BEWARE: HERE THERE BE SPOILERS!!
Star Trek Discovery’s first season was probably the most divisive series in the 50-plus year-old franchise. This wasn’t just because the series leaned heavily into the darkly cynical action-adventure of J.J. Abrams’ revamped film franchise (despite being set about a decade before the original 1966 series), but also because it largely eschewed the traditional done-in-one-episode structure to embrace the Seasonal Arc structure that dominates contemporary prestige television.
Personally, I welcomed everything about Discovery – especially the season-long arc and the darker take on the young Federation. Following a fringe-science starship with a captain of dubious morality while waging a war against the Klingon Empire, Discovery was able to scratch an itch I’d wanted to see for nearly two decades: it was a free-ranging journey through a period of Star Trek history that hadn’t been explored and, despite what some people remember, gave us the standard Trek Trope of battle-damaged commanders, lost ships, and wartime atrocities that littered the Original Series, along with a nicely morally compromised protagonist, Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green).
Anyway, after mutinies, betrayals, murders, and a welcome return of the Mirror Universe, Discovery’s first season ended on a cliffhanger that filled me with both dread and expectation: the arrival of the starship Enterprise and original Enterprise captain, Christophe Pike (Anson Mount). Those familiar with Star Trek lore knew that during this time period, Pike’s science officer was a fellow we all know and love: Mr. Spock – who just happens to be Burnham’s estranged foster brother.
Despite being called “Brother” Spock does not make an appearance in this episode except in flashback to Burnham’s childhood. The main emotional thrust of the episode focuses on her relationship with Spock, which makes a nice parallel to the narrative thrust, which takes us on an exploratory mission to discover the origin and purpose of a mysterious cosmic anomaly: seven massive red signals appearing simultaneously across the known galaxy – signals Spock had been having visions about before taking his leave of absence from the Enterprise.
This story engine allows the series to maintain the seasonal arc structure but also allows for a wider range of potential one-off adventures. There’s also a freer tone to the show, allowing for more humor – although that’s not necessarily a good thing, given how it plays out this time. Season One’s breakout character Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) is back and as bubbly as ever and Saru (Doug Jones) is just as caustic and entertaining. Anson Mount’s take on Christopher Pike is refreshing and brings a positive energy to the show that it had been missing. Martin-Green’s Burnham is just as awesome as she was the first time around, whether she’s flying ships through asteroid belts, leaping out of ships for mid-space rescues, or outracing explosions and collapsing structures like a boss. We are also introduced to another great breath of fresh air, new character Jet Reno (Tig Notaro), an engineer and one of the last survivors of the USS Hiawatha, which was lost during the Klingon War.
In stark contrast to Season One’s premiere, this time around it looks like we’re in for an adventure with a bit more color and personality – despite the standard “we’ve got to save the galaxy” melodrama. With the promised eventual arrival of Spock (Ethan Peck) and the return of the Mirror Universe version of Phillippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh), I am really looking forward to this season. Hell, what I want to see most of all is the recently announced Georgiou spin-off series! Federation Black Ops Organization Section 31 and a former military warlord running around the Star Trek Universe sounds like exactly my cup of tea.
Until then, Discovery’s second season shows a lot of promise and looks to successfully build on the post-Klingon War world that will eventually lead us to the Original Series.