[7.0/10] Eight years. Five seasons. Four captains. One ship. One infamous mutineer turned galactic hero. And I still don’t quite know what Star Trek: Discovery means.
That's alright! The show has had multiple showrunners and multiple creative voices at play. The series reset its premise at least once, with the jump to the far future, and arguably multiple times. Characters have come and gone. Ships have been retrofitted and become sentient. Species new and old have phased in and receded.
It’s okay if, after all that, even the overthinking viewer can't boil the robust (if not quite infinite) diversity of Discovery into a single idea or meaning. At the beginning of the show’s final season, Michael Burnham herself wondered what it all means, and I’ll admit, I’m not more equipped to answer that after the end of the show’s five year mission than she was when it started.
What it means, in immediate terms, is that the Progenitor mystery is finished. Michael and Moll’s twin journeys into the portal (alongside some disposable Breen mooks) leads them to a liminal space, fit for slow-motion special effects, gravity-defying fisticuffs, and cheap puzzle-solving.
Much of that feels a little gratuitous. You can practically feel the episode showing off instead of advancing the story. Why Burnham and Moll need to have a Matrix-esque anti-gravity brawl before the mandated alliance and sudden but inevitable betrayal is beyond me. But I like the setting and the slower pace the show adopts at times within it. Despite the questionable “movie every week” promise of the series, this is the rare instance where Discovery genuinely feels cinematic, and the pace and cinematography have a lot to do with that.
One of the big problems with Discovery’s aesthetic overall is that the sterile sheen on everything often gives the show’s backdrops a semi-unreal quality that detracts from the convincingness of the presentation. Thankfully, that totally works in a quasi-magical portal realm created by billion-year-old aliens!
The endless stretch of a fantastical environment, the way it’s punctuated by extravagant quasi-baroque architecture, the hidden path to central setting, the puzzle that leads you to some mystical parental figure spouting purple prose -- they all give “Life, Itself” an unexpected Kingdom Hearts vibe of all things. But for something meant to be elevated above even the everyday wonders the average Starfleet captain experiences, that approach works.
Granted, some of the path toward the Progenitor tech feels rote. All of the cryptic clues and vital totems come down to...arranging a bunch of glass triangles? You can derive some thematic meaning from that (“The in-between times matter as much!”) but it’s an oddly mechanical answer to the latest riddle. Moll giving Michael the ol’ el kabong and getting punished by the alien alarm is a bit too predictable. And the all-knowing ethereal being from beyond, come to dispense the great wisdom, is a big cliche.
But I like where they land. The rap on Michael Burnham in the fandom is that Discovery is too hidebound in its need to make her the greatest and special-est captain to ever captain anything. (Nevermind that the franchise has done the same with Kirk, Archer, and if I’m honest with myself, sometimes even Picard.) Here, though, when the Progenitor representative tells Burnham that she is the only one worthy to wield such incredible technology, Michael demurs.
She acknowledges her own flaws. She points out her own limitations. True to Federation principles, she disclaims the idea that any one person should have this power. And given the freedom to create life, or annihilate it, or use this amazing tool however she might wish, Burnham chooses to destroy it.
There is poetry in that. It’s a strange obverse of Groucho Marx’s famous quip, 'I wouldn't want to belong to a club that would have me as a member.” The trails of clues left by the consortium of scientists was meant to test the mettle and the heart of the person chasing them, ensuring that they had the right disposition and perspective before they were granted access to this awesome power.
I can appreciate the poetic irony that the only soul worthy of wielding that technology is the one who would see its potential for death and destruction and choose to destroy it instead. It’s a conclusion to this story that, if a bit anticlimactic, feels lyrical, philosophical, and most importantly, Trek-y enough for a finale.
Unfortunately, it squeezes out just about everything else. Dr. Culber’s peculiar spiritual connection? Well, he magically knows the frequency for the portal box, and is just content with the unknown now. The end. Stamets’ desire to leave a great scientific legacy? All it takes is a twenty-second speech from Burnham and a quick (albeit admittedly sweet) bit of solace from Adira, and he’s good. As for Adira themself? They get another attaboy and a few hugs, but I guess they mostly completed their arc in the last episode.
