Synopsis: The U.S.S. Discovery is sent to stop Cleveland Booker and Ruon Tarka from destroying the Dark Matter Anomaly.
This episode can be seen as illustrating the importance of finding middle ground. This can be compared to James Hillman’s concept of the metaxy, the middle space between the conscious ego and the unconscious.
In “Rubicon” Captain Michael Burnham and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery are tasked with finding and stopping Cleveland (Book) Booker and Ruon Tarka from destroying the Dark Matter Anomaly (DMA). Because Burnham is so close to Book, Admiral Charles Vance sends Commander Nhan of Starfleet Security to accompany the crew. They locate Book’s ship, but when a team takes a shuttle to board her, unbeknownst to Book, Tarka has installed a security system that destroys the shuttle. However, the team is safely recovered and Discovery follows Book’s ship to the location of the DMA. Nhan has a plan to destroy Book’s ship and the weapon, but Burnham convinces her to allow her to take a shuttle to Book’s ship to try to convince him to stand down and give diplomacy a try. Book agrees, but Tarka does not and deploys the weapon to blow up the DMA. He succeeds, but the power source he thought was in the DMA controller is not found because it exists outside the galaxy. To everyone’s amazement, as soon as the DMA is destroyed another one takes its place.
In this episode, there are several instances when individuals who normally perceive the world as black and white, decide that there is a possible middle ground – a gray area if you will. Nhan is sent to monitor Burnham’s actions because as a Barzan she adheres to the code “duty above all” (McElroy et al., 2022). Yet, in private, she tells Burnham that this mindset has caused her difficulties in her personal life and she believes now is a time to “find middle ground” (McElroy et al., 2022). Similarly, when Burnham takes a shuttle to speak to Book, although he completely disagrees with Burnham’s position, he agrees to a compromise before Tarka unilaterally decides to deploy the weapon. These moments of cooperation, and the hope and promise that they bring, can be compared to Hillman’s idea of the metaxy, as a place where the conscious ego and the unconscious can meet to form something new. The metaxy as a place of meeting, creation, and growth.
Reference:
McElroy, A. (Writer), Mullins, G. (Story Editor), Schultz, B. (Story Editor), Cisco, C. (Staff Writer), & Armaganian, A. (Director). (2022, February 10). Rubicon (Season 4, Episode 9) [TV series episode]. In A. Baiers, H. Kadin, A. Kurtzman, J. Lee, J. Lumet, O. Osunsami, M. Paradise, E. Roddenberry, T. Roth, K. Siracusa, & J. Weber (Executive Producers), Star trek: Discovery. CBS Television Studios, Living Dead Guy Productions, Roddenberry Entertainment, Secret Hideout.
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