On The Drumhead: you’re right that the episode ultimately affirms Picard’s position, but that doesn’t contradict my point. The ideology isn’t presented as a slogan; it’s interrogated through process. Satie isn’t a strawman, the procedures initially make sense, and the episode spends most of its time showing how fear and certainty escalate step by step. The audience isn’t asked to debate whether witch hunts are bad, but they are invited to feel how tempting and reasonable the slide into them can be. That’s still exploration, even with a firm conclusion.
On the identity question: I’m not claiming that identity becomes the entire plot in modern Trek. I’m talking about narrative priority and friction. In several recent shows, aspects of identity are introduced in ways that are largely insulated from cultural, institutional, or moral resistance, meaning they generate affirmation more than tension.
That’s different from older Trek, where identity-related differences (Data’s personhood, Trill joining, Worf’s Klingon-ness, even Picard’s authority) created conflict with institutions, cultures, or laws. The story emerged from that friction.
I’ll also concede this: Strange New Worlds often handles this better than Discovery, which is why many fans see it as a course correction. My critique isn’t “new Trek bad, old Trek good.”
