'Star Trek: Discovery' Recap - 'Will You Take My Hand?'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

You always know that a television show has done a proper job of telling its story when it forces the audience to have one question running through their mind over and over again…how is it going to end? Because once that query arrives in our mind, it simply means that we are hooked through and through and are willing to go through hell to see that story come to its logical conclusion, good or bad, and really, that’s the question that was surging through my mind when I settled in to watch the season one finale of Star Trek: Discovery.
 
Because this was it. We knew the Klingon War storyline was finally coming to a head, we knew this was Burnham’s last chance at redemption and well, the answer to that burning question was indeed answered last night in impressive fashion because ‘Will You Take My Hand?’ was an utterly magnificent episode through and through, and one that quite frankly provided us with a quality and satisfying conclusion to these harrowing storylines. But of course, to get there, we did indeed have to go through hell, and the tough parts of this tale came about by way of Emperor/Captain Georgiou and her unsettling plan to win the war.
 
As it turns out, the initial plan to simply map the Klingon home world of Qo’nos in order to provide Starfleet with juicy targets to give the Klingons pause before attacking again, evolved instead into machinations for genocide, wherein a simple bomb would render the planet uninhabitable for generations to come and therein lied the opportunity for Burnham’s redemption. Because seeing her Captain revert to her Terran ways and encourage the Federation to resort to such tactics out of fear was more than she could bear, especially since it forced her to realize that it was fear that caused this conflict in the first place when she gave in to its power at the Battle of the Binary Stars and also because, this would put the Federation down a dark path that it would never return from. 

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​That epiphany forced her to contact Admiral Cornwell and stand up for the values of the Federation at last, and thankfully, her rallying cry for peace and finding a better way did not fall upon deaf ears and she was given the opportunity to put an end to this madness in the most magnificent of fashion; by giving Georgiou an ultimatum. Stand down, and hand over control of the bomb to L’Rell and enjoy freedom or suffer a lifetime of fear with Starfleet constantly on her tail, and wouldn’t you know it…Philipa took the deal, allowing for L’Rell to take control of the Empire and get all twenty-four houses to stand down and withdraw so that she could begin the reunification of her people as T’Kuvma envisioned, ending the war at last.
 
However, while it was supremely satisfying to see the war come to an end, seeing Michael Burnham come around full circle and stand up to her fear was far more gratifying, as was Michael finding a better way in the face of extreme adversity. Because that’s something that holds true to the values that Star Trek holds dear and it’s inherently clear that the message she delivered at the medal ceremony, wherein her commission and rank in Starfleet were restored, was aimed at our world and our time, as is tradition with this franchise and with the war behind us now, the time has come for the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery to venture on to bold new adventures, and they will be joined on those voyages with their brand new science officer, Commander Michael Burnham.
 
If anything, this episode was in essence, a perfect finale through and through, and of course, we cannot talk about this tale without talking about those closing moments, wherein we got to see the legendary U.S.S. Enterprise on screen, and how cool will it be if the crew of the Discovery gets to interact with the crew of Starfleet’s most famous vessel in season two? I certainly won’t be upset if they do, because I definitely geeked out over that tribute, and Clint Howard’s cameo as well. Either way, this really was an incredible first season for this show, with production values and writing of such high caliber that at times it felt as though this series has already been on the air for several years and if that kind of quality is the standard for season one, I cannot wait to see what kind of incredible storytelling will await us in season two. Until next year. 

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