What about Rayner? Well, he offers a bold solution to the stand-off with the Breen and remains steady in the face of danger, but doesn’t get to confront his onetime tormentor really, and again, pretty much wrapped up his character journey earlier. Tilly? She comes up with a cool science-y thing, which is on-brand I guess. But her soul-searching over the Academy leads to...a mentorship program? Really? That bog standard thing is her big epiphany? Sure. Why not? Even Moll goes from murderous and duplicitous to being amenable to Michael and cool with Book without much compunction, another major character arc that feels terribly compressed.
Look, it’s admirable that Discovery wants to give all the members of its crew something to do in the finale. But unfortunately it means that almost nobody besides Burnham gets a chance to really put a capstone on their journeys across the course of the series. That may be fine for well-liked but sporadic recurring characters like Admiral Vance, President Rilak, and Commander Nhan,and President T’Rina. (We even get to learn that Kovich is freakin’ Agent Daniels from Star Trek: Enterprise, among others.) But ironically, in an episode about how Burnham has the humility to step aside on the brink of extra-dimensional anointing, her story crowds out everyone else’s.
Thankfully, the exception to the rule is Saru. One of the iconic moments in the lead-up to Discovery’s premiere was his trailer-worthy line that his people were “biologically determined for one purpose and one purpose alone: to sense the coming of death. I sense it coming now.” When the series started, there was a timidity, even a rigidity to Saru. Despite absconding to the stars, he had that fear-based social conditioning within him.
And yet, over the course of the series, he’s arguably changed more than anyone else. He lost his ganglia and lived to tell the tale. He shared the truth of his homeland and rekindled his people’s culture. He’s been through an array of harrowing, potentially lethal events and come out on the other side. He’s even found courage in matters of the heart.
So it is rousing, then, when he stands off with a cruel Breen warlord and doesn’t blink once. Where there was fear, there is now force. Where there was reticence, there is now courage. Where there was timidity, there is now daring. Doug Jones kills it, as usual, and if there’s one thing this finale deserves credit for, it’s showing how far Saru has come: from the anxious officer preaching caution to the confident ambassador making bold bluffs to save his friends on the strength of his mettle alone. He’ll go down as the show’s best character in my book, and I’m glad “Life, Itself” gave him his moment in the spotlight.
The episode at least has a solid structure to keep things manageable. We have Burnham and Moll going through the Door to Darkness on the one hand. We have Rayner and most of the usual Discovery crew working to hold off Moll’s goons from the Progenitor device on the other. We have Saru and Nhan holding off another Breen faction with trademark Federation diplomacy. And we have Book and Dr. Culber sneaking through battle lines in a shuttle to keep the “portal in a can” from drifting into a pair of twin black holes. The balance among and derring-do within each thread is satisfactory at worst.
That last part is a big part of the episode’s mission, not because of the practical mechanics of destruction avoidance that have become old aht for Discovery, but because it’s a sign of Book’s love for Michael. And sure. I buy it. But I don’t feel it.
I don’t mind Book and Burnham together. It’s not a detriment to the show in any sense. But from the second Book popped up in season 3 as an obvious love interest, everything about them has felt pat and inevitable. So while I think they’re perfectly fine and perfectly plausible together, it never felt like the epic, essential love story that the show seemed to want it to be, especially in this finale.
I won’t deny the aesthetic power of the two of them reuniting at Saru’s wedding (which looks incredible, by the way), all gussied up. I’m not made of stone. You put two attractive people gazing deeply into one another’s eyes on a luminous beach with the music swelling, and you can get something in the moment. But they mostly spout the usual romantic cliches, made all the more stilted with oddly artless dialogue, before the romantic rekindling that was never really in doubt takes place.
Which means our epilogue, showing their shared future in the world’s coziest cabin, is pleasant but not quite moving. It’s nice that Burnham gets a little peace, that she and Book have a son on the cusp of his first Starfleet command, that she gets one last dance with Discovery. But that's about where it tops out. “Nice.” Not the touching goodbye to a long run the episode seems all but desperate to convey. We even get an impressionistic sequence on the bridge that feels more like the cast bidding farewell to one another in costume than the characters saying their goodbyes.
