252 Discovery S01E01 The Vulcan Hello
253 Discovery S01E02 Battle at the Binary Stars
The alternate Klingon design introduced briefly in the series finale of Star Trek: Lower Decks (S05E10 “The New Next Generation”) is depicted in live action here – finally explaining when in Klingon history this iteration would have been seen!
Michael Burnham, previously seen as a child in the 2230s set Short Treks S02E04 “The Girl Who Made the Stars” (voiced by Kyrie McAlpin) is now an adult (played by Sonequa Martin-Green) in the year 2256. In the previous short, Michael lived on a space station with her mom and her dad, she was named after her father. We learn that at some point after that story she was adopted by Sarek (now played by James Frain) and Amanda (who does not appear), Spock’s biological parents. Michael, it seems, is the sister that Spock, Pike & La’an mentioned on Strange New Worlds S01E01 “Strange New Worlds” & S01E04 “Memento Mori”! Another mystery solved!
Saru (Doug Jones) & Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) return from Short Treks S01E03 “The Brightest Star”; Georgiou is now the captain of the USS Shenzhou – the main setting of this episode while Saru serves as her Science Officer. Georgiou does not appear to be the Mirror Universe counterpart we encountered in the Section 31 film – unless that version eventually travels further back in time after she develops a bit more? Perhaps we’ll learn the truth in time? This probably also means that this version is the character referenced in Starfleet Academy S01E01 “Kids These Days” as one of the best and brightest. The character dies here, which is too bad, because I liked her.
Captain Georgiou’s ready room is shown to contain a bottle of wine from Chateau Picard.
We finally see the Federation-Klingon War, which was often mentioned in Strange New Worlds – that conflict begins here.
Something I don’t like: the subtitles. I love foreign films and I often have subtitles on just to understand what people are saying in English, but Discovery’s visuals are so stunning that I want to be paying attention to them, which I can’t do when I’m reading the subtitles. If I ignore the subtitles I don’t understand what is happening but if I read the subtitles I don’t get to see all the stuff – and both options are annoying to me.
On the other hand, it’s refreshing to hear the Klingon language pronounced correctly, the way it was actually written!
255 Discovery S01E03 Context is for Kings
The title of this episode of Discovery seems to speak not only to the characters at this moment in time, but also to this series as a whole and its relationship to all of Trek. Viewed as the final installment in this era, it provides context and continuity while solving countless Trek mysteries. Nice.
This episode marks the first appearance of the starship USS Discovery in the series named after her. The opening 2 episodes now feel like a film that bridges what we have seen before and the series proper. It has now been 6 months since those episodes.
The Discovery was previously seen in several Short Treks, and episodes of SNW (S01E01 “Strange New Worlds”) & Prodigy (S01E03 “Starsruck”); a Discovery was also mentioned in the future of Starfleet Academy.
Many Star Trek: Discovery characters make their first appearances here, including Jason Isaacs as Captain Gabriel Lorca, Anthony Rapp as Commander Paul Stamets, Rekha Sharma as Ellen Landry, Oyin Oladejo as Lieutenant Commander Joann Owosekun, Ronnie Rowe Jr. as Ronald Altman Bryce, & Sara Mitich as Lieutenant Commander Airiam.
Paul Stamets, Ellen Landry & Airiam were all referenced in Starfleet Academy!
Sylvia Tilly returns from Short Treks S01E01 “Runaway” & Starfleet Academy, though this appearance is clearly set before either of those stories because during the former she was wearing the pre-2259 Starfleet Uniform (seen in Strange New Worlds) and newly accepted to the Command Training Program, while in the latter she was teaching at the academy many hundreds of years in the future!
Michael Burnham mentions her foster mother Amanda by name and alludes to Spock without naming him. This was the first mention of either character in this series. Amanda’s love of Carrol’s work, which Michael quotes here, was first established by Spock in TAS S01E09 “Once Upon a Planet”.
Michael Burnham demonstrates her skills in Suus Mahna, a form of Vulcan martial arts. It is a technique that was first depicted being used by T’Pol in Enterprise S02E06 “Marauders”. A version of T’Pol was last seen in Lower Decks S05E09 “Fissure Quest”.
