discovery

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 8 Review: The Sanctuary

This Star Trek: Discovery review contains spoilers. Star Trek: Discovery Season 3, Episode 8 From the very beginning, Star Trek: Discovery has loved putting Michael Burnham in an impossible situation, and making her choose. This isn’t a bad narrative habit, especially for a show as thematically-driven as Star Trek, but some Kobayashi Maru scenarios are more interesting than others and, some, well… some are just plain clunky. This was the case in “The Sanctuary,” which saw not only Michael but the whole Discovery crew sent to Book’s home planet, Kwejian, to strictly observe, Emerald Chain leader Oysraa show up to…
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Star Trek: Discovery Season 3’s Slow Burn Villain Reveal

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 has a narrative focus and patience that previous seasons have not. We are more than halfway through the season and, while the crew of the Discovery have encountered a variety of obstacles in their new future, they have not yet come up against a true Big Bad. “The Sanctuary” seems poised to bring them one step closer. In the exclusive clip we have from this week’s episode, Admiral Vance and Book give Michael and Saru (and, you know, us) more information on The Emerald Chain, the Andorian-Orion crime syndicate that has been causing trouble in…
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Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 7 Easter Eggs & References

This Star Trek: Discovery article contains spoilers for “Unification III.” It’s Spock time! In “Unification III,” Star Trek: Discovery has continued a story that The Next Generation began in 1991. And, in doing so, the series has created an episode of Trek that is both nostalgic as hell and also forward-facing and new. Back before we even knew what Discovery would be like, we were told Michael Burnham was Spock’s adoptive sister. And now, Spock’s sister has come home!  From TNG vibes to sweet nods to the reboot films, to a lot of references to Spock, here’s all the Easter…
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Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 7 Review: Unification III

This Star Trek: Discovery review contains spoilers. Star Trek: Discovery Season 3, Episode 7 The Vulcans have long been one of Star Trek‘s most fascinating creations. A society built on the value of logic, The Original Series immediately challenged the concept by making main character Spock half-human, with all of the emotionality that comes with it. Through his struggles, we were able to see both the value and limits of a life led by logic; his conclusions (and ours) on the matter were rarely simple ones. That legacy continues on today in Discovery, with an episode decades in the making.…
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How Star Trek: Discovery Fulfills Spock’s Franchise Legacy

This Star Trek: Discovery article contains MAJOR spoilers for “Unification III,” and spoilers for Picard. Michael Burnham has returned to her home planet Vulcan in an attempt to recover some data from a Vulcan and Romulan alliance she never thought was even possible. If this sounds like the beginning of an epic title crawl in a Star Wars movie, you’re not far off. In Discovery Season 3, Episode 7, “Unification III,” the Trek franchise has delivered one of its most epic and generation-spanning episodes in a very long time. We always knew Star Trek: Discovery’s status as both a prequel…
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Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 6 Easter Eggs & References

This Star Trek: Discovery article contains spoilers for “Scavengers.” As Star Trek: Discovery continues to boldly go where no 23rd Century crew has gone before, the tapestry of the rest of the Trek franchise continues to get slightly redefined. In Discovery Season 3, Episode 6, “Scavengers,” a rogue mission from Burnham literally puts her and Georgiou in a scrapyard that contains a ton of old Star Trek Easter eggs, even if we only glimpse a few. Along the way, the USS Discovery gets an interesting upgrade, and more details about the Mirror Universe are teased out for the first time…
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Star Trek: Discovery — What Do Georgiou’s Mirror Universe Flashbacks Mean?

