the Ni’ Var Science Institute to discover the secrets of the gravity anomaly. This is an ongoing process with no results yet to show for it. However, Book received a small dose of comfort from a mind meld with Ni’Var President T’Rina. Meanwhile, Gray was united with his android body, much to the relief of Adira who was questioning if the right thing had been done.

The Waiting Game

While the negotiations between the Federation and Ni’Var are proceeding, the anomaly has remained eerily quiet. The mind meld that T’Rina used on Book’s effects are fading and he is once again isolating himself from the hurt. Commander Stamets continues to work endlessly trying to find out a way to predict and possibly save any other planets in the anomaly’s wake. Meanwhile, Burnham has taken Dr. Culber’s advice and scheduled down time for the crew. They need the stress relief.

Speaking of stress, the Federation/Ni’Var talks are reaching a conclusion but one of the Federation diplomats has fallen ill. President Rillak makes a “request” for Captain Burnham and Mr. Suru to take his place as the negotiations reach their final stage. Burnham, for one, would love to be present when Ni’Var rejoins the Federation. However, their participation who greatly be symbolic. Their orders are to “keep quiet and look official.”

Be Inspired

As for Lt. Tilly, she is still struggling with doubts that her career path might not be what she wants at this time. She had always planned to do whatever she needed to do toward a direct line at the captain’s chair. But now, even after her QoWat Nivat adventure, she was still feeling unsure. Dr. Culber tells her that Dr. Kovich had come to him looking for an officer to lead some Starfleet Cadets on a team building exercise. He wondered if Tilly would be willing to do it. She wondered how she could possibly leave Commander Stamets during his research. But Culber assures her that he had recommended to the captain that the crew needed some downtime. This would qualify as hers. She should go. “Be Inspired.”

Going Down

So, Lt. Tilly along with Ensign Tal goes to Starfleet Academy to lead a team building exercise. They are tasked with taking a shuttle to a planet and doing a planet survey. Tilly, as per usual, finds this all very exciting. Her cadets, not so much. Mainly because they had all grown accustomed to being isolated before they joined the Academy. Now, they are hesitant to work with species that they are not familiar with. Tilly has her work cut out for her.

It didn’t help when Adira told her that she had thought she was coming along to aide Tilly and not be treated as one of the cadets. However, Tilly reminded her that while she was an ensign, she still had much to learn. Especially where comfortably working with others was concerned. But before they could discuss further, a rogue gamma blast hit the shuttle. Their engines were shut down and they had lost control of navigation. The shuttle was going down.

First Casualty

They soon crash landed and Tilly was greeted with her first casualty as her navigator, Lt. Callum was killed in the crash. Tilly also realized that instead of landing on the M-Class Moon they were supposed to land on, they had crashed onto Kokytos, a L-Class Moon. The atmosphere was breathable, but the life forms were hostile, and the weather conditions were harsh. Not exactly what the cadets were prepared for. In fact, one thought that it was a simulated exercise. Perhaps a holo-program. But it was all too real. And it didn’t take long for the stress to start to show as two of the cadets started arguing with each other. Tilly tried to reassert control by having the team introduce themselves as they worked. The reluctantly did so, and at least for the moment, weren’t trying to beat each other up.

Escape Clause

On Ni’Var, the negotiations had hit a snag. Ni’Var wanted an escape clause. They would rejoin the Federation, but only if they had the right to drop out if the circumstances made it necessary. President Rillak wanted Ni’Var in the Federation, but she could not concede to this demand. It set a bad precedent. If this were agreed to, soon other Federation representatives would ask for the same escape avenue. It could turn their alliance into no more than a truck stop. You get what you needed and then when you were satisfied, you could pull away without any repercussions.

As she listened, Captain Burnham couldn’t control herself and she interjected. She told them after all of the progress they had made in these negotiations, it would be illogical for them to fail over one contested point. President Rillak requested a recess so that each side could consider their positions. She then asked Burnham to come talk to her.

Broken Fingers

Back on Discovery, Book was talking to Dr. Culber at the request of Michael. As per usual, Book told Culber that he was fine and didn’t see the need for the visit. Dr. Culper told him that Michael had reported that Book hadn’t been sleeping well. Book brushed it off as a problem with his cat Grudge. Then, Culper told him about a member of his family’s death and how he had accidentally broken off the corpse’s finger. While he was still upset about his family member’s death, the memory of the finger made him laugh during the funeral. He then suggested that Book try a different approach for the remainder of their session. Book was willing as long as broken fingers weren’t involved.

Outside Help

Back on Ni’Var, the situation appears to be at a stalemate. Neither President T’Rina nor President Rillak express the willingness to budge on their stands. After a discussion with both of the opposing sides, it would appear that they are hoping Burnham and Suru will bring forward an outside solution. One that would not represent weakness for either party. They surmised it was the reason that they were brought down in place of the supposedly ailing Ambassador. They needed some outside help. It would appear that the ball was in THEIR court.

Together

Back on the crashed shuttle, Tilly was assessing their damage and situation. And basically, they are pretty screwed. Life support is at 70%, Flight systems are fried. Comms are operational but picking up nothing. Plus, they only have enough rations for three days. Naturally, panic began to set in as Tilly and Nadira tried to reign it in. Fortunately, Adira had gotten sensors back online and they detected multiple lifeforms, all congregating outside their shuttle. Apparently, it tracked its prey by the same signals put out by the team’s instruments. They immediately shut them down. Hoping the creature would leave them alone. Regardless, they could not stay on the shuttle. They needed to get to higher ground so they could contact the USS Armstrong for pickup. Not all the cadets were onboard with this but welcome to Starfleet. It was not a democracy. Whatever they did, they did together.

