So what's your favourite scene from the series so far. For me its the scene with Pike seeing his future fate and been given the choice to accept it or not. For me it was so very powerful. Seeing the Captain taking his fate and putting his duty first... was powerful moment.
Spock and Michael's game of chess. Spock's savaging of his father ("I disappoint him, he disappoints me, the sun sets, a new day begins...") 100% sold me on Peck as the new Angsty Young Spock. I just wish they weren't so slavish to TOS continuity, because I'd pay to see Peck's Spock confront James Frain's Sarek about his shitty parenting.
I'm having a hard time thinking of one, which I think reflects the show's most glaring weakness: its writing. Great scenes are the product of a long game - a build-up of tension and drama and are not something that can be fixed or created in the edit. That Pike scene, for example, is the product of Menagerie, not anything Disco did. That makes it cheap and unearned. A great cast and high production value and nostalgia bait can cover-up a lot. But great, stand-out scenes can't fall back on that. They need to be organic. And, as counter-intuitive as it may seem, scenes that stand the test of time on their own are almost always a creation of what came before. Take the radiation chamber, for example, probably the franchise's single most familiar and beloved scene. The whole film exists to build-up to that one single moment. It earned it. The other measure of a great scene is its quotability. The fact that it's probably quoted more than any other scene in the franchise (in a non-ironic way) speaks directly to just how beloved it is. 'Quoteability', too, is the direct result of great writing. While I agree that Disco is probably the best series (after two seasons) of the franchise since TOS, the show still has yet to deliver a touchstone episode - it's Measure of a Man or Duet if you will. Both of those ultimately come down to one single scene or sequence that are the products of great writing, both in terms of dramatic build-up and dialog. The Disco writers have yet to prove they can do anything on that level.
I have 2: I know it's dumb, but I love the montage of Mudd killing Lorca. It's just so well done. And 2, Tilly being Captain Killy.
A few off the top of my head, pending a full rewatch: - Lorca's reveal of the spore drive to Burnham in the third episode. - Lorca's peptalk to Stamets (particularly with the different implications in hindsight). - The Tyler/Culber confrontation - Scottish Lorca and Captain Killy - Jippers on a beach - Tilly's MU salute - The chess scene as posted above
The chess scene will be tough to top, but to be different, how about PIke's roll call from the season 2 opener? It very succinctly summarized all the character personalities in a very short scene.
1. The funeral of Airiam. 2. It sounds counter-intuitive because it made me pissed off at Lorca, but the reveal that he was from the Mirror Universe, Burnham was his foster-daughter, and that they had a thing. The fact that I cared enough to get that mad about it means it did its job. 3. The sight of the bridge as Discovery moved into the future. Reminds me of little bit of the Wormhole Scene in TMP and it got me excited about what's to come in the third season. It's like the scene was taking me backward and forward at the same time. Kind of like Discovery itself. First it was in the 23rd Century, now it's going to be in the 32nd. 4. All the Lorca/Cornwell scenes in "Lethe". 5. Burnham, Tilly, Tyler, and Georgiou when they first arrive at the Orion Embassy. Everything after that on there as well. 6. The bridge crew roll call when Pike takes command in "Brother". 7. Pike letting Jacob know about Discovery at the end of "New Eden". 8. The montage of Harry Mudd killing Lorca multiple times. Black Humor at its best. 9. When the crew decides they're going with Burnham to the future in "Such Sweet Sorrow". 10. Pretty much any scene in "If Memory Serves". But I'll single out the quirky recap at the beginning, Burnham smiling at the singing plant, and Vina contacting Pike through illusion. And with that, I'd like to end this list with, "Say goodbye, Spock."
My favorite in S1 is scene from episode 5 finale when Lorca and Tyler talk after arriving on "Discovery". It's not so easy with S2, because I love every appearance of Pike on the screen. Every. Damn, I try to choose and I can't. Most re-watching are episodes 1 - brilliant team-building! - and 7 - love to see a birth of friendship. And this is the most iconic:
There are many great moments that I have enjoyed from this series thus far. Pike certainly takes the cake in many instances, but my favorite scene is Lorca trying to save the Gagarin. The speech by Lorca at the end makes me wish that had just been a battle-damaged captain struggling with the toll of war. I keep going back to it because there is so much going on during it.
This was the biggest misstep of Discovery to date in my opinion. PTSD is a very common, but misunderstood mental illness and they could've used a great actor like Isaacs to go places with it, instead of silly Mirror Universe plot that made him a cardboard villain.
Completely agree on the PTSD and missed opportunity (I don't have an issue with the Mirror Universe). And, given the current cultural challenges of understanding PTSD I would say it is quite needed.
I agree, it was a fatal misstep. Even now they could realize this idea with Prime Lorca, but then he might overshadow Michael, right?
“It’s a church, Burnham”. Amazing power in that line and a touchstone for the rest of the episode, which includes three wise visitors, resurrection, and a gift.
Pike's conversation with Jacob. For me, this was the moment Discovery earned its place among the great Star Trek episodes. I want more moments like this as the series continues. The face off against the Ba'ul. Pike getting a glimpse into his future and accepting his fate. I thought this was excellent storytelling; turning Pike's tragedy into a heroic act. And this never broke Pike afterward; he knew it was eventual, but, he never let it affect who he was negatively. If anything, the character grew much stronger after this. Wouldn't call this a scene, but, I just loved this so much. Viewers like to decry that the people behind this show aren't fans of the franchise, but, seriously, putting this in there proved to me they were huge fans. They didn't have to include this, but, it was that extra attention to detail that made me love this episode even more. Seeing Number One again. She beams aboard like a goddess.
Wow, I can't believe I missed the references. Great scene and great episode, but knowing this confirms my feeling that the religion portrayed in the story is less syncretic than promised.
Lot of great moments, but one small one in Context is for Kings always makes me laugh. After Landry breaks up Burnham's beatdown of the other two cons and tells her that the captain wants to see her, Burnham slaps the male con in the back of the head as a parting shot, causing him to yelp in pain.