Terra Firma, Part 2 (episode)
Georgiou uncovers the true depths of the plot against her, leading her to a revelation about how deeply her time on the USS Discovery truly changed her.

Summary

Teaser 
Aboard the , , the head of Emperor 's Honor Guard, throws an enraged  into the brig. Burnham demands that Georgiou kill her for her betrayal, as the law dictates, and tells her that every moment of hesitation will make the emperor appear weaker. Burnham posits that Georgiou has become so weak that she built the  as a palace for her retirement. Georgiou insists that the Charon is both a legacy and something for the Terran Empire's subjects to live for. Burnham spits in Georgiou's face. Georgiou responds by saying that  maintained power over a vast area by allowing the locals to retain their customs rather than more brutally subjugating them. The Terrans will never get spoils of war in peacetime, Burnham says. The Romulans, Klingons, Andorians, and Tellarites are forming an alliance against the Empire called the , she adds. The Denobulans, Coridanites, and Rigelians will follow and should all be attacked now. The Empire cannot fight the entire galaxy, Georgiou says, but Burnham insists they would "think twice about alliances if we flew down and roasted them on spits." But Georgiou says she is changing the rules of engagement and has Burnham thrown into the agony booth, where Owosekun tortures her.

Georgiou watches the proceedings from her quarters. Captain  enters and asks why Burnham is still alive. Georgiou insists she is not showing mercy to Burnham. Tilly responds that they must still root out her accomplices and notes that  likely knew of her plans. Georgiou discloses she will have Burnham turn them in after she is broken by torture, and places Tilly in charge of the interrogation, for which she demands free reign.

Act One 
A meal is slid into Burnham's holding cell; Burnham pushes it aside violently. Tilly tells her she predicted to Georgiou that she would not eat it and says she will have Dr.  force-feed her later. The guards drag Burnham back into the agonizer, where Tilly demands she swear allegiance to Georgiou and name her co-conspirators. Burnham refuses and Tilly takes pleasure in activating the agonizer before leaving her to sleep in the device. During the night, Owosekun tortures her further. Burnham continues to reject food over time, and Culber arrives to force-feed her. At one point, Burnham awakens to find Detmer outside her cell as Georgiou observes remotely. Detmer urges her to give in and reveals that no one has heard from , who recruited Burnham into the plot against Georgiou.

Later, Georgiou visits an unconscious Burnham and reminisces about Burnham childhood. She was quiet when awake but screamed at night in her sleep, "fighting to escape." One night, Georgiou stopped restraining Burnham and she sleepwalked to a field of fireflies, which calmed her, allowing Georgiou to carry her back to her bed. They did that each night, but Burnham never recalled it when awake. Georgiou says she was saddened when Burnham outgrew her night terrors, though she wonders if she ever truly did. She unveils a small globe filled with fireflies and urges Burnham to trust her. She leaves and Burnham awakens, turning her head to see the fireflies. She eats a piece of bread, staring contemplatively.

Owosekun brings Burnham to Georgiou's quarters, where  attends to her. She kneels and salutes, and Georgiou dismisses Owosekun and Saru. Burnham apologizes and pledges allegiance, though Georgiou says she only sought to rule her empire with Burnham. She offers not only to name her co-conspirators, but to execute them herself. Georgiou tells her to have Detmer assist her. Burnham tells Georgiou she can trust her again, though the emperor appears skeptical and tells her not to return until she proves herself.

 walks down a corridor when she is fired on by Detmer. The two trade fire briefly before Landry incapacitates her. Walking away, Landry is shot by a waiting Burnham. Later, Burnham and Detmer enter Georgiou’s ready room, where Owosekun and Tilly have joined her for a drink. Burnham throws onto the table before her the badges of Landry, , and more than a half-dozen other conspirators. Burnham then fatally stabs Detmer in front of them. "Now it's done," she says.

