Series Rewatch Leading Up to Season 3

[Lord Garth]

I'm not going to bump a necro-thread. I didn't realize it had been 15 months, since this exchange, but anyone still up for a rewatch of DSC once we have a release date for Season 3? We weren't going to do this until the time came closer.

Nope. I didn't forget.

I'm cutting and pasting the exchange from this thread last year.

We should do an Official Forum Rewatch from "The Vulcan Hello" to "Such Sweet Sorrow". One week at a time. I'll host it.

Is anyone else up for this and who's in?

Will popcorn be provided?

I'm saving a rewatch until the third season is close. I only had Netflix for Discovery in any event; cancelled as soon as the season finale aired!

We can have all the same arguments over again like we're stuck in a Sartre play!

I was going to check out Riverside with my wife. We just finished watching the Americans and Marvelous Mrs Mazel. Loved both.

I like this idea. Maybe we can schedule it to start 30 weeks before season 3 so we can neatly transition our 1 ep per week thing into the next season?

I'm in!

Sorry @Lord Garth, just to be clear we are all going to be piling into your living room on a weekly basis, yeah?

It's just it'd be a waste of a train fare and slightly awkward if I was the only one who turned up with beer......

I'm up for that

 

[Jinn]

I'm not going to bump a necro-thread. I didn't realize it had been 15 months, since this exchange, but anyone still up for a rewatch of DSC once we have a release date for Season 3? We weren't going to do this until the time came closer.

Nope. I didn't forget.

I'm cutting and pasting the exchange from this thread last year.

Oh, yeah, sounds good. But when do we start?

 

[Lord Garth]

Oh, yeah, sounds good. But when do we start?

That depends on everyone else. I'm going to guess the next season premieres October 15th at the earliest, unless they overlap the end of LD S1 with the start of DSC S3. But there's probably going to be a gap. So next season will probably start after that.

So that gives us at least 14 weeks. It probably makes sense to double-up on episodes on a given night or do two days per week.

I say we start next week on Thursday. Or we could do this Thursday if enough people chime in.

 

[EnderAKH]

I'm down

 

[Muji]

How does it work? We just watch it and discuss or we have a little watch party? Either way, I’d be up for that.

 

[Lord Garth]

I'd get a kick out of doing a Watch Party with Real Time reactions, but I think getting everyone's schedules to line up would be a task in and of itself... so we'll stick to watch and discuss.

 

[Muji]

I'd get a kick out of doing a Watch Party with Real Time reactions, but I think getting everyone's schedules to line up would be a task in and of itself... so we'll stick to watch and discuss.

Yeah, I’ve wanted to do that for a while. Even if it’s only Discord chat. It’d be cool. Most of my Star Trek watching experience has been alone, then discussing it afterwards.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I did a rewatch last month (maybe May?), not knowing when S3 would hit (we still don't).

It's short enough to do it again in a couple more months when we have a firm date.

I wonder if there will be any hints of things Crewman Daniels mentioned on ENT.

 

[Lord Garth]

It's short enough to do it again in a couple more months when we have a firm date.

It's true we don't know when it'll come out, but 29 episodes is 29 weeks. That's seven months (if we do two per week, then it's three-and-a-half months). They'll probably have a release date revealed with the Convention this month. But I can't imagine the third season premiering any later than January. Tops.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

It's true we don't know when it'll come out, but 29 episodes is 29 weeks. That's seven months (if we do two per week, then it's three-and-a-half months). They'll probably have a release date revealed with the Convention this month. But I can't imagine the third season premiering any later than January. Tops.

I was doing 1 a day during the week and 3 or 4 on Saturday and/or Sunday. I like to binge this type of show so I don't forget potentially important plot points.

 

[Lord Garth]

I was doing 1 a day during the week and 3 or 4 on Saturday and/or Sunday. I like to binge this type of show so I don't forget potentially important plot points.

I'll let other people chime in, because I want something that works for everyone.

Because of Covid-19 going on, most of us have all the time in the world right now (including me) but, once everyone is (hopefully) back to work and/or school, watching one episode per day and hashing it out at length might not work for everyone the month before the premiere.

 

[Muji]

1 Season per day or I’m out.

Honestly, I can do one per day no problem. One per week is a fairly long stint. That said, I’d be happy to do whatever works for everyone else as I’m quite flexible at the moment. Plus, I’ve watched each episode of Discovery a minimum of 5 times already, so I can generally talk about it in depth without watching it!

 

[Lord Garth]

Honestly, I can do one per day no problem. One per week is a fairly long stint. That said, I’d be happy to do whatever works for everyone else as I’m quite flexible at the moment. Plus, I’ve watched each episode of Discovery a minimum of 5 times already, so I can generally talk about it in depth without watching it!

I'm not too attached to the "one episode per week" idea either. In the other thread, we were talking about it back in April 2019 when episodes were on every week and we were in that type of groove. So I think we can drop that part.

It's short enough to do it again in a couple more months when we have a firm date.

