‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Recap – ‘Brother’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK..

I think it is safe to assume, that television fans everywhere have fairly high expectations when it comes to the sophomore season of a budding new series. Because said fans expect a show that they’ve discovered and enjoy to grow in just about every single way imaginable in season two. They want bigger and better stories, they want the characters to face greater challenges both internally and externally and they want these stories to entice and challenge the audience as well and, in all honesty, there’s nothing wrong with fans having these particular criteria in mind because T.V. shows really should get better with age in every way possible.  
 
But, of the many shows returning for season two in 2019, there’s only one that has higher expectations hanging over it, to the point where its fanbase expects flawlessness from the get-go; Star Trek: Discovery. Because this particular entry in this storied franchise took some serious heat from its fanbase in just about every single way imaginable since it offered up a war in season one, something that’s always been a hotbed of controversy in this universe and well, perhaps the best way to summarize all of the complaints that came about from this series, was that so many wanted Discovery to inject more of what we love about Trek into this universe and at long last, fans finally were able find out if their complaints were heard and addressed by way of last night’s season two premiere of the show, ‘Brother’.
 
Now, in my eyes at least, I would venture to say that it’s obvious that the extended hiatus this show went on was put to good use because this really does feel like a series that’s grown leaps and bounds, and in many ways, is addressing everyone’s concerns. Because, there is indeed a sense of family suddenly surrounding the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery, something that was starting to slowly happen at the end of season one. But, here, they have one another’s backs like never before and they genuinely jell and work together seamlessly and that matters because that’s what fans expect from a Star Trek series and that’s definitely a step in the right direction for this saga and the changes present in this episode didn’t end there, because it offered up so much more. 

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​Take for example the fact that there’s clearly a grand adventure heading our way this year, and it all involves a mysterious signal that broadcast galaxy wide. Because a signal that’s strong enough to disable the U.S.S. Enterprise and drive Spock mad must be related to something incredibly powerful and the search to understand this signal is what drove all of the adventure in this tale since we were treated to some genuinely epic moments in this episode, the kind that took your breath away and put me on the edge of my seat and that really is something new for this series. But more importantly, the mystery surrounding these signals was handled in masterful fashion, since it gave the audience just enough to work with, and I am quite curious to see how all of this unfolds in the weeks to come.
 
However, I think what I enjoyed the most in this tale, is the fact that it offered up a lot of fun. Because all of the action and tension in this episode were balanced out nicely by some perfectly timed humor, something I really didn’t expect to see, but on several occasions, the clever timing of the jokes left me laughing heartily and it’s good to see the fun arriving in this series. And really, two actors stole the show when it comes to this pleasant surprise and that would be Tig Notaro, who played the stranded engineer Jett Reno and Mary Wiseman, who plays the always quirky Ensign Tilly and these two were simply on their game in every single scene and Mary gets additional Starfleet credits for balancing her humorous performance with some genuinely sweet moments that kept snapping the audience back to the point that this crew is family now.
 
However, all of that aside, this episode did give us plenty of fanboy moments to chew upon, with more beautiful and sweeping visuals of the NCC-1701, because damn that ship is beautiful in any timeline or era, and you can’t help but get excited over the fact that Spock pops up in this one and it didn’t bother me in the slightest that he’s only seen here as a kid and heard as an adult…because it’s Spock! But I digress, because the finest fan moment of the night was spending time with Captain Christopher Pike, a character really only seen once in the prime timeline, so I’m definitely looking forward to spending time with him this season and seeing what makes the second captain of the Enterprise, and now the Discovery, tick. If anything, I would venture to say this was an incredible premiere, and I loved every single second of it since it clearly is taking the series in a bold new direction, one that features some wonderful character growth while staying true to the spirit of the shows that came before it. Until next time. 

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