Star Trek: Discovery 3x6 “Scavengers” Review

rating: ***

story: Burnham goes rogue to rescue Book and recover a valuable black box.

review: Some viewers will view “Scavengers” as needlessly rehashing Michael Burnham’s penchant for breaking bad. I would argue that Michael Burnham’s whole reputation is what it would look like if Jim Kirk weren’t a captain. There’s no functional difference. Even Kirk was demoted in the movies.

So we instead have an affirmation for Burnham’s willingness to sacrifice her own career for doing what she feels is right. (Incidentally, the first season of Picard had that guy doing it, too.) If anything, Burnham is affirming a Star Trek tradition. We even had the Maquis as a famous example. A lot of fans criticized Voyager for its rapid crew integration, but I always argue that they missed the point; many if not most Maquis, like Chakotay, were former Starfleet to begin with. It wasn’t a rebellion against Starfleet, or the Federation, but policy. 

Which, in this season of Discovery, is highly relevant. Burnham’s rescue mission turns into pretty classic franchise material, complete with an Andorian who needs rescuing (compassion) on a different level than Burnham originally anticipated. (In case you were wondering, like I was, this Andorian was not played by Wilson Cruz.)

What it really amounts to isn’t even a clash with the current version of Starfleet but a culmination of Burnham and Saru’s relationship. Saru finally decides he can’t have a first officer prone to going rogue. Saru himself is becoming an example of a textbook Starfleet captain, one that perhaps can be as respected as any the franchise has chosen as lead characters over the years, more often similar to Kirk but sometimes equally committed (as Janeway famously was) to standard Starfleet ideals.

criteria analysis:

>franchise - Ironically because fans seem prone to misidentifying Burnham’s instincts, this is maybe not an episode they’re likely to understand.

>series - And yet it resonates right back to the start of Discovery as it showed her as a true hero at every turn.

>character - So this is a great Burnham spotlight, and Saru, and even Georgiou, who this season has become a true highlight.

>essential - For fans of Discovery, absolutely.

notable guest-stars:

Michelle Yeoh (Georgiou)

Oded Fehr (Vance)