I Think Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 Is Star Trek At Its Best

I think Star Trek: Discovery season 2 is Star Trek at its best. Discovery took the franchise in a new direction, redirecting the focus from canceled Star Trek shows like The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. Thanks in part to the diversity and complexity of Star Trek: Discovery's cast and characters, its first season ushered in a golden era of Star Trek television, ensuring the future success of Star Trek:Strange New Worlds and Star Trek: Picard. As strong as its first season was, Star Trek: Discovery's season 2 was even better.

Star Trek: Discovery broke the franchise's usual episodic style with a serialized narrative woven through every episode. After Discovery season 1's shocking ending reintroducing the USS Enterprise, Star Trek: Discovery's Red Angel gave the show a complex mystery that strengthened the season's emotional value. In addition to Star Trek legacy characters making a comeback, Discovery season 2 highlighted its previously established characters and further contextualized their backstories and characterizations. I believe Discovery season 2's 14 stories are some of the very best episodes of Star Trek and set the tone for future seasons and subsequent spin-off series.

5 Ethan Peck As Spock Brings Back Classic Star Trek

A fresh new take was just what Spock needed

One of Star Trek: Discovery's best aspects was the reintroduction of the Vulcan Science Officer Lieutenant Spock (Ethan Peck), and Discovery season 2 added a layer of intricate complexity to his character. While J.J. Abrams' rebooted Star Trek movies satiated nostalgia for Star Trek: The Original Series, Peck revived the character with a fresh take and a stoic but youthful energy. I think Ethan's portrayal is so good because Leonard Nimoy's Spock is always in Peck's head, but he still manages to make the character feel classic without his performance feeling like an impression.

Star Trek: Discovery season 2 follows Lt. Spock as he unravels a mystery that has plagued him since he was a boy after the Red Angel visited him. He also reunites with his estranged adopted sister, Commander Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green). I think this exploration, told through flashbacks, is extremely helpful in better understanding the character of Spock, as seen in later timeline versions of the character. Ethan Peck would later join the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds cast and reprise his role as Spock, this time back on the USS Enterprise.

4 Captain Pike Reminds Us What Starfleet Is All About

Anson Mount's Pike brings honor back to Starfleet

Star Trek: Discovery season 2 also features Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), reviving the character previously played by Jeffrey Hunter in Star Trek: The Original Series. As a fan of the franchise, Mount is proud that Star Trek can be different things, and his role in Discovery season 2 proves that. While balancing serial storytelling with characters' arcs can be challenging, Star Trek: Discovery uses Captain Pike to weave together the show's plot lines while also focusing on his personal character development. In Discovery season 2's opener, Christopher Pike takes command of the USS Discovery after the shocking exit of Captain Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs).

It's immediately apparent that Captain Pike is the antithesis of Lorca. He has a deeply ingrained respect for his new crew while also harboring love for the Starship Enterprise's crew he left behind. Pike quickly reminds Discovery's crew members that he isn't Lorca and that they can trust him to have their best interests at heart. Captain Pike proves his motives throughout the season, with honor, loyalty, and bravery remaining integral to his character. His allegiance to Starfleet is commendable, but his willingness to recognize the Federation's faults makes him the season's beacon of hope.

3 Star Trek: Discovery's Red Angel Questions The Morality of Time Travel

The Red Angel explores a classic Star Trek time travel conundrum

Time travel has often been a plot device in the Star Trek franchise, but Discovery season 2 takes it to a whole new level. The Red Angel is the perfect way for the season to explore Lieutenant Spock's childhood and the tragic fate of the other family members of Discovery's Michael Burnham, and the mystery deepens the show's emotional stakes. With the plot twist of the Red Angel's identity, Star Trek: Discovery season 2 definitely capitalized on a popular trope and made it work in the show's favor. However, exploring time travel's morality made the Red Angel a Discovery season 2 highlight.

Commander Burnham's mother, Dr. Gabrielle Burnham (Sonja Sohn), is revealed to be the Red Angel in Star Trek: Discovery season 2. Although she's attempting to help the universe by time traveling, it's revealed that she has little choice in the matter and has thus far failed to prevent the destruction of the galaxy despite her best efforts. Star Trek: Discovery season 2 easily adds a few tales to the list of best Star Trek time travel episodes because it showcases the iffy morality behind having too much control over the past, present, and future.

2 Commander Saru's Transformation Proves Starfleet's Alien Knowledge Isn't Complete

Saru's "death" shows how little Starfleet actually knows about non-Federation aliens

As the first Kelpien in Starfleet, Commander Saru (Doug Jones) is one of Star Trek: Discovery's strongest characters and season 2 explored his backstory and gave reason to doubt the Federation's alien expertise. Some of Saru's best Star Trek: Discovery episodes have proven his strength as a leader and a friend, and that strength made his seemingly terminal illness in season 2 emotionally difficult for his fellow crew members. According to Saru, Kelpiens undergo a biological process called the Vahar'ai, an excruciating and deadly condition signaling their readiness to be slaughtered by the Ba'ul, the Kelpien's predators.

When Commander Saru experiences the symptoms of the Cahar'ai, he asks Michael Burnham to cut his ganglia and end his suffering. They both expect Saru to die, but he survives the detaching of his ganglia, and his vitals immediately return to normal. This transformation disproves the common belief that the Federation is an all-knowing entity in the universe and instead offers a new outlook based on an old belief: Starfleet is about exploration, and learning about new species is one of the reasons Star Trek is so good at examining humanity's role in the discovery of alien cultures.

1 Section 31 Adds A Dark Mystery To Star Trek Canon

The mysterious agency shows the dark side of Starfleet

Star Trek: Discovery has humor and wonder innate to the franchise, but I think Section 31 is more critical to Discovery season 2 than lighthearted narratives. Section 31 was introduced in season 6 of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. In Star Trek:Discovery, the shadowy sector of Starfleet is reintroduced and ends up playing a significant role in the season's events. Section 31's Captain Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) and Klingon-turned-human Commander Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif) give Star Trek: Discovery season 2 a complexity rarely seen in modern Star Trek. This intricate balance of good vs. evil questions what Starfleet stands for.

Section 31 found both its leader and its villain in Captain Leland (Alan van Sprang), who provided Star Trek: Discovery season 2 with a morally gray antagonist. Even before the genocidal A.I. Control took took over Leland, he stood for Section 31's questionable beliefs and argued them against Starfleet's best captain, Christopher Pike, who challenged the ambiguity of Section 31. I believe Section 31's moral middle ground amidst the events of Star Trek: Discovery season 2 mirrors real-world struggles with power and highlights Starfleet's desire to keep the peace, even if it's by any means necessary.

Season 2 of Discovery capitalized on its first season's success by introducing compelling and challenging narratives in its second season. New and old characters both contribute to major plot twists and demand a deeper look into Starfleet and the Federation itself, offering exciting new aspects for upcoming Star Trek projects to explore and build on. Without Star Trek: Discovery season 2, I don't think new Star Trek shows and movies would have quite the same grasp on what makes the franchise so exciting and captivating to watch.