I was doing 1 a day during the week and 3 or 4 on Saturday and/or Sunday. I like to binge this type of show so I don't forget potentially important plot points.

Okay. The bright side is, we'll have this thread I can bump up when the time is right instead of that other old thread.

 

[Delta Vega]

I would love to do a rewatch, and discuss things
Alas, due to me not being in my usual place because of COVID, it might be difficult for me to access the complete Seasons
I think they're on Netflix, would I be right.
If @Lord Garth suggests a start date, I'll try and be involved.

 

[Cyrus]

I will definitely do a rewatch before Season 3 starts. But I can't do it now since I cancelled my CBS AA subscription when Picard ended. I may resubscibe when Lower Decks starts.

 

[Jinn]

Okay, so we got 11 weeks, if we start this week. My suggestion would be to go twice a week and have occasionally days with two episodes (ideally episodes that are two-parters, or connected somehow). This would be my suggestion, but I'm open to other ideas
(Week 1 would be this week, Week 12 the week season 3 premieres)
Week 1/Day 2: The Vulcan Hello/Battle at the Binary Stars
Week 2/Day 1: Context is for Kings
Week 2/Day 2: The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry
Week 3/Day 1: Choose Your Pain
Week 3/Day 2: Lethe
Week 4/Day 1: Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad
Week 4/Day 2: Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum/Into the Forest I Go
Week 5/Day 1: Despite Yourself
Week 5/Day 2: The Wolf Inside
Week 6/Day 1: Vaulting Ambition
Week 6/Day 2: What's Past Is Prologue"
Week 7/Day 1: The War Without, The War Within/Will You Take My Hand?
Week 7/Day 2: Brother/New Eden
Week 8/Day 1: Point of Light
Week 8/Day 2: An Obol for Charon
Week 9/Day 1: Saints of Imperfection
Week 9/Day 2: The Sound of Thunder/Light and Shadows
Week 10/Day 1: If Memory Serves
Week 10/Day 2: Project Daedalus/The Red Angel
Week 11/Day 1: Perpetual Infinity
Week 11/Day 2: Through the Valley of Shadows
Week 12/Day 1: Such Sweet Sorrow Part 1 and 2

 

[Lord Garth]

Okay, so we got 11 weeks, if we start this week. My suggestion would be to go twice a week and have occasionally days with two episodes (ideally episodes that are two-parters, or connected somehow). This would be my suggestion, but I'm open to other ideas
(Week 1 would be this week, Week 12 the week season 3 premieres)
Week 1/Day 2: The Vulcan Hello/Battle at the Binary Stars
Week 2/Day 1: Context is for Kings
Week 2/Day 2: The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry
Week 3/Day 1: Choose Your Pain
Week 3/Day 2: Lethe
Week 4/Day 1: Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad
Week 4/Day 2: Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum/Into the Forest I Go
Week 5/Day 1: Despite Yourself
Week 5/Day 2: The Wolf Inside
Week 6/Day 1: Vaulting Ambition
Week 6/Day 2: What's Past Is Prologue"
Week 7/Day 1: The War Without, The War Within/Will You Take My Hand?
Week 7/Day 2: Brother/New Eden
Week 8/Day 1: Point of Light
Week 8/Day 2: An Obol for Charon
Week 9/Day 1: Saints of Imperfection
Week 9/Day 2: The Sound of Thunder/Light and Shadows
Week 10/Day 1: If Memory Serves
Week 10/Day 2: Project Daedalus/The Red Angel
Week 11/Day 1: Perpetual Infinity
Week 11/Day 2: Through the Valley of Shadows
Week 12/Day 1: Such Sweet Sorrow Part 1 and 2

I think we can do this two ways.

1) For those of us who want to do one or two episodes every week, we can do this.

2) For those who want to binge the show, they can binge at any point (either at the beginning or end of the season), and keep up with us the rest of the time.

I think that should work for anyone, whichever way they want to do it. I've already watched the first season six times, so I'll pace myself with the two per week.

"The Vulcan Hello" or "Will You Take My Hand?" will be the jumping on point for Bingers for Season 1. After "Will You Take My Hand?", we can even throw in talk about Season 1 in general.

"Brother" or "Such Sweet Sorrow" will be the jumping on point for Bingers for Season 2. After "Such Sweet Sorrow", we can throw in talk about Season 2 in general.

Then, after that, it's onto Season 3!

.
.
.

Does this work for everyone?

 

[DigificWriter]

I'm gonna do a rewatch this way:
Week 1 - 1x01-1x03
Week 2 - 1x04-06
Week 3 - 1x07-1x09
Week 4 - 1x10-1x12
Week 5 - 1x13-1x15
Week 6 - 2x01/2x02
Week 7 - 2x03/2x04
Week 8 - 2x05/2x06
Week 9 - 2x07/2x08
Week 10 - 2x09/2x10
Week 11 - 2x11/2x12
Week 12 - 2x13/2x14

My watch days are also going to be Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday for Season 1 and Tuesday/Thursday for Season 2, meaning I can watch the S3 premiere on Friday 10/16 and then go back to a Thursday schedule for the remainder of Season 3.

