Star Trek Discovery Season 2 Episode 1 Brother Review: Pike Boards

Pike isn’t the only TOS-era character who will be appearing in Season 2, as casting news has revealed, and the biggest worry one might have with integrating these new-to-“Discovery” faces is that the new characters developed for the series would go underserved.

In comparison to other “Trek” series, “Discovery” has a very small ensemble, with only six series regulars listed in the opening credits: Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Mary Wiseman, Wilson Cruz, and Mount. One of those people is new to the series and one of them is playing a character who is technically dead, yet despite the size of the cast some characters struggle to feel fully present. Tilly (Wiseman), for example, deserves a chance to evolve beyond the moments of comic relief she provides, and the grieving process of Stametz (Rapp) after the death of his husband (Cruz) is clearly ongoing, but feels somewhat brushed aside in the premiere.

Rachael Ancheril, Sonequa Martin-Green, Anson Mount, David Benjamin Tomlinson, Doug Jones, Sean Connolly Affleck in “Star Trek: Discovery.”

CBS

Burnham gets her moments, especially thanks to the always great Martin-Green, who shines when she gets a chance to unleash Burnham’s inner adrenaline junkie. However, it’s a pretty Pike-driven hour, for better and for worse. Christopher Pike was always an underdefined character in “Trek” history, known primarily as Kirk’s predecessor aboard the Enterprise — beyond Jeffrey Hunter and Sean Kenney in the “Original Series” episode “The Menagerie,” the most definitive take on the character was Bruce Greenwood’s portrayal in the first two J.J. Abrams “Trek” films (which, as a reminder, take place in a different timeline from “Discovery”).

Here, Mount finds his own path, attempting rakish charm, good-natured humor, and a solid moral core, and the combination on balance works. But he still has yet to establish what makes Pike distinct from other captains we’ve seen with similar qualities. (Captain Lorca might have turned out to be evil, but Jason Isaacs’ take on the character did not lack wit.)

However, Pike asking the supporting bridge crew — characters who were technically a part of Season 1, but barely got any attention — to introduce themselves feels like a step towards making the crew of the Discovery feel larger, which would be a welcome shift for the series. After all, “Trek” series have traditionally found the heart of the show in the family unit represented by a united crew.

While she won’t be a series regular, the addition of Tig Notaro as Commander Jet Reno is a lot of fun — Notaro’s dry delivery may not sell the urgency necessary in certain life-or-death scenarios, but in the right amount should be a welcome addition to the crew (especially if she gets paired up with Tilly)

“Discovery” is a show that launched with a ton of big ideas and promise, but occasionally floundered in its attempts to bring a new approach to a well-established franchise. Perhaps that was due to behind-the-scenes turmoil, because when Sarek advises Burnham to “focus on the problem in front of you rather than what is behind,” it feels like advice the show itself is trying to take. There’s a lot of set-up packed into this premiere, and for now the direction set is worth traveling.

Grade: B

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