Started my rewatch of Discovery so I can rate episodes and figure out my favorites and which season is statistically my favorite.
:)
Rambling notes for episodes 1-4 under the cut. NOT spoiler free for any Trek. Specifically for Disco (duh) and Star Fleet Academy.
Star Trek Discovery
[S1E1 - The Vulcan Hello] - 6.5/10
(Opening your brand new star trek show with a long winded, lore/mythology/theological heavy monologue in Klingonese suuuuuure is a choice. And not a great one. Very easy way to scare off new fans; I wasn't even a new fan when this aired, and familiar with Klingons (TOS, TNG, DS9) and even I found it over bloated.)
(The sets and costume design are gorgeous! The colors pop even though they're not super saturated, the contrasting is phenomenal. Honestly, the only good thing Bryan Fuller brought with his burnt out self back to Trek is the artistic-esthetic-visuals. This season LOOKS beautiful.)
(Also good lord… the Klingon makeup in S1 is HORRID. Like, it looks fine, but none of the actors can act in it. Like, where are the creature actors when you fucking need them? It's especially shameful when you have DOUG FUCKING JONES right there as Saru performing amazingly perusual! Admittedly Mary Chieffo as L'Rell is the exception.)
(“I would trust you with my life, Micheal.” Ah-ha ha ha… oh you shouldn't Captain.)
(God Star Trek really always pops off with its score and sound effects.)
(It is very evident that Bryan Fuller was burned out and coming right off NBC Hannibal. Like Hannibal S3, ST:DISCO S1 is very much 2-in-1, and suffers for it.)
(The Klinton war should have been one season, the mirror!verse should have been another.)
[S1E2 - Battle of the Binary Stars] - 7/10
(Every flashback with Micheal is a personal joy for me. Even if season 1 Micheal is a pain in the ass.)
(Now tell me why the child actors act better in the fuckass Klingon makeup and the adults don't? Okay realistically it's because the children don't really have to talk. I am also convinced that the reason the Klingons are speaking mostly Klingonese on screen is solely because the actors can't speak worth a damn around their fuckass teeth, and it's harder to tell with Klingonese.)
(I love the visual representation of the vulcan bonds in this series. Not that the white void of ENT was neat. But the way they visually use it in DISCO is beautiful.)
(“You’re gifted. You're brave. You must do better. Because I know you can.” -Sarek.
I know y'all hate him, but I fucking wish Sarek was my dad.)
(The reveal of the cloaked Klingon ship as it tears through the USS EUROPA is… horrifically awesome. Like, they cut through that Star Ship like it was CARDBOARD! and sure these are no TNG level star ships, but STILL.)
(The only thing I like about the DISCO Klingons is the costuming. Their armor looks phenomenal!)
(Anyone else remember when they promised they'd use Majeal Baretts voice for the computer because she'd recorded a whole archival audio library SPECIFICALLY for Star Trek use, and they reassured us all through early stages we'll honor her contributions to Trek…. And then they didn't? Yeah. Cause I still fucking remember. And even though I love the new computer voice(s) in DISCO, I do not appreciate them lying right at us. Also, what a shit thing to do to the literal mother of Trek.)
(“You want to know why I turned on you? Because I believed saving you, and the crew, was more important than Star Fleets principles. Was it logical? Emotional? I don't know.” Oh Micheal… you were definitely raised alongside Spock. You two are so similar it's tragic.)
(We only had Phillipa for 2 episodes, but it really showcases the actress's talent that she is SO different from the Emperor Georgio. Like EVERYTHING about her is different. Like even just looking at her face I'm like… that is a softer woman. A gentler woman. She didn't deserve what happened to her. And when I think about her for too long I get exceptionally sad.)
(This is the second mother Micheal has lost… no wonder she takes it so hard. This shapes her nearly as much as when her parents died.)
(Dereliction of duty, assaulting another officer, mutiny… Star Fleet's first Mutineer. Well… technically… since she’s the only one charged and convicted.
“...That dream is over. The only ship ive known in ruins my crew… gone… my captian… my friend… I wanted to protect them from war. From the enemy. And now we are at war. And I am the enemy.”
