‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Recap: ‘Die Trying’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 305 of ‘Star Trek: Discovery’.
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When Star Trek fans think of Starfleet and everything that it stands for, good thoughts immediately come to mind. Because every Trekkie (or Trekker if you prefer) knows that this storied organization is all about community and unity and the best parts of mankind. For people that serve in this fleet, don’t leave anyone behind and go above and beyond to do the right thing. Not because it is an ideal/expectation that is instilled in every cadet at Starfleet Academy, but because these officers genuinely believe in being the best person they can be. For that is what inspires others to rise above strife and to fight for what’s right and that’s precisely the kind of Starfleet that every fan was expecting to run into in this week’s episode of Star Trek: Discovery.
 
Because ‘Die Trying’ featured a big moment that has been brewing for weeks now, wherein the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery was reunited with Starfleet Command and the United Federation of Planets and that made for quite the powerful opening to this tale. For regardless of the fact that these two organizations were in hiding, the wonder and majesty of both of them were on full display here. By way of beautiful 32nd Century ships that spoke to a rich history that this intrepid crew would need a little time to learn about, and it was equally as nice that this look at the future fleet, threw a few Easter Eggs into the mix as well. Since keen eyes likely spotted the U.S.S. Nog and the U.S.S. Voyager-J on the crew’s way into the 32nd Century equivalent of space dock. And once Saru and Burnham and Adira Tal were aboard and greeted by Admiral Charles Vance, it truly seemed as though we and the crew would finally feel at home.
 
But alas, that simply wasn’t going to be the case in the slightest. For Admiral Vance made it clear that he and the rest of Starfleet’s remnant didn’t trust these new arrivals in the slightest. For they had all seen too many dark moments and dealt with too much betrayal and that motivated Vance to have the entire crew interrogated by specialists so that he could corroborate their amazing story. One that was sadly purged from the records thanks to Captain Pike and the crew of the Enterprise and well, it was just shocking to see Vance and his team treat their own in this manner, and it really did speak to the fact that Starfleet was broken and in pure survival mode and well, that motivated both Burnham and Saru to try to prove their worth to their futuristic comrades by going on a big mission to save innocent lives. 

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​Something that the admiral was hesitant to let them do. But with a little coaxing from Burnham, she was allowed to take the ship to the Federation Seed Vault in order to synthesize a cure for what was ailing a group of aliens and that is where the majesty of Starfleet came to the surface of this particular tale. For Vance’s attaché, a Lieutenant Willis, was able to see the crew put themselves in harm’s way and work as one and make powerful sacrifices in the name of saving a group of strangers they didn’t know in the slightest, and that was something that truly impressed Admiral Vance and finally allowed for him to trust this crew and put them back on the active-duty roster. But while this episode does end happy, there are some important moments that happened in this one that are clearly going to have some repercussions down the line. 
 
For example, the crew is now down a valuable Commander since Nahn stayed behind with the seed vault in order to see her home world and to do something a little extra in a century she doesn’t understand and of course… we have a lot questions when it comes to Georgiou’s interactions with the mysterious man (played brilliantly by horror legend David Cronenberg) she met during her interrogation. For not only was he able to get to her in a manner that no one else can, clearly something odd happened during her time with him. For she is simply not herself at the moment and it will be interesting to learn what that man did to her mind and of course… it will be quite wonderful to see what comes out of the seed that Captain Saru and Commander Burnham planted with the admiral.
 
Because they were able to inspire Admiral Vance to believe in something more once again, and that should have a huge impact on Starfleet and its future. For he was reminded of what makes this organization so great and so powerful and if Vance can inspire others to be more and be their best on a daily basis, then perhaps unity and community and everything that the Federation stands for can live again. In the end however, this really was quite the fascinating episode. Simply because it did a phenomenal job of reminding the audience why we love the Star Trek Universe and how Starfleet and its ideals are paramount to that love. But what matters most is that the Discovery is back in the game and ready to serve and that is going to lead to some wonderful moments as they boldly go where they’ve never gone before, all in the name of the greater good. Until next time.

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