Star Trek: Discovery Review: That Hope Is You, Part 2 (Season 3 Episode 13)
There’s no question that the mystery of the Burn and the Emerald Chain conflict have been the backbone of this season of Star Trek: Discovery. The finale, Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 13, “That Hope Is You, Part 2,” closes the chapter on both of those plots. However, the two arcs end with differing degrees of success.
A sizable portion of the episode follows the action of the crew as they outsmart Osyraa to take back the ship. A few of these scenes stand out as bright spots, including Owosekun’s final sacrifice to knock the ship out of warp. Her bravery as she gasps what may be her final breaths rivals any blockbuster film hero.
Also notable are the Book torture scenes, which bring the spotlight back to his empath powers and underline Osyraa’s cruelty.
But overall, the recovery of the ship drags on too long on the episode to sustain excitement. Osyraa’s death scene underwhelms, and you’re left wondering why Star Trek: Discovery has spent so much time on her to begin with.
While the conclusion of the Emerald Chain conflict may disappoint, the concurrent plot with the away crew provides much more emotional nuance and satisfaction.
Saru helping Su’Kal to face reality brings Saru’s own journey full circle. Although Saru hasn’t experienced the same trauma as Su’Kal, he knows what it’s like to live in fear. Doug Jones’ great ability to portray sincere empathy shines through in a wonderful performance.
Saru’s burning desire to reconnect with Kelpiens seems like a weakness as a captain, but with that responsibility set aside, we see it as a strength. If this season is about the importance of connection, Su’Kal’s story brings that message home.
The loss of his mother not only leaves a tremendous impact on Su’Kal but on the entire universe since it caused the Burn. It’s only fitting then that as Su’Kal reconnects with society, it also opens up a path to reconnect the different worlds isolated by the Burn because of the newly sourced dilithium.
The truth behind the Burn is unexpected, but making the cause a lost and lonely child creates a powerful message about the need for connection. Burnham’s later monologue about the subject drives this message home.
Burnham: The need to connect is at our core as sentient beings.
The episode ends with an epilogue that works overtime to answer any outstanding questions you may have. For some viewers, the inspiration and hope of the epilogue may be enough to counteract any issues found earlier on the episode. That said, it’s still hard to not feel like the writers rushed to wrap things up too neatly.
Saru’s decision to take a leave of absence to help Su’Kal makes a lot of sense. Seeing him take on the role of mentor warms your heart.
At the same time, I wish the writers had given us more insight into his decision to step down as captain. We’re informed secondhand via Vance, which undercuts Saru’s difficult journey this season as captain. He never gets closure with his crew, at least not on screen.
This brings us to the other big moment of the final minutes. After a time filled with doubt about her place in this future, Burnham takes up the captain’s chair with Saru and Vance’s blessing.
Her moment of understanding with Vance, where he acknowledges he’s wrong about her, comes off as hollow given the characters’ relative lack of history together. Just as Burnham isn’t completely sold on the idea of her as captain, neither is the viewer at first.
However, the episode segues to a triumphant scene with Burnham taking the chair among the Bridge crew. As she utters her signature command, “Let’s fly,” you feel a jolt of excitement for the future of the show.
It might not be enough to erase all of your misgivings, but it does end the episode on a hopeful note. Will Burnham remain the captain? Is it even what she really wants? We still don’t know, but the ending will make you want to stick around to find out.
The finale sets up the crew to take on more traditional missions as they become ambassadors to worlds left behind by the Burn. Fortunately, we’ve seen in this season that the future still allows for many elements of surprise even with the Federation present.
We can only hope that Star Trek: Discovery continues to go boldly as it explores the future rather than take the well-worn path.
Additional Thoughts:
- Potentially controversial opinion: I will miss the Discovery uniforms. I’m not a big fan of the future Federation uniforms and their blandness.
- I’m begging you, Star Trek: Discovery writers, can you tell us what species Grudge is? How can you keep teasing that she’s not just a cat and then never address it? Give the Queen some respect.
- I like Gray, but what a weird choice to jam in a storyline about him wanting to have a body. It made sense given the circumstances yet still somehow felt out of place. At least we’ll be seeing more of him next season.
- The Gene Roddenberry quote shown at the end is a lovely touch and made me weepy.
What did you think of this episode of Star Trek: Discovery? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Star Trek: Discovery airs Thursdays on CBS All Access.
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Breeze Riley
Breeze Riley is a pop culture enthusiast who decided to turn her love of watching too much TV into a hobby writing about it. Although she's a convention-going sci-fi and fantasy nerd, she's just as likely to be watching an off-beat comedy or period drama. She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic.