‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Handles One Character Arc Better Than Star Wars
by Frank Martin
One of the most profound moments of the entire Star Wars franchise happened in the very first film: the destruction of Alderaan. It was viewed as an incredibly diabolical act as Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing) destroyed Princess Leia’s (Carrie Fisher) home planet right in front of her. Not only did billions of people lose their lives in a single moment, it was also an incredible display of power for the Empire’s Death Star. It was meant to be a deep character event for Leia as she is now a warrior without a home, thus driving her hatred for the Empire even further. But die hard fans of the series maybe surprised to learn that Star Trek took this concept and explored it much more deeply than Star Wars ever did.
Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) was a character first introduced in season three of Star Trek: Discovery after the ship and its crew were transported some 900 years into the future. Booker worked alongside Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) to help unify Starfleet and discover the source of what destroyed much of the interstellar travel system many years earlier. After that season ended, Booker returned to his home planet, which is beautiful in nature and filled with creatures for which Booker has an empathic relationship with. Unfortunately, a mysterious spatial phenomenon passed through the planet, completely obliterating it just as Booker was leaving. He was spared, but his entire planet and everyone he loved died in the process.
Like Leia, Booker watched his whole planet be destroyed and was traumatized by it. But Star Wars glosses over the trauma this can cause an individual. Leia was certainly motivated by it, but Star Wars has a much younger demographic. The murder of an entire civilization isn’t fully explored because it would be incredibly depressing. But Star Trek doesn’t shy away from this context. Over the course of the season, the audience gets to see Booker wrestle with the anger and depression he feels following this event. It’s burned so deeply into his character that he travels to the other side of the universe for revenge. Ultimately, he decides to spare the creatures that destroyed his planet, but not before imploring them to do better. This long character arc is far more poignant that what Princess Leia had to go through to come to terms with her own planet’s destruction.
Star Trek: Discovery streams new episodes Thursdays on Paramount+.