Star Trek Discovery Season 5 Review

There’s a shroud of secrecy surrounding the fifth and final season of Star Trek: Discovery and after viewing the first four episodes provided for critics, one can see why. Fun and action-packed, the entire season is a high-stakes whirlwind that revolves around a singular mission, plucking out a significant piece of Star Trek lore in the process. (And we thought we’ve seen everything.) This is some of the best Star Trek you will experience, matching, and perhaps surpassing, the creativity and innovation that went into season two of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

But season five wasn’t intended to be an end game for Discovery. As previously reported, this 10-episode season was already shot as a self-contained outing. None of the cast was aware it was their official goodbye. When news hit that Discovery was officially warping out and off, showrunners and executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise brought back most of the cast return to film extra scenes as a way to give the series a proper send off. To that end, expect the latter half of the season, and especially the season’s final episode, to be filled with surprises and expected poignancy.

From the get-go, though, Kurtzman and Paradise deliver an impressive opus in these final episodes, with the first episode, especially, thoroughly heart-pounding. Favorite Discovery characters return, and new allies and foes come along for the ride, too. One duo, in fact, emerge as some of the greatest Trek villains you will love to hate since Commander Sela (Denise Crosby) on Star Trek: The Next Generation. So, while we tip-toe around specific plot points, mindful not to give too much away, strap yourselves in and, in the words of Discovery’s Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), “Let’s fly!”

New Foes Enter the Fold

Star Trek: Discovery

4.5/5

Release Date 2017-01-00

Seasons 5

Franchise Star Trek

Pros

• Incredible action sequences make this season stand out.
• Different storylines come together wonderfully from previous arcs.
• The cast is in top form, giving their best performances of the show.

As revealed in the Season 5 teaser from 2022’s New York ComicCon, Captain Burnham gushes, “Never a dull moment.” All this while she’s suited up and hitching a ride atop a starship with suspicious figures inside. The way that plays itself out and how Burnham manages to get back onto the bridge of the U.S.S. Discovery is downright electrifying, kicking off a new season filled with one central and challenging mystery that must be solved.

Related: Star Trek: Top 25 “New Trek” Episodes, Ranked

Uncovering that mystery sends Burnham and the crew on an epic adventure across the galaxy to find an ancient power whose very existence has been deliberately hidden for centuries. They aren’t alone in their quest, however. Dangerous enemies are desperate to nab that prize, too, and will do everything in their power to get it.

Enter: L’ak and Moll, played by recurring guest stars Elias Toufexis (Blood of Zeus, New Amsterdam) and Eve Harlow (The 100, Next, The Night Agent). The duo makes for a great kind of gnarly nemesis for the Discovery crew, arriving at perfect junctures as everybody attempts to outsmart one another. Also new to the mix is Callum Keith Rennie (Californication, The Umbrella Academy), playing Raynor, a gruff Starfleet officer who ultimately must work with Captain Burnham to locate the valuable ancient power. David Cronenberg (The Fly, Slasher) figures prominently, too, as Dr. Kovich, whose understanding of the ancient power — and what could happen should it wind up in the wrong hands — creates a sense of tension and purpose for Burnham and the crew.

Tackling Complex Relationships

Paramount+

It’s not Star Trek if the captain and Starfleet officers don’t explore “strange new worlds.” Flying high off of seasons three and four, when one of the series’ central goals was to repair a fractured Starfleet some 900 years from where Burnham and the crew originated at the end of the second season’s drama, there’s plenty of “strange,” “new” and otherworldly in season five.

Related: Star Trek: The 10 Best Captains in the Franchise, Ranked

Episode three stands out for its gripping action sequences, and it allows Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber) to creatively spread his wings as an actor as the episode plays out with Burnham, “Book” (David Ajala) and Culber on a high-stakes away mission to uncover a much-needed clue. It also gives Burnham and Book an opportunity to be together in the aftermath of Book’s season four story arc, the end of which found him repenting for his crimes by leaving Discovery to work with societies hurt by the DMA. Pay attention to the emotional complexities Burnham and Book confront this season and how Book may become vital to how effective Discovery’s quest will be.

Paramount+

There’s some fine banter between Discovery fan favorite Tilly (Mary Wiseman) and Rennie, the ship’s cantankerous newbie, a wartime Starfleet captain struggling to adjust to Burnham’s more relaxed management style. Rennie is significant to the overall story arc this season, too, and one suspects there may be more to know about him as the episodes roll along, but there’s some great fun in watching Rennie pair up with Green and Wiseman, respectively.

Another notable pairing, Saru (Doug Jones) and T’Rina (Tara Rosling), the president of Ni’Var. As teased in season four, the depth of the couple’s affections were meant to deepen, but there’s something downright poignant about Saru’s trajectory here. He entered the Star Trek mix as a beleaguered and timid Kelpien, only to rise quickly within Starfleet. The character quickly became a fan-favorite, and if you’ve appreciated the story arcs of, say, Data (Brent Spiner) on TNG, you’ll be fully drawn into how this series wraps up Saru’s storyline.

The Significance of Star Trek: Discovery

Paramount+

Like Picard — and its last season, in fact — and TNG, particularly, Discovery is a milestone series in the Star Trek canon. The series began on CBS All Access only to later help launch Paramount+. Fueled by its massive success, the streamer launched Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks, Picard, and Prodigy. Star Trek: Section 31 (starring Michelle Yeoh) is now a stand-alone feature for the streamer, and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, a YA offering, has generated buzz. Who can wait until 2025?

Audiences will have to. (And fingers crossed to potential Picard offspring Star Trek: Legacy.) To be sure, the storytelling in Star Trek has steadily and impressively improved as these new Trek series were born. To that end, it must be noted that, like other series audiences have come to love and say goodbye to — from Battlestar Galactica to Curb Your Enthusiasm) — a great deal of care has been taken with closing out this show and the mindfulness that went into all of its characters. Kurtzman has done wonders with the Star Trek canon and the world-building we’ve experienced holds a rare kind of hip, sci-fi allure. This final ride with Discovery is significant.

And so is its legacy. The relationship arc of Paul Stamets and Dr. Cubler (Anthony Rapp and Wilson Cruz). Blu del Barrio (Adira) as the first openly non-binary actor, playing the first non-binary role in all of Star Trek, followed by Ian Alexander (Gray), who also identifies as non-binary. Sonequa Martin-Green as the first African-American woman to play a captain. These are more than just series’ footnotes. They are sea changers.

Bottom line: It’s rare to experience a series that not only can last five seasons on a streamer, and even rare for one to out-perform itself. (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is on a similar track, too.) Star Trek: Discovery is that special kind of series. In an easy-to-follow, thoroughly engrossing romp, season five offers some of the best character-driven, high-soaring sci-fi around. Season five of Star Trek: Discovery streams April 4.

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