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Why I’m giving Star Trek: Discovery a third chance

By Alvin Soon - on 03 Oct 2017, 10:55am

Image credit: Michael Gibson/CBS

Warning: Mild spoilers below for the first three episodes of Star Trek: Discovery.

As a lifelong Star Trek fan, I wasn’t too excited about the new Star Trek: Discovery series. 

The first two episodes didn’t do much to change my opinion; while I enjoyed the dynamic between First Officer Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Captain Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh), and the spectacular space battle, it felt too much like an extended prologue dragged out for the sake of exposition.

But the third episode, ‘Context is for Kings,’ which just aired yesterday on Netflix Singapore, is a far more promising hook for the series. After the battle at the binary stars, Burnham has become a far richer character who remains deeply committed to her ideals, but because of one rash mistake, has to live with a tremendous burden that will haunt her for the rest of her life.

It’s also fresh to see how the USS Discovery is made up of some messed up people, especially its captain, Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs). While previous Treks had their personality clashes, you always had the sense that the core crew were made up of people who were good at heart. 

It’s not so clear where the mysterious Lorca’s principles lie, however. While previous captains have faced moral quandaries and been forced to make questionable decisions, I can’t imagine Kirk or Picard telling Burnham the same thing to justify themselves: “Universal law is for lackeys, context is for kings.”

These intriguing character conflicts throw Discovery into a a darker place than previous Star Treks, more Battlestar Galactica than The Next Generation. It’s what I’d hoped Enterprise could have been more; a raw look at how the early Federation formed, when humanity didn’t yet have its “evolved sensibilities,” and the technology superiority that made so much of TNG safe and convenient.

Three episodes in, it’s also clear that Discovery has its own bold take on Star Trek. You wouldn’t mistake this for TNG or Voyager, Discovery clearly stands on its own two feet. And for better or worse, a part of me understands that this more turbulent Trek is the only one we could accept in 2017 — the sheer optimism of TNG feels too far away in a present where we’re confronted with the gloom of climate change, isolationism and terror attacks.

’Context is for Kings’ manages to do for me what the first two episodes could not: make a reason to keep watching. I want to see how Burnham deals with her PTSD. I want to know what the hell Lorca is up to on Discovery. I want to see if poor Tilly makes it all the way to the end.

There is also one final thing I want to find out by Discovery’s end. Star Trek’s prime directive — the single factor underlying every Trek generation — has been hope. The hope that no matter how dark things get, humanity finds a way towards a brighter future of inclusion, exploration, and discovery. I wonder if our most modern Trek will find a way back towards Trek’s innate optimism, or will be dragged downwards into darkness.

You can catch Star Trek: Discovery in Singapore on Netflix, where a new episode airs every Monday.

Quick takes

  • One of the best things about Star Trek has always been about inclusion. Hurrah for having a diverse cast, including two female leads in the first two episodes, one black and one Chinese.
  • The quality of the writing sure is uneven. You have some great moments and then some decisions that don’t even make sense, like they had to happen simply because the story wants it to happen and not because it was a sensible choice. Without giving things away, the tactical decision in the last act of the second episode is a clear example.
  • Not sure about the uniforms. It looks like they’re trying to bridge the look between Enterprise and The Original Series, but at least the plain uniforms on Enterprise looked functional. These just look cheesy.
  • Shout out to whoever designed the USS Shenzhou. She’s gorgeous.
  • At the same time, the USS Discovery is hideous. I know she’s based on an earlier draft of the original USS Enterprise by Ralph McQuarrie, but I think there was a reason why that design was discarded.
  • A new Trek series, and new soft retcons. Sigh.
Alvin Soon

Alvin Soon / Former Deputy Editor

I like coffee and cameras, but not together.

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