This article Star Trek: Discovery article contains spoilers for Season 3, Episode 6. One of the boldest aspects of Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 was the shocking revelation that a character from the Mirror Universe — Captain Lorca — had really been pulling the strings in the Prime Universe the whole time. And, if you thought you’d left the Mirror Universe behind when the USS Discovery jumped back in Season 1, think again. In Season 3, Episode 6, “Scavengers,” Discovery teases that the events in the Mirror Universe may still be hugely relevant to what’s happening now. Though it wasn’t…
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Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 6 Review: Scavengers

This Star Trek: Discovery review contains spoilers. Star Trek: Discovery Season 3, Episode 6 If you want to understand how Star Trek has evolved as a franchise, look no further than “Scavengers.” The Star Trek: Discovery episode sees its main character, Michael Burnham, disobeying a direct order from her commanding officer (again) in order to go on a rogue mission with Emperor Georgiou to save her, ahem, friend Book and secure a pre-Burn Starfleet black box. It’s the sort of stunt Kirk pulled on the regular (and, yes, this includes Kelvin Kirk), and it’s the kind of stunt Kirk would…
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In Star Trek: Discovery’s New Future, Franchise History Still Matters

This Star Trek: Discovery article contains spoilers for “Forget Me Not.” For back-to-back Star Trek projects, director Hanelle Culpepper has been given scripts that require filming on recreated versions of Trek sets that were last seen in the 1990s, more than 20 years ago. First, Culpepper filmed the Picard premiere’s opening scene on The Next Generation‘s iconic Ten Forward. And, now, in Discovery Season 3, Culpepper got the chance to shoot in the Trill Caves of Mak’ala, first and last seen on Deep Space Nine. Interestingly, in both Culpepper’s Picard episode “Remembrance” and in Discovery’s “Forget Me Not,” memories, dreams,…
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How Star Trek: Discovery Has Changed the Federation and Starfleet

This Star Trek: Discovery article contains spoilers for Season 3, Episode 5, “Die Trying.” After four episodes of searching for what was left of the United Federation of Planets, the crew of the USS Discovery actually finds the new incarnation of their government, 930 years later. For a casual fan, the new Starfleet and United Federation of Planets may not seem all that different — after all, didn’t they have greyish uniforms kind of like that in the last Chris Pine movie, Star Trek Beyond? Superficially, Starfleet may have been given a sleek upgrade, but the look and feel of…
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Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 5 Review: Die Trying

This Star Trek: Discovery review contains spoilers. Star Trek: Discovery Season 3, Episode 5 Since the Discovery first landed in the 32nd century, the ship and its crew has been searching for the missing Federation. This makes sense. Starfleet is a hierarchal structure, and its ships are part of a larger organization with a larger purpose. Without a Federation or Starfleet to report to, Discovery has been in survival mode (relatable). It’s painful for them to think about the past, which represents an immeasurable loss. Instead, Discovery has put all of its faith in this new future: in the belief…
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Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 5 Easter Eggs & References

This Star Trek: Discovery article contains spoilers for Season 3, Episode 5. Because everything in the 32nd century is brand-new for the Star Trek canon, it would make sense that the writers of Star Trek: Discovery could get away with not really referencing anything from the existing canon. To put it another way, how much do you really know about the year 1090 off the top of your head? The gap between Discovery’s point of origin in 2258 and 3188-3189 is huge. And yet, nerdy Star Trek Easter eggs and HUGE call-backs to some of the most beloved ships and…
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Star Trek: Discovery’s Adira & Gray and The Need For New Kinds of Origin Stories

This Star Trek: Discovery article contains MAJOR spoilers for Season 3, Episode 4. Note: I highly encourage you to read Riley Silverman’s “Star Trek: Discovery’s Trans Representation is Both Heartbreaking and Groundbreaking” over at SyfyWire. As a trans woman (not to mention a brilliant pop culture critic), Silverman has a perspective on this representation that I, as a cis woman, do not and has beautifully written about her complex reaction to Discovery‘s latest episodes. If you pay attention to Star Trek news, then you probably saw and got got hyped about the pre-Season 3 announcement that Discovery would be introducing…
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Star Trek: Discovery’s Sentient Computer Zora is One of Season 3’s Best Mysteries

