Star Trek: Discovery may have had a bumpy first season for a host of different reasons, but its sophomore season was able to avoid the slump. With the introduction of Pike and Spock, just to name a few things, it proved to be a more eventful season that departed from the Klingon-heavy conflicts fo the first season.
This coming season arguably holds even more promise. Here are a few things we are hoping to see and a few that we hope to get skipped in this sci-fi epic.
Do: Bold Adventures
Now that the crew of the Discovery has blasted 930 years into the future, we're hoping that the clashing of timelines with the original Star Trek is mostly avoided. It may have seemed like a good idea to have a show whose timeline ran alongside the original, but fans were more than a bit frustrated by the differences in the look of the show compared to the original that ran back in the '60s.
It also felt a little beholden to the original series with making sure that any differences that occurred in the timeline were thoroughly explained. While inclusions of previous Star Trek incarnations are unavoidable, we're hoping the showrunners let the Discovery really discover this time around.
Don't: Pointless Picard Cameo
With the success of Star Trek: Discovery has come another flagship series, Star Trek: Picard, following the titular captain from The New Generation many years after he has left Starfleet.
We love Jean-Luc Picard as much as anyone, but if the showrunners feel a need to tie him in somehow, we don't want it to feel shoehorned. Make it a purposeful conclusion, or just let Picard and the Discovery go off in their own directions. Not everything has to tie together.
Do: Original Trek Characters
From Harry Mudd to Spock, both seasons of Discovery have brought back both minor and major characters from the original Star Trek series. While we have moved away from that part of the Star Trek timeline, we wouldn't mind seeing a few familiar faces pop up from time to time.
It gives fans of the original Trek something to appreciate and an opportunity for new fans of Discovery to delve back into the original lore. We don't have to pretend like the original never happened.
Don't: Lorca Resurrection And Mirror Universe
One twist that many Trekkies saw coming a mile away in Star Trek: Discovery's first season was the inclusion of the mirror universe and Captain Lorca being part of that. While it wasn't a bad creative decision per se, it was wise for season two to move on and sticking primarily to its own universe. Lorca also appeared to definitively die in season one, but characters have been known to come back from the dead on this series already. As much as we enjoyed Jason Issacs, we're just hoping that Lorca stays dead.
Do: More Supporting Cast
One weakness of Star Trek: Discovery that has yet to be handled better is the inclusion of the supporting cast in the main stories of the episodes. We have come to learn a few more names on the bridge that we didn't get to really see in the first season, but they remain largely unexplored. Season two did an excellent episode focusing on the female human-cyborg Airiam, but she was killed off by the end. We'd really like to see Detmer, Rhys, Bryce, and a few others get more than their last names yelled during an attack sequence on the bridge.
Don't: Romance Between Tyler and Burnham
At the conclusion of Discovery's first season, Tyler and Burnham's romance had come to an abrupt stop as he decided to depart from the crew of Discovery. That decision did not keep Burnham and Tyler from crossing paths again in season two as he worked with Section 31 and did what he could to protect the crew of the Discovery.
Although Burnham and Tyler did not get back together, there was still a sense that it might not be completely off the table as Burnham had no other romantic interests arise. If Tyler does somehow find his way 930 years into the future, we hope it is not to reignite this spark.
Do: Burnham And Spock
One of the best parts of season two of Discovery was the inclusion of Spock. But a lot of time was spent just trying to find him and once he was found, he wasn't in a good place. Burnham and Spock's relationship has been fraught for most of their lives and it wasn't until the end of the season that they began to mend the rift between them.
This may be a longshot as Pike and Spock essentially agreed to never speak of the Discovery again, but surely with some kind of mind-meld, they can contact each other again, right? Even if this is the only way for them to connect again, we wouldn't mind seeing it.
Don't: Lens Flares
An unfortunate carryover from the J.J. Abrams-directed Star Trek films to Discovery was the lens flares. With all the bright and shiny stuff on the Discovery, it makes sense that from time to time, these are bound to happen.
But season two seemed to have more than its fair share, perhaps thanks to the frequently blinding appearances of the Red Angel. We're hoping that whatever the Discovery has to deal with this coming season that it won't be so ocularly intense.
Do: Burnham As Captain
Burnham began the series as a disgraced member of the Shenzhou and spent virtually the entirety of the first season trying to prove that she could be trusted by Starfleet again. By the conclusion of the second season, it is abundantly clear that Burnham will do anything for Starfleet and the crew of the Discovery.
Technically the position of captain falls to Saru with Pike now being firmly locked back into the Enterprise and that's just fine. But if something could be worked out to where Saru doesn't die but Burnham gets a chance to sit in the captain's chair, we'd be just fine with that. She's earned it.
Don't: Death Of Other LGBTQ+ Characters
Star Trek has always been noted for its diversity in casting. But the first season of Star Trek made the same creative decision countless TV shows have decided to make, choosing to kill off a gay character, Dr. Hugh Culber, the partner of Lt. Commander Paul Stamets. Season two saw the return of Culber to the Discovery but in an altered, jaded form.
Where Culber had been the warm, loving partner to Stamets' less affectionate demeanor in the first season, Stamets did his best to try and be the kind and gentle partner to Culber who was struggling to adjust to life among other humans. It was hard to try and undo season one's outcome. We're hoping that whoever ends up going the way of all flesh in season three isn't LGBTQ+.