'Star Trek Discovery' episode 7: Time loop problems

A preview video of “Star Trek Discovery” episode 7 shows the ship and its crew members being stuck in a time loop. It will take a few loops before the crew members start discovering that they are stuck, and that they need to get out. Failure will mean the destruction of the ship. Meanwhile, Harry Mudd (Rainn Wilson) will be back. The following article contains spoilers from episodes that have aired, and a preview of the next episode.

A preview video of next episode posted on YouTube shows crew member Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) telling Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) about the ship being stuck in a time loop. The plot should be familiar to Trekkies because it’s something that has been done before.

The ship is caught in a time loop of 30 minutes, and they repeat it over and over again. Those caught in the loop may repeat the same 30 minutes of their lives over and over for days, months or even years. At the end of the loop, something dramatic happens, like the ship getting blown to pieces, and everyone is back to where they were 30 minutes ago. The loop will continue until the crew members recognise the problem and break out of the cycle.

One possible reason for the time loop problem is an intruder. Mudd, who was last seen collaborating with the enemy aboard a Klingon ship, will be back. The unsavoury man will be on Discovery next episode, and he appears to have brought an alien creature with him, which may be the source of the problem.

“Star Trek Discover” season 1 episode 7 is titled “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad.” At the centre of the problem is Michael Burnham, who is now a full-fledged member of the fleet.