In Georgiou's quarters, she and Burnham share a meal served by Saru. Burnham remarks that the kitchen has stopped serving Kelpien and Georgiou responds that Kelpien flesh is "too high in cholesterol and stringy." Saru agrees and departs. Burnham says she "came to the light" weeks prior but remained in the brig out of stubbornness. She also notes Georgiou used "backchannels" to sabotage the alliance against the empire, which Georgiou says was not difficult. Burnham notes that Georgiou listened to her about the threat, and Georgiou demands she tell her the truth from now on. Burnham says she does not know where Lorca is and deflects a question about whether she still loves him, though she vows to kill him. She tells Burnham to track him down.

Later, Saru brushes Georgiou's hair as she remarks that events are unfolding as she hoped. She tells him to remain in her service rather than return to Burnham but he warns her that he is about to undergo vahar'ai and expects to die. He asks her to cull him, but she reveals that vahar'ai is not the end of his life. She instructs him to lock himself away and after a few days will find himself "changed forever." She tells him about his prime universe counterpart, Saru, who became stronger after undergoing vahar'ai. He is surprised by her trust in him, but she tells him she could sense his regret at leaving her was genuine. Saru is distraught when he realizes his sister and family would still be alive had they known, but Georgiou tells him to avenge them by staying alive. "You are not Terran," he says, startling Georgiou, who insists she is and that she will mold her home to what she wishes it to be. Georgiou dismisses Saru and checks her wristband bio-scanner, which still displays green.

Act Two 
On the bridge,  reports intercepting a coded message to Lorca's alias identity from Duggan, who Burnham identifies as one of Lorca's top lieutenants. The message originated from Risa six hours prior. Georgiou orders Tilly to take Discovery there at high warp, overriding Tilly's offer to go alone with Burnham in a shuttlecraft.  takes the ship to maximum warp. Upon arriving,  reports detecting a single Class A shuttle and no other warp-capable vessels within a hundred light years. Burnham confirms the shuttle contains Duggan, noting that he is a "cheap bastard" who has not bothered to properly fix the craft. Duggan powers up, but Georgiou orders the vessel disabled and Duggan kept alive. A single torpedo does the job, prompting Duggan to hail Discovery. Georgiou questions him over the viewscreen, and Duggan reveals that while she was distracted by the Coalition, Lorca rallied the Klingons and Romulans against her. Burnham has him beamed to the brig and orders the Honor Guard to accompany them while promising Georgiou she is not having second thoughts.

With Culber and others looking on, the detained Duggan quips that in person, Georgiou is not so terrifying and lightly tells her not to trust Burnham. "Of course you can... when I want you to," Burnham says, pulling out a phaser and shooting Duggan in the head. She turns the weapon on Georgiou as Rhys and Nilsson enter and kill two of her guards. Burnham reveals she was able to take advantage of Georgiou's second chance to kill her and save the empire. Georgiou responds that even now Burnham can make a different choice, and that she changed after seeing another way to live. Burnham says she never should have trusted her, and Georgiou responds that she "never did... not like [she] wanted to." Suddenly, Tilly, Owosekun, Saru, and another Kelpien arrive and start shooting at the traitors. Burnham kills the other Kelpien. Saru kills Culber. Burnham and Georgiou engage in a knife fight; Georgiou gains the upper hand but hesitates to slash Burnham's throat. Meanwhile, Tilly kills Airiam and Owosekun kills Rhys. Georgiou, having been stabbed with a dagger, withdraws her sword and stabs Burnham through the stomach, whispering "Sorry." The two lie side by side, dying.

Act Three 
Saru holds the dying Georgiou as Tilly and Owosekun observe. She notes he survived his vahar'ai. She passes out briefly and awakes to find herself back on icy Dannus V with Burnham and Carl. She is disoriented, surprised to learn she experienced some three months in the space of a few moments. Georgiou, however, is still afflicted and in pain. Carl reveals that he is the Guardian of Forever and the wooden door explodes and reconstitutes as a great time-travel vortex.