The Task of Listening

Realizing that it would be up to them to kickstart the Federation/Ni’Var negotiations, Saru once again visited with President T’Rina. She admitted to Saru that her position for the “escape clause” was done at the behest of the Vulcan Extremists. She needed their support for their government to work. Suru thanked her divulging this and as she was leaving, asked her for meditative advice, perhaps at a later time. He had been pondering his purpose since the Burn and re-uniting with his people. But instead of waiting, she asked him to extend his hands, palms up. She would give him his first lesson now. I think she likes Suru…that ladies’ man.

Meanwhile, Captain Burnham talked to President Rillak. She told her that Suru was at that moment, convincing T’Rina to come back to the table. But the Federation would need to be ready for a compromise. Michael knew that both of the parties’ delegations had set down rules that neither President could change if they wanted to keep their support. So, Burnham offered an alternative. A third neutral party’s recommendation. That way, neither side would be conceding, they would be listening.

Learning to Cope

As Dr. Culber and Book’s session continues, Book is trying to create a structure out of sand…and he is struggling with it. Partially because he finds the exercise a waste of time. He knows that Dr. Culber is trying to help him, but he sees no purpose in this. It will not replace what he has lost with Kwejian. Culber pulls no punches with Booker. It would not replace what he had lost. In truth, it will hurt for a long ass time. But this is an exercise to help him cope. If he gives it a chance.

Communication and Teamwork

Back on Kokytos, Tilly was leading the Cadets across the ice, trying to stay ahead of the creatures following them. This would have been easier if the cadets didn’t spend so much time bickering at each other. It was a test for even the upbeat Tilly to manage. But she had one job: to keep them all alive. So, they would keep moving. At least until the patch of ice froze over Adira’s feet. She couldn’t move and the ice was slowly moving up her legs. Tilly immediately pulled out a rope and threw it to Adira. She then had her cadets pull on the line, slowly reeling Adira toward them. Eventually, the ice broke away from her legs and she was free. But the creatures were still in pursuit and despite their teamwork, there was still dissention in the ranks mainly toward the Orion cadet. But once Adira explained some of his history, they stopped being so judgmental. Which was good because they needed to work together to survive.

An Elegant Solution

On Ni’Var, the two sides have come back to the table. Captain Burnham explains that when Federation officers have a disagreement, and third-party neutral council intercedes and helps to resolve the situation. She proposes that the same be done between Ni’Var and the Federation. In addition, Burnham offers herself as a member of that council. She was raised on Vulcan, educated in logic and she is a Captain and a member of the Federation. Both sides agree to this proposal, with President T’Pring agreeing that it is an elegant solution.

An Offer to Consider

Tilly had led her team to the top of the ridge. They can now begin to call for pickup from the Armstrong. However, the creatures are still pursuing. In order for the team to have the time to reach the Armstrong, someone must distract the creatures. At first, Adira intends to do it. But Tilly pulls rank and says that she will take that job. Once she runs and leads the creatures away, the team is to keep calling the Armstrong until they beam them up. But as the chase begins, her team realizes that Tilly will not be able to outdistance the creatures. They come together and fire at the creatures, giving her enough pause that both the cadets and Tilly is beamed to the Armstrong. They had come together and survived. Tilly couldn’t be prouder, although she still morns the loss of Lt. Callum. However, Dr. Kovich assured her she had done an exceptional job with the cadets. If she wanted to, he would be proud to have her as an instructor at the Academy.

Anything is Possible

As for Adira, she had been hesitant to go along with Tilly, especially when she realized she would be treated like a Cadet. But she now admitted, she was glad she came. Somehow along the way, she feels she made some friends. Tilly was not surprised. As far as she was concerned, as far as Adira was concerned, anything was possible. And anything WAS possible, including shockingly enough, Tilly taking the opportunity to leave the Discovery and teach at the Academy. What?! The plus side is they didn’t kill her character off, so she is still available if needed. Which is good news for this admitted Sylvia Tilly fan. I guess we will see.

Thoughts

This was a great episode for Mary Wiseman as Tilly to stretch both her action skills and her acting chops. Just in time for them to send her off to Starfleet Academy. As aforementioned, I hope this is a temporary thing. The Discovery needs some Tilly every now and then. If nothing else to remember that things aren’t always so dire and depressing. Who’s going to provide the ship with needed the needed positive outlook on things?

On the plus side, it appears our guy Captain Suru has himself a Vulcan admirer. Can’t do much better than the Ni’Var President. Be interesting to see if the writers go anywhere with this relationship. It would prove to make for some interesting interactions. Here’s hoping. As for the episode itself, it was in keeping with the high standards that Season 4 has maintained. It was knocked up a notch with the unexpected transition for Tilly and Suru’s possible relationship with T’Rina. I give it a solid 4 out of 5.

Star Trek Discovery can be seen on Paramount+ with new episodes released on Thursdays.

Martin

Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 60 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove headfirst over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 21-year-old young man with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.