A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about some of the ways in which Star Trek: Picard can improve in its second season. Nerd that I am, my mind kept running across the aisle to Paramount Plus’ flagship series, Star Trek: Discovery. Now entering its fourth season, the series will continue to soak in the shift from 22nd-century pre-TOS times to the 32nd-century future that last year’s big change ushered in. This puts Discovery season 4 in an interesting place; the bold new setting has been introduced, but now it’s time to truly explore it. The writers can mine the 32nd century for all that it’s worth… or neglect to do so, missing the chance to provide fans with the type of worldbuilding we love from the franchise.
At its best, Star Trek is unlike anything else on television. I suppose the same can be said for Star Trek at its worst. Ask around on the internet, and the closest thing to consensus seems to be that Discovery has found ways to embody both. Here are five ways Discovery season 4 might soar nearer to the stronger side of this equation.
O Bridge Crew, Who Art Thou?
Discovery has had a problem with exposition dumps since square one, but as cast chemistry has grown visibly more comfortable and the overall scriptwriting has improved, it’s begun to let its hair down a bit. This is particularly clear with the bridge crew characters, who were initially little more than glorified extras whom the camera panned between whenever the scripts called for “worry” or “pride.” Look at their faces! They’re scared or satisfied! Whoever they are.
Even now, I would imagine many viewers have a difficult time remembering all their names. (Keyla Detmer, Joann Owosekun, Ronald Bryce, Gen Rhys, and poor Nilsson, who somehow still lacks a cited first name.) But we have seen important first steps toward character development for Detmer and Owosekun, who care greatly for each other. I’m especially impressed with the third season’s early minor arc about Detmer seemingly suffering from something potentially dangerous; after this new Star Trek‘s first season twister of plot revelations, fans understandably predicted Detmer was possessed by Control or something, but as it happens, she was suffering PTSD. And rightly so. That’s smart writing.
Unfortunately, we still see some cases wherein the bridge crew’s relationships seem to be shackled on purely for the sake of momentary drama. When Owosekun goes on what appears to be a suicide mission in the third-season finale, she tells the rest of them that she loves them. It’s heartfelt in that moment, and I suppose that’s ultimately what matters most, but if we stand back for a second and analyze, how much reason do we have to believe she has feelings of any kind for anybody not named Keyla? It’s unearned. This issue pervades the series; will Discovery season 4 continue it?
To a point, the bridge crew’s shorthanded relationships are understandable. 13-episode seasons are never going to be truly ideal for the new Star Trek because it was in the heyday of the 26-episode season norm that the franchise had the time to explore its cast dynamics to the fullest. I don’t envy the writers for needing to balance serialized core plots with character development, but let’s capitalize on the momentum the bridge crew has going for it and give them more to chew on going forward. I want Discovery season 4 to make Owosekun’s proclamation not stated but felt.
Michael, Be a Bit Less Special
Bit by bit, Discovery has realized that it’s often at its best when lead protagonist Michael Burnham is a component in a story rather than the complete and utter focus. There are exceptions, of course — the recent episode “Unification III” cleverly builds upon Burnham’s second-season relationship with Spock and puts Michael under the Vulcan spotlight in a way that challenges her personally whilst propelling the plot forward impressively. But by and large, Discovery is meant to be an ensemble series. I say this regardless of original creative intent because the casting is just so strong across the board, and frankly, Michael herself isn’t an interesting enough character to deserve our constant attention, anyway.
That’s no fault of Sonequa Martin-Green’s. Indeed, if the Emmy Awards cared more about sci-fi dramas, she would have nabbed a nomination for Best Actress last year. Her turn as the Mirror Universe version of herself was chillingly ruthless, a true testament to how diverse Martin-Green’s acting chops can be. But it’s not enough for the actress to be exceptional. The character needs to be one among many.
In its earliest days, Discovery was most noteworthy as the new Star Trek for centering on Michael’s journey of redemption at the entire cost of onscreen growth for characters like Doug Jones’ Saru and Anthony Rapp’s Paul Stamets. These people existed on the sidelines and served as mere foils along Michael’s path. Thankfully, we’re past all that. But even season 3 spends a bit too much time worshiping her. Characters remind the audience time and again how special she is. Worse than chewing up screentime with ceaseless praise, this manages to make Michael’s real accomplishments feel less satisfying because it’s easy to just think, “and there she goes again.”