Aboard the , Paul Stamets and Adira Tal are having difficulty hacking into the 's systems remotely. Adira posits that the ship was trapped in the Verubin Nebula a hundred and twenty-five years prior, and thus may no longer be intact. Stamets says something must be sending the signal on repeat and pulls more power for their effort. Jett Reno approaches, irked that they have rerouted so much power for their efforts and interrupted her work transitioning the ship from warp plasma conduits to fully polaric conduits. Adira explains their task and objects to Reno, who is snacking on black licorice, having food in engineering. She replies that it is "not food, it's candy, it's practically an accessory." Cleveland Booker approaches and plugs a glowing device into the console. He explains that static in the space-subspace barrier is preventing their connection. He explains that couriers traveling to remote areas use range extenders to amplify weak subspace signals, though Stamets is skeptical since he obtained the device from the Emerald Chain. Discovery can now link its sensors to the Khi'eth to gather data.

On the planet, Burnham asks what a Guardian of Forever is. Carl says he is a space-time portal in hiding because many tried to use him to kill people during the Temporal Wars. He is "nowhere near [his] original coordinates," and Burnham notes that only the Sphere entity, with over a hundred thousand years of data and access to contemporary Federation databases could have extrapolated his location. Carl says that the still-dying Georgiou was sent back not to be cured, but to be tested to see if she would make different choices, whether her time in the prime universe had changed her. Georgiou says she must have been found wanting since she killed Burnham again, though Carl notes that she tried for peace, saving Saru, which she didn't have to do. He offers for her to walk through the portal, but she refuses to return to the mirror universe. But Carl says he will send her back to a time when the mirror and prime universes were "still aligned" so she will not die. However, he notes her life will still be difficult. She asks if Burnham can accompany her, but Carl says she is where she needs to be. He tells her to walk through when ready and disappears.

Georgiou tells Burnham she gave her "new life" by bringing her to the prime universe. Burnham says her feelings for Georgiou are for her alone, not because of her prior relationship with the late Captain Philippa Georgiou. Georgiou says she wishes she had said all this earlier and that she regrets not telling Burnham about San, but Burnham urges her to tell the people she will meet upon walking through the portal. Before entering, Georgiou turns back and tells Burnham, "This era is different, more Terran than where you came from. Saru has navigated Discovery admirably. But he's not the only one who's suited for the captain's chair. You have always been far greater than you could imagine, Michael." Burnham responds that Georgiou is as well. Burnham offers a Vulcan salute as Georgiou responds with a Terran salute and walks into the portal, which flashes and disappears.

Act Four 
Saru reports to a holographic projection of Admiral Charles Vance about their findings, though Vance is concerned about the use of Emerald Chain technology. Booker replies that he ensured it was safe before installing it on his own ship years earlier. Discoverys spore drive makes it more attractive to Osyraa, who is running short on dilithium, calling for extra caution, Vance says. He tells Booker to follow Starfleet protocol if he wishes to remain aboard Discovery, but he replies that Osyraa doesn't follow any protocols and that having him as a non-Starfleet participant could prove beneficial. Saru receives an alert that Burnham is beaming back to Discovery alone, and Booker leaves to meet her. Vance questions if Saru is distracted by the Kelpien crew of the Khi'eth and orders him to report as soon as he learns anything further. He also offers condolences regarding Georgiou.

In a corridor, Booker tells Burnham he's sorry for her loss and they embrace. Later, in her quarters, Burnham tells Saru they will not see Georgiou again.

The crew gathers to toast Georgiou, with Dr. Hugh Culber calling her "the most stubborn patient I've ever had." Other crewmembers share their ambiguous opinions about about her. Burnham says she was "like a mother, almost; like a sister, almost. I loved her, and hated her, sometimes both at the same time."

