Star Trek: Discovery

[Anthony W]

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there does it make a sound? If Discovery has a season finale and no one comments did it actually happen? No one has anything to say about this episode? Okay....

Stuff I didn't care for.

The holodeck bringing Grey back. No, the holodeck doesn't work that way. And why just Grey and none of the other former host? Speaking of Grey....

Grey is a Trill and knows the deal. Once you kick the bucket you live on through the symbiote. Watching Culber try to console Grey was strange. It's time for Adria to realize that Grey is dead so that Grey vanishes along with this CW storyline once and for all.

The forces from Ni'var arriving so soon when supposedly travel is so much more difficult.

No debate as to what to do with Su'Kal. This alien caused The Burn, almost caused a second burn and there is no debate as to what to do with him? What if he falls into the wrong hands? What if he has a bad day?

Pump-action blaster rifles. How can we make something that can disintegrate you even more badass? Make it pump-action!

The Discovery doubles as a Tardis. Did you see all that space during the turbolift fight? You could fit an entire ship in there.

If Burnham's catchphrase (Let's Fly!) was an ice cream flavor it would be..vanilla.

[nx01a]

Best things about the finale:
>The feeling of hope, connection, and chosen family which has sadly been missing in Star Trek since it returned to TV.
>No needlessly shaky cam battle sequences.
fight.jpg
>The new warp effect with the singularities at both ends of the subspace corridor and a star field visible.
warp.jpg
>Thou shalt NOT threaten The Queen!!!!
>Book communes with the spores!
>The Gene quote and the modified TOS theme during the end credits.
>Lieutenant Owosekun is my favourite of the criminally underused and barely fleshed out main bridge crew. Her friendship with Detmer is so wholesome.

The So-So...
>I was hoping that the field around Fed and SF hq was some kind of subspace/space-time fold, not just a force field. Boring.
>The Sphere Data fitting in the DOTs without a line like 'I had to dump most of my information'. What's the data storage on these 32nd C storage devices? :P
>Gray manifesting? Weird. You'd assume this advanced psychological holoprojection technology would be something the Fed would have access to, not something the Kelpien mother came up with on the fly.
>Culber's transgender visibility comment made me smile while the heavy-handed nature of it made me groan. "We’ll find a way to help you be seen... truly seen… by everyone."
>Not enough focus on Voyager J! Not enough focus on the 32nd C Vulcan-Romulan ships! Yes, I'm a ship guy.
>Everything in the future, whether 23rd, 24th, or 32nd C is neon blue. I miss orange phasers and photon torpedoes.
>I'm not really feeling the new uniforms.
>Saru taking a sabbatical requiring Michael to become captain. She can fly the ship around as a commander.
>Shouldn't Discovery have used the spore drive at the end to reach all these distant worlds?
>Without Saru, the bridge crew is so painfully human. The show can afford the prosthetics and cgi for more aliens. Linus for spore drive operator!
>"Let's fly." Meh. It's OK. At least she didn't obsess over it like Saru.

Worst things about the finale:
>At least a dozen ships couldn't destroy Discovery in 5 minutes with sustained fire?
>The ridiculously fast travel times across a galaxy which is supposedly cut off.
>The seemingly infinite space within Discovery's hull where the turbolifts go. At this point aka the 32nd C, shouldn't there be teleporters beaming you around like we see in SF hq?
>The very easy way the Emerald Chain threat was dispatched. Just kill Osyraa? No actual negotiations between the Fed and the EC without the EC's genocidal slaver as intermediary?
>Admiral Vance joining the long line of people who undeservedly suck Michael's proverbial dick.

Favourite quotes...
Culber: And it’s okay to be afraid.
Su'Kal: The Elder used to say that.
Saru: Even in fear, Su’Kal, you can still step forward.

And this obviously meta commentary on the show itself...

Michael: Disconnection. That’s how this future began. One moment in time that radiated outward, until no one even remembered that connection was possible anymore. But it is. The need to connect is at our core as sentient beings. It takes time, effort, and understanding. Sometimes… it feels impossible. But if we work at it… miracles can happen.

