TL;DR – With a welcome lighter tone, we get a great opening episode to set up the season.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ service that viewed this episode.

Star Trek: Discovery Review –

Well, it was a rocky start to Star Trek Discovery, and also, it seems it will be a rocky end. Which is a pity given everything they have thrown into it and how it has finally found its voice. However, if this is to be the final season, I am glad they look to be going out on a high.

So to set the scene, we open in a friendly Federation gathering full of ambassadors as the crew help shore up this new growing Federation that is starting to get close to the resurgent Tholian Republic or the Breen Imperium. But the dinner is interrupted by a Red Notice, and the crew of the USS Discovery-A have to make a rushed jump to the wreckage of an old 24-century Romulan ship and get what is inside before scavengers can get to it. Cut to scavengers Moll (Eve Harlow) and L’ak (Elias Toufexis) 100% getting there before anyone. Now, we will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

There was a lot I liked about this opening episode, and a lot of it came down to the small details. One of these was the way that they went to lengths to get us reacquainted with the rest of the crew. Part of that was done through a fun oner when we entered the bridge for the first time. But just making sure everyone is consistently named dropped in the dialogue is something that really helps. Then there was the slightly lighter tone that we got this episode. I think it is safe to say that Discovery has been a little too dower at times, and that has probably negatively highlighted those times where they have tried to be a bit less severe. Just ratcheting down that serious quotient a little bit, gives you more room to play, and more Tilly (Mary Wiseman) being so bad a flirting. Or how Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) is instantly a bit of a prick who does things his own way, but they can make a bit of fun at Michael’s (Sonequa Martin-Green) expense about it.

It seems that Discovery is going to end its run, making sure that there is a big season-long arc that guides each season. Season 1 was the Klingon/Federation War, Season 2 was The Red Angel, Season 3 was The Burn, and Season 4 was Species Ten-C. This season, it looks like we are getting a throwback to The Progenitors, which was a plot point back in The Next Generation’s days, which means we get our Picard shoutout. I don’t mind this set-up. It gives us two “bad guys who will be good guys by the end of the season”, who I already like. It gets into the fun aspects of this time frame, and it was a quick way of getting Booker (David Ajala) back in the game. However, look The Progenitors are one of those silly things that happens when Star Trek needs to explain everything. It always tries to end up on the hard side of the Sci-fi spectrum, and so why does everyone look like humans with make-up? Because of ancient DNA, that is why. Look, it is not a deal breaker. It is just a bit silly. Though, I would have 100% watched a whole season about Saru (Doug Jones) and T’Rina (Tara Rosling) trying to plan their wedding.   

In the end, do we recommend Star Trek: Discovery – Red Directive? Yes, we do. What we got was a strong foundation on which to build the rest of the season. While I am sad this will be the final season. I am happy that it looks like it is going on a high note.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you seen Star Trek Discovery yet?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day.   

Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Star Trek Discovery
Directed by – Olatunde Osunsanmi
Written by – Michelle Paradise
Based off – Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry
Created by – Bryan Fuller & Alex Kurtzman  
Production/Distribution Companies – CBS Television Studios, Roddenberry Entertainment, Secret Hideout & Paramount+. 
Starring – Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Mary Wiseman, Wilson Cruz, Blu del Barrio, Callum Keith Rennie & David Ajala with Oded Fehr, David Cronenberg, Annabelle Wallis, Tara Rosling, Eve Harlow & Elias Toufexis and Emily Coutts, Patrick Kwok-Choon, Oyin Oladejo, Orville Cummings, David Benjamin Tomlinson, Victoria Sawal, Natalie Liconti, J. Adam Brown, Gregory Claderone, Michael Copeman & Addison Holley