Star Trek: Discovery Season 4 Episode 1 Review: Kobayashi Maru By Lacy Baugher President RillakĪs played by Chelah Horsdal, President Rillak is the first new president of the United Fedaration of Planets we’ve seen in quite some time. Starfleet Academy reopening after 125 yearsīecause Starfleet is no longer based on Earth, we find out here that the academy itself has actually been shut down since after the Burn. Personal at Starfleet command, and later, Commander Nalas, all wear the mostly grey uniforms from last season. Apparently, at that time, Starfleet decided to roll out some new uniforms, at least, for the DISCO crew.
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New uniforms and the passage of timeĪlthough no comment is made about the new color-coded uniforms worn by the crew of the Discovery, Saru tells us five months have passed since the end of Season 3. Now, it seems they all are living in harmony, a 930 year legacy which was arguably started by Captain Pike and Burnham in Season 2. We actually haven’t seen the Ba’ul since Season 2, when it was revealed in the episode “A Sound of Thunder,” that in eons in the past, the Kelpiens had enslaved the Ba’ul, a situation which was reversed by the 23rd century. The Ba’ul are the other dominant lifeform on the planet Kaminar, in addition to Saru’s species, the Kelpiens. When we visit the Kaminar high council, we see several Ba’ul chilling in the water outside of a dome. The anomaly is also referenced in the credits, as is a mysterious glyph, which could represent some kind of mathematical equation. As of now, the USS Discovery in the credits appears as its upgraded-self, complete with detached naccells. Opening credits reflect new ship designĪlthough the opening credits for the show are very familiar by now, there are a few small details changed for this season. The fact that the simple presence of a pet can cause an alien species to get profoundly offended also seems to reference the Star Trek: Enterprise episode “One Night In Sickbay,” in which Captain Archer accidentally offends an entire alien species because his dog Porthos pees on some trees. Bringing your pet ruins another away mission - Captain Archer style In this episode, the “butterfly people”- as Book calls them - are similarly annoyed, also because of a miscommunication. In that film, Bones and Kirk were running for their lives while a group of friendly aliens was chasing them for perceived religious heresy. Though the details are different, the overall tone and sweep of the first scene in this episode feels very reminiscent of Star Trek Into Darkness. In his famous poem “Ode to Spot,” Data’s first words were: “Felis Catus is your taxonomic nomenclature.”īook and Burnham’s mission echoes Into Darkness While describing Grudge’s species at the beginning of the episode, Burnham seems to vaguely reference another famous Star Trek cat, Spot, from The Next Generation. But, that very big thematic concept isnt’ the only Trekkie call back in the debut episode of DISCO’s latest season.įrom shout-outs to Captain Archer from Enterprise, to the tech that makes transporters beam you up, here every Easter egg and reference we caught in Discovery Season 4, Episode 1, “Kobayashi Maru.” Felis catus
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The idea of a no-win scenario is a big deal for Captain Burnham in this first episode of Season 4.
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“Kobayashi Maru,” references Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and the famous no-win scenario first introduced in that film. In fact, even the title of the very first episode of Star Trek: Discovery, Season 4, is an Easter egg. The crew of the USS Discovery might be firmly established in a century well beyond the rest of Star Trek canon, but that doesn’t mean the rich history of the Final Frontier isn’t always with them. This Star Trek: Discovery article contains spoilers for Season 4, Episode 1.