Memorable Quotes 
"Even Genghis Khan learned that his grip on power could not hold if he didn't let the people he conquered worship their own gods."
- Georgiou to Burnham (mirror)

"This is the orison of every parent, Michael, as I hoped you would learn someday: 'Why can't they just believe what I say?' 'Why do they only learn from pain?"
- Georgiou, as Burnham is tortured

"…You are not Terran."
"Of course I am."
"The way you speak-"
"Enough."
"Please, return to where you are from, emperor. Should you fail to do what is expected of you, they will kill you."
"This is my home, now and forever. And I will make it what it needs to be. That is how I will survive."
- Saru (mirror) and Georgiou"What happened to you?!"
"I have changed. I have seen another way to live, another way to rule."
"There is no other way. There's an iron fist, and there's death."
- Burnham (mirror) and Georgiou, as Burnham betrays her

"She passed through. See that's what you do with doors. You pass through. You've really got to get yourself up to speed with modern technology."
- Carl"Who are you? Really?"
"Really? … I am the Guardian of Forever."
- Burnham and Carl, revealing his true identity

"I haven't seen you since the dawn of time. Where the hell have you been?"
- Stamets to Reno

"You're- you're not allowed to have food in here."
"This isn't food, it's candy. It's practically an accessory."
- Adira and Reno"Consider yourself lucky. You're getting a second shot, that's pretty unique. But it won't be easy. The paper says the forecast will be bumpy and painful. Lots of rainstorms, and heartaches, but that's life. Or so I'm told."
- Carl, warning Georgiou of what's to come for her

"I said you sentenced me to death when you brought me to this universe. In truth, the greater part of me was already dead. You gave me new life, and the rest of your crew isn't so bad either."
- Georgiou, to Burnham

"I've seen that some endings are inevitable. Mine, Captain Burnham's, and perhaps your Philippa was destined for her end as well."
"You are my Philippa."
"Michael…"
"I mean, what I feel for you… belongs to you. No one else."
"I wish I'd learned all this before now."
- Georgiou and Burnham

"This era is different. More Terran than where you came from. Saru has navigated Discovery admirably, but he's not the only one who's suited for the captain's chair. You have always been far greater than you could imagine, Michael."
"So have you, Philippa."
- Georgiou and Burnhams final words to one another

"She was a pain in the ass. And she meant more to me than I could ever put in words. Georgiou was the wall I crashed into over and over and over again. She was a tormentor, but a truth-teller. She was a mirror I never knew I needed. Like a mother almost. Like a sister, almost. I loved her… and hated her. Sometimes both at the same time. More than anything, she was my friend. She was the most unexpected of gifts, and I will miss the hell out of her."
- Burnham

Background information

Production history 

 : Title publicly revealed

Title

Cast and characters 
 Rachael Ancheril (D. Nhan) is not credited and does not appear in this episode.

Continuity 
 Carl reveals himself to be the Guardian of Forever, first seen in the  episode . This is also the only other episode in which his newspaper, The Star Dispatch, appears.
 Carl also confirms that Georgiou's experience in the mirror universe created an offshoot alternate timeline of that universe:
 , , , , , , and  all die in 2255 as a result of their participation in 's attempted coup. Emperor  also succumbs to her wounds shortly after her fight with Burnham.
 's vahar'ai occurs in 2255 as well, despite him still being alive in 2257 of the "normal" mirror universe (as seen in ). Thanks to Georgiou's warning, he survives the experience without being culled and passes his knowledge on to other Kelpiens.
 The organized rebellion against the Terran Empire is covertly sabotaged by Georgiou through back channels.
 Risa is depicted as having a ring system in this episode, unlike in prior depictions. This may be a feature unique to the mirror universe.
 Emperor Philippa Georgiou quotes Victor Hugo in her monologue: "Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise." This quote is from the novel Les Misérables.
 The polaric warp conduits Reno mentions installing may refer to polaric ion energy, the unstable source depicted in , though no explicit connection is made. The technology had been banned in the 23rd century after the destruction of a Romulan research facility, though it is possible that the issues with it were corrected in the subsequent 900 years. In any case, this appears to be a continuation of the 32nd century upgrades previously depicted in .