You can appreciate the attempts here. From another explosion-filled conclusion to a Tree of Life-esque sequence of creation to an artsy, golden-hued effort to gin up the emotion from putting a capstone on five seasons’ worth of adventures. There are some big swings here, which I admire, and you cannot fault the show for a lack of effort in this finale.
But in the final tally, it still leaves me a bit cold, and I’m still not quite sure what it all means. In the Progenitor’s big sermon, she suggests a positively existentialist reading on that question on a cosmic scale. We supply our own meaning, whether it be through exploration or scientific advancement or familial bonds. Discovery makes a few vague suggestions as to the possible takeaways, but affirms that the franchise’s values of infinite diversity in infinite combinations applies just as well to one of the essential questions of life. There are a multitude of meanings and possibilities out there, in the wide scope of people out in the world (or the galaxy), and in what drives us within our hearts and souls. I can appreciate that answer.
But the closest thing the show offers to an explicit answer comes from Bunrham herself, naturally, and the episode’s title. The meaning of life is “Life, Itself”, with the idea that our experiences can't be reduced beyond that, necessarily. The purpose is simply to be, to form bonds, to have those experiences, and share them with others. It’s a bit of a tautology, and more than a little trite, but there’s something to the idea that the meaning of life is to live.
That meaning extends to Discovery itself. I can't tell you what the show means, or how it coalesces into a greater whole, because quite frankly, I’m not sure that it does.. Instead, it simply is. These adventures happened: some good, some bad, some rousing, some dull, some memorable, some easily forgotten.
It’s a fool’s errand to predict a show’s legacy. From aspiring franchise flagship, to fandom punching bag, to something that was simply there, Discovery’s risen and fallen in esteem over the course of its run. It could earn a critical reevaluation down the line or sink down into the dregs like some of its predecessors. But through it all Star Trek: Discovery was there. It delivered five seasons’ worth of adventures, expanded the canon, and took the franchise further into the future than it had ever been before. Its whole may not amount to more than the sum of its parts, but those parts, those individual adventures and stories, will remain. I’m not sure that Discovery has a deeper meaning than that, or if it needs one.
Well, after 5 seasons it’s finally over. The last 25 minutes was totally unnecessary filler. To sit for 25 minutes watching Burnham’s irritating grin, and listening to her whispery dramatic voice was paramount to torture. I sat there just to see where it was finally leading to….nowhere. They should have just cut it off at Suru’s wedding, if they even needed to drag it out that long.
I’ll can now look forward to the next series of Strange New Worlds, if there is one. I’ll also sit in hope that The Orville is finally renewed for another series, although I’m beginning to doubt that will ever happen.
Goodbye Dicovery, you won’t be missed. Not by me anyway.
That ending could have been accomplished in less than 44 minutes.
Finally over!
So disappointing and that really bums me out.
I just didn't care. Over and over again, this show expected you to feel something without ever earning it. And that made the end of the episode feel pretty empty for me.
Seemed only fitting that the series ends with one more cringe Burnham whisper-speak and that terrible "let's fly" catchphrase.
It's finally over.
5 long years of disappointment, unnecessary drama and the most worthless episodes in the entire Star Trek universe.
And yet Discovery also had its strengths, unique episodes and a certain creativity.
As an "old white man" I missed the philosophical and ethical depth that Star Trek stood for for me. But times change and this series also had its moments.
I see Discovery more as a Star Trek anthology series and so it fits again.
Thank you for Strange New Worlds and thank you that we had 5 years of Star Trek even if it wasn't quite what we expected.
I find it so funny that people spent so much time over the past years to watch 5 seasons of a TV show that they apparently hate. It must be distressing to be unable to make smart life choices.
Better than expected. Nevertheless the best thing to say about discovery is that it brought SNW.