…. Hitting close to home a bit there.)
[S1E3 - Context is for Kings] - 8.5/10
(8,186 dead, of course Micheal thinks she deserves life in prison or worse.)
(“Relax. The pilots taking care of it” WARNING. SAFETY TETHER MALFUNCTION. /pilot goes zipping past the window/ “we're all gunna die.” admittedly I laugh everytime.)
(The USS DISCOVERY is the most beautiful fucking ship ♡♡♡ she is everything! She is beauty! She is grace! She hops and dances through space! I love that she looks like a Vulcan Idic.)
(The opening theme for this series is honestly TOP TIER.)
(Commander Landry… you suck. And I hate you. Dumbass gunna get what you deserve just you wait. Stupid ho. She probably woulda be perfectly comfortable in the mirror!verse. She and Lorca deserved each other. This is zero hate against the actress. She did a great job making me hate her character.)
(Jason Isaac as Lorca is so good. His accent work is great too. If you didn't know better you might not even guess he isn't American. Watching his performance, knowing what we know in hindsight, is soooooo creepy. Like bruh. He'll if I think about Lorca too long I get ridiculously sad.)
(TRIIIIBBBLLLEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!)
(“To win the war. To send everyone home. Safe and happy.” … hmn don't look at her like that Lorca…)
(I know that it's a prison jumper but Micheal looks so good in that mustard uniform.)
(Tilly ADHD extraordinaire ~ but is considered disabled due to allergies and chronic snoring. Bless her. She and Micheal's friendship mean everything to me.)
(I might be the only person–well besides my wife–who ship Micheal and Saru. I love their ship. They don't get enough love.)
(“S-sorry these stations… we, we have assigned seats…” She said like a liar.)
(Enter the crotchety grumpy mushroom gay. ✨️The faggotry levels slowly begin to rise~ ✨️ “Go. Somewhere else please. It's not like we have assigned seats.”)
(What happens to the USS GLENN is horrific. The way I was not prepared for this level of fucked up gore from STAR TREK. And like, I'm not a prude! Loved Hannibal. Just didn't expect literally twisted mangled bodies. At least not so soon. Damn.)
(“I understand you lost a friend today. But what you have to understand is, this is not a democracy.” Fuck you Lorca.)
(“The other thing that really shows that Fuller was fresh off Hannibal is the level of gore in this season. Hey man, did you forget its Star Trek? Reel it back a little man.” - “Like I'm no prude, but damn.” -My wife <- she's correct.)
(Tilly is sooo baby in season 1. Like girl, where's the rest of you??)
(Paul is such a bitch. ♡)
(It's really sad that Star Fleet had over a 100 years of peaceful space exploration and scientific discovery before the war erupted and messed it all up. You just know Archer was rolling in his grave like GOD DAMN IT! I COMMITTED WAR CRIMES SO YOU ALL COULD STUDY QUASARS, NOT SO YOU COULD THROW THE QUADRANT INTO CHAOS!)
(Ngl, I never would have guessed that thing was a tardigrade if they hadn't told us at some point. But now I'm very glad that those things are microscopic ♡)
(“You in the shadows! Step into the light!” /Klingon steps forward/ shhhh “is he shushing you?” XD I laugh every time.)
(FUCKED that Paul had to find his friend like that.)
(“Thank you for your faith in me.” "You were always a good officer. Until you weren't. If only you hadn’t … you are a valuable asset. It is a loss for Star fleet.” “Thank you.” Them ♡)
(“Why wouldn't you want to stay?” “Let me ask you, why do you want me here?” Micheal you are SO right to be questioning his ass. Question everything he says harder girl.)
(It might just be a coincidence, but did anyone else go 👀 when there was a Stamets/mushroom connection between DISCO and Hannibal? Like, Bryan Fuller must have been a fan of the real life Stamets mushroom scientist guy or something.)
(Love that the mushroom spores in the cube kinda works like a visual little holodeck in this episode. Like was it literal? Was Micheal literally seeing the places Lorca described? Or was it a visual artistic choice for the audience? Either way, gorgeous.)
