Star Trek Discovery S04E02 is the first episode of the fourth season of the scifi space opera TV drama series streaming on Paramount+. The series had a mixed reception due to its perceived retconning of Star Trek canon, being set 10 years before the events in the original Star Trek TV series and by introducing Michael Burnham ( as the sister of the iconic character, Mr. Spock. In season 3, the series transported the ship and its crew almost a century into the future, thereby (cleverly) avoiding any issue with Star Trek canon once and for all.
Entitled “Anomaly”, Star Trek Discovery S04E02 is probably one of the most lacklustre episodes of the series thus far. The premise is a stereotypically Trek though as Discovery investigates the mystery behind an unusually destructive new force viz. the anomaly – which somewhat escapes their analysis completely and poses a significant threat to the survival of the galaxy.
On the character front, Saru (Doug Jones) rejoins Discovery as Burnham’s Number One, which the latter has to perform her duties as Captain while trying to comfort her lover Book as he deals with unimaginable loss – the destruction of his home planet in the previous episode. The character interaction by now should be well developed – being the fourth season and all that – and to a larger extent, the emotional resonance is handled competently enough.
The main problem is that there is nothing remotely new about the story being told in Star Trek Discovery S04E02 and thus it seems pedestrian and ponderous. Without real stakes – despite the obstacles placed before Discovery – we know that the ship will survive this ordeal – the episode lack the requisite tension to create engagement. In addition, perhaps the faceless unknown protagonist (the anomaly) does not help in this respect either. Presumably more answers to engage us in coming episodes…
READ OUR REVIEWS OF STAR TREK DISCOVERY.
… still there’s more …