The controversy surrounding particular elements of Star Trek TV show after a 12-year hiatus. Discovery season 1 never fully recovered from the initial shock at the radical redesign of stalwart Trek aliens, the Klingons. The backlash to the new look was only exacerbated by the fact that the story arc of the entire first season revolved around the brutal war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire.
While Star Trek still struggles with the ongoing Star Trek: The Original Series, which established that the Federation was keen to avoid another war with the Klingon Empire. Rather than reject the Star Trek creator's vision, Discovery depicted a brutal conflict that emphasized the continued need for Roddenberry's hope and optimism in the increasingly divided 21st century, which is just one of the many good things about Star Trek: Discovery season 1.
6 The Spore Drive
One of the most interesting aspects of Star Trek: Discovery season 1 is how it explores how times of war can expedite technological advancements. Discovery's spore drive is one such advancement, which allowed starships to quickly travel the universe via its interconnecting molecular pathways. Viewers who were distracted by the implications for established Star Trek canon missed the thematic importance of the development of the spore drive. In their fight against the Klingon Empire, Starfleet were abandoning many of their principles to gain an advantage against a fearsome enemy.
This was exactly the core conflict in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home's environmental message. Thankfully, the crew of the USS Discovery eventually realized their mistake and freed the Tardigrades, seeking a solution less harmful to other species.
5 The Ash Tyler/Voq Reveal
As controversial as Star Trek: Discovery's Klingon design was, the story of how Lieutenant Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif) had been genetically spliced with the Klingon warrior Voq to create a hybrid sleeper agent was powerful. It's possible that the story was a second attempt by Star Trek to solve the issue of the TOS Klingons looking more humanoid than the ridged forehead Klingons from the Star Trek trope of coming to with identity, and introduced a different type of Klingon warrior, a variant that engaged in covert operations.
The inner conflict between human Starfleet officer Ash Tyler and Klingon warrior Voq was brilliantly played by Shazad Latif. When the deception was revealed, it proved too difficult to separate Ash and Voq, resulting in both men's personalities being fused together. While Ash attempted to aid both the Federation and the Klingon Empire, his human appearance made it impossible, and he was recruited by Section 31, setting up Discovery season 2, and Shazad Latif's potential involvement in the Section 31 spinoff.
4 Ensign Sylvia Tilly A.K.A Captain "Killy"
Lieutenant Reginald Barclay (Dwight Schultz) was intended by Gene Roddenberry to represent those TNG viewers who were socially awkward or anxious. Barclay was an inspired choice, and one of the most relatable characters in all of Star Trek. Ensign Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) was the audience identification figure for the viewers of Star Trek: Discovery. Like Reg Barclay, Tilly didn't always gel with the formalism and discipline of Starfleet, making her far more relatable than many of the more officious characters that surrounded her.
One of Tilly's best moments in Star Trek: Discovery season 1 is when she's forced to impersonate her Mirror Universe counterpart, Captain "Killy". Her barely concealed discomfort at inhabiting this murderous, evil version of herself established Tilly as one of Discovery's most endearing and distinctive characters. Tilly's reaction to the Mirror Universe felt realistic, observing to her best friend Commander Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) that she was going to "have nightmares about myself now".
3 The Mirror Universe Arc
Discovery flipped the traditional Star Trek Mirror Universe story when, rather than leave its barbaric inhabitants behind, Burnham brought one back into the Prime Universe. Burnham's decision to bring Emperor Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) to the Prime Universe was driven by her guilt at being responsible for her former Captain's death. Faced with the possibility of having her mentor back, Burnham chose to rescue Georgiou from a brutal fate in the Mirror Universe. It was a reckless move, which resulted in a devious Terran Emperor advising Starfleet on how to fight a war against the Klingon Empire.
The Terran Empire's methods should have been abhorrent to the Federation, but the treason of Captain Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs) and the fact that they were losing the war forced them to change tactics. The Federation sanctioned Discovery's Emperor Georgiou to travel to the Klingon homeworld while impersonating the Prime Universe Captain Georgiou to do whatever needed to be done. This decision almost resulted in Starfleet condoning the destruction of Qo'noS when Georgiou planted a bomb within the planet's core. Discovery's Mirror Universe arc was so good because, unlike most Mirror Universe stories, it didn't solely rely on the cast playing evil versions of themselves, and provided a fascinating moral dilemma in the conflict over whether to allow Georgiou to assist the war effort.
2 Captain Gabriel Lorca
Although Star Trek on TV was no stranger to arc-based storytelling, Discovery was the first Trek show of the era of prestige drama. While this inevitably led to some tonal missteps, it also allowed Discovery to use long-form storytelling to play with audience expectations. When Captain Gabriel Lorca was first introduced in "Context is for Kings" he was a Star Trek captain in the charismatic maverick mold of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner). However, there was also the sense that Lorca couldn't be trusted, which added danger and jeopardy to Discovery which was completely new to a Star Trek show.
It was revealed during the Mirror Universe arc that the Lorca in command of the USS Discovery was the original Lorca's Mirror Universe counterpart. Stranded in the Prime Star Trek universe, Lorca conspired to use Michael Burnham, the Klingon-Federation war, and the experimental spore drive to return to the Mirror Universe to make a second attempt at toppling Emperor Georgiou. In the Rick Berman era of Star Trek, Captain Lorca would have been the hero, but in this strange new world of prestige television, Lorca was one of Star Trek's best villains.
1 Commander Michael Burnham
The best thing about Discovery is how it changed the rules for Star Trek going forward by focusing on disgraced Starfleet commander, Michael Burnham. No other Trek show had begun with the First Officer, and protagonist of the series, committing mutiny against their captain. Traditionally, Star Trek shows were led by the captains, or like Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) in DS9 seasons 1-3, someone in the highest position of power. Discovery upended this Star Trek rule and revitalized the franchise as a result.
Thanks to Michael Burnham, Star Trek is free of its obsession with starship captains, which better reflects Gene Roddenberry's original Star Trek vision of an equal society. The modern Star Trek shows are ensemble pieces in a way that wasn't always true of their predecessors. Discovery realized that there was more drama in an idealistic and reckless young Starfleet commander who made fatal split-second decisions and grew as a result than there was in basing a show around a captain and crew that barely get any character development. Despite its flaws, the strengths of Star Trek: Discovery season 1 launched Star Trek's hugely successful 21st-century TV era, which continues to go from strength to strength.
Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 premieres in 2023 on Paramount+.