Who are your favorite Discovery characters and why?

[bookworm8571]

This has probably been covered in multiple threads, but opinions evolve and the last season is approaching. I plan to watch because there’s still a lot I like and it’s Star Trek, even though there are also some things I don’t enjoy quite as much. I watch for characters, relationships, and plot and care very, very little about ships and set design.

So here are my favorite characters, some of whom were actually minor characters, n no particular order:

1. Mirror Universe Philippa Georgiou: “Not hard is boring and I hate boring.” This is a character who adapts and evolves and survives in any setting she finds herself in and usually comes out on top. I’m not sure what her back story actually is since she invents details as camouflage. She loved the different versions of Michael Burnham and was willing to fight and change for her. I look forward to her movie.

2. Gabriel Lorca, up until they turned him into a Mirror Universe villain and killed him off. He had a point of view as a captain that I think is needed. Less touchy feely , more expedient in the name of doing what needed to be done. I’d still like to see the Prime version of the character.

3. Jett Reno — I like the snark, admire the ingenuity and the way she just does what needs to be done even if it might be impossible. She’s also well written and well acted. The tragic back story is mentioned in passing while she does her job, without excessive emoting, and elicits sympathy and admiration from the audience. She’s just plain fun to watch.

4. Zora the ship. I think Calypso and the episode Stormy Weather are among the few episodes I’ve rewatched multiple times. I like the sentient computer and her love of showtunes. I liked Craft and would have liked to see more of him.

5. T’Rina. I really enjoyed T’Rina and her relationship with Saru. Vulcans are my favorite aliens. I want to see more of them.

6. Saru — it took awhile for me to get used to Saru, mainly because of the appearance of the Kelpiiens, but I enjoy what a thoughtful, measured temperament he has and the rather Victorian quality of his romance with T’Rina.

7. Sarek. Sarek is screwed up, always has been, and has a thing for humans he’s kind of ashamed of, but the Vulcan episodes are among my favorites. I would have liked more episodes focusing on Vulcan and Burnham’s relationship with it as an adult.

8.Paul Stamets. I like his snark and his relationship with Culber.

9. Grudge the cat — Beautiful cat. She’s a queen.

10. Harry Mudd. A villain, yes, but so entertaining.

11. Sylvia Tilly — Enjoy her but there’s a bit too much emoting and touchy feeliness when she’s on screen that detracts.

 

[Lord Garth]

Zora. I like her personality. I like her taste in movies. I like how she's able to think outside the box and come up with solutions that others don't think of, like when she gave suggestions to Saru about how to help crew morale in Season 3.

I also like how, even when she was just Sphere Data evolving a consciousness, she still wouldn't allow for Discovery to be destroyed even as the crew couldn't think of another option... which then led to Burnham realizing they had to go the future to keep Control or another version of it from ever finding Discovery.

Zora is the unsung hero of Discovery.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Spock. Absolutely loved the angry as fuck young Spock we got in Discovery season 2. He hated Michael, he hated his Dad. It was amazing.

Then he mellowed a couple episodes later

Early Paul Stamets. Snarky, ultra prickly genius. Massive chip on his shoulder. Then they mellowed him out on sporestuff and made him gay space dad.

Lorca until the twist.

Early Michael Burnham. Didn't much care if she fucking died on that shuttle to Discovery. Didn't say three words to Tilly when they first met.

Harry Mudd. Killed Captain Lorca and the Discovery crew how many times? Totally barmy revengeance overkill.

Ash Tyler. Suffered a lot.

 

[fireproof78]

Michael Burnham: long suffering and dynamic character.

 

[tomalak301]

Saru, especially in Season 2. I like his relationship with T'Rina, but he's lost something because of it.

Lorca before the Mirror Universe. I'm currently rewatching the series (Watching the 5th episode now) and I find him to be fascinating.

Season 1 Tilly. I'm reminded that she was a fun character in Season 1

Pike. I miss that Pike in Strange New Worlds.

 

[Who1]

Saru and Reno. The former has the most compelling arc, backstory and screen presence, the latter is a classic comedic scene-stealer occasionally afforded some touching depth.

 

[evilchumlee]

Saru is the answer. Leaps and bounds the best character on the show.

Harry Mudd worked surprisingly well.

Pike, he worked very well.

 

[Quantum21]

It would be easier to list who is not my favorite. Tilly.

I liked her in season 1 but since then she hasn't developed to my satisfaction.

 

[Lucky]

Michael and Saru. I love them as individual characters but also loved seeing the friendship between grow throughout the series.

 

[DarKush]

In no particular order:
-Burnham: Admittedly, I like SMG more than I do Burnham (because I think the writing has been uneven for the character). But what I do like about Burnham is how much they've put this character through the wringer and how we've seen so much of the good and the bad with this character. And I really like how SMG is passionate about Trek.
-Saru: Doug Jones just created an iconic alien character that stands out among the best of Trek's alien characters. Largely because of him, the Kelpiens are one of the most interesting new races in Trek. And I'm really hoping that the writers make good on the Saru and T'Rina romance in the final season.
-Book: I was skeptical about this character at first. I thought the name "Cleveland Booker" was stupid, but I did like the actor (who I had seen on Supergirl and Nightflyers), but the Book character won me over pretty quickly. He's a bit of Han Solo, with a dash of Lando Calrissian, and I really enjoy his relationship with Burnham. It's one of Trek's best love stories because it's been given time to develop.
-Lorca (when he was in the Prime Universe): I thought this was a hard-nosed, unsparing character that still was a bit sympathetic.
-Prime Georgiou: Though there wasn't much time spent on her, she had the makings of a classic Trek captain.
-Reno: Like her bluntness, though I do think they go a bit too far sometimes.
-Pike: I liked how he brought the classic, traditional Trek captain style into Discovery Season 2, and how he was an antithesis of Lorca.
-Tyler: I liked him more before he went full Klingon, when he was torn between his human and Klingon halves, but still, a character that has a lot of room for growth and exploration.
-Stamets: More so, Season 1 Stamets. I did like how abrasive he was, but then they softened him up too much as the series went on.

