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4thofelevenIn which the majority of the cast are MIA.
So here we are, at the beginning of a new era for Star Trek. We're a long way away from any established continuity, and I hope this means the writers will feel they're free to shape a new vision for Star Trek. Already, the thirty-first century feels visually and tonally distinct from anything we've seen before, yet at the same time, it feels like it still has the optimism that lies at the heart of Star Trek. The Federation is fallen, Starfleet is a relic, history has moved on – yet at the same time, people still hold to the ideals and try and preserve the best of the past.
As an example of this, I really enjoyed the twist on Book; he's not just a smuggler with a heart of gold, he's an environmentalist, trying to undo the crimes of his ancestors and leave a better future for the galaxy.
(Though he does still have the mandated big furry sidekick. I only hope Grudge gets more screen-time than Picard's Number One.)
The Burn as a plot device is interesting; there's been a lot of debate online already over what it means. The implication I took was that when the dilithium failed, every warp core in use lost containment – it certainly makes sense that that would cripple the existing interstellar entities. As an allegory for the problems facing the world today, I like it a lot; it can be read as an allegory for environmental collapse, for resource shortages, for the increasing rise of isolationist policies. For that matter, the collapse of interstellar travel feels oddly relevant today, as I sit here unable to travel more than five km from my home due to COVID lockdowns. At the same time, it's not a failure of the Federation or its ideals; it was simply confronted with an out-of-context problem, and was rendered unable to actually act any more on an interstellar scale. The collapse of the Federation could have been a far darker story, so it's nice they avoided that.
I really enjoyed the character of Aditya Sahil, and hope he returns – unlike Book, he's not credited as part of the main cast, but Discovery's generally been pretty good about keeping around guest stars. There's something fascinating about the idea of him as the last remnant of the Starfleet bureaucracy, keeping the lights on out of the faint hope that someday they'll be needed again. On the one hand, it's admirable; on the other hand, it's somewhat insane; one cannot help but think his dedication could have been put to better uses than maintaining the last outpost of a vanished culture.
My only real concern regarding this new setting is what is to be done with Burnham? For all that she's dominated the show to date, she still doesn't have much of an identity separate from her family and her position. Maybe throwing her into a situation where she has neither will allow her to thrive as a character, but I'm still not sure the writers have much of a sense of her as a person. She does get some nice moments here; her delight when she realises life has survived, and her drugged ramblings give the actor a chance to show a bit more personality and humour than usual, and she shows she can support a story even without the rest of the regular cast, but after two whole seasons, I'm still not entirely sold on her as the lead character.
Minor notes:
- I did love that her first thought on being drugged was that Tilly would be unbearable if exposed to it.
- Discovery continues its tradition of gorgeous planet-scapes; this time, filming on location in Iceland. Maybe I'll add that island to my travel list, if travel restrictions ever lift again...
- Is this the first time we've had a Star Trek episode with no prominent white characters?
- It seems the Temporal Cold War went hot at some point. Hey, are we finally going to learn the identity of Enterprise's Future Guy?!
So here we are, at the beginning of a new era for Star Trek. We're a long way away from any established continuity, and I hope this means the writers will feel they're free to shape a new vision for Star Trek. Already, the thirty-first century feels visually and tonally distinct from anything we've seen before, yet at the same time, it feels like it still has the optimism that lies at the heart of Star Trek. The Federation is fallen, Starfleet is a relic, history has moved on – yet at the same time, people still hold to the ideals and try and preserve the best of the past.
As an example of this, I really enjoyed the twist on Book; he's not just a smuggler with a heart of gold, he's an environmentalist, trying to undo the crimes of his ancestors and leave a better future for the galaxy.
(Though he does still have the mandated big furry sidekick. I only hope Grudge gets more screen-time than Picard's Number One.)
The Burn as a plot device is interesting; there's been a lot of debate online already over what it means. The implication I took was that when the dilithium failed, every warp core in use lost containment – it certainly makes sense that that would cripple the existing interstellar entities. As an allegory for the problems facing the world today, I like it a lot; it can be read as an allegory for environmental collapse, for resource shortages, for the increasing rise of isolationist policies. For that matter, the collapse of interstellar travel feels oddly relevant today, as I sit here unable to travel more than five km from my home due to COVID lockdowns. At the same time, it's not a failure of the Federation or its ideals; it was simply confronted with an out-of-context problem, and was rendered unable to actually act any more on an interstellar scale. The collapse of the Federation could have been a far darker story, so it's nice they avoided that.
I really enjoyed the character of Aditya Sahil, and hope he returns – unlike Book, he's not credited as part of the main cast, but Discovery's generally been pretty good about keeping around guest stars. There's something fascinating about the idea of him as the last remnant of the Starfleet bureaucracy, keeping the lights on out of the faint hope that someday they'll be needed again. On the one hand, it's admirable; on the other hand, it's somewhat insane; one cannot help but think his dedication could have been put to better uses than maintaining the last outpost of a vanished culture.
My only real concern regarding this new setting is what is to be done with Burnham? For all that she's dominated the show to date, she still doesn't have much of an identity separate from her family and her position. Maybe throwing her into a situation where she has neither will allow her to thrive as a character, but I'm still not sure the writers have much of a sense of her as a person. She does get some nice moments here; her delight when she realises life has survived, and her drugged ramblings give the actor a chance to show a bit more personality and humour than usual, and she shows she can support a story even without the rest of the regular cast, but after two whole seasons, I'm still not entirely sold on her as the lead character.
Minor notes:
- I did love that her first thought on being drugged was that Tilly would be unbearable if exposed to it.
- Discovery continues its tradition of gorgeous planet-scapes; this time, filming on location in Iceland. Maybe I'll add that island to my travel list, if travel restrictions ever lift again...
- Is this the first time we've had a Star Trek episode with no prominent white characters?
- It seems the Temporal Cold War went hot at some point. Hey, are we finally going to learn the identity of Enterprise's Future Guy?!