A young Michael Burnham is having trouble going to sleep, afraid of the dark. So her father tells her a story of long, long ago, about a brave young girl whose fateful encounter brought stars to the night sky and pushed back the darkness for all humankind.
"Ephraim and Dot" was borderline slapstick entertainment. "The Girl Who Made the Stars" is a short parable using the Star Trek universe as little more than a framing device. The two have very different animation styles. Collectively, they're an example of how Short Treks is a place to push the limits of what can be done in the Star Trek universe.
It is a bit of a clash for me in this case, though. It's tricky to juxtapose mysticism and fantasy up against the science that is the core of Star Trek. It's not unthinkable, though. Deep Space Nine did it regularly with Bajoran religion (though, notably, some fans resisted that). It's all about how it's handled.
It's well worth remembering that no one is representing the story in "The Girl Who Made the Stars" as objective truth. The bedtime story framing device makes it clear that this is just a fable. And it's a fable that is well in keeping with Star Trek ideals. It's a story about overcoming fear and venturing into the unknown. It's about an encounter with a stranger (new life, a new civilization) and forging a friendship. It's really about as Star Trek as you can get. And yet, from the actual narrative... if they didn't name drop Michael Burnham into this, would you ever imagine this was a Star Trek story?
As a small treat for Star Trek: Discovery fans, this episode shows Michael Burnham in a happy time before she was separated from her biological parents. Voicing her father is Kenric Green, Sonequa Martin-Green's real-life partner and the actor who briefly played the same role in live-action during Discovery's second season. He does a good job here, telling this story within the story.
The animation itself seems hit-and-miss. Some of it looks very sophisticated and polished, like the snake creature and alien space ship. Other elements look unfinished. The humans are a bit waxy. Their faces seem to move a bit unnaturally when they speak, and when they do, you can see inside their mouths and it doesn't look like there's anything solid in there. I found the animation pretty distracting, actually; it regularly pulled me out of the flow of the story.
I appreciate the impulse to do something different here, but this was not among my favorite Short Treks. I give "The Girl Who Made the Stars" a B-.
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