Overall
This season is improved upom the previous two. However, the storyline was much like the previous season's in that some railroading towards the end goal occurred. There are many story threads that go through the season. The episodes can be grouped into beginning, middle and end sections, with the Terra Firma episodes being the outliers. The Beginning being That Hope is You Part 1 through to Die Trying. The middle is Scavengers through to The Sanctuary. And the end is the confrontation where Osyraa takes over Discovery during the rescue of Su'Kal.
The beginning. The first four episodes were a good introduction to the new time setting, showing how things have changed over the course of the millenium, and especially due to the Burn. The prevalence of the Emerald Chain is shown in the first two episode. And the diminished state of the Federation is shown in the next three. In People of Earth and Forget Me Not, the both Earth and Trill are shown to have withdrawn in on themselves. Starfleet is also seen to be a fraction of its former self.
The middle. The situation that the Federation and Starfleet are in and the threat of the Emerald Chain are further fleshed out, as is the situation on Ni'var. The threat of the Chain is fleshed out in Scavengers and The Sanctuary. Unification III furthers the Burn storyline, while continuing the theme from People of Earth and Forget Me Not. It did it very well. However, the plot line about the black boxes was drawn out. Maybe over one episode instead of two. (Maybe Georgiou leaving the 32nd Century should have been at the beginning of the Section 31 series?)
The Concluding arc. This is where the various plot threads (except Georgiou's for obvious reasons) crash together. Tilly as XO was certainly an interesting choice. I would have thought either Neilsson or Owosekun would have been better choices. Owo may have been able to cope better when Osyraa was taking over Discovery. Su'Kal being the cause of the Burn (along with the location) did cause some 'eybrow rising' but it did work in the narrative of these final episodes. Not sure what to make of Saru staying on Kaminar with him though.
Overall, the season was better than it's two predecessors. There were still missteps (and likely) missteps, but it was better. I'm sure the next season will be better. 8.55/10.
This season is improved upom the previous two. However, the storyline was much like the previous season's in that some railroading towards the end goal occurred. There are many story threads that go through the season. The episodes can be grouped into beginning, middle and end sections, with the Terra Firma episodes being the outliers. The Beginning being That Hope is You Part 1 through to Die Trying. The middle is Scavengers through to The Sanctuary. And the end is the confrontation where Osyraa takes over Discovery during the rescue of Su'Kal.
The beginning. The first four episodes were a good introduction to the new time setting, showing how things have changed over the course of the millenium, and especially due to the Burn. The prevalence of the Emerald Chain is shown in the first two episode. And the diminished state of the Federation is shown in the next three. In People of Earth and Forget Me Not, the both Earth and Trill are shown to have withdrawn in on themselves. Starfleet is also seen to be a fraction of its former self.
The middle. The situation that the Federation and Starfleet are in and the threat of the Emerald Chain are further fleshed out, as is the situation on Ni'var. The threat of the Chain is fleshed out in Scavengers and The Sanctuary. Unification III furthers the Burn storyline, while continuing the theme from People of Earth and Forget Me Not. It did it very well. However, the plot line about the black boxes was drawn out. Maybe over one episode instead of two. (Maybe Georgiou leaving the 32nd Century should have been at the beginning of the Section 31 series?)
The Concluding arc. This is where the various plot threads (except Georgiou's for obvious reasons) crash together. Tilly as XO was certainly an interesting choice. I would have thought either Neilsson or Owosekun would have been better choices. Owo may have been able to cope better when Osyraa was taking over Discovery. Su'Kal being the cause of the Burn (along with the location) did cause some 'eybrow rising' but it did work in the narrative of these final episodes. Not sure what to make of Saru staying on Kaminar with him though.
Overall, the season was better than it's two predecessors. There were still missteps (and likely) missteps, but it was better. I'm sure the next season will be better. 8.55/10.
