Alright, so this is a quick, non-spoiler review for the opening episode of Discovery season
2, titled “Brother”. From the opening narration to the initial contact with these
mysterious red busts, Season two of Star Trek discovery puts forwards its intention to return
to the core themes of Star Trek in a familiar way. Exploration, Mystery and well, Discovery.
The overall look of the show is brighter, than in season one, in no small part to the
presence of the TOS inspired uniforms as well lighter humour throughout. The literal increase
of brightness also lends to this. Michael Burnham is still the centre of the
show, and still has those traits that make it hard to liker her, but at least she seems
genuinely excited about things now. Her character has changed from its initial appearance which
we can see when she meets the stand-in science officer from the Enterprise. This science
officer is confrontational, becomes competitive with his fellow scientists, becomes insubordinate
and justifies his actions by citing his numerous achievements and intellect. Sound familiar
Burnham? It’s no surprise then, that like season 1 Burnham, he’s caught out.
Speaking of the Enterprise, it’s not on screen much and the only interior we see is
Spock’s quarters. This is probably a good thing as a tour of a redesigned ship would
feel forced and let’s be honest, no matter which direction they approached the design,
it wouldn’t measure up for every fan. Also what business would the crew of the Discovery
have trouncing around someone else’s ship? As for lore concerns, Discovery makes sure
to point out that it’s trying to bring itself in line with established continuity in a fashion,
but it is most definitely a visual overhaul of Star Trek. It still seems to be including
technologies that seem a far-cry from the Original Series, such as collapsible tech,
but then again, Discovery is meant as a purely R and D science vessel, the constitution was
not, but after the spore Drive I guess anything goes. Plus the compact spacesuit malfunctions
so perhaps that’s why it gets dropped. Also the high-gravity navigational pods were weird,
but at least they were meant for a specific purpose.
The colourful uniforms are mentioned as new in passing, as well as the fact that we never
saw the Enterprise in the Klingon War as Starfleet felt that they needed to maintain its 5 year
mission. And there are lines from Pike alluding to him being from the Mohave and saying “Hit
It” when ordering warp, tying in both Greenwood’s kelvin universe portrayal and Hunter’s backstory.
There are subtle nods a references to the original series throughout, but not shoved
out front and centre which would have felt like pandering to me, but I’ve got to go
back and get a detailed look at Pike’s Personnel File. You’re baiting me CBS, I know you
are. Pike himself is immediately introduced as
a likable character, making direct statements to the Discovery crew and to us that he’s
not Gabriel Lorca, cracking jokes, but nonetheless, he does put his foot down in a crisis. It
seems the crew of the Discovery have a reputation too as he assumes that they wouldn’t prioritise
the lives of other officers, like their former captain. He initiates a role call and manages
to remember the bridge crew’s names after hearing them only once, which makes him a
better man than me. Good, Discovery needed a captain to look up to.
We don’t see a peep from adult Spock or the Klingons, and that’s a good thing. The
previous season jumped around a lot which led to some pacing issues, but this season
from the start seems to be aware of its run-time and plot, proceeding at an even pace. Let’s
hope it maintains that. Spock’s relationship with Burnham is addressed in flashbacks and
there is an apparent rivalry between the two a somewhat childish but understandable and
emotional reaction. Ramifications from the last season are felt
throughout too, not just in the crews apprehension of Pike or Saru’s reluctance to turn over
command, but Stamets too seems lost, without Culber, without the Spore Tech, it falls to
his friends, of which he doesn’t have many to support him. His character literally seems
drifting marking the beginning point for his story arc over this season. Tilly has begun
her command training and although now has authority, is still Silvia Tilly, overly talkative,
nerdy and excitable. The dialogue gets a bit meta-narrative at times, with them alluding
to the Redshirt trope, the relevance of technobabble and maths in sci-fi and so on.
Though the bit where the writers use Pike to talk to the fans saying, “Sometimes it’s
best to keep your expectations low, so you’ll never be disappointed” had me frowning.
It’s true that tempering your expectations is wise, but at the same time, that’s a
dull way to live and Star Trek is more than just a name to many people. Sometimes mistakes
lead to a poorer outcome than what was promised. The visuals still look amazing and I want
to see more of the brighter tone they’ve adopted. Overall, the opening of Discovery
season 2 was much stronger than the first, more focused and able to set up multiple story
arcs that I actually want to see play out. In essence, Discovery seems to be pulling
away from the depressing themes of war and returning to something more upbeat and recognizable,
though the darker elements are definitely still present, which may serve the story later
on. We get the sense that there is a power out there that needs to be addressed, and
honestly we can’t yet tell if it’s malevolent or not, but the positivity among the crew
is returning. So yes, “Brother” was a much more welcome opener to a Trek Series
and I hope it maintains its momentum, though perhaps if AllAccess is your only option,
you can afford to wait it out until all the episodes are available.
Thanks for watching, You’ll have to excuse the infrequent use of screenshots and the
use of game footage as last time I did reviews for Discovery, several got blocked worldwide,
one still to this day and I can’t be dealing with that right now. Three videos a week is
pushing it alongside working hours, so apologies in advance if I miss an episode, or a review
is delayed. I’ve been Ric, and thanks for watching. If you’re a subscriber then thanks
for your support, its for you all that I’m trying to dedicate more time to the channel
and if you stopped by because you simply enjoy Star Trek, I’m sure I have plenty here for
you. Thanks again, and Goodbye.