'An Obol for Charon' - S2 Ep. 4

Captain Pike’s first officer from the Enterprise – known only as #1 – boards the Discovery with records of the warp drive signature of Spock’s shuttle so the Captain should attempt to follow him. Pike gives the crew orders to intercept the Vulcan’s shuttle; however, they do not get very far before their progress is stopped by a multiphasic stasis field emanating from a sphere that is over 100,000 years old. The presence of the sphere also triggers a lethal condition in Saru known as the Vahari. He confides in Michael that all Kelpiens face this untreatable malady if they do not first find themselves chosen for slaughter by the Ba’ul. However, Saru finally realizes the sphere is not malevolent, but like him, it is trying to prepare for death by transferring its knowledge to the Discovery. Pike reluctantly accepts Saru’s theory and allows the sphere to access its communication system. After downloading its knowledge, the sphere pushes the Discovery away to safety just as it meets its end in a fatal explosion.

In a weakened state, he asks Michael to hasten his death by cutting off his ganglia. Although greatly distressed, she agrees to his request and find that all of the ganglia fall from his head as she attempts to cut one off. Instead of dying, Saru finds himself with renewed vigor and courage.

Meanwhile, Starfleet engineer Jett Reno comes to the science lab where Lt. Stamets and Ensign Tilly are working to reroute systems that may endanger the facility. The mycelial alien called May escapes from its quarantine chamber and attaches itself to Tilly’s arm. To learn what it wants, they restrain Tilly and plant a device in her brain to allow May to speak through the Ensign, who says the Discovery crew’s use of the spore drive has damaged her species’ ecosystem in the mycelial network. Stamets agrees to May’s request. However, she will not let go of her hold of Tilly, because she states she has other plans for the Ensign. The blob grows in size and engulfs Tilly. At episode’s end, Stamets and Reno open the blob, but do not see the missing Ensign.

EPISODE CREDITS:

Produced and edited by Gary Anderson

LINKS

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