Final thoughts...
Were things wrapped up too easily? Yup but I hope some teething problems between the Fed and the rest of the galaxy's powers will appear and hopefully be worked out. Is Michael being the be all and end all tiresome? Yup but I think I'll just have to accept that's how it is.
This show has gone from one I genuinely detested to a show I really enjoy, and one which brings a genuine smile to my face with each passing episode since the beginning of season 2. Trek shows all reach their stride in their third season, and DIS is no different. It still has issues but I hope the other Trek shows follow its example in getting back to the principles which made Star Trek such a positive cultural force to begin with. Here's to season 4!
disc.jpg

[Anthony W]

The Gene quote and the modified TOS theme during the end credits.

That would have been touching if not for the fact that there was an ensign named Gene who was tasked with cleaning up Leland's remains with a.....shovel. They also go on to have the same ensign be casually insulted by Reno when he tells her his name.

[nx01a]

Now that you mention it, there are many levels to that already tasteless scene.
Written by Michelle Paradise & Jenny Lumet & Alex Kurtzman. I wonder which one was responsible for this sequence?

[DrNewGod]

I felt the season started well, but deteriorated into a shambling mess near the end. I hope SNW is better.

[TriggerWarning]

I liked the first two seasons. This one was just meh. When I think about it all I really can think about is the things I didn't like: 1) Possibly writing out my favorite character of Saru, 2) Michael is somehow more annoying, 3) Michael becoming Captain, I found the notion of a show centered around a non Captain far more interesting, 4) The plot forced promotion of Tilly to Number One just to give her character something to do, 5) Michael's catchphrase, 6) Everything about Sonequa's whisper acting as the longer she delivers whisper speak lines the more annoying it becomes, just talk like a normal human being, 7) Michael's hair - the show hasn't done a very good job of portraying Michael as a child raised by Vulcans but having Michael get hair extensions really seems like a non vulcan thing to do.

[G. Boney]

7) Michael's hair - the show hasn't done a very good job of portraying Michael as a child raised by Vulcans but having Michael get hair extensions really seems like a non vulcan thing to do.

Within the context of the show it's supposed to be her actual hair. There was a scene showing it grow, to show a year had passed when she was away from Discovery. Not to mention she didn't have the Vulcan bowl cut before the new hairstyle...

[ChrisIII]

There ever been an explanation for that? Romulans (mostly) have it too. Seems to be optional for Vulcan women though.

[Styles]

[ZeroBG82]

Oh, look, more new uniforms.

I like this one, it works better than the slate gray from the end of last season.

But the blue needs to be brighter, it conflates with the black too easily.

[Godzilla2099]

Michael got promoted? She should have received a court-martial

I couldn't watch this show after Season 1 after my favorite character got axed and my least favorite character is practically force fed to the audience. I see they're applying the same formula.

[ZeroBG82]

Michael got promoted? She should have received a court-martial

I couldn't watch this show after Season 1 after my favorite character got axed and my least favorite character is practically force fed to the audience. I see they're applying the same formula.

She officially became the captain of Discovery at the end of S3, yes.

To be fair, while the show is still choppy and has it's issues, it's become a much better show over the course of S2 and S3. Saru is by far the most affecting and powerful character they have, thanks in no small part to Doug Jones just acting circles around everyone else in the cast, but they've managed to make interesting characters out of Culber, Stamets, a couple of the new additions in S3, and even Detmer (finally!). Pre-Mirror reveal Lorca is still the best thing the show has ever done, in terms of being truly and unabashedly watchable, but the overall production is a lot better. Hell, they even managed to make Michael into a more or less likable character finally during the course of S3.

Is it brilliant television? No. Is it the best of Star Trek? Of course not, DS9 is going to be awfully hard to top. But it's finally decent. Early seasons Enterprise, and showing signs of finding a groove in much the same way.

[Godzilla2099]

She officially became the captain of Discovery at the end of S3, yes.

To be fair, while the show is still choppy and has it's issues, it's become a much better show over the course of S2 and S3. Saru is by far the most affecting and powerful character they have, thanks in no small part to Doug Jones just acting circles around everyone else in the cast, but they've managed to make interesting characters out of Culber, Stamets, a couple of the new additions in S3, and even Detmer (finally!). Pre-Mirror reveal Lorca is still the best thing the show has ever done, in terms of being truly and unabashedly watchable, but the overall production is a lot better. Hell, they even managed to make Michael into a more or less likable character finally during the course of S3.

