Warning: This text consists of spoilers for Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: The Subsequent Technology.
In March 2023, Paramount introduced that Star Trek: Discovery season 5 would be the present’s final. Which means the tip of the highway for the present that introduced the franchise again to T.V. after 12 lengthy years away, and – in its finest moments – really pushed the bounds of what Star Trek might be.
The sequence began out as a surprisingly darkish prequel to Captain Kirk’s authentic adventures, with the crew of the usS. Discovery embroiled in a battle with the Klingons. As soon as a peace treaty was signed, the present’s extra nostalgic second 12 months added iconic characters like Spock and Captain Pike to the combo. And by the point the season 2 finale got here round, the present was prepared for a good greater evolution, as Michael Burnham and the remainder of her crew completely relocated to the thirty second century.
Sadly, what ought to have been a daring, recent begin – in a sector of the Trek timeline unconstrained by present canon – has extra steadily felt like a misfire. Held again by a pair of ponderous, season-long arc plots, the present has by no means really bought to grips with its new setting, whereas we’ve solely had uncommon glimpses of the thrilling place the Discovery bridge was once.
When season 5 leaves spacedock in early 2024, it ought to due to this fact be the proper alternative for a spot in fact correction. Listed here are 5 issues Star Trek: Discovery must do to exit on a excessive. Let’s fly!
1. Get on with exploring the thirty second century
When the usS. Discovery set coordinates for the thirty second century, it actually was boldly going the place no Trek had gone earlier than. This was the proper alternative to broaden the franchise’s horizons past the eras of Enterprise, the Unique Collection, and The Subsequent Technology. Nevertheless, two seasons on and that distant future feels woefully underexplored.
Whereas Discovery has reveled within the likelihood to indicate us tech past our wildest imaginations – from transportable transporters to shapeshifting starships – there needs to be extra to the longer term than a couple of fancy devices. The place are the unusual new worlds, the brand new life, and the brand new civilizations? Why is the line-up of aliens nonetheless dominated by common suspects like Vulcans, Orions, Andorians, Cardassians, Ferengi, and Trill?
Season 4 antagonists Species 10-C had been an admirable try to do one thing totally different, and a reminder that extra-terrestrials in Trek could be extra than simply people with lumpy foreheads. Certainly, with state-of-the-art CG and animatronics at its disposal, season 5 must embrace the prospect to indicate us one thing new.
2. Not get too hung up on a giant story arc
When Discovery introduced Trek again to tv for the primary time since Enterprise was cancelled in 2005, serialization was undoubtedly the way in which to go. Huge, complicated story arcs had made reveals like Sport of Thrones and Breaking Unhealthy the dominant power on T.V., and this new iteration of Trek wanted to comply with swimsuit if it was going to be taken significantly.
Six years later, nevertheless, the present has earned the proper to lean into the story-of-the-week construction of the Unique Collection and The Subsequent Technology. Unusual New Worlds’ success has been constructed on the power of its standalone tales, and there’s no cause why Discovery can’t comply with the same path – particularly as, with 900 years of canon between them, there’s little hazard of Captain Burnham treading on Captain Pike’s toes.
Each of Discovery’s seasons within the thirty second century have strained to maintain their huge arc plots (first the Burn, then the DMA) over a complete season. Certainly it will be higher to maintain the serialization mild, concentrating on telling sensible sci-fi tales with out the stress of constructing as much as some huge season-ending occasion? That mentioned, we’ll be disillusioned if season 5 doesn’t tie into the even-more-distant way forward for Quick Trek episode ‘Calypso.’
3. Have another person resolve thirty second century issues
The crew of the usS. Discovery are a whopping 900 years away from house. Simply to place that in perspective, that’s equal to pulling a knight out of the Crusades, plonking them in our current, and anticipating them to be consultants on social media. In different phrases, Burnham and co must be thus far out of their consolation zone that they’re completely grounded by Starfleet, but for some cause they’re constantly the neatest individuals within the room.
Sure, the double-whammy of a spore drive and all that alien Sphere Information offers them a useful tactical benefit, however week after week the crew resolve issues – scientific and diplomatic – which are past Admiral Vance, President Rillak, and each different long-term resident of the thirty second century. Not solely have Workforce Disco left their properties and households behind – a reality the present acknowledges with admirable sensitivity – they’ve additionally missed out on 9 centuries of training and growth. Shouldn’t residing sooner or later be slightly extra, nicely, difficult?
4. Get Sylvia Tilly and Jett Reno in as many episodes as attainable
The Mirror Universe’s amoral Emperor Philippa Georgiou stole each scene she was in earlier than the Guardian of Perpetually despatched her again in time in ‘Terra Firma, Half 2.’ Discovery hasn’t been the identical since.
The wise-cracking Sylvia Tilly and completely sarcastic engineer Jett Reno have finished their finest to fill the humor vacuum. However with each absent for almost all of season 4 – and the waspish Paul Stamets much less entertainingly irritable than he was once – the Discovery bridge turned a really boring place, populated by plenty of very earnest Starfleet officers.
With a return for Georgiou wanting unlikely – Michelle Yeoh’s sizzling property after her All the things All over the place All At As soon as Oscar win, and he or she’s busy with the lately revealed Part 31 film (opens in new tab) – Discovery wants to drag out the stops to get Tilly and Reno on display as a lot as attainable. With out them, this remaining season might be fairly the slog.
5. Embrace the no-win state of affairs
If the shock loss of life of Lieutenant Tasha Yar in The Subsequent Technology taught us something, it’s that exploring the ultimate frontier is harmful. Not that you simply’d know from watching latest seasons of Discovery, the place everyone – except licensed villains Osyraa and Ruon Tarka – tends to make it out alive. Burnham, Detmer, Saru, Owosekun, and lots extra have survived near-death experiences, whereas Ebook stretched credibility nicely previous breaking level when he actually got here again from the lifeless within the season 4 finale.
In order for you real excessive stakes drama, ultimately a big character has to die. Trek has been riffing on the thought of the no-win state of affairs since The Wrath of Khan, however in some way the model the place everyone is okay isn’t fairly so compelling. Who knew?