An odd comparison, perhaps, but it’s a minor-scale version of Usagi in Sailor Moon Crystal. In that show, good lord, most of the cast does nothing but praise the heroine. It’s nauseating. Discovery season 4 needs to continue righting the ship even as Michael inherits captaincy. Her arc last year was about whether or not she still fits inside Starfleet’s relatively rigid parameters. She did. And then she didn’t. And then she did again. And then she got promoted. Good! Let’s maybe zoom out more now.
Catch Up With Old Prosthetic Forehead Friends
Something came up a few times in the third season that really intrigues me. Bajor, a focal point of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, has evidently gone from a slowly-recovering world formerly occupied by a violent foe to a massively popular trading post called the Bajoran Exchange. In fact, the way people like Cleveland Booker phrase things, it sounds as if the Bajoran Exchange is a wide-ranging network with at least a modest degree of power.
This is a spiffy way to inform long-time Star Trek fans on how a favorite race has evolved in sweeping fashion over the course of several centuries. I’d love to actually see the Bajoran Exchange in Discovery season 4. Similarly, in what shape is the Klingon Empire now? Is it even still an empire? What of the Ferengi Alliance? Is the Dominion still uber-isolationist? Or had the galaxy been mapped out enough by the Federation before the Burn that the Founders had no choice but to interact with their old foes? And there’s a Cardassian among Starfleet’s last remaining captains. Isn’t that neat? What’s up there?
We’ve received a tremendously satisfying answer regarding the fate of the Vulcans and Romulans in 3189. We also get an endearingly personal look at 32nd-century Trill through Adira and their touching arc. This gives me hope for the writers’ ability to tackle this critical side of the franchise. I’d love to see similarly satisfying updates on the rest of Trek‘s iconic species in Discovery season 4.
And Introduce Us to New Friends, Too
Yeah, I know. I just finished talking about how we ought to keep catching up with all sorts of key species in Discovery season 4, and I’ve already lamented that 13-episode seasons make it difficult to juggle a whole bunch of things. But new Star Trek, just like the Star Trek of old, should keep us intrigued by introducing new races as well.
In Star Wars, there are thousands of one-off aliens in crowds, wandering around, presumably representing an entire population with its own star system or something of the sort. That’s fine — Star Wars is all about aesthetics. Star Trek, on the other hand, has historically utilized its stronger connection to alien life as a means to explore various aspects of the human condition. The Romulans are secretive. The Klingons are honorable yet harsh. The Vulcans are logical. The more fleshed-out among these and other races eventually come to encompass other appreciable human traits as well, but that’s the gist.
It’s the 32nd century. Surely, there are new aliens deserving their own spotlight episodes. Even just Michael and Book’s traipse through a trade center in the third-season premiere brims with exotic creatures we’ve not seen previously.
Tell us more about them. Give them plots. Don’t be afraid to open the door to new possibilities, Discovery season 4; the modern world is rife with possible alien parallels.
A Grudge Musical Episode
Look, I don’t even care. This last one’s a pipedream. Perhaps the fact that my similar Picard article included five totally serious suggestions, whereas my Discovery season 4 article is four serious suggestions and this, speaks volumes to the fact that by season 3, Discovery is quality enough TV to best Picard‘s inaugural affair. Or perhaps I’m a tad buzzed, and this is the end result. I have had a great deal of coffee.
Whatever. I’m not blaming the coffee. I blame the new Star Trek‘s expansive tendency to deliver humor when we least expect it. And unless you hate cats, in which case I am sad, Book’s “queen” Grudge is the perfect example. She may not be as well known yet as TNG android Data’s cat, Spot, but she’s scratching her way to the top. Her claws are sharp, her growl is fierce, and her size is magnificent.
Now, why not apply that in an obvious manner: a musical episode. Get Anthony Rapp on the phone. He’s been in Rent. Let Sonequa strut her stuff. An infectious disease is spreading, and everybody’s singing. Only Grudge can protect the ship, its crew, and quite possibly the future as we know it. No pressure, kit cat. As ol’ Adama often chided, “you do your job.” We’re sure you have it in you.