Straal speculates that, when their work with the spore drive succeeds, Stamets and himself will win the Zee-Magnees Prize, an award won by Doctor Richard Daystrom in TOS Production #53 “The Ultimate Computer”. A certificate naming Dr. Ira Graves, an honoree of the Zee Magnees Institute for Theoretical Research, was created as set dressing for TNG S02E06 “The Schizoid Man”, but did not end up on screen.
During Lorca’s demonstration of the mycelial network travel, environments that can be seen include: a Preserver obelisk (TOS Production #58 “The Paradise Syndrome”) on one of the moons of Andoria; Romulus; Starbase 11 (TOS Production #15 “Court Martial” / #16 “The Menagerie”); and the Janus VI mining facility (TOS Production #26 “The Devil in the Dark”).
Lorca’s menagerie contains the bodies of two Cardassian voles, a tribble in the midst of dissection, and a Gorn skeleton. Star Trek: Enterprise established that humans from the Mirror Universe were familiar with the Gorn since at least 2155 (Enterprise S04E19 “In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II”) and Strange New Worlds showed us that the Federation had already come into contact with Gorn by this point, although almost no one had survived these encounters.
Lorca has a singular pet Tribble which implies this is before Short Treks S02E02 “The Trouble with Edward”, in which the Edward of the title genetically modified Tribbles into the menace they later became.
A Tardigrade is also introduced in this episode, after 2 previous Short Treks (“The Girl Who Made The Stars” & “Ephraim and Dot”) featured them, suggesting great importance. The latter short also featured the return of the DoT worker robots which have been seen in several Short Treks, Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Picard and Starfleet Academy.
256 Discovery S01E04 The Butcher’s Knife Cares Not for the Lamb’s Cry
This episode picks up the day after the previous installment and features the first appearances of Wilson Cruz as Dr. Hugh Culber & Jayne Brook as Vice Admiral Katrina “Kat” Cornwell. Both characters were previously referenced in Starfleet Academy. Other characters that were referenced or featured in the previous series that appear here include Airiam, Ellen Landy, Paul Stamets, Sylvia Tilly, & Philippa Georgiou (via a recorded hologram). We also continue to have Michael Burnham & Saru, who were both introduced via Short Treks and the odd, albeit beautifully translated, Klingon Design from Star Trek: Lower Decks.
Dr. Culber (Cruz) has scenes with Commander Stamets (Anthony Rapp). The two openly gay actors famously starred in the successful musical Rent. It’s nice having more queer Trek talent, and one assumes, queer characters?
257 Discovery S01E05 Choose Your Pain
Rainn Wilson returns as Harry Mudd from Short Treks S01E04 “The Escape Artist”, with this appearance of the character set before any of the others (including TOS / TAS).
Lt. Ash Tyler, previously referenced in Starfleet Academy, is introduced here!
When Saru requests information on Starfleet’s most decorated captains, the names that appear are all known. Jonathan Archer was on Star Trek: Enterprise. Matthew Decker was in The Original Series (“The Doomsday Machine”). Robert April was featured in The Animated Series and then Strange New Worlds. Christopher Pike was featured in Trek’s first pilot episode and a TOS 2-part story (“The Menagerie”). He was played by Anson Mount in Strange New Worlds and a series of Short Treks. We met his Kelvin Timeline version in “Star Trek” & “Star Trek Into Darkness”. His Mirror Universe counterpart was mentioned in TOS episode “Mirror, Mirror”. We’ve met Philippa Georgiou in Section 31, Short Treks and this series; she was also referenced in Starfleet Academy.
258 Discovery S01E06 Lethe
We finally learn why Sarek (who worked with and clearly respected Starfleet) objected so intensely to Spock choosing Starfleet over the Vulcan Science Academy, leading to the estrangement between them before TOS Production #44 “Journey to Babel”. It had never made sense until now!
Mia Kirshner returns from Strange New Worlds as Amanda, Sarek’s wife and mother to Michael and Spock!
259 Discovery S01E07 Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad
Discovery explains why Harry Mudd (Rainn Wilson) was accused of penetrating a space whale back in Short Treks S01E04 “The Escape Artist”!