(“You started a war. Don't you want to help me end it?” Fuck you Lorca.)
(....Saru why are you putting salt in your tea?)
(Tilly with her hair down ♡♡♡ be still my heart~ God shes gorgeous and adorable and I love her. “I'm going to be a captain someday.” Is that why you're not teaching in SFA right now girl?)
(AMANDA MENTION!!!!)
[S1E4 - The Butcher's knife cares not for the Lamb's cry] 8.5/10
(Tilly just wanting to be nice by brining Micheal her mail ToT sweet girl.)
(Saru when he sees Micheal on the turbo lift like 👁👄👁❓️⁉️❓️ girl da fuq?
But the fact that Lorca doesn't even keep his first officer in the loop and just keeps his own council… yeah that's cause he doesn't trust your alien ass cause he's a piece of shit xenophobic Terran fascist scum.)
(Ah yes… weaponizing animals… fuck you Lorca.)
(Oh my GOD I do not CARE about these Klingons and their stupid cult.)
(USS DISCOVERY is so pretty when she jumps. And I love the blue/black lighting for Black Alert. Love everything going on visually with this ship.)
(The number of times star ships nearly get sucked into suns and stars is insane.)
(“Hold still or you'll end up looking like a tellerite.” Dr. Culber! Enter the other bitch gay! ✨️The Faggotry continues to grow✨️)
(“If I go im taking everything with me.” - ‘everything you have is the property of Star Fleet.” Honestly, it was a bitch move for Lorca to play the audio of the miners under attack to guilt trip Paul into jumping so far… but… also, he sorta cooked Paul's ass with that. Sometimes Paul is really narrow sighted. Shame it took a psychopathic terran to snap him into action.)
(Fuck you Landry you dumbass. This is why you dead. Stupid.)
(It was really low of Micheal bringing Saru into the lab with the Tardigrade just to gauge his response. “You have not changed an iota Burnham, your contrite words were insincere. I was wrong to question your place on the crew. You will fit in perfectly with captain lorca.” OOF. Cooked her ass Saru.)
(Do we ever figure out why the Tardigrade Ripper is so big? Or like… do they just get that way in space? Alien Tardigrade?)
(“Thats not fair. I always wanted to converse with my mushrooms.” Paul please!)
(Ugh I don't CARE about your stupid Klingon cult, or colorism, or in house fighting. Jfc I don't CAAAAAARE!)
something something if i had a nickel for every time a canonically nonbinary child got adopted by a magnificent neurodivergent gay father i'd have two nickels
- no matter what i always feel pushed to be overall positive about disco because of all the stupid whiny fanboys dunking on it because it’s too *diverse* and I think this season did pretty well in that regard and that it’s just very refreshing to have a cast that is just a lot more realistic re:what humans would look like in that era
- s3....i actually really enjoyed overall ? by going to the future, they’re not so stuck between all the older shows, being a prequel and bringing old characters back etc etc. they can explore new territory. And like. I don’t think they handled a lot of the plots as well as they could have. It had this HUGE potential that i don’t think they really made good on, because this series’ writing is just...i don’t know, a bit wack sometimes, like it was written by lots of different people pulling in a different direction. i see what it’s trying to do in terms of sociological and philosophical storytelling, but it’s often a bit too simplistic. but i just...i love these characters, i thought the season’s set up was so interesting, and it was just so much fun. and like...star trek has always been full of cheese and shortcuts and stories that focused more on emotions. it’s not hard scifi. it’s just not. i would like disco to come through with more philosophical/geopolitical episodes sometimes, but that doesn’t mean it’s ‘not star trek’
- Booker is definitely my favorite new character of the season. He’s just so cool ? Like a charming rogue idealist with an enormous cat named Grudge who travels around space to save endangered species ? that is just so new. i’m so tired of cynical rogues, they’re so overdone. but Booker breaks the rules because he CARES. yes. the empath thing is very sexy. the episode with his brother was so interesting. Booker’s the idealist but he left his people behind, while the brother is doing awful things to keep his people from starving to death, and so both their perspectives are understandable, and i love that they came to an understanding. also his chemistry with Michael is great, even though i wish they had taken more time to show us their developping relationship. but the episode when they met is one of my faves. that episode where he helps the slave workers rebel was !!!!! i hope they give him more to do next season apart from “Michael’s boyfriend” but yeah. he’s great.
