“Su’Kal” is the 11th episode of the 3rd season of the TV show “Star Trek: Discovery” and follows “Terra Firma, Part 2“.

Note. This article contains spoilers about “Su’Kal”.

The discovery of a Kelpien starship in the Verubin Nebula is followed by the detection of a life form on board. The area could be the origin of the Burn, so the USS Discovery goes to investigate finding a planet made practically of dilithium. Saru (Doug Jones), Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), and Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz) go in search of the survivor and find Su’Kal (Bill Irwin), but find a really strange situation while on the USS Discovery they have to keep d eye the maneuvers of Osyraa (Janet Kidder).

There’s so much in this episode, maybe too much. In the previous Star Trek shows, several episodes were produced in which a holodeck program was at the center of the plot with mixed results. In this case, this type of story is used in connection with the discovery of a survivor of a Kelpien expedition and especially with the cause of the Burn.

The material would be more than enough for an episode, also because the mystery at the center of the whole third season is solved in an episode with many moments concerning the relationships between characters. Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) is now Adira’s (Blu del Barrio) official mentor, so the moments between them have become normal. Adira sees Gray (Ian Alexander) again, so there are scenes that focus on the couple again. Michael Burnham advises Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) for her job as first officer. Burnham also offers various considerations on managing emotions, but this has left me perplexed thinking about her lack of emotional balance.

Despite all this, the plot includes Osyraa developing her masterplan. Admiral Charles Vance (Oded Fehr) should be very worried as security in Starfleet seems very poor judging by the fact that the Orion leader appears to have highly confidential information on the USS Discovery, its crew, and its activities.

Su’Kal’s story would have been even more interesting if it had been the main element of the episode. In 2020, a story about prolonged isolation and its consequences has profound meaning. The choice to add many other important parts of the plot for an episode that lasts almost an hour and doesn’t even have an ending puts Su’Kal almost in the background. At this point, I have to think that the season ends with a triple episode, so a full judgment can only be given at the end of the season.