History Recap / StarTrekDiscoveryS1E04TheButchersKnifeCaresNotForTheLambsCry

* LongTitle: Second longest in the franchise history, beaten only by "[[Recap/StarTrekS3E8ForTheWorldIsHollowAndIHaveTouchedTheSky For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky]]".

%%* {{Foreshadowing}}: Mixed with TakeThat, as NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist Lorca mentions Elon Musk in a positive light.

Burnham begins her new assignment as an unranked member of the crew just as the Klingons launch an attack on a strategic planet. The ''Discovery'' is the only Starfleet ship that can get there in time--if they can get the spore drive to work.

* ArtisticLicenseSpace: The O-Type star ''Discovery'' jumps to is depicted as a yellow-orange G-Type star similar to Earth's. O-Type stars are far more massive than Earth's sun and radiate intense blue-white light.
* BackhandedApology: After Burnham manipulates Saru into approaching Ripper to test her theory that it isn't dangerous, he apologizes for previously saying she shouldn't be on the ship. What she just did demonstrates she and [[WellIntentionedExtremist Lorca]] are good company.

* BlindJump: The first time ''Discovery'' tries to make a long-distance jump without a means to properly calculate their destination, [[TeleportationMisfire they end up inside the gravity well of a star]].
* BrutalHonesty: Saru is ''not'' happy to see Burnham on the crew. He admits that when he vouched for her as a "valuable asset" he was just being polite, as he assumed he'd never see her again.

* CargoShip: In-universe. Stamets is jealous that Ripper can somehow communicate with the spores, saying he always wanted to talk to his mushrooms.
* CoolBigSis: Tilly's opinion has done a complete 180 since she first met Burnham. Whereas she was initially afraid that associating with Burnham would hurt her career, by the end of this episode she's decided Burnham is the most awesome person in the galaxy.

* DoubleTake: Several of the crewmembers Burnham passes on her way to the bridge are startled when they realize who just walked by wearing a uniform.
* FailedASpotCheck: Lorca implies that Stamets must have missed something during the away mission to the ''Glenn'', since they are missing a necessary component for the spore drive that must have been on board. Stamets insists that while it's true that [[{{Understatement}} he was a bit distracted at the time]], he'd have noticed if there were any massive supercomputers lying around.
* FakeActionPrologue: When Burnham is called to the bridge, she walks into the middle of a firefight with the Klingons. After the crew botches it and a torpedo impacts the bridge, the screen freezes and it's revealed to be a simulation. Viewers might have guessed as much beforehand given no one else on the ship is behaving like they're under attack.

* FamousFamousFictional: Lorca mentions the Wright brothers, Elon Musk, and Zefram Cochrane[[note]]The inventor of warp drive, famously portrayed by Creator/JamesCromwell in ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact''[[/note]] to motivate Stamets.
* FateWorseThanDeath: After defecting to Kol, L'Rell tells Kol to beam Voq to the ''Shenzhou'', so that he may die aboard the vessel of those that killed his leader. It's subverted when it turns out she did so in order to save him, covertly beaming herself over after hijacking a shuttle without Kol's knowledge.

* HonorBeforeReason: Voq refuses to scavenge equipment off the derelict ''Shenzhou'' to repair their ship, as he feels using Federation tech would betray T'Kuvma's crusade against assimilation, not to mention its crew being responsible for his death. L'Rell convinces him to be practical, noting that they ate a human corpse for food and didn't complain about that.

* InstantSedation: {{Subverted}} -- the KnockoutGas has no effect on Ripper's BizarreAlienBiology, and it mauls Landry to death.

** Saru is surprised to see Burnham is still on the ''Discovery'' and in a Starfleet uniform.

* TheManBehindTheMan: L'Rell tells Voq she doesn't want to be a leader but instead prefers to work behind the scenes.

