A lot has been said aboutStar Trek: Discovery, both its dramatic 2024 finale andDiscovery’s five-season runthat ushered in a new era ofStar Trek. For its first two seasons,Discoverytold the story of the USS Discovery in the decade leading up toStar Trek: The Original Series, whereas all subsequent seasons were set in the 32nd century. As a result of this time jump, a lot of the plots and characters I loved from earlier seasons got left in the 23rd century, and some of the most interestingDiscoverydetails were jettisoned for the future.
Star Trek:Discoveryseasons 1 and 2 introduced some of the most popular characters fromStar Trek: Strange New Worlds.Both Anson Mount’s Captain Christopher Pike and Ethan Peck’s Lieutenant Spock appeared onDiscoverybeforeStrange New Worlds. Even now, as I wait forStrange New Worldsseason 3, my understanding of those characters would be incomplete withoutDiscovery.Discoveryalso brought on Rainn Wilson as Harry Mudd,Star Trek’s most prominent guest star in years. But beyondDiscovery’s early iconic characters, the first two seasons ofDiscoveryhad some of the best plots in the series.
Harry Mudd Is An Absolutely Iconic Antagonist
Star Trek: Discoveryseason 1, episode 7, “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad,” is one of the series' best episodes, even if it doesn’t always get the recognition it deserves. It was one of two episodes inDiscoveryseason 1 to featureRainn Wilson as Harry Mudd,the notorioussmuggler from Star Trek: The Original Series.As with the rest ofDiscovery, this version of Mudd was much darker than hisTOScounterpart,played by Roger C. Carmel, and in this episode that darkness totally works and pays off. Harry Mudd is a gritty, challenging antagonist, and he makes the episode pop in every scene.
6 Good Things In Star Trek Discovery Season 1
Star Trek: Discovery season 1 had its flaws, but it flipped Trek conventions and laid the groundwork for Star Trek’s 21st century TV renaissance.
“Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad” is one ofStar Trek’s rare time loop episodes, and it is excellent. This was a key episode of Star Trek: Discovery season 1 wherein Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), Ensign Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman), and Lt. Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) had to trust each other and use their wits and smarts to turn the tables on Harry Mudd. It culminates in one of Burnham’s best lines,“Turns out you’re able to con a con man.”
It’s Great In Discovery And In Star Trek As A Whole
Star Trek: Discoveryas a whole is underrated, and the series has a lot of hidden gems. Episodes likeDiscoveryseason 3’s “People of Earth” or season 5’s “Whistlespeak” are personal favorites. But looking back, seasons 1 and 2 ofDiscoveryare some of its best, and “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad” stands out as a highlight of those early seasons.The consequence-free-zone of the time loop in “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad” feels just plain fun.While I might not go so far as to call it the best episode ofDiscovery, it’s certainly up there.
Star Trek Completely Forgot About These 10 Alternate Timelines
Some Star Trek timelines, like the Mirror Universe or the Kelvin Timeline get a lot of attention. But other alternate realities seem almost forgotten.
But, whereas most time loop plots inStar Trekare scientific anomalies, likeStar Trek: The Next Generation’s “Cause and Effect” orStar Trek: Voyager’s “Coda,” the time loop in “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad” is the result of direct antagonism from Harry Mudd. This heightens the stakes of the episode, making it stand out as not only one ofStar Trek: Discovery’s best episodes, but also one of the best episodes in all ofStar Trek.
