Ranking: 4 Pips = Great  | 3 Pips = Good | 2 Pips = Okay | 1 Pip = Bad

Captain’s Log:

It’s a pilot: we meet the characters and establish the setting. Except neither of those things is complete by the end of the second hour which is the clearest indication that episodic television is a dinosaur that Discovery is not entertaining. We do meet the main character, Michael Burnham, and establish that the setting, at least at the beginning is: war.

Michael is a human raised on Vulcan, by Sarek, after her parents were killed in a Klingon attack. This is an interesting (unintended?) parallel to Worf, who was raised by humans after a Romulan attack. In the second hour we get a flashback to her introduction to Starfleet and her Captain, Phillippa Georgiou, and it’s possibly my favourite moment in the whole two hour premiere (that they play off like two episodes, but should really be counted as one).

1. Michael is dressed like the Vulcan version of a Gilead Handmaid and it’s wholly unintentional but I accidentally love it.
2. Sarek tells Michael to “Behave” and it made me wish this entire series was just about the unruly Sarek household shuttling between Vulcan and Earth as his ambassadorial duties required.
3. The relationship between Philippa and Michael, and Michael and Sarek, and Philippa and Sarek, is ultimately what I care about in these two hours, as I believe is the purpose. The series wants us to root for Michael Burnham even though she is a mutineer sentenced to life in prison in the last minutes of the episodes.

The Shenzhou encounters an unidentified object in space and Michael goes boldly out to see it in a space suit with a jet pack. This is a beautiful sequence that shows us where all our subscription money goes. She accidentally activates it/falls into their trap, fights and kills a Klingon guardian, and basically sets off a war. The Shenzhou calls for help, the Klingons call for help, everybody shows up and eventually starts shooting. Michael wants to avoid that eventuality, and after phoning home to find out how the Vulcans made peace with the Klingons, she becomes convinced the way to do it is to attack first. This, of course, goes against Starfleet principles and protocol so Georgiou says no. At which point Michael nerve pinches her, stomps out onto bridge, and tries to do it herself. The crew hesitates, the captain reappears and throws her in the brig. The whole sequence is both heartbreaking and fascinating.

Michael is proven at least correct that the Klingons do not respect the Federation’s attempts to engage is peace talks. Thus when she returns to the bridge  — the brig was a casualty of the attack and a vision of Sarek told her to stop feeling sorry for herself and escape the wreckage —  and suggests they capture the Klingon leader rather than turn him into a martyr, the captain agrees and they head over together. Unfortunately the mission fails, the Klingon is martyred, and the captain is killed. Michael is court martialed and sentenced to life in prison. I would say that is a far too harsh sentence, but it’s clear she gets out next episode so, whatever.

Live Long and Prosper:

At one point Philippa alludes to some tragic backstory™ that Sarek at least knows of, if is not involved in, which made her the best mentor for Michael, because despite it all, she still has hope. I feel this is probably the theme for the whole series.  

And it’s related to another theme introduced in the pilot: marginalization. The Klingon leader is lower class and he employs an albino Klingon with no House name at all. Thus the Klingon revolution is begun by the disenfranchised, and they are very specifically angry at the Federation because the Federation is built on lies about peace that really mean assimilation. On the Shenzhou, second officer Saru is from a race that was raised as livestock to be eaten (yikes). And of course the two main characters in these two hours are women of color, both with tragic backstories™. Meanwhile, the face of the Federation is a white man with blonde hair who literally talks over them, and who the Klingon leader singles out as ‘finally someone worthy of my respect’. Starfleet admirals are always awful, so I was predisposed to distrust and dislike him but I didn’t cry for his demise. Then the judges at Michael’s trial are three men in shadow which is straight up creepy.

Beam Me Up:

Aesthetically, this show is stunning. The effects are top notch, the set is incredible, the costumes are gorgeous. But it’s the attention to detail I really love. Captain Georgiou’s ready room gives me a whole wall of items I can attach to her personality and she wears two different hair styles, neither of which is “military”. So even though she’s died, she was so alive I want to talk about all of this.

The Klingons are a bit much. I like that they had a redesign, I’m not sure I like the redesign. Their armor is weird, it looks like paper origami. Which is not a bad thing in and of itself but — why would the Klingons have that aesthetic? Maybe I just need to get used to it, but at the moment I’m unsure.

Now Kiss:

Phillippa and Michael: this ship may be dead in the present, but they had seven years together and they clearly became very close. Their relationship can be read as a mentor/student or even parental, but I can also see it swerving in the time honored tradition of Captain/Executive Officer hook ups.

Michael and Saru: the captain’s two closest advisors, described as always at odds. I’d call them frenemies, it will be interesting to see how they work together on the new ship, with a new captain, and post-mutiny.

Michael and Sarek: she’s introduced as his ward but three things make it clear they are closer than one might imagine. First, Michael leaves the bridge to confer with Sarek in the middle of red alert. She has diplomatic access so as to reach him right away and the conversation is ‘relevant’ but not particularly formal. Basically, she calls Dad and he gives her intel that she believes in so strongly she literally throws her career away.

Second, Sarek apparently used part of his life essence (‘katra’) to save her life during the Klingon attack of her childhood. And third, because of this they are able to speak to each other across the reaches of space like the elves in the Jackson-Tolkien films. I have to admit I LOVE all of this, and I want to know everything, including how the rest of the Sarek family relates to her. Their relationship is entirely familial (though I’m sure someone out there ships it) but it is very close, which is super interesting given Sarek’s rocky relationship with Spock.

Philippa and Sarek: real talk, I ship it. I mean, I love Amanda Grayson and I love Sarek/Amanda but Sarek knowing enough about Philippa/her past & personality to choose her as the new  human mentor for his human but kinda Vulcan daughter is shipping CATNIP for me. I’m fine with an unrequited scenario based in deep affection, I might even prefer it. But for reals I have feels and I want to know more.

A Good Day to Die

I love Phillippa Georgiou and demand a prequel miniseries, thanks.

Rank: solid 3 pips