Alright, let’s see where this goes. Hi, Ric here with my review of episode one,
of season three of Discovery, “That Hope that is You, Part one.” So let me just preface
this by saying, I didn’t think much of Discovery season 01, it was trying too hard in places
and mashed together too many elements from Trek like an excited child with a new box
of toys. Season 02 however, did a lot more to win me over, not just by utilising and
adding to canon, but generally just dropping war as a central theme, and brightening the
tone. So let’s see if season 03 can continue this upward trend. There will be spoilers
ahead, because there’s so much I need to talk about as for better or worse, Discovery
has embraced its tenure of shaking up the status quo.
We instantly see a much more expressive Michael Burnham, even more so than in season 02 of
Discovery. Partly this is because she survived a fall from orbit, and then was drugged, but
still, it was fun, if a little surreal to see such extremes coming from a character
that is normally either taciturn or weepy. Her elation at realising there is still life
in the galaxy, is a confirmation that the sacrifice of Discovery was not in vain. Throughout
the episode, she is acting as the audience proxy, in that she is completely out of her
element and will be discovering how this galaxy is alongside us. She has neither context nor
control of anything around her anymore and this is reflected by her near panic attack
after surviving her crash. She has to focus down on her Starfleet training and orate everything
she’s doing, something to keep her focus, something she still has control over and throughout
the episode we see her struggling to regain some semblance of it. From her insisting on
being the one to count down, to her persistence to get the final word.
The time she’s emerged into is very unlike traditional depictions of Star Trek, not surprising
that it takes place almost entirely away from the familiar, which in turn places long time
viewers of Trek in the dark as much as the Discovery crew will be when they arrive.
We are also introduced to Book, also fresh off a high action piece, who at first seems
like a standoffish rogue, because he is, but not without reason. It seems he’s made a
lot of enemies so prefers to avoid discussion and keep moving. Of course, as the episode
goes on, we see that he in fact does have a softer core, but that’s not revealed until
after he’s already betrayed Burnham. We also get to see some strange power that
Book wields, he has a way with nature, both flora and fauna, making him a space druid.
It looked like there was some form of tech at work when he used his powers, but there
could be some alien DNA mixed in there somewhere, I’m sure we’ll find out. However, I do
not like the design of his vessel. Again, it’s very different from what we’ve seen
before, but that’s not enough to make me appreciate it. Although internally, I love
the set, it reminds me of a studio apartment. So I’m pretty happy they acknowledged the
Temporal Cold War, with the line that Book throws out saying that Time Travel technology
has been destroyed ever since the close of that War. Well, so long as time travel is
on the table, the cold war would persist, and considering its very nature, it created
a whole nexus of conflict spanning centuries. Of course the only way it comes to a close
is with the agreement to disarm. This would go on to explain why the 32nd century as depicted
in Discovery was not altered by entities like Daniel’s Temporal Agency as it was the outcome
they wanted in part: an end to time wars. Admittedly, it must have been hard to stick
to a Temporal Prime Directive in this instance. So that’s one worry and unresolved plot
point from Enterprise that was neatly tied up.
I was also wondering just how they’d portray such an advanced level of technology that
should exist in 3188, especially as Discovery updated the gear of the show, even in the
TOS era. But the fact that almost every piece of equipment, from furniture to weapons seems
to be fabricated on the spot shows a crazy level of sophistication. There were several
other nice lore touches too, like the common place use of Quantum Slipstream drive, which
I would still like to see and I wonder what their maximum warp factor is now? There was
also the use of miniaturised personal transporters that could beam multiple people, similar to
the prototype seen in Star Trek Nemesis. I’m also given the distinct impression that the
entire of the Milky Way galaxy is accessible (in part) to the current powers, or at least,
it was before the Burn, suggested by the spanning maps from the Relay Station.
So we get an answer to just what “the Burn” was. It was a time, approximately between
3068-88, when dilithium crystals, even those in the various warp reactors of starships,
detonated. No one knows why, but such a catastrophe led to Starfleet and the Federation being
pretty much cut off. I was hoping for an Omega molecule detonation and personally I’m disappointed
that this is not the case, but I’m willing to see where this dilithium explosion goes.
