“Saints of Imperfection” is the 5th episode of the 2nd season of the TV show “Star Trek: Discovery” and follows “An Obol for Charon“.

Note. This article contains spoilers about “Saints of Imperfection”.

While Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) tries to figure out what happened to Ensign Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman), the USS Discovery intercepts the shuttle taken by Spock but when they eventually block it the result is a very unexpected encounter.

I thought that the appearance of Section 31 in the episode “Point of Light” served as a backdoor pilot, as they call the episodes of a TV show that are used to launch a spinoff. Instead, its new appearance suggests that Section 31 will be important during this season of the parent show since Spock’s actions have also raised the interest of this agency.

Once again, Spock ends up not appearing even if he’s more than ever a person of interest but in this episode his storyline leads above all to the encounter between the USS Discovery and Section 31 with a number of complex personal connections among the characters. Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif) has little space but it’s obvious that there will be more ramifications linked not only to his relationship with Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) but also to those with Paul Stamets and Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz).

For now, the interactions between Michael Burnham and Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) and what was revealed about the history between Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and Section 31’s Leland (Alan van Sprang) are enough to ensure an interpersonal level that we hope will be adequately managed. “Saints of imperfection” is another episode of emotions based on the relationships between various characters and on the twists to build a drama but not always in the series that worked.

The new appearance of Section 31 intersects with the story of the search for Sylvia Tilly, which takes us to the mycelial network, where the creature that took the appearance of May (Bahia Watson) brought her. Perhaps that subplot reached its conclusion with a development that shows how monstrosity, just like beauty, can be in the eye (or equivalent) of the beholder. At least from this point of view the plot twist is in Star Trek’s tradition.

Overall, “Saints of Imperfection” seemed like a good episode that used twists and emotional factors better than others. The events open new ramifications to be developed in the next episodes. Will it be the right time for real progress in Spock’s research and in understanding the mysterious cosmic signals?