Reception

Links and references

Starring 
 Sonequa Martin-Green as Michael Burnham / Michael Burnham (mirror)
 Doug Jones as Saru / Saru (mirror)
 Anthony Rapp as Paul Stamets
 Mary Wiseman as Sylvia Tilly / Sylvia Tilly (mirror)
 Wilson Cruz as Hugh Culber / Hugh Culber (mirror)
And
 David Ajala as Cleveland "Book" Booker

Special guest star 
 Michelle Yeoh as

Guest starring 
 Oded Fehr as Charles Vance
 Blu del Barrio as Adira Tal
 Hannah Cheesman as 
 Paul Guilfoyle as Carl
 Daniel Kash as Duggan
 Tig Notaro as Jett Reno
 Rekha Sharma as

Co-starring 
 Emily Coutts as Lt. Keyla Detmer / Keyla Detmer (mirror)
 Patrick Kwok-Choon as Lt. Gen Rhys / Gen Rhys (mirror)
 Oyin Oladejo as Lt. Joann Owosekun / Joann Owosekun (mirror)
 Ronnie Rowe Jr. as Lt. R.A. Bryce / R.A. Bryce (mirror)
 Sara Mitich as Lt. Nilsson / Nilsson (mirror)

Uncredited co-stars 
 Ross Carter as 
 Phi Huynh as Honor Guard
 Bartell La Rue as Guardian Voice 
 Greg Leach as Honor Guard
 Pamela Mars as ISS Discovery crewmember

Stunt doubles 
 Christine Ebadi as stunt double for Rekha Sharma
 Penande Estime as stunt double for Oyin Oladejo
 E. Nova Zatzman as stunt double for Mary Wiseman

Stand-in 
 Stacy-Ann Buchanan as stand-in for Sonequa Martin-Green

References 
2254; 3064; 3187; accomplice; admiral; agonizer; agonizer booth; alias; alliance; Andorians; apology; appetite; artist; backchannel; backup cell; badass; bed; biodata; bitch; Booker's ship; boot; bowler hat; bread; brig; ; cage; candy; captain; captain's chair; "Carnelian"; ; cholesterol; christening; cigar; ; Class A shuttlecraft; Class C shuttlecraft (unnamed); co-conspirator; ; coat; commander; conversation; coordinates; Coridanites; courier; daughter; death opera; Denobulans; dilithium; distress call; DNA; door; DOT-7; egg; Emerald Chain; emperor; ; Federation database; ; field manual; firefly; floor; force-feeding; French fries; ganglia; ; Guardian of Forever; history; Honor Guard; hug; ; interrogator; Kelpiens; ; ; kitchen; Klingon; laughter; licorice; lieutenant; lieutenant commander; life signs; light year; long-range sensor; ; Milky Way Galaxy; minutes; mirror universe; months; mother; newspaper; night; night terror; orison; Osyraa; oxygen; palace; parent; percent; phaser; photon torpedo; pain; patient; plasma warp conduit; polaric warp conduit; prime universe; propaganda; protocol; quadrant; range extender; rebellion; report; research vessel; retirement; revolt; Rigelians; Risa; Risa's moons; Romulans; ; San; serial number; ; ; sister; sky; sleep; sleepwalking; snake; space; spacetime portal; ; spitting; spore drive; ; Starfleet; Starfleet uniform (32nd century); Starfleet uniform (late 2230s-2250s); subspace; subspace relay; sun; sword; Tantalus field; technical manual; teenager; Tellarites; Temporal War; Terra; ; Terran Empire; Terran Empire uniform; Terran salute; toast; tomato; traitor; unconsciousness; vahar'ai; Verubin Nebula; "Vicar"; Vulcan salute; week; wrist

The Star Dispatch 
Andoria; Augustus; battle royale; blue giant; Centarius; Dominus of Qo'noS; famine; Highness; Iaponius; Imperial Highness; ; Magnificence; Majesty; Milky Way Galaxy; Mother of the Fatherland; Norpin V; Norpin colony; Norpin colony authorities; Overlord of Vulcan; quatloo; Regina Andor; San Francisco; sector 9; Starfleet Command; Starfleet Command senior officials; Starfleet search-and-rescue officials; supernova; throne world; Tkon Empire; Tkon Empire sun; Tkon Empire throne world

External links 
 
 
 

DIS episodes