Ah, Star Trek: Discovery, the show that boldly went where no one asked it to go. Picture this: it's like a hipster at a high-end coffee shop, sipping a kale-infused latte while wearing mismatched socks and waxing poetic about the existential crisis of artisanal toast. That's right, folks—Discovery is the artisanal toast of sci-fi TV. :avocado::bread:
Now, let's dive into the season 5 finale, titled "Life, Itself." Imagine you're at a fancy dinner party, and the main course arrives: a plate of lukewarm tofu, garnished with existential dread and served on a bed of plot holes. The Progenitors—the mysterious beings who apparently invented the universe's most confusing IKEA furniture—take center stage. They're like the cryptic barista who insists on explaining the hidden meaning behind every soy milk latte foam swirl. :milky_way::coffee:
Michael Burnham, our resident mutineer-turned-Starfleet-captain, grapples with the Progenitors' technology. It's like watching a cat try to assemble a particle accelerator using IKEA instructions written in Klingon. Spoiler alert: the technology ends up in a black hole, which is fitting because the plot also disappeared into one. :hole:
But wait, there's more! The crew of the U.S.S. Discovery gets about as much screen time as a background extra in a crowd scene. Seriously, they're like the forgotten side dish at a food truck festival—everyone's too busy Instagramming the gourmet tacos to notice them. :taco:
And let's talk about Moll, the character who makes Jar Jar Binks look like a Shakespearean thespian. Moll's decision-making process is akin to a squirrel crossing a busy street during rush hour: erratic, nonsensical, and ultimately doomed. :chipmunk:
As for the dialogue, oh boy. It's like listening to a self-help podcast hosted by a sentient mood ring. The characters talk so much that even the universal translator begs for a mute button. :speaking_head:
In summary, "Life, Itself" wraps up the season with all the finesse of a drunk Klingon doing the Macarena. It's a finale that leaves you questioning your life choices, much like that regrettable tattoo you got during spring break. :cherry_blossom::syringe:
So, dear viewers, as we bid adieu to Star Trek: Discovery, let's raise our glasses (filled with Romulan ale, of course) and toast to a show that stumbled, tripped, and face-planted its way through the final frontier. May it rest in peace—or at least find a better hairstylist in the afterlife. :vulcan::champagne_glass:
And remember, folks: in space, no one can hear you cringe. :stars:²⁵
Discovery was my first proper Trek show. I'd watched bits and pieces of some of the other shows, particularly TNG and Voyager when they were on TV or when my parents were watching it, and I vaguely remember watching Enterprise, but not enough to really count it in any meaningful way especially as I remember almost nothing about it.
So with all that said this episode, and the show as a whole, is particularly meaningful to me. I've grown and changed with this characters, much as I imagine those who grew up on any of the other shows did too, and it's never easy to say goodbye to anything that means so much.
But I don't feel sad. I'm so happy with how it ended, it was pretty much everything I wanted. And it was hopeful, which feels pretty perfect for Star Trek. I'll never forget this show and until we meet again, "Let's fly".
Thank god this ended. They are stretching max 2 episode story to a whole season. Yawn..
Weak writing, some of these episodes. oh if we get all the ships in the plasma cloud we can blow them all up! this [task] is impossible, but... maybe ... :person_facepalming:♂
They also handed the camera to a 5-year-old. The amount of shaky cam is unbearable.
link to crewman Daniels bio: https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Daniels_(Crewman)
Star Trek Enterprise clip where Daniels introduces himself to Archer, and shows his 3D time map: https://youtu.be/5m5HXgP_IwI
link to Star Trek: Short Treks, "Calypso," where Zora meets Craft: https://www-dot-braflix.video/tv/82491/1/2?play=true
(Safety first: uBlock Origin recommended)
I had to pause and re-watch these to re-invest myself emotionally -- seeing Action Saru didn't quite do it. YMMV....
I hope they never allow any of these writers close to Star Trek again.
So many missed opportunities to avoid sentimental indulgence and give Discovery a proper science fiction send off! Instead we are back to a fizzle instead of a bang.
this last series was completely waste. they should have stopped in the 4 series!
Gravitational chaos indeed... thankfully the photon torpedoes terminated this black hole of a season.
