Caught episode 3 - still has things I liked and things I wasn't so sure of.
In the premier movie (episodes 1 and 2) Michael is shown as not believing in the principles of the Federation - or rather more than willing to throw them away to save her family (her captain mostly). In the real pilot (Episode 3) she's still really strongly blaming herself for what happened and trying to live by those ideals through serving time. The new Captain on the other hand plays fast and loose with the Federations ideals - I think that means one of the central conflict of this series is going to be how well the Federation's ideals hold up when tested and how important they are.
Michael's name gets explicitly called out as odd in this episode.
The tone is very different from Star Trek of old here - they are shooting hard for a Section 31 vibe.
The discovery feels less ugly than when the first concept art was released but it is still far from my favorite design.
A lot more people play up Michael in this episode, but she's also pretty clearly hated by almost everyone too - its summed up by the quote "You were an excellent officer. Until you weren't." Her actions in this episode still had some elements which would annoy people considering her drive to atone through punishment - though they make more sense in context.
I think the best part of the dynamic for me was that throughout episode 3 Michael does not want to be serving in Star Fleet (she feels she doesn't deserve it) and its the Captain that wants a fellow war-monger to help him push past starfleet's ideals - and she still resists because she has learned from her screw ups.
Also she is not the XO of Discovery, and cannot become one. She still thinks of herself as the XO of the Shen Zhou (and as a failure).
I was engaged with and enjoyed episode 3. It did not have the feeling I wanted from a Star Trek show (far too morally-dark so far) but it had the seeds of a good plot which would bring it back to the light in an enjoyable way.
Also it did have one moment which actually made me laugh quite a lot:
Spoiler: Trying to keep it as spoiler free as possible, but still a spoiler
Show
Conext for those who can't watch and still reading: She's put to work as a data-cruncher against her protests after her prison shuttle is picked up by Discovery. Whatever shady project they are working on takes down Disovery's sister ship. The captain wants Michael on the away team to recover data and equipment from the sister ship but the engineer/researcher protests. Saru (Shen Zhou science officer and Discovery XO) who had previously told Michael he thought she was dangerous - has a change of heart and says that Michael was the smartest officer he'd known - he appears saying so to give Michael a second chance.
My laugh is from the Captain's response, "You see? And he knows you."
It was one of precious few moments of levity in the episode and it worked well. Cadet Barclay - well part Barclay and part Sheldon - worked as well because she felt completely real. I'm hoping that future episode can lighten up a bit.
I am still feeling that Discovery is way too serious and Orville can't take itself serious enough. I miss the days of shows like SG-1 which knew they were silly and loved themselves for it without loosing themselves to the joke. (Its why I fell in love with Doctor who).
Orville episode 4 seemed to be stepping in the right direction there (Issac's insistence that a certain utterance is a compliment and Bortas's mate's computer prescribed Rocky Road were pitch perfect) but it also bogs itself down with unnecessary humor and pop-culture.
Discovery episode 3 is presenting interesting and complex characters. It seems to want to make a deep and topical exploration of what it means to have "good guy" ideals in a time of war and conflict - but so far that is all setup with very little answer. My biggest gripe about how they are trying to out DS9 on that front is that they do not yet have anyone in the cast who is a died in the wool true believer in the Federation's ideals. Michelle Yeoh's character was that and its was her contrast against Michael Burnnam which made that work for me. Now, 6 months of self hate later and Michael Burnnam is suppose to be that light for us? On the one hand, I don't buy it yet - the character hasn't earned it yet. On the other hand, that's a very good motivation and it has a good thematic base from which to tell a good story.
DS9 had Sisko, who really did feel the conflict between what was right and what was needed. Discovery so far has Captain Lorka, who can only see what is needed, and Michael Burnnam, who knows from experience what is wrong.