* MundaneMadeAwesome: The episode opens on a fantastic scene, an alien-looking storm in which arcs of lightning draw together two layers of dark blue in an increasing multitude of locations. Zoom out to reveal this was a microscopic view of the synthesis of Burnham's new uniform.

* NegatedMomentOfAwesome; In the first attempt to spore-jump to Corvan 2, there's dramatic music playing as the crew go to [[RedAlert battle stations]], weapons are powered up, there's a whole lotta [[WhenThingsSpinScienceHappens spinning]] as ''Discovery'' makes the jump...and [[TeleportationMisfire almost crashes into a star]]. Whoopsie!

* NoPartyLikeADonnerParty: Six months of being stranded with only the disabled wrecks of other ships to scavenge from has left T'Kuvma's ship dangerously low on supplies, forcing the crew to eat Georgiou's corpse just to survive. It's also taken that long to repair the damage from a torpedo warhead detonating inside their ship, though it's implied they'd have been underway much sooner if not for Voq's stubborn insistence that they only scavenge the Klingon ships.
* NotSoDifferentRemark: Saru tells Burnham she's just like Lorca after she manipulates him.
* NotWhatISignedOnFor: Stamets hates the fact that his research is being used for war.

'''Lorca:''' Well then get off. Leave the ship.
* ObliviousGuiltSlinging: Captain Georgiou states in her will that she's sure Burnham will have gone on to command her own ship by now. Burnham looks physically pained at being reminded of just how disastrously she's fallen short of Georgiou's hopes and expectations.

* ReformedButRejected: The Klingon Houses have united after the death of T'Kuvma, but that doesn't mean that they're all one big happy family now. At least one of the House leaders sees T'Kuvma's martyrdom as nothing but a convenient way to point the entire Klingon race at the Federation at the same time, and plans to go back to feuding with the other Houses as soon as the war is won, T'Kuvma's dreams of a re-unified Klingon Empire be damned. Likewise, T'Kuvma's former disciples may agree to follow the despised outcast that he appointed his successor for a while, but they'll abandon him quickly enough once the going gets rough--the respect for a dead leader's wishes only goes so far.
* ReluctantMadScientist: Stamets is rather annoyed with the way his technology is being used by Starfleet, and he threatens to take his technology and leave. Captain Lorca reminds him that said technology is owned by Starfleet, so he's going nowhere with it.

* ScreenShake: Used throughout the franchise as a simple means to show that something is happening to a starship, but in a practical sense is little more than an inconvenience for the crew. This time, however, we see that the shaking, rattling, and rolling can itself cause injuries -- Stamets bangs his head on his console and suffers noticeable (and painful) facial fractures that require a trip to Sickbay.

** The Federation almost loses the war because the source of half their dilithium lacks a defense fleet large enough to take a few Birds of Prey. Also, the BigBad survives to cause further trouble simply because the Starfleet lacks a protocol for scuttling abandoned ships... and [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E8TheBattle won't have them for at least a century more]].

* VideoWill: Burnham receives a posthumous holographic message from Captain Georgiou along with her most prized family heirloom--her telescope.

* RealityEnsues:
** Six months of being stranded with only the disabled wrecks of other ships to scavenge from has left T'Kuvma's ship dangerously low on supplies, forcing the crew to eat Georgiou's corpse just to survive. It's also taken that long to repair the damage from a torpedo warhead detonating inside their ship, though it's implied they'd have been underway much sooner if not for Voq's stubborn insistence that they only scavenge the Klingon ships.
** Landry attempts to sedate Ripper, but it's an alien tardigrade with a biology completely different from that of humanoid or even animal species. The sedative gas fails to knock it out and she is killed when she tries to get a sample for study.
** The Klingon Houses have united after the death of T'Kuvma, but that doesn't mean that they're all one big happy family now. At least one of the House leaders sees T'Kuvma's martyrdom as nothing but a convenient way to point the entire Klingon race at the Federation at the same time, and plans to go back to feuding with the other Houses as soon as the war is won, T'Kuvma's dreams of a re-unified Klingon Empire be damned. Likewise, T'Kuvma's former disciples may agree to follow the despised outcast that he appointed his successor for a while, but they'll abandon him quickly enough once the going gets rough--the respect for a dead leader's wishes only goes so far.
** Throughout the franchise, the ScreenShake is used as a simple means to show that something is happening to a starship, but in a practical sense is little more than an inconvenience for the crew. This time, however, we see that the shaking, rattling, and rolling can itself cause injuries -- Stamets bangs his head on his console and suffers noticeable (and painful) facial fractures that require a trip to Sickbay.