Even in the Season 5 series finale, most of the actors still look very awkward and uncomfortable around eachother. The way they stand while having conversations, the way they interact, none of it looks nor feels natural and normal. Like they've been given lectures and a set of very strict rules about boundries & personal space, what is acceptable to do and not do, then scripts that go completely against that so they don't ever know or feel comfortable in anything they're doing when there's any kind of interaction between characters.
It's like a series of workmates who would never spend time with eachother outside of work playing out team building exercises put on by some external consultancy. And the script even in Season 5 still felt like it was written by scifi writers then re-written by a mothers group who were doing feelings and emotional insight excercises for a prison group.
This show had a lot of great ideas, a lot of great potential. But the execution was terrible at so many levels.
A good finale. And now the end of Star Trek Discovery. It's been a wonderful show. Really enjoyed it. :thumbsup_tone1:
Really happy they got a chance to say a proper goodbye, it was a wonderful ending to a series that introduced me to Star Trek all these seasons ago.
I’m so happy that they took extra time to develop that finale. Goodbye Discovery
So much ado about nothing.
While I did not dislike this season I think the entire plot line of the season was a waste of time. I knew from the get go that the progenitor tech if it was what people thought it was then it would be too dangerous for anyone. And I always felt that they should’ve destroyed any one of the hints along the way. Especially after they saw the future. All they had to do was destroy the hints that they already had and everything would’ve been resolved.
You've got to be kidding me! The one thing I held out hope for was an explanation to why Discovery was put out in deep space for 1,000 years as seen in the Calypso short. All they did was shoehorn in a 10 minute filler piece of actually taking the ship out but, not why!!
I’ve loved this show and so glad it got a proper ending to finish it off. I think it ended well and at the right time. I see a lot of people complaining in comments but they’ve been watching all 5 seasons… it can’t be that bad then!
The best thing that this show is finally over it had me cheering I never had to watch it again .
I enjoyed the series as a whole. it will be missed.
Also what a way to tie in the Enterprise show.
I think it is a mistake to cancel Discovery, but this is a satisfactory closure to the delightful series that reprised and rejuvenated the Star Trek franchise. In my opinion, it is a much better wrap than Enterprise and Voyager got.
Also - DANIEL!!!! What a reveal! A subtle promise for future Star Trek... travels ;)
9/10 - because 'Life, Itself' is perfectly imperfect, and it is enough.
Best Star Trek finale ever. Thoughtful, intelligent, high concept, adventurous.
Went on a bit too long. Nice effects. Feelings feelings, it’s all about the feelings.
The cast chases down this treasure for the season and Michael manages to get into it and activate it only to find it's not really nearly as useful as they thought.
The second half of the episode wraps up the show, with an elderly Michael. There were some parts I enjoyed, though i think the episode focused too much on Michael and not enough on the broader cast.
I didn't really get into watching the other shows except for bits and pieces of reruns really. This show was my favorite of my 33 yrs on earth and one I (usually) eagerly tuned into. This Finale was a bit drawn out and the fight in the Progenitors tech portal was long and seemingly unnecessary but I otherwise liked the finale.
I have no emotional reaction to this ending AT ALL... I was just happy to see Owo and Detmer for half-a-second...
It ended perfectly for what this became, and I don't hate this show, but it just never found it's feet and they overcompensated in response.
It sort of annoyed me, the odd collection of things in Kovich's (Daniel's the time traveler from Enterprise, apparently; Geordie's Visor, Sisko's Baseball, a bottle of Chateau de Picard Wine, maybe I missed Voyager and TOS, thought I caught the Talaxian Pirate's comment from Booker, so Voyager was referenced, and maybe it was just TOS I missed?
Oh, and tell me that the last black alert jump, the animation was EXTREMELY phallic... Tell me you didn't see it
I haven't particularly enjoyed this show, but this ending was okay.
Shout by Matthew TedfordVIP 2BlockedParent2024-05-30T19:52:17Z
I donno how I'll be able to go on not knowing how Michael Burnham is feeling every 5 minutes.