Is it brilliant television? No. Is it the best of Star Trek? Of course not, DS9 is going to be awfully hard to top. But it's finally decent. Early seasons Enterprise, and showing signs of finding a groove in much the same way.

I can definitely see the show is choppy with issues just by watching that preview. I'm sorry, but I thought the acting was awful. Funny you mentioned Saru. Excluding Lorca, his actor was the only one I'd recommend in terms of putting on a good performance. I'm a die hard Michelle Yeoh Fan but even her performance was forgettable. Regarding Michael, this show is really trying too hard to push her and its doing the opposite for me. Not sure if its me, but I don't think her actress is capable of portraying other characters. Lorca's Character carried the show for me. He was my favorite captain since Sisko. I loved his military approach, how he handled situations, and his personal demons of course left me wanting to see how it all played out. For me, the show had potential but it blew it.

I try to give everything a chance and never put DS9 Expectations (By far the best Trek Series in my books). But every time I see new previews for Discovery I'm just not interested. Great effects but mediocre performance at best.

[CosmiComic]

She officially became the captain of Discovery at the end of S3, yes.

To be fair, while the show is still choppy and has it's issues, it's become a much better show over the course of S2 and S3. Saru is by far the most affecting and powerful character they have, thanks in no small part to Doug Jones just acting circles around everyone else in the cast, but they've managed to make interesting characters out of Culber, Stamets, a couple of the new additions in S3, and even Detmer (finally!). Pre-Mirror reveal Lorca is still the best thing the show has ever done, in terms of being truly and unabashedly watchable, but the overall production is a lot better. Hell, they even managed to make Michael into a more or less likable character finally during the course of S3.

Is it brilliant television? No. Is it the best of Star Trek? Of course not, DS9 is going to be awfully hard to top. But it's finally decent. Early seasons Enterprise, and showing signs of finding a groove in much the same way.

I'm still not super into Michael Burnham because she has to make everything so dramatic! She could be getting lunch and have a facial expression like someone murdered her dog.

But I feel every character improved in Season 3. It wasn't trying to be a self-insert into TOS era, but tried to do its own thing, and achieved some success

[Cyke]

She officially became the captain of Discovery at the end of S3, yes.

To be fair, while the show is still choppy and has it's issues, it's become a much better show over the course of S2 and S3. Saru is by far the most affecting and powerful character they have, thanks in no small part to Doug Jones just acting circles around everyone else in the cast, but they've managed to make interesting characters out of Culber, Stamets, a couple of the new additions in S3, and even Detmer (finally!). Pre-Mirror reveal Lorca is still the best thing the show has ever done, in terms of being truly and unabashedly watchable, but the overall production is a lot better. Hell, they even managed to make Michael into a more or less likable character finally during the course of S3.

Is it brilliant television? No. Is it the best of Star Trek? Of course not, DS9 is going to be awfully hard to top. But it's finally decent. Early seasons Enterprise, and showing signs of finding a groove in much the same way.

I know Culber and Gray meeting in S3 got a lot of warm fuzzy fan reaction (and rightfully so), but even the briefest moment of Saru meeting Gray elicited the same response from me, maybe just because Doug Jones is so good at acting with simply his eyes and body language. You could feel Saru's own amazement and Gray's relief both talking with each other in the air.

With that said, I really like how Saru started out (or at least was portrayed as) a stick in the mud and a by-the-book boy scout, when really underlying there is a pretty big heart and sincere concern for the crew. Jones evokes that so well.

I'm still not super into Michael Burnham because she has to make everything so dramatic! She could be getting lunch and have a facial expression like someone murdered her dog.

But I feel every character improved in Season 3. It wasn't trying to be a self-insert into TOS era, but tried to do its own thing, and achieved some success

Same. I want to like Michael, but dang she plays key roles in *other* characters' own personal arcs, and even her character flaws are painted as something that others have to get over, rather than something she has to work through.