 

[WarpTenLizard]

Jett Reno: My #1 fave, for her dry wit. The kickass name helps too though. I really wish she'd been a regular.

Adira & Grey Tal: The Trill are my favorite "Star Trek" race, and Adira and Grey's story was such a creative take on it. I wish the pair had gotten more focus.

Paul Stammens: The sass.

Harry Mudd: Do I have to back this up?

Book: Maybe it's just because he's such an enormous improvement on the previous attempt to give Michael a love interest, finally seeing her with a guy who's an actual character rather than a walking angst fetish. Maybe it's his accent. Maybe it's his cat. Who knows.

Tilly: No apologies. I found her endearing and funny. I liked her transition from a nervous bubbly kid to an empathetic instructor.

Phillipa Georgiou: Both of them. Michelle Yeoh is amazing in either role.

 

[Frontis]

Some people here already know...I'm not a DISCO fan.
But if I have to chose a character I like I pick Pike.
He was very refreshing and entertaining among all the frustrating stuff and he was so good that he got his own series with SNW.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Rayner, of course.

And who says I need a reason? He’s RAYNER. That’s reason enough!

Captain Rayner. What a guy.

srsly, Rayner has absolutely zero tolerance for bullshit, he's blunt and honest, and he gets the job done. I always respect people who are like that.

Also I really hope he can turn up on SFA. Callum Keith Rennie has said that he would have been part of Season 6 if DSC hadn’t been cancelled. And he certainly seemed to enjoy playing Rayner. So there’s always hope…

 

[JLA]

Michael Burnham as Spock's sister was a brilliant idea and I loved their relationship dynamic when they appeared together. I'm sorry the actors had less than a season together. It was one of my favourite arcs in the series. I identified with Sonequa Martin-Green as Michael Burnham in spite of having very little in common with her. Ethan Peck's portrayal of Spock is brilliant making both part of the best new Star Trek.

 

[Starbreaker]

Saru. I don't owe anyone an explanation.

 

[Artoo Atari]

Saru, Pike, and Vance: Compassionate and professional. Maintained leadership, discipline, and authority yet still considered the needs of the people under them. I found Saru especially to be a welcome addition to the mythos.

Rayner: Very professional, tough, honest, and unafraid to accomplish the mission for the greater good in spite of being humiliated and punished by Starfleet for doing it.

Burnham: I actually liked her more than I thought I would. Although I thought she coddled her kindergarten of a crew a little too much, she was a total bad@$$ in combat and unafraid of making the tough decisions when it came down to it.

Jett had some funny 21st century quips, but the dialogue took you out of the moment too often.

 

[rocketscientist]

I'm just going to write down the characters I really like on Disco. I think Sonequa Green is a wonderful actress who did a great job on Disco, but the arc for Burnham and the character becoming captain just didn't work for me. That's on the writers, not her and she did carry the show. She deserves a lot of credit.

The characters that I really liked.

1. Jett Reno. I love her dry humor. Tig Notaro is a wonderful, new take on a Chief Engineer. I really wish she'd been part of the main cast instead of, say, Adira, who I don't like at all.

2. Mirror Georgiou. Such a fun character. She's always up to something and I love her wit. She was a treasure and, I think, my favorite character on Disco. I wish she had stayed. Such a loss!

3. Saru. I'm a big Doug Jones fan and his Saru character was really interesting and poignant. I really thought he was a better captain than Burnham ever was.

4. Culber. I like the guy! He's kind of like Geordi, everybody's buddy and he makes a great doctor character who really cares.

5. Lorca: I'm a Jason Isaacs fan and I thought his Lorca character was cool. A real military guy and a contrast to Kirk, Picard, Sisko, and Janeway. I'm bummed that they killed the character off. I'm not sure, even if he wasn't from the Mirror Universe with his own agenda, that the character could've worked after the Klingon War, though. He seemed to be all in for the fight and less so for everything else. I guess, kind of like Rayner who I'm watching now in season 5 of Discovery.

6. Rayner. Same reasons as Lorca.

Those are the one that I really liked. The rest, except for Adira and Gray, who I can't stand, were good to ok.

 

[rocketscientist]

Rayner, of course.

And who says I need a reason? He’s RAYNER. That’s reason enough!

Captain Rayner. What a guy.

srsly, Rayner has absolutely zero tolerance for bullshit, he's blunt and honest, and he gets the job done. I always respect people who are like that.

Also I really hope he can turn up on SFA. Callum Keith Rennie has said that he would have been part of Season 6 if DSC hadn’t been cancelled. And he certainly seemed to enjoy playing Rayner. So there’s always hope…

From what I've seen of Rayner so far (2 episodes of Season 5), I'm with you. I really like that character.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Sylvia Tilly: I have a weakness for shy geekettes. Especially when they blurt out appreciative comments, and then suddenly realize that they'd blurted them out in "Army Creole," in front of a superior officer. And it doesn't hurt one bit that Mary Wiseman is cute.

 

[fireproof78]

I like Tilly, Burnham and Culber a lot.

Made the show very relatable.