As I was watching Star Trek: Discovery‘s “New Eden,” I couldn’t help but think of the Next Generation episode, “Who Watches the Watchers.” A struggle at the forefront of the Trek universe is first contact with new species not as technologically advanced as those of the Federation and the moral quandaries that result of this contact. Heck, an entire movie was named First Contact, interestingly, also directed by Jonathan Frakes, the director of this second episode of the second season.
1. Faith and Science
After receiving another signal, similar to the one encountered last episode, Captain Pike seeks “special dispensation” to use the spore drive in order to jump to the signal’s location. His choice of words seems to allude to ecclesiastical law, one of the first connections to faith in this episode; the second being his choice of words before jumping, “be bold, be brave, be courageous.” Is Pike a man of faith? Discovery finds the signal is coming from a Class M planet, a distress call that has been broadcasting for 200 years, according to Burnham, a date that coincides with World War III on Earth. Once a landing party makes it to the planet, they discover the inhabitants have cobbled together a religion based on various prominent Earth faiths – including a stained glass likeness of the Angel seen by Burnham on the asteroid.
Once on the planet, both Pike and Burnham want the same thing: to save the colonists, who have traveled, somehow, from Earth. But, they each have different beliefs on how this should be done as Pike believes they must let the colony remain as is, and develop on its own, while Burnham thinks a more scientific approach is necessary – taking the colonists off a planet where they don’t even have access to electricity and reintegrating them into modern Earth society.
We see a conflict between Pike and Burnham in execution, but not in belief. They both want the same thing. The biggest mystery to be solved in this episode is how the heck the colonists made it to this planet to begin with; the colonists themselves believe it was the angel, as seen by Burnham, divine intervention that took them from an Earth at war and intent on destroying itself, to the peace of this new planet. The episode ends with Pike making a trade for a camera worn by a soldier during this divine intervention; a camera that reveals video evidence of the angel.
2. Tilly
I want Tilly on my side. She’s driven by scientific discovery and loyalty to her friends as she attempts to find a way to power the spore drive with a fragment of the asteroid gathered in episode one; she does this so Stamets does not have to power the drive himself. Tilly is harmed by an energy discharge from the fragment and winds up in sickbay. While healing, she speaks to a new crew member named May Ahern who helps Tilly think through a way in which to save this new planet from a radiation blast that will kill every human on the planet. Is Discovery sent to save this colony from destruction? What hand does divine intervention have in these circumstances? As it turns out, only Tilly can see May, a grown up version of someone she knew in her past, and no one else can.
Which brings me back to Tilly first waking up in sickbay after her injury; Saru gives her some advice, and something about it is just…off, as is her interaction with May, and as is the fact that Tilly runs around Discovery in a sickbay gown. Has she really woken up after being injured by the fragment, or is there more going on here than we are privy to at this point in time.
3. Spock
No Spock appearance yet again! We do hear his voice at the start of the episode, through his personal logs, discussing his nightmares and the seven signals – signals he drew before they were discovered by Discovery. Pike opens up to Burnham and lets her know that Spock is in a psychiatric unit, not simply off doing his own thing, as he wants some time alone. As is common in Trek working friendships, Burnham pays Pike back for his honesty and tells him about the angel she saw on the asteroid, and in turn helps building a relationship of trust between the two. Maybe Spock will make it on the scene in episode three.
Continued below4. Shakespeare
I’m a sucker for Shakespeare, and the playwright tends to make appearances in various ways within the Trek universe, as he does again in this episode. After Pike’s revelation about Spock, he tells Burnham, “there are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio,” since he wishes to convey the idea that there really is little even the most educated, scientific people can explain. Her Vulcan leaning towards science and logic can only take her so far in the answers she seeks, and interestingly, the angel, a symbol of faith, chose to show itself to her. Perhaps she can’t answer everything with science and logic.
5. Random thoughts
The Biblical and faith connections are strong in this episode: there is a colonist named Jacob and he, emphatically, tells Pike they will meet again. Pike is wearing a Discovery uniform this episode; it makes sense, but I really liked those updated TOS uniforms. Tilly runs around Discovery in her sickbay gown, which is in stark contrast to the other uniformed officers; is there a larger reason for this, or is it about her dedication? After the multitude of mistakes Burnham made in season one of Discovery, she tells Pike she has learned the danger of not following orders. Will we see a more thoughtful Burnham this season, or will she be unable to resist her impulsive ways. Also, the use of the term General Order 1, instead of the Prime Directive, was a creative way to separate this Discovery time period from other, later date Trek series.
“New Eden” leaves us with more questions than the first episode. It adds to Pike’s character and leaves the door open for a multitude of Trek connections, which will be either confirmed or denied in the coming months.