 

[Lord Garth]

@Lord Garth suggests a start date, I'll try and be involved.

We'll be starting Thursday, July 30th with "The Vulcan Hello". We'll be doing one or two per week.

By happy coincidence, we'll reach "Will You Take My Hand?" on Tuesday, September 8th. We'll also talk about Season 1 as a whole at that point. So you can have a binge coincide with then, if you want to go that way.

 

[Lord Garth]

My thoughts on the opening of scenes of "The Vulcan Hello":

The Klingons
I love the beginning with the visage of space that slowly zooms into a reflection in T'Kuvma's eyes. We're seeing what the universe looks like through their eyes as this scene provides their point of view.

T'Kuvma really sells the Klingons on the idea that the Federation's "We come in peace" is a lie. It shows that as diplomatic as the Federation can be, it still doesn't know how to deal with the Klingons. Which is what really makes them the Federation's worst enemy up to this point.

The idea that the Klingons aren't interested in peace with the Federation hearkens back to Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home when the Klingon Ambassador tells the Federation President, "There shall be no peace as long as Kirk lives!"

T'Kuvma says the Federation will take all that they are. This calls back to Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, when the Klingons are worried about the Federation wanting to annihilate their culture under the guise of rendering aid.

In-universe, except for a few skirmishes, Starfleet hasn't had any run-ins with the Klignons for 100 years. That was around the time Enterprise took place. That series said there were growing tensions between various Klingon factions within the Empire. So by the beginning of Discovery, the Empire has disbanded into 24 different Houses and T'Kuvma hopes to re-unite them against the Federation as a common threat.

I love the interior and exterior designs of the Klingon ships in Discovery. I think they want above and beyond with detailing in them and on them. I know this might be a minority opinion, but so be it. The designs are very Gothic and fit the Medieval In Space nature of the Klingons.

Burnham & Georgiou
I also love the cinematography as it zooms into a sweeping shot to the planet surface in the middle of open desert where Burnham and Georgiou are walking.

It's a nice touch showing Discovery does indeed take place in the 23rd Century by having Georgiou and Burnham, the Captain and the First Officer/Science Officer respectively, being the only two members of the landing party on the surface. As a Science Offier, Burnham shows to us why Georgiou would be impressed with her. As a First Officer it's a bit more complicated even though they don't know it yet. Knowing what happens to Georgiou by the end of "Battle at the Binary Stars", it's so twisted in retrospect when Georgiou tells Burnham, "I'd trust you with my life!"

Another thing that stands out visually is when Burnham and Georgiou are walking underneath what look like eggshells. They're not in a situation where they're stepping on them yet, like later.

The animal life on this desert is also very vivid-looking.

At one point during the walk, Georgiou tells Burnham to "follow my footsteps." I think that line has double-meaning. Follow her footsteps as they figure out how to navigate through the desert and follow her footsteps as a Starfleet Officer. "It's time to trust me," Georgiou says. Then Burnham says, "Now we're lost."

Burnham gives her argument they're too small to be seen by the naked eye, since the Shenzhou can't detect with sensors because of signal interference. But Georgiou knows what she's doing even if Burnham can't see it. This situation foreshadows later when the Shenzhou is facing the Klingons. Georgiou knows how to proceed, even though Burnham can't see it. The problem is: in both instances, Burnham is convinced she's right. She's willing to follow her Captain's lead in a normal situation; but when faced with the Klingons, that will change.

Georgiou then tells Burnham it's time they talked about Burnham having her own command. I think the reasons this is brought up are two-fold: 1) To show Georgiou's faith and confidence in Burnham, to contrast with what happens later, and 2) Having her own command is eventually where they want to take Burnham, even if she's not ready for it at this point. This is the beginning of Burnham's character arc to one day becoming a Captain.

I think when Georgiou asks Burnham what she'd do if they were stuck on the planet for 89 years, it was to test Burnham. To see what kind of answer she'd give to see if she was actually ready to take command or not. Burnham says she's make the best of being on the planet while Georgiou says she'd find a way to escape. This tells me Georgiou would try to find her way out of a situation while Burnham, at this point, would be stuck going deeper into it.

Then we find out Georgiou and Burnham were really leaving footprints that formed the Starfleet Delta, so it would be seeing the Shenzhou could actually see even without sensors. Georgiou thought outside the box, while Burnham still has to learn how to do that. As someone who was trained to think like a Vulcan, Burnham follows the textbook, while Georgiou, to take a quote from Star Trek: The Motion Picture, "leaps beyond logic." Then the Shenzhou arrives to rescue them in a grand appearance, and they're beamed aboard.

The desert scene isn't the same thing of thing, but there was also a desert scene toward the beginning of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan when Chekov and Captain Terrell beamed down to Ceti Alpha V. So if this is a tiny bit of a homage, then you have nods to all three of Nick Meyer's Star Trek films before the opening credits. That would be an appropriate tip of the hat since he was Consultant in the early part of Discovery's first season.