* NotSoDifferent: Saru tells Burnham she's just like Lorca after she manipulates him.

* ArtisticLicenseAstronomy: The O-Type star ''Discovery'' jumps to is depicted as a yellow-orange G-Type star similar to Earth's. O-Type stars are far more massive than Earth's sun and radiate intense blue-white light.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Mixed with TakeThat, as NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist Lorca mentions Elon Musk in a positive light.

* ArcNumber: The DistressCall from Corvan 2 says that they've lost Mines [[The47Society 4 and 7]].

* FailedASpotCheck: Lorca implies that Stamets must have done so during the away mission to the ''Glenn'', since they are missing a necessary component for the spore drive that must have been on board. Stamets insists that while it's true that [[{{Understatement}} he was a bit distracted at the time]], he'd have noticed if there were any massive supercomputers lying around.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Burnham regrets having figured out that the tardigrade powers the spore drive, since using the latter clearly hurts the former.

* NegatedMomentOfAwesome; In a sense, the first attempt to spore-jump to Corvan 2. There's dramatic music playing as the crew go to [[RedAlert battle stations]], weapons are powered up, there's a whole lotta [[WhenThingsSpinScienceHappens spinning]] as ''Discovery'' makes the jump...and [[TeleportationMisfire almost crashes into a star]]. Whoopsie!

* ObliviousGuiltSlinging: Captain Georgiou delivers some of it posthumously by stating in her will that she's sure Burnham will have gone on to command her own ship by now. Burnham looks physically pained at being reminded of just how disastrously she's fallen short of Georgiou's hopes and expectations.

** The whole Federation seems to come dangerously close in this episode. Twice. They almost lose the war because the source of half their dilithium lacks a defense fleet large enough to take a few Birds of Prey. Also, the BigBad survives to cause further trouble simply because the Starfleet lacks a protocol for scuttling abandoned ships... and [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E8TheBattle won't have them for at least a century more]].

* VideoWill: Burnham receives Captain Georgiou's, along with her most prized family heirloom--her telescope.

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Burnham refers to the tardigrade "species," apparently in the singular. ''Tardigrada'' is actually a ''phylum'' comprising over 1,150 species.

* NegatedMomentOfAwesome; In a sense, the first attempt to spore-jump to Corvan 2. There's dramatic music playing as the crew go to [[RedAlert battle stations]], weapons are powered up, there's a whole lotta [[WhenStuffSpinsScienceHappens spinning]] as ''Discovery'' makes the jump...and [[TeleportationMisfire almost crashes into a star]]. Whoopsie!

'''Voq:''' ''(after being abandoned on the Shenzhou)'' T'Kuvma, my lord. They left me here to die in the nest of the vermin who took your life. My faith tells me this is not the end. ''My faith tells me this is not the end!''

--> '''Voq:''' T'Kuvma, my lord, it has been six months since your ship was disabled and the war began. We are left behind, in disrepair. Your followers are hungry. Help me guide them to nourishment.

--> '''Voq:''' T'Kuvma, my lord, it has been six monthssince your ship was disabled and the war began. We are left behind, in disrepair. Your followers are hungry. Help me guide them to nourishment.

* TakeAThirdOption: L'Rell tells Voq a story about her doing this.