Star Trek: Discovery - Episodes 14 & 15 Review
Somewhere along the line, it was decided that the first season finale for Discovery should be very much a character piece, throwing away a good chunk of plot in favour of reaffirming to the fans that this very much is Star Trek, and the overriding themes of peace and civility are reflected in how Michael Burnham ends the Klingon-Federation War that started with the Battle at the Binary Stars, despite a clear error of judgement. The final two episodes end up being very much Michael's finale, concluding her journey across the season, her arc to becoming a true Starfleet commander, which is both theoretically and in practice a really nice idea, but the end result is so tightly focused on her journey that the supporting cast and the plot itself feel left to the sidelines, resulting less in a hugely climactic finale and more in a quiet, understated ending.
Stammets' dynamic with Tyler is brushed aside in a quick "let me explain our character dynamic now" character beat, while Stammets himself along with Tilly and Saru feel relegated to their strict 'character roles' as opposed to having their own story-lines. The only characters who get any real meat to chew on are Emperor Georgiou, Ash Tyler, Sarek and the Admiral - all of whom feel like satellites in Michael's orbit, allowing her to confess or resist them according to the story. Tyler's exit makes for a nicely understated scene, but his leaving feels out of a lack of purpose as opposed to being the conclusion to his character arc. "What, we can't be together anymore? Well, that's my role in the series over." The Admiral and Sarek, meanwhile, serve as antagonists to Michael, characters to whom she can stand up against, and tell them the true ideas of Starfleet. Georgiou, meanwhile, serves as the final 'villain' for Michael to stand-up against, with their complex dynamic being a key focus of these final two episodes. I was hoping for Michael to somehow overcome her relationship with Georgiou, but the character's exit felt like a deliberate open-ending, setting the seed for a potential reunion next season.
Perhaps what I wanted was a big, explosive finale, but we already had that back in Episode 13. Perhaps I wanted a really good villain for the Discovery crew to fight, but we already had that in the form of Lorca, who died in Episode 13. Most of the character arcs seemed to be resolved in that episode, making this finale feel almost like an epilogue to Season 1, so much so that the Klingon-Federation War ends with...a really odd truce. Quite what's supposed to maintain such a truce is a little confusing, with L'Rell being a rather odd character to make peace. It feels more like a new Klingon status-quo is being established, as opposed to a genuine peace between the two sides, and that's rather disappointing. Perhaps the War isn't over just yet.
Or perhaps I've completely ignored the point of this finale: Michael's journey. Because, at the end of the day, that's the strongest part of the episodes, and the clear focus. It's a really nice conclusion to her arc, and I think it puts her in a new position for Season 2. Speaking of Season 2 though...is it me, or are the showrunners starting to get desperate? The appearance of the Enterprise at the end did feel a bit...fan service-y. Until next season though, I think this is the end of my Star Trek: Discovery reviews. I've enjoyed the show overall, although I hope for a more humorous and character-centric second season. The main plot-threads of Season 1 were too heavy for the show to ever really focus on its characters without throwing away the plot - as this finale proved - so perhaps a more formulaic approach (at least at first) could ease the show into a more character-centric mode of storytelling.
Comments
Post a Comment