This Star Trek: Discovery article contains spoilers for “Forget Me Not” and Short Treks’ “Calypso.” In Star Trek: The Original Series, when the USS Enterprise computer randomly started calling everyone “dear” in the episode “Tomorrow Is Yesterday,” Kirk and Spock considered a minor annoyance and programming error. But, when the computer of the USS Discovery started getting more friendly with Saru in the Discovery episode “Forget Me Not,” it’s the first step towards a larger evolution. And, if you’ve seen the Short Treks episode “Calypso,” then you know how that evolution will eventually play out. Here’s what the emergence of the…
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Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 4 Easter Eggs & References

This Star Trek: Discovery article contains spoilers for “Forget Me Not.” Although Star Trek: Discovery was positioned as a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, the edgier nature of the series immediately drew comparisons to Deep Space Nine. And, now that Discovery has jumped well beyond the 23rd century, it’s in the strange position of being a prequel that is now a sequel to all of Trek. In Season 3, Episode 4, “Forget Me Not,” Discovery doesn’t just seem like a sequel to DS9 in its style or grittiness, it literally revisits one of DS9’s most famous planets, the…
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Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 4 Review: Forget Me Not

This Star Trek: Discovery review contains spoilers. Star Trek: Discovery Season 3, Episode 4 In some ways, “Forget Me Not” is Star Trek: Discovery‘s most ambitious episode yet. It may not include epic space battles or a trip to the Mirror Universe or a jump 930 years into the future, but it does attempt to address the cumulative collective trauma of an entire starship crew that has gone through all of the aforementioned—a narrative endeavor that has much less precedent than bearded Vulcans. Fittingly, the episode begins with a log (supplementary) from Discovery’s doctor, Hugh, who is in the midst…
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Star Trek: Discovery is Finally Addressing Its Crew’s Trauma

Star Trek has always strived to represent a more hopeful and healthy future for our society. However, because it is being made in our present, with all of its strengths and struggles, it hasn’t always done the best job depicting mental illness or how a utopian future might contextualize it. (Sorry, Counselor Troi. You tried.) As contemporary culture gets better at discussing and destigmatizing mental illness, so do our stories (and vice versa), which gives Star Trek: Discovery a potential advantage. If this exclusive clip from tomorrow’s all-new episode is any indication, the show is finally making use of it……
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Star Trek: Discovery’s Giant Starfleet Tree Has a Picard Connection

This Star Trek: Discovery article contains spoilers for “People of Earth” and some decades old episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Despite landing in a future in which the Federation’s influence has been greatly diminished, Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 is shaping up to be far less dark and dystopic than many predicted. In Episode 3, “People of Earth,” the USS Discovery visited the home planet of the Federation, and although that visit was a mixed bag, things did end on a very hopeful note—one that is even more hopeful when you understand the canon significance of a certain…
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Star Trek: Discovery Timeline Breakdown

This Star Trek: Discovery article contains MAJOR spoilers through Season 3. Star Trek: Discovery is officially in its third season and, timeline-wise, it has been a ride. We’ve traveled to the Mirror Universe, we’ve traveled to the future, and we ended up in the 32nd century. If you’re a bit confused about when exactly Discovery takes place, here’s a breakdown of what we know so far and how it all changed in Season 3. Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 & 2 Timeline The first episode of Star Trek: Discovery takes place in 2255, a decade before the events of The Original Series.…
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Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 3 Easter Eggs & References

This Star Trek: Discovery article contains spoilers for Season 3, Episode 3. Read our review of the episode here. As the USS Discovery starts to explore the galaxy in Star Trek: Discovery Season 3, the first stop is, understandably, to check-in on how the Planet Earth is doing. Unlike Battlestar Galactica searching for Earth forever, Discovery decided to get the whole Earth thing out of the way right away. In Episode 3, “People of Earth,” the crew returns to the home planet of the Federation and learns things are not remotely similar to how they left it. Along the way,…
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