That Hope Is You, Part 1

It took me about a season to warm up to Discovery and get used to the new feeling, I grew up with ToS and Next Generation and I have always adored the Star Trek universe. I loved that Star Trek wasn't afraid to pose social commentary, and confront difficult situations without magic answers to everything always. Discovery took things in a little bit of a new direction, each episode being a continuation of the last instead of a mostly contained story each time. Once I warmed up to the new feel I really enjoyed it, and felt eager for more.

I don't know if it's just how I am interpreting it, but the first episode of season three honestly feels like the most "Star Trek" episode to date. I've seen commentary in some of the previous episodes but this one really feels like it's talking to a lot of us that feel like our future is dark and uncertain, even down to commenting on endangered species. This felt like a modern take on that social commentary, without it feeling like something was being forced down your throat as a lecture, and it still has that Star Trek hope for a bright future in it. There are a couple of lines that Burnham delivers that I feel put a little too much emphasis on the sort of "pep talk/pump you up" emotion she displays but that's about the only thing I really have to pick on. We don't always need to see her popping into that pep talk mode, and I liked seeing the moments where she struggles with her emotions very clearly.

I know some original fans are having a tougher time with the newer shows, but as much as I'm attached to my Next Generation, I think this show is doing a good job bringing something new to the table without completely destroying what Star Trek is. If you struggle with change this show might be a little jarring for you, but watch with an open mind (and expect some continuity smudges because not even the og shows got that entirely right) and I feel like it has a lot to offer. Nothing will ever be able to replicate the feel of the Trek shows we grew up with and love, but I feel like this show will easily have a place next to them for me.

Wow! This was an amazing beginning to what promises to be a great season! Top notch Cinematography and effects! Great story and who does not love Grudge the cat!

Can't wait for next week!

Signed, Trekker since the 60s!

I quite enjoy STD as a good piece of Science Fiction storytelling. Yes it struggles with not being pure Star Trek but it is still a good story in its own right. I see the haters and the lovers all rating at the extremes, fighting each other when in reality it's a solid 7.

I enjoyed this a lot.

Pacing felt right, a great score, the sprinkling of clues as to what this season will be about kept me interested, great performances from the 2 central protagonists and a budget to back it all up.

Also, 100% Star Trek.

Enjoy!

Haters are gonna hate; some people are hellbent on hating Discovery no matter what. Ignore those people, they're stuck in a rut, yearning to be reminded of the shows of their youth.

Discovery was fairly uninspiring for its first two seasons and attracted plenty of criticism, some of it justified; there was also some legitimate concern about canon, which is an understandable worry when shoehorning something new, shiny and different into the middle of an established storyline and timeline. Season three addresses this perfectly. We're now way beyond the events of any other incarnation of Star Trek, so interfering with canon is no longer a concern. In fact the door is left wide open for new futuristic science fiction, which may be somewhat removed from traditional Trek, but just existing in the same universe with species we already know.

This season firmly plants Star Trek Discovery within the realms of Andromeda, which isn't a bad thing. As creator of Andromeda, I don't think Gene Roddenberry would object to this at all.