WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Discovery Season 4, Episode 9, “Rubicon,” streaming now on Paramount+.
Since its first season, Star Trek: Discovery has been more action-oriented than past Star Trek shows. This approach has had both positive and negative outcomes, and one of the negative ones is the decreased focus on problem-solving discussions. In the most recent episode of Discovery, this issue is addressed and melds the regular action of the show with the conversation and negotiation of older Star Trek stories.
Star Trek: Discovery follows the crew of the USS Discovery, who has time-traveled from the era of the original Star Trek series into the future. In this new future, the Federation is a shadow of its former self with significantly fewer member planets and is in the process of rebuilding, now with the aid of the Discovery. In the current season, they are dealing with an unknown anomaly that can destroy planets it comes into contact with, as it did with the planet Kwejan. Michael Burnham, the captain of the Discovery, wants to attempt conversing with the species that controls the anomaly, but she comes into conflict with her partner, Booker, who is from Kwejan.
The conflict between Michael and Booker has been the focus since Discovery came back from its mid-season break, as Michael tries to stop Booker from destroying the anomaly so the Federation can make first contact with the species it came from. In the most recent episode, Michael is also met with resistance on the Discovery, as Commander Nhan has been sent to the Discovery to ensure that Michael does not let her relationship with Booker affect the mission. Michael has to navigate both of these situations, and she does so both in exciting actions sequences and through conversations.
Michael and the Discovery are chasing down Booker’s ship, with both ships firing warning shots at each other in an action sequence that is typical of Discovery. Michael eventually comes to realize that the best way to get out of this situation is for her to get the data that proves Booker does not need to attack the anomaly; as the data shows, it is not going to move for some time and is not a threat to other worlds. Nhan is initially against this plan, though, as she wants to destroy Booker’s ship now so they do not have to wait for the data. Nhan is also concerned with whether Booker will even change his mind upon seeing the data.
This is where Michael begins to problem solve through conversation by talking to Nhan and helping her see that this is the best option and that Michael is thinking clearly. Then, Michael takes more action by going out in a shuttle to discuss with Booker what she has found. Michael repeatedly says that Booker is reasonable and logical, and this belief in him, as well as a belief that people can reason and understand when they disagree, is classic Star Trek. This sequence follows an exciting chase sequence and involves Michael taking great action by going out in the shuttle, showing that Discovery can meld these two modes of Star Trek.
Booker does agree with Michael and stands down, and while he is undermined by Tarka, a scientist who also wants to destroy the anomaly and attacks anyway, it does still show the value of these conversations. Star Trek is about facing problems and having discussions about how to deal with them, and it is nice to see Discovery taking that aspect of it and bringing it into its new take on Star Trek.
To see how it blends action and conversation, Star Trek: Discovery streams Thursdays on Paramount+.
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