Discovery episodes to watch in preparation of Strange New Worlds

I gave up on Discovery towards the end of season 1. I think I know the answer to this question but I was wondering if someone could advise me on the best episodes to watch of Discovery season 2 that would involve Captain Pike and crew. I'm guessing that due to the highly serialized nature of discovery, I' will be forced to watch all of season 2 but maybe they're certain episodes I can actually skip.?

 

I'd say watch "Brother", cause it's the episode introducing the Enterprise crew, "Light and Shadows", for the first Spock apperance, "If Memory Serves" for some foreshadowing on Pike's fate and then the "Such Sweet Sorrow" two-parter as an end of the story. (in that order)

I think "New Eden" is also a quite strong Pike episode, so maybe give that one a watch, but it's not "essential", in a way the other episodes are.

 

I think "New Eden" works to show what an episode of SNW could be like. Plus a lot of people who don't like DSC seem to like this episode.

In addition to what Jinn has, I'd throw in the following Short Treks:
"Q&A" (for Spock and Number One)
"Ask Not" (shows Pike training an Officer)
"The Trouble With Edward" (because why not? You won't be sorry!)

Except for "Children of Mars" (which leads into Picard), the Short Treks from this season were based off the Enterprise instead of Discovery. Probably to test the waters.

 

Probably best to watch all of season 2.

 

^Bingo.

 

Shhhh.... Don't let him in on our Secret Plan.

 

Until we actually know any kind of plot details, the second season of Disco. More notable episodes relating to Pike or the Enterprise would be New Eden, If Memory Serves, Through the Valley of Shadows and Such Sweet Sorrow. The Short Treks Q&A and Ask Not will also undoubtedly be relevant. More so Q&A, though Ask Not does feature a brief scene showcasing the chemistry between the "big three" of Pike, Number One and Spock.

 

Just watch all of season 2.

 

Season 2 is fantastic and overall probably the best single season of Trek ever, IMO. "Saints of Imperfection", though, is one of the top (bottom?) 10 worst episode of Trek. But you can't understand some of what goes on afterward without it, so trudge through.

 

Season 2 and the four Enterprise--related Season 2 Short Treks. "Q and A" is a particularly interesting take for the Spock/Number One relationship.

 

Does anyone think it's going to be necessary to have a knowledge of STD season two? Or will it be more likely that SNW will start it's audience basically from scratch, and intro all the characters and situations fresh?

 

Wow really? I LOVED that episode.

 

I'm guessing it'll be like The Punisher and Daredevil. Daredevil bored me to death but I loved Punisher, I know I missed a lot of references and backstory with character cameos but I still was able to enjoy it.

 

The latter would be my guess, though they probably won't dig too deep into set up, either, I hope: I think most of us know about how Uncle Ben died and Spider-Man got his powers by now, if you take my meaning.

 

Waaaay too much completely garbage pseudo-science. If the explanation for how Culbert came back was going to boil down to "a wizard did it" anyway, I'd have preferred if he had just forced his way across the barrier through the power of his own love and will, and they hadn't tried to explain it at all. Maybe never explain it, or maybe use it as a hook for a more well-thought-out encounter with some supernatural Q or Trelane-like entity later.

 

I think someone watching SNW will be able to get by without watching DSC S2. So the episodes we recommended are more like, "If you want to see what Pike is like, and if you want to get a feel for how it might be like, watch these!"

I'm pretty sure "New Eden" and the Short Treks were test-beds before they decided to move forward with SNW.

 

Honestly, I think just watching Season 2 is your best bet. If you just watch the Pike centric episodes, you'll miss a lot of the Spock stuff, and vice versa.

In that Variety article, Goldsman does say Strange New Worlds will be episodic like old school Trek BUT with character development. Meaning the experiences and choices the characters make will carry over the the following episodes. If they're doing that, then there's no reason not to expect the events of Disco Season 2 to effect where Pike and Spock are mentally when we first join them in Strange New Worlds. Pike knows his ultimate fate, how does he deal with that? How does Spock handle losing Michael?

And as others have pointed out, don't skip the Short Treks. I can't help but think Q&A, The Trouble With Edward and Ask Not were kind of a pseudo pilot for Strange New Worlds.

 

Is it such a horrific chore to just watch a few episodes?

 

If they're lousy it's a waste of time. trekfan_1 is perfectly right to want to minimize their commitment if they disliked the first year of STD, because it never got much better.

 

I still, despite my best efforts, can’t take people who call discovery ‘STD’ seriously. As for your view that it didn’t get much better, that’s not the view of most who have viewed it. But a few episodes of a Trek show shouldn’t be a chore to a Trek fan.