‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Recap – ‘People of Earth’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 303 of ‘Star Trek: Discovery’.

If there is one particular storytelling element that the Star Trek Universe has always excelled at, it would have to be social commentary. For this franchise has always done a phenomenal job of exploring hot topics happening in our modern world, or issues that have plagued mankind for ages. And being able to dive into such matters has led to some powerful episodes throughout the years, the kind that have given us great pause as we ponder upon the topic at hand… and how we as a modern society can fix it. Yet while we expect this to be a staple of the franchise at every turn, a couple of Trek shows have managed to steer clear of it.
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Which is a sensible decision for Lower Decks, since it is a celebration of the franchise in and of itself. But it does seem odd that Star Trek: Discovery spent its first two years, avoiding real-world topics that fans could pour over. Especially when its plots provided plenty of opportunities to do so. After all, season one could have spoken volumes to the nature of endless war and season two could have explored the dangers of relying upon unregulated technology, in great depth. Two elements that would have reflected our current world for certain. But instead, the folks in the writers’ room had a masterful plan in mind. One that was designed to use the first two seasons of this series, to establish the good nature of this crew before plunging them into a tough future, the kind that would finally allow for said commentary to take place. As evidenced by this week’s episode.

For ‘People of Earth’ is a story that took the time to point out some glaring issues in modern America. But before it dove into its commentary, this episode was quick to wrap up some loose ends and offer up a little exposition as well. Such as, filling us in upon the fact that The Burn was a horrific event, one that cost millions their lives and its cause remains unsolved to this day. Plus, this tale also resolved an important issue plaguing the U.S.S. Discovery. In that, this ship has been without a permanent captain for some time now. But thanks to some quick thinking and humility on Michael’s part, Saru was able to assume command of this vessel, permanently, and this was a treat to watch happen and truly, he is the most qualified man for the job. 

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But once those particularly important plot points were poured over and resolved, the time had come for the crew of this intrepid vessel to investigate a strange message that Burnham found from twelve years ago. One sent from an Admiral named Senna Tal, who reached out into the void, asking believers in the Federation to join him in rebuilding it. And of course, the best place to search for a Starfleet Admiral would be at Starfleet HQ and that brought the crew to Earth where things… took a weird turn. Because rather than receive a warm reception from Starfleet, the crew was surrounded by an entity known as the United Earth Defense Force. A group of humans that protected a world that was no longer part of the Federation, which was quite the shock to hear, and they were eager to defend the cradle of mankind simply because there were nefarious forces in the galaxy that were hungry to raid the planet’s supplies. 

In fact, the crew got to meet some of those raiders and quickly found themselves embroiled in quite the ugly standoff, one that revealed quite the surprise and brought about the commentary in question. For it turns out that humans from Titan were fighting humans from Earth for supplies, and this was simply heartbreaking to learn. Because it meant that fear had gripped both colonies and allowed for man to revert to its baser instincts and clearly, seeing two worlds that should be on the same side, battling for resources and hurting one another… speaks volumes to the state of our world right now. Where people are constantly digging in over party and ideologies instead of working together to make things better and make things right. And it was quite powerful to find that message embedded within this story and it was nice to see this series try and remind us that we are all in this together and that unity and understanding is always the way to go, since that’s something we all need to hear right now.

But aside from some quality commentary on the state of a divided America, this episode also did a phenomenal job of setting up the rest of the season. For we came to learn that Admiral Tal is alive and well inside the new character, Adira, since the admiral is a Trill symbiote. And we also now know that the Federation and Starfleet, still exist and are operating out of a secret location, as part of a plan to keep Earth safe and to quietly rebuild the fleet. Plus, it was also nice to see that Earth is still a paradise in the 32nd century, courtesy of a visit to the surface from Tilly and a small contingent of the crew and really, in the end, this was just a phenomenal episode. Because it truly embodied the best parts of Star Trek and it set the stage for a frenzied push to restore the Federation and the fundamentals it stands for, and that is going to make for one noble quest. One that we all hope, is successful. Until next time.   

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