‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Season 3 Episode 2 recap: What happened to the crew?

Michael made it to the future, but her crew didn’t. In Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 2, we follow the crew’s arrival to the 32^nd century.

The premiere of Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 focused on Michael Burnham’s introduction to the future. This was a smart move by the creators as it gave viewers an entire episode to orient themselves to the new timeline and main players. Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 2 is all about the crew.

Several crew members chose to follow Michael on her journey through the wormhole. Now they arrive, but Discovery is damaged, and her systems are down. With a ship in disarray and no way to familiarize themselves with the planet and era they’ve landed in, it’s time for the crew to take some risks.

But the question is, will they survive the inhospitable world they find themselves in?

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 2 – An Ode to Voyager

I’m a huge fan of Star Trek: Voyager, which is probably why I couldn’t help but notice a few homages to it on Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 2. When Discovery crashes into the icy planet referred to as the Colony, the visual is very similar to the tear-jerker episode ‘Timeless’, where we saw Voyager meet her demise in a similar fashion.

The tributes don’t end there. Part of what made Voyager different was taking the captain and her crew outside the comfort of Federation space and into the Delta Quadrant. Captain Janeway had to forge new alliances and make her own path, while adamantly sticking by the Prime Directive.

In the same vein, Commander Saru (Doug Jones) is at sea in this strange new world, and he tries his best to adhere to his Starfleet principles. It doesn’t help that at every turn, Saru is faced with the xenophobic vitriol of Philippa Georgiou (played by the astounding Michele Yeoh).

Georgiou becomes the least of his problems when Saru and Ensign Silvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) encounter a band of ‘true believers’ (those who believe in the ideals of the Federation and have been waiting for Starfleet officers to bring the Federation back).

Saru and Tilly offer dilithium—which we know has become a rare mineral because of the Burn—to the locals in exchange for repairing a valuable part of the ship.

Unfortunately, these locals are being terrorized by a courier named Zareh (Jake Weber). Zareh interrupts (in classic, old West style) and tries to threaten Tilly and Saru into taking him to Discovery. The entire scene in the saloon was tense and suspenseful. And what I liked was how Zareh came across as sinister but not sleazy. Yes, he refers to Tilly as ‘sweetheart’, but it doesn’t have that lascivious tone we’re so used to in most pop culture properties.

And Georgiou saves the day because she is brilliant. She takes as good as she gives and is such an unstoppable force. I hope the showrunners explore and expand the dynamic between Georgiou and Saru, because they are, essentially, hunter and prey forced to team up.

Where Georgiou is the boss from hell that so many of us in the real world have dealt with, Saru is the ideal leader who encourages and doesn’t denigrate. His pep talk to Tilly about being the best first impression to the future brought me to tears. Saru can be bland as a character at times, but moments like this cement the reason why he’s such a valuable part of this show.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 2 – Damage Report

No Star Trek property would be complete without reems of techno-babble. And there’s a lot of it in Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 2. There is nothing functioning on the ship; the crew is barely functioning.

I didn’t mind the amount of jargon because it’s part and parcel of being a Trekkie. And I’m willing to take plenty of that if we get the multitude of quotable one-liners from Tig Notaro’s Commander Jett Reno.

While being confined to a chair for most of the episode because of a back injury, Reno is a scene-stealer with her comic timing.

Lt. Kayla Detmer (Emily Coutts) steers the ship to safety, but she is disoriented for most of the episode. Her injuries may be connected to some damage to her implants though she’s not able to get them seen to or treated.

I was surprised that Detmer was still alive by the end of the episode. Considering how much screen time she was given, I was sure Detmer was fated to be the Red Shirt of the episode. I speculate that future-tech might help Detmer, and probably heal many of the other injured crewmembers.

One of the highlights of the episode was seeing Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz) and Lt. Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) interacting as a couple again. Hugh gets to unleash his snarkier side as he riles up Stamets – these two are adorable together and I’m looking forward to Culber and Stamets getting to just be a couple in this season.

I love how Nhan (Rachael Ancheril) already has a bigger role to play in Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 2. She’s almost in a leadership position; I hope she’s allowed to grow into that. My favorite moment was Nhan explaining why she chose to give up her place on the Enterprise to join Discovery.

Back in Season 2, Discovery crewmember, Airiam sacrificed her life to save Nhan, who had been suspicious of Airiam’s behavior. Nhan decided to remain with Discovery to honor Airiam’s sacrifice. What a beautiful way to explain why a new cast member was added to the show.

By the end of the episode, Discovery is at risk of being swallowed by parasitic ice, when they’re saved by an unknown ship. Onboard is Michael, but she looks different. As some of us had surmised, Michael’s been waiting a year for Discovery to arrive. I can’t imagine how many tears will be shed when she’s reunited with her friends again.

While I’d argue that there was a little inconsistency regarding Saru’s intention to explore the planet, the writing and direction in this episode were emotionally gripping. This is probably one of my new favorite episodes of all Star Trek shows, and that’s quite an achievement by the showrunners. Full speed ahead to even better episodes going forward.

What did you think of Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 2? Let us know in the comments below.

New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 are available every Thursday on CBS All Access.