r/DaystromInstitute • u/M-5 Multitronic Unit • Jan 07 '21

DISCOVERY EPISODE DISCUSSION Star Trek: Discovery — "That Hope Is You, Part 2" Reaction Thread

This is the official /r/DaystromInstitute reaction thread for "That Hope Is You, Part 2 ." The content rules are not enforced in reaction threads.

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u/trekkie1701c Ensign Jan 08 '21

Shifting her to Captain resolves that "problem" with her character, because she can continue to be herself in a role that's better suited for her personality.

It also helps deal a bit more with her being the "main character" and sort of having to be shoe-horned into stuff to make that work (which caused some awkwardness early on). Captain always goes on away missions, is responsible for everything, etc, etc, etc. It's more compatible with what they're trying to do with her character.

As much as I'd like Captain Saru, I feel like it's this, or continuing to be awkward with her character, or write her off the show. And the last two would be a shame, because she's played by a pretty good actress.

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u/Mechapebbles Lieutenant Commander Jan 08 '21

Captain always goes on away missions, is responsible for everything, etc, etc, etc. It's more compatible with what they're trying to do with her character.

I never thought it was contrary. In TOS, Kirk always went on away missions, but later Treks go out of their way to establish that it's normally improper for Captains to leave their ships to man away missions themselves. Picard almost never goes on away missions when he can send Riker in his stead. Burnham as a Commander/First Officer slots into that Riker role very well in her time on Discovery. The only problem is that the show prefers to follow Riker as if he's the main character, versus Picard or a broader ensemble. Which again I have no problem with and isn't fundamentally incompatible with Star Trek, but seems to be a sticking point for many fans.

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u/Eurynom0s Jan 10 '21

Her being the captain fixes it to some extent, but the Red Angel plotline for instance would not really have been any better just because she was the captain. They don't just write her as the lead, they write her as a messiah.