TV Review: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Reveals A Treasure Hunt For Its Final Season In Episode 2
by Frank Martin
It’s always interesting to see how new characters are introduced and woven into the already existing roster of a Star Trek show. This season on Star Trek: Discovery, the newcomer appears to be Captain Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie), who was introduced in the season premiere. After making a reckless decision that didn’t exactly pay off in that episode, Rayner has to face the consequences of his actions. But although a minor part of this second episode, he’s showing himself to be quite interesting and will be a major factor in how the events of this season will undoubtedly play out.
Still pursuing the couriers who stole the Romulan journal, Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the Discovery crew have to beat them in what is, essentially, a treasure race. This leads Burnham and Saru (Doug Jones) to head to a cemetery planet for what will be Saru’s last mission before he leaves the Discovery. The mission is filled with tons of sentiment, which Burnham shares repeatedly. In the end, they managed to get a clue to the next location and get ahead of the couriers in their search. But before the episode is over, Burnham decides to make Rayner her number one after he was forced to retire following his actions.
If fans weren’t sure how this season was going to play out after the first episode, then the second episode sealed the deal. This is a treasure hunt. The Discovery crew has pitted themselves against the two couriers in a race to find the machine that created all life in the galaxy. Based on Burnham’s opening monologue, pondering the big philosophical question of life is sure to be a part of this season. But it’s unclear right now how that fits into the bigger picture. Starfleet wants the machine to keep it safe. The couriers want the machine for profit. But the larger theme of creating life is still absent from any motivation. As this treasure hunt continues on, it will be interesting to see what new players are introduced and how this season will wrap up philosophically.
Star Trek: Discovery streams Thursdays on Paramount+.