Of course, now the big question, the first Burnham thinks to ask is still unanswered
100 or so years later. “What caused it?” I’ll speculate at the end of this video.
Despite the Burn, the factions and organisations that crept up in the interim need to use dilithium,
as what other options are there (well, plenty)? Book mentions that the Gorn also played around
with creating artificial wormholes, but their experiments destroyed subspace in a localised
area. Sounds like the galaxy may need a spore drive, providing the mycelial network hasn’t
also been consumed by some catastrophe. It’s an interesting development to find
the Andorians working alongside the Orions, having formed their own compact business arrangement,
at least as far as trade goes from the hub city of Mercantile, Requiem on the planet,
Hima. A good indicator of how fractured the galaxy has become is one of the UFP founding
species going at it alone and has made its own arrangements. It looks like this Courier
organisation is very open as to who it recruits, as there are many other species, from Cardassian
to Lurian. Which reminds me, a nice Easter egg, Morn was a courier in occupation so we
still have a Lurian courier in 3188. So now the rampant speculation I promised.
What could make dilithium explode? Not only explode, but simultaneously, across every
ship in existence? Dilithium has been used by numerous factions for thousands of years
as part of the reaction chamber in warp travel. There have seldom been incidents where the
crystalline mineral exploded, it’s incredibly stable, especially when refined. I mean, it
kind of has to be under the intense energies of an antimatter reaction. The fact that it
all went up at once, clearly suggests that there was some triggering event. Perhaps a
signal, a sudden shift in the fabric of subspace, or a broadcast event from some other power
or entity. There are records of a sort of resonance effect that can build in the lattice
structure of the crystals that if left unchecked can cause it to shake itself apart, so it
can be done. It’s just very difficult and seldom natural. Let’s just hope that they
don’t reveal that Dilithium crystals are actually sentient and that they unionised
and started exploding out of protest. The point is, Dilithium doesn’t spontaneously
explode, and this seems further supported by the fact that it sees continual use since
the Burn. I feel that uncovering this mystery will be one of the two central plot threads
moving forwards, the other being the reunification of the Federation’s disparate installations.
This was hammered home to a point in the first episode; that the United Federation of Planets
is more than its technology and infrastructure. It was founded on the ideals of cooperation,
exploration and understanding and so long as these endure, so does that UFP. At least,
that’s the notion of those “true believers” who remain following those values. A large
proportion of the galaxy seems to have moved on with their own lives, while that’s left
of Starfleet tries to retain some hold on its past. So what we have, according to Sahil,
the unofficial liaison of Starfleet and the courier waypoint, is a series of sporadic
former UFP outposts, with no idea how each isolated location is doing.
Then again, he is limited to only 30 sectors range. Which again, what leap in technology.
“Oh, I can only scan thirty sectors. Long range is still offline.” Back in TNG, 30
sectors is long range, a sector is multiple star systems. Still, space is big, and if
the Federation became a galaxy-spanning power, as I suspect, then, yeah, 30 sectors is a
really tiny area in comparison. There are even a few allies ships sill out there, although
very few, and I think a drive that doesn’t rely on warp travel may well be very useful
in the effort to reconnect the UFP. By the time the episode came to an end, I’m
on board with the themes of the show, that the UFP needs to be reunified after a disaster,
which is more than can be said of season 01, for me. Yeah, I liked it, despite the absence
of the rest of the Discovery crew, I’m curious to see their reactions to the current state
of the galaxy, but all in all, it’s a very different climate that Discovery finds itself
in. We share in the fish out of water aspect that Burnham finds herself in because this
universe has familiar elements, but in unfamiliar places so there can be no assumptions.
The 32nd century is radically different from the old Star Trek, but come one, 930 years
is a long time and no nation lasts forever without change. The biggest issue that this
show has, one that is beginning to be apparent even in episode one, is that if you change
too much, you risk making something more akin to a different scifi than Trek. Thanks for
watching this review on Discovery’s season 03 premier. What do you think of it, personally
I’m not at all upset at the Federation’s diminished state and I wonder how far the
UFP’s reach will extend once it’s restored? That question will keep my attention for sure.
Thanks again for watching, I’ve been Ric and I’ll see you next time, goodbye!