Star Trek: Discovery’s final season 3 finale failed its characters and plots

[Ed. note: This piece contains some spoilers for seasons 2 and 3 of Star Trek: Discovery.]

Season 3 of Star Trek: Discovery sends the crew of the science vessel of the same name far into the future and releases the series from the established canon of the franchise. It was a bold move for fans Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise to have them investigate issues such as resource scarcity – which used to be an anatomy of Trek’s largely utopian principles – and a version of the United Federation of Planets showing that even greater than in Star Trek: Picard.

While the episodes were broadcast in a world that felt absolutely unlawful due to the combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread social and political unrest, Discovery had the potential to live up to Star Trek’s classic mission of providing perspective and commentary on the biggest issues of the day. But for every topic the writers try to tackle, the conclusion was confusing or perfect rather than informative. The main arcs were also rushed, as two of the 13 deliveries of the season were entirely devoted to setting up a spin-off. The result was an extremely poor season that most characters did not produce satisfactory bows. The authors introduced intricate plots and then wrapped them up with comfortable feelings. Here is the season 3 of Discovery tried to investigate, and how it failed.

Resource scarcity

Season 3’s primary conflict is the Burn, a mysterious event that affected dilithium – the element responsible for faster travel than lots of light and many of Trek’s other amazing technologies – and reduced and fragmented the quadrant. There was a shortage of Dilithium in the period immediately before and especially after The Burn, which the Federation and several other factions asserted only on the basis of their dwindling reserves.

Star Trek has always existed in the future after the scarcity, so this turn allowed a major rethinking of how different species and planets would evolve and change to meet the challenge. The fact that the Federation has been hit so hard has provided a particularly cruel metaphor for the current decline of the United States as a world power. The near future realism of The vastness made it a much better place for stories about humanity’s endless struggle over resources and the people who are inevitably exploited and neglected, but there was certainly potential to approach the subject from a Star Trek lens.

One plot criticized colonialism, while the Emerald Chain Trade Syndicate made a powerful argument in favor of the primary directive – the ban on Starfleet from significantly interfering with foreign civilizations. The Emerald Chain appears to offer amazing solutions to problems such as environmental crises, which depend on their ability to exploit the resources of the planets they help.

The idea shows Star Trek fans how lucky the Earth was to make contact with the friendly Vulcans before encountering other alien species, and it fits well with the questions raised in 2020 about the extent to which the Earth could actually united when alien life arrives here. But while season 2 of The Mandalorian provides a powerful analysis of the way in which great powers trample on indigenous peoples, Star Trek: Discovery‘s authors solved their investigation of the subject with a solution that addresses all the nuances of a Captain Planet episode with some empaths using their connection to nature to solve the problem the Emerald Chain is apparently helping them with.

Discovery to come in the future shakes up future politics, with the ship and its track-driving engineer Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) becoming the ultimate commodity by offering a non-dilithium-based method for faster travel than the light. The show is at its best when the crew provides a light in a dark world, such as when the protagonist and the occasional first officer Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) inspires a man who has a vigilance for the remains remains of Starfleet, although he was never officially inaugurated a member. But his utopianism reaches ridiculous levels by Admiral Charles Vance (Oded Fehr of The Mummy and Resident Evil: Extinction), whose ignorance of realpolitik in demanding a ridiculous number of concessions from a powerful potential ally – including that she faces war crimes – surprises him that he has achieved such a high rank. His reluctance, in any case, bears fruit in ways that seem like a completely undeserved conspiracy.

Dealing with trauma and the burdens of leadership

At the end of season 2, Discovery’s crew bravely agrees to travel into the distant future in a desperate attempt to save all life in the galaxy, and in the early part of season 3, they struggle to process the consequences. Kelpian crew member Saru (Doug Jones van The form of water and Hello boy) finally finds the courage to accept his role as captain, but he also ends up in the uniquely difficult position of having to get a crew of eternal overachievers to admit that they have been pushed to the breaking point.

This plot line left enough room for comment on mental health issues in high-stress work, along with some mature personal plots to adapt to change. 2020 was definitely a year that could use more thoughts and stories around these ideas. But these are largely oversimplified, mishandled, or used for awkward comedy. Lieutenant Keyla Detmer (Emily Coutts) has been at the helm ever since Discovery‘s first episode, but received almost no character development, and the bow investigating her instability in the leap to the future was able to restore supervision. Instead, it is considered resolved once she is willing to ask for help.

Saru should also have had time to shine in the captain’s chair. Instead, he makes meta-jokes about what slogan he should use when placing an order. When Michael is stripped of her role as first officer due to insubordination, he promotes Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) in her position, in a decision that clearly had more to do with the writers who did not know what to do with Tilly than any other in- world logic. Michael may be the only character whose bow has a satisfactory conclusion this season, but it comes at the expense of Saru again. Jones seems to have written off the show at the end of this season, which is probably the best because the actor deserves better.

Gender identity

Paramount is getting a lot of attention in 2020 with the announcement that season 3 of Discovery contains the series’ first major trans and non-binary characters, Gray (Ian Alexander) and Adira (Blu del Barrio). Their launch must have been a powerful embrace of representation in a once groundbreaking franchise that lagged behind the progress other major shows have made. But the idea fell through because the writers could not decide what approach they would take to the characters.

The ideal way to introduce them was not to even comment on their genders. It did happen to Gray, who is just being introduced as Adira’s boyfriend. Instead of clearly stating their pronouns upon arrival on Discovery, Adira is called by female pronouns for most of the season before discussing the issue with Stamets. He is apparently the first person to tell Adira about their gender identity, apart from Gray, who makes their identity appear to be an inherently shameful secret.

Had they not played the same role in portraying a more inclusive world as the original cast of Star Trek was, Gray and Adira could have been used as metaphors for the discovery and embrace of gender identity. This was apparently the direction the writers went early, with the implantation of Gray’s Trill symbiotes that felt like a maintenance for gender reassignment. After the procedure, Gray assures Adira: ‘I am still me. I’m just more me. And the changing pronouns of Adira could have been part of the fact that they correspond to the way a Trill host changes their perceptions about themselves. Since the character is only 16, the plot can easily be a twist for the way some teens struggle to tackle their gender.

But the biggest problem is that both characters are only used as accessories for the relationship between Stamets and his boyfriend, the ship doctor Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz), who hit a rough spot after Hugh returned from the dead in the second season. repair these issues with the classic romance cliché that the two effectively have a child in the form of Adira, but neither of them really asked Adira to agree to the role. A plot unveiled in the finale around Gray indicates a more meaningful arc for the characters. But this season, it was just another example of the writers who set bold goals and underperformed.

CBS All Access has already been renewed Star Trek: Discovery for a fourth and fifth season, which are shot in succession. Showrunner Michelle Paradise says Discovery’s crew will stay in the 32nd century, and that season 4 will have the same focus as season 3 on ‘trying to make sure our characters can grow, explore new relationships, explore how people can change, to find new layers for each of our characters. But the writers must also grow and change. It is not enough to have good ideas or to be willing to work on difficult topics. The show should get better involved with the ideas and the bigger themes of the show as it goes right through the characters, the franchise and the fans.