Did 'Star Trek: Discovery' Make The Federation Too Powerful?
Star Trek: Discovery season 3 ended on a very positive note. Perhaps one that is too good to be true. Please note: For anyone who has not yet watched this season, there are ***SPOILERS AHEAD***.
We started season 3 with the Michael Burnham, Saru, and the rest of the USS Discovery crew thrust into the future, fulfilling their promise to keep the Sphere data out of Control's clutches. They succeeded in saving all sentient life in the past. Even though they did not know what to expect in the 32nd century, no one suspected what they found.
Burnham arrives a full year before the rest of the ship and crew to find the United Federation of Planets in shambles, a mere shadow of its former glory. Approximately 120 years before Burnham's arrival, an event called "The Burn" rendered almost all of the galaxy's dilithium inert. Dilithium was already in short supply prior to The Burn. All space faring species leveraged it in some form or fashion for interstellar travel. Dilithium regulates the matter/anti-matter collision in warp engines.
In the aftermath of that catastrophic event, many rationed their dilithium. Still, others became afraid to use it at all. The Burn impacted dilithium everywhere, including unmined deposits across the galaxy. Over time, most galactic empires shrank or collapsed altogether.
Once Burnham and the crew reunited, they found the Federation's tattered remains barely hanging on against the crime syndicate, The Emerald Chain. That group comprised of an uneasy alliance of several former Federation members.
Burnham is surprised to learn that the Federation is in such a shambles, they have not been able to spare resources to ascertain The Burn's cause. By the end of the season, the Discovery helps defeat The Emerald Chain and finds the cause and solution to The Burn. They also find an abundant source of precious dilithium.
A bonus is that they discover that Dr. Stamets is not the only one who can command the Discovery's spore drive. Empathic Kwejians can also work with Tardigrades to maneuver the ship through the mycelial network. With not one but two types of interstellar travel now open to them, the Federation is once again on the rise.
Are they too powerful, though? A Visionary from another fandom said it best, "Power invites challenge." There will be a challenge to their power, but it will not be from old enemies. All of them have been weakened almost to non-existence.
Enemies, Old and New
The Federation defeated The Emerald Chain by the end of season 3. We know from the Picard series that the Romulans were decimated and on the decline. This last season of Discovery saw the Romulans and Vulcans reunited. They live in forced harmony on Vulcan, renamed Ni'Var. The Borg were also rendered powerless over several other movies and shows. We never once saw the Klingons on this last season of Discovery either.
We presume Control was rendered powerless at the end of Season 2. We also know from Picard that there is a powerful group of sentient artificial life forms occupying another dimension. Perhaps there is a connection between the two. They both consider all other sentient life in the galaxy the enemy. However, they could ostensibly attack the Federation at any time.
If empathic-enabled Kwejians can connect to the mycelial network, what about other empathic races such as Betazoids? Everyone in the galaxy must overcome several decades of cultural and technological regression to rejoin the Federation. We presume they will rejoin and aide the Federation back to its former glory. What if they do not want to help? We caught a glimpse of this from the episodes with Ni'Var. Even though the season ended with that planet returning to the fold, it may not be the norm.
What if the Federation, on its path to recovery, becomes the very thing to be despised? With two types of interstellar travel available to them, they wield enormous power in the galaxy. They could become the enemy everyone else must fight based on how they go about implementing and doling out the dilithium. Our USS Discovery crew, now captained by Burnham, may object philosophically on how this Federation goes about its daily business.
The optimistic tone ending season 3 will be short-lived going into season 4. There are plenty of stories to be found in rebuilding the Federation in season 4. The writers, though, will probably reveal a new big bad with roots in the old ones we recognize. Hopefully, this one will last longer than a single season. However, a better show would add philosophical conflict back into the episodes. They helpStar Trekstand out from other science fiction shows.
Source(s): Screen Rant