The crew of the USS Discovery have managed to get back home from the Mirror Universe, only to realise they are nine months late. The war seems almost lost as Klingons take over Federation space, killing all in their way.

Michael Burnham and Emperor Georgiou materialise on the Discovery. There they are confronted by acting captain Saru and Georgiou is incredulous to find a Kelpian in a position of authority.

Burnham apologises to Saru, first for not informing him that Kelpians existed in the Mirror Universe and second for bringing back Georgiou. Sau admits that although it was a bad move, no one else could have done what Burnham did on the palace ship.

An alert from Medical Bay informing him that Ash Taylor has woken up from his operation, Saru asks Burnham to see him. Burnham declines, stating that she is unable to see the man that tried to kill her.

Fight fire with fire

The Discovery is hailed by another federation ship, only to be boarded by Admiral Cornwell and Sarek. They first come across as very hostile, believing the Discovery had been destroyed previously against the Klingons.

After a quick mind meld with Saru, Sarek determines that they are safe. It’s good that they didn’t play out the “getting the admiral to believe them” trope. Luckily Sarek’s mind meld told him everything that has happened to the crew.

Learning of the federation’s defeats by the Klingons, Burnham goes to Georgiou to ask for advice. Because the Emperor had defeated the Klingons in the Mirror Universe, she believes she holds the key to defeating them in the Prime Universe.

Georgiou explains that she attacked their home planet Qo’Nos. Georgiou later tells Sarek that she didn’t tell Burnham everything, as Burnham would be unable to bear it. Whilst Burnham and the Discovery believe they will be doing one plan, the Admiral, Sarek and Federation Command decide on something else.

The crew fly to a derelict moon and plant the few remaining spores which quickly terraforms the moon into a planet. This gives helps them refill their spore collection, making it possible to jump into the caverns of Qo’Nos for their mission.

The Admiral and Sarek decide to keep Emperor Georgiou and the Mirror Universe a secret from the rest of Starfleet. Georgiou in introduced as Captain Georgiou to become the Captain of the Discovery for the mission.

The problem with Tyler

Saru informs Tyler that the actions he committed under Voq’s control are not his. However, he now has restricted access to the ship. When going to the cafeteria, the rest of the crew first start to avoid him.

Tilly decides to sit next to Tyler. She tells him he can talk to her, or not talk to her but that she is there for him. Others join their table after her lead.

Tilly later asks Burnham to see Tyler because he needs her. Burnham again refuses, explaining that it’s too much for her. But Tilly becomes stern, telling her that Tyler’s life is practically over. The scene is emotional and really puts some character growth to Tilly.

Burnham eventually goes to see Tyler. He apologises and she explains that she can no longer see him. She explains that she understands he wasn’t himself, but when she looks at him now she can only see Voq who tried to kill her.