- i just loved seeing the crew bond!!! so much! they’ve gone through so much together ! i definitely ship jola now. they’re just so cool. i hope we get to know the others in the bridge crew more but i love the bits we got, about them adapting to these crazy new circumstances, and about ‘growing through change’ ; even though i thought some elements like Detmer’s PTSD were dealt with a little bit too fast. I loved seeing Hugh trying to get everyone some mental support and therapy. I loved Tilly taking charge more and more ; and people recognize that even though she is emotional she’s also unfailingly compassionate and brave and those are qualities you want in a leader. ahhhh
- the new future is very interesting. i was afraid they would go too grimdark with the Federation gone, but...they’ve kept it relatively nuanced so that was interesting. seeing the Vulcans and Romulans reunited was quite incredible, and i loved the bit with the trial. and Michael deciding to back off so she wouldn’t risk their fragile unity. and her admiring the fact that Spock’s life work came to fruition. emotions !!!!!
- Michael’s development is...a joy to see. I love Sonequa’s portrayal of her so much. and she’s so pretty lmao. the writing for her character is still a bit all over the place, though. i don’t feel they explained her big changes of mind enough, and i don’t always understand what they are trying to do with her character, sometimes it’s a bit too much of ‘whatever the plot requires’. the series has a tendency to both make her the one who always saves the day a bit too much and to put too big of a burden on her in ways that feel iffy. But i’m still super happy to have her be captain, finally, and can’t wait to see how she grows into the role.
- I thought the Terra Firma episodes were so interesting ; it was fascinating to see how much Georgiou has changed through her time in the Prime universe. Mirror universe characters redemption arc is a Star Trek classic, after all. I am sad to see her gone from Disco but i feel like her next series could potentially be sooooo interesting. i mean, i know the evil promiscuous bisexual cliché is a bit bad, but Michelle Yeoh is just having SO MUCH FUN in the role i kind of forget about it. it’s a bit like ‘nggggh evil queer lady sexy’ thing. and the guardian of forever !!!
- Adira and Grey...now, i do think it was great to introduce a trans guy and a non-binary person and to make them a couple, totally awesome. i am not entirely convinced by their story though, i don’t feel they had a lot to do past their introduction. and the fact that Grey started the series being dead already...i mean they’re probably bring him back somehow but they have a bit too much of a tendency to kill their queer characters already, it’s an issue for me. i liked Stamets and Culber kind of adopting them that was cute but they didn’t do much this season either. i have to say tho, two gay dads telling a trans kid they will ‘help him be seen’ was like awwwwwwww
- i found the ending...a little bit underwhelming. it’s the opposite of s2, where i found the season pretty meh until the ending which i found kind of incredible. this one...the Emerald Chain was a cool villain, but I don’t feel like it materialized enough. i did think it was interesting to ‘tempt’ the Federation, to see how their principles held up ; but the fact that most of their problems with dilithium seem to be solved by the end of the season is a bit...hm, is that all ? similarly, the revelation that Su’kal was at the core of it all...i found the bits in the stimulations kind of fascinating, the theme of the importance of connection, etc. that said, i was hoping the solution to the Burn to be a bit more...Geopolitical. I just miss Deep Space Nine in that regard, they knew how to do political storylines in a way that felt so deeply grounded and complex. In Disco, problems get solved a bit too easily, and so it just feels like everything has less impact.
But overall, this is probably the season i’m most likely to rewatch for fun. the first two are so gritty, and they have made some really stupid story choices. this one is a lot more like a fun space adventure, and honestly that’s not a bad thing. even though next season I really hope they will put some effort into the worldbuilding. because sometimes it feels a little bit like modern storytelling has dumbed star trek down (i feel the movies are responsible in part, but it’s also like a general thing accross the board)
