‘Star Trek: Discovery Season 3, Episode 3’ recap: 3 things we learned about the Federation

In Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 3, Michael reunites with the rest of the crew as they embark on their first mission – finding Earth.

Michael’s been waiting an entire year for the rest of her beloved crew to return to her. They finally reunite at the start of Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 3, and yes, it is as emotional as expected.

Even though I knew the moment was coming, I still got teary watching Tilly rush to embrace Michael, and Saru pat her in his quintessentially paternal fashion. That’s the power of Star Trek for you.

But this is not a cheery episode. Hopeful, yes, but there are so many changes that Michael and the crew must get used to, starting with themselves. The future that they imagined has not been realized. Now, the crew of Discovery must work with friends and enemies to bring that dream to life.

We learn more about the future in Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 3 and the crew of Discovery’s place in it.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 3 – Michael’s new career

In the Star Trek: Discovery Season 3premiere, Michael learned that Discovery hadn’t arrived in the future along with her, and there was no knowing when they would arrive. Michael had pretty much resigned herself to the idea that she would never see her friends again.

During her wait, Michael became a courier, gaining information about the Burn and the Federation, all while collecting enough dilithium for her ultimate mission—returning to Earth.

The cause of the Burn remains unknown; one day all the dilithium in the warp cores of Federation ships destabilized and exploded, killing millions. What’s left of the material has become a valuable commodity.

Michael’s been with Book and Grudge the entire year, and she’s changed. As Georgiou astutely points out, Michael’s spent her entire life following other people’s orders; by the time Discovery returns, she’s had an entire year to work by her own rules. It makes an impact on how she feels about being back on the ship.

Michael doesn’t take the captain’s chair—she insists it belongs to Saru. But then she blatantly disregards Saru’s orders and keeps him in the dark about her actions.

There’s one thing that hasn’t changed though, and that’s Michael’s huge heart. She doesn’t make a move unless she believes it’s for the good of her people. I’m glad the writers remembered that Michael’s heart is what makes her compelling. We don’t know what she’s seen or done, but surely it can’t be anything terrible, because it’s Michael!

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 3 – Decoding the last Starfleet message

Michael’s decision to reform the Federation comes down to one thing—she and the crew gave up their lives and the people they loved to save the future. And this is what the future looks like? No Federation and a lawless, anarchist universe?

Michael can’t even locate her mother. The only bright spark in the future has been the dedication of Aditya Sahil, who shared one last message from Starfleet with Michael. The message came in 12 years before Michael’s arrival and was sent from Earth.

This message is Michael’s last hope. She believes Starfleet is still alive on Earth, but she’s been unable to get there without a warp-capable ship. Now, with Discovery’s spore drive, the ride is possible.

Except, when Discovery reaches Earth they learn that the messenger, General Tal, died two years before. But never fear, there’s hope around the corner.

Stamets befriends an inquisitive teen named Adira (Blu del Barrio) who’s an inspector with the United Earth Defence Force. Interestingly, Adira is referred to using feminine pronouns throughout the episode, though we know that del Barrio is non-binary and Adira is expected to be non-binary as well. We’ll need to wait and see which pronouns Adira chooses to use later in the season.

The fun part of being so busy all the time is that one tends to forget stuff. I completely forgot that we had reported Adira was a host to a Trill symbiote, which explains her (we’ll use the pronouns from this episode) connection to General Tal. She was once General Tal and had sent the message that Michael is after.

Interestingly, Adira is human and thus, an imperfect host. When the Trill were first introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, ‘The Host’, Commander Riker (played by Jonathan Frakes, the director of Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 3) briefly became a symbiote host, but he suffered throughout.

Adira is chipper and precocious, which may be due to her youth. But she can’t access all the memories of her predecessors, which is why she’s sticking around on Discovery. It’s obvious Adira’s not happy as part of the Force, and she’s needed on the ship.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 3 – The Alpha Quadrant at War

We thought the outer rim territories that Michael was visiting were bad, wait till we get to Earth. She looks as beautiful as before but she’s not nearly as friendly.

Worse, the Federation is no longer based on Earth, as the combination of rare dilithium and the Federation headquarters was too dangerous.

Captain Ndoye of the United Earth Defense Force (Phumzile Sitole) boards Discovery after accusing them of trespassing. Apparently, Earth is protective of its stockpile of dilithium, and the Force has had to battle raiders to prevent the pillaging of this valuable resource.

It’s not long before the raiders arrive. One criticism I’ll levy is that it’s far too contrived that everyone knows their nemeses by name. While it’s understandable that the barkeeps from Episode 2 knew the evil courier by face and name, it’s hard to believe that Captain Ndoye would have the time or patience to know that Wen (Christopher Heyerdahl) was the raider knocking at her forcefield. Is he the only one?

Earth is so terrified of the raiders that the Force open fire and even cripple Discovery. It’s only because of Michael and Book’s devious scheme that the ship isn’t destroyed completely. They capture Wen and bring him aboard Discovery.

While ‘diplomacy is too slow’ for Georgiou, she sparks Discovery’s first diplomatic save in the 32^nd century. During Wen’s interrogation—which goes nowhere—Georgiou unmasks him to reveal Wen is human. He’s from the settlement on Titan, a once prosperous people fallen on desperate times.

Wen’s people had tried reaching out to Earth for help, but they’d been shot at instead. Apparently, no one thought to have a conversation. A full-on war broke out because the Titans and the Terrans forgot about open communication.

Michael and Saru broker a deal where the Force would send engineers to help Titan, and Titan’s scientists would share their research. And just like that, diplomacy and cool heads save the day.

Admittedly, this episode was a little haphazard, and much of that probably comes down to the production team putting these episodes together during the pandemic. What shone through were the characters and their motivations.

Odds & Ends from the episode

1. Tilly’s moment of despair was a wonderful inclusion in this episode. She may have made a good and bold decision, but that doesn’t make her loss any easier. I loved that Tilly was allowed to mope for a moment, especially when she realizes that Michael had given up on the crew and their relationship has changed because of it.
2. Seeing Michelle Yeoh back in Starfleet uniform made me miss the original Georgiou so much. She may have lasted two episodes, but OG-Georgiou is one of my favorite characters. Despite that, Yeoh’s take on the second Georgiou is so compelling. She’s a scene-stealer with her repartees and observations. I don’t know how long Trekkies will have Yeoh onboard before she looks for other projects, but I love every single second she’s on-screen.
3. Michael’s not telling us something, or somethings. And she and Book are definitely being cagey about their relationship. They work like a well-oiled machine, and it’s brilliant to watch them together. But there’s an uncomfortable undercurrent when they’re together that’s suspicious. Is it a romance gone wrong? Or is it a dark secret they’re hiding together?
4. The episode ended on such a sweet and positive note with Tilly and the crew revisiting the Starfleet Academy grounds and reminiscing about their days as students.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 has only just begun and it keeps getting better with every episode. I can’t wait to learn more about the future, the crew’s place in it, and meet more new characters.

What are your favorite things about the future as seen in Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 3? Let us know in the comments below.

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