That Hope Is You, Part 1

It's been almost a year-and-a-half since the last new Star Trek: Discovery, but they've finally been able to overcome the challenges of post-production in a COVID world (like recording a full orchestral score one instrument at a time, then mixing it all together). And, as promised by the season two finale, Discovery is now almost an entirely different show.

Michael Burnham arrives in the late 32nd century, but has become separated from Discovery. She turns to a roguish "courier" named Book for help, but he is initially suspicious of Burnham -- and hiding a secret of his own. Along the way, Burnham learns of her distressing new reality: about 100 years earlier, a mysterious event known as The Burn wiped out most dilithium in the galaxy... and the Federation along with it.

Unsurprisingly, this episode of Star Trek: Discovery felt like the pilot to an entirely new series. Unfettered by any need to line up franchise continuity, they'll now be able to tell basically any story they want. They've set up what seems to be a season-long mystery, just as was done for each of the first two seasons. This one has immediate stakes to Star Trek fans, though, as the mystery involves the destruction of Starfleet, the home to all Trek we've known before.

We do have one familiar face, though, in Michael Burnham. And from beginning to end in this nearly solo episode, Sonequa Martin-Green absolutely crushed it. If there were any justice for science fiction at the Emmy Awards, she'd win one for the teaser alone. First, she embodies the resolve of a test pilot, tamping down clear panic and taking steps to save her own life. (Playing all of this against a green screen void, remember.) Then, in a scene with minimal dialogue and only a computerized voice as her scene partner, she screams a joyous celebration at having completed her mission, runs a frenzied race against the clock to send word of her success back in time, and then collapses in a tearful heap as the weight of what she's lost finally hits her. And all of this is about tying up a plot point the audience hasn't considered in a year-and-a-half. Sonequa Martin-Green is amazing.

That opening may be the standout, but there's plenty more to come, as Burnham gets a bunch of big action moments over the next hour: a fist fight on a beach, a wild shootout in an alien bazaar (maybe too wild; I could have done with a more stable camera), and a frenetic teleporting chase all across a planet. And along the way, she gets hit with a "truth drug" and starts tripping out of her mind (in still more great work, now comedic, from Sonequa Martin-Green).

Martin-Green isn't quite doing it entirely solo, though. She's paired with new main cast member David Ajala as Book. Book is definitely a trope-tastic character, a scoundrel with a heart of gold, but with just enough of a spin on him to be interesting: he has some strange empathic sense or technologically-assisted abilities that put his "heart of gold" closer to the surface. Ajala and Martin-Green definitely play well together. I believed their relationship, even if on the page, it seems to me like maybe Book turned the corner from backstabbing rogue to helpful ally a little fast.

Another major "co-star" was the setting. The production reportedly went to Iceland to film on location for this episode, and the results are well worth it. Many movies don't look this good. Essentially no Star Trek movies looked this good. And we're treated to all kinds of gorgeous backdrops: desolate wastes, strange bubbly fields, cliffs, beaches, waterfalls. You got everything but narration from David Attenborough, and it was great.

If you were maybe starting to worry that things weren't feeling Star Trek enough, there was a feast for the eyes once they reached the bazaar. Besides the Orions and Andorians featured in the story, the background was filled with all sorts of aliens brought back from all sorts of Trek series. My personal favorites were in the squad that caught up with Burnham and Book at the beach: a Tellarite and a Lurian (Morn's species).

The episode had one last magic trick to present, right at the end. We got a short two-minute introduction to the character of Aditya Sahil (also glimpsed at the beginning of the episode in a context-free montage). We hardly got to know him, and yet the moment in which Michael Burnham gave him a real Starfleet commission was among the most emotionally impactful scenes ever on Star Trek: Discovery. Honestly, I don't know how they pulled this off, but guest actor Adil Hussain was a big part of it; you could simply tell that there was a lot going on beneath a stoic exterior.

Call me intrigued. Call me impressed. But I quite liked this season three opener. I give "That Hope Is You, Part 1" an A-. Right out of the gate, I'm excited for the season to come.