#star trek disco season 4

[fortheloveoflatinum]

I was slightly devastated when I saw this poll. I know it's one of those things where you might very well say to me that I didn't vote and therefore don't get a say but I am very compelled, now, to write up my own small manifesto, if you will, in defense of Ruon Tarka.

Was he the season's villain? Did he go to improbable lengths that would have had causalities in the billions for a still recently-revived Federation of Planets and for the Ten-C, if he hadn't been stopped?

Well, yes. And yes again, slightly more damningly this time.

But everything he did, he did for love.

Everything he did, he did because he was hanging on to his last shred of hope - that final bit of light in a galaxy ravaged by the Burn, operating under the yoke of the Emerald Chain.

I think everyone on this side of the Burn is a little jaded. Everyone's lost hope, lost loved ones. Ruon is not alone in a galaxy full of suffering people, or at least - he's not singular in his loneliness or his hopelessness.

Then, Discovery arrives. Everything changes. Hope starts spreading like wildfire, and Ruon didn't realize how truly alone he was until everyone else began jumping on that bandwagon of better times after finding the source of the Burn. Suddenly, the galaxy is lit up again - connected once more, and Ruon feels left out, maybe even worse - unneeded.

Discovery shows us Ruon at the end of his rope. Both ends. We are shown a Ruon who is very alone, quite desperate, and incredibly done with everyone. We are also shown, through flashbacks, a younger Ruon, who is very similar to the one we see now - but that changes, because of Oros. Oros teaches him to trust again. He teaches him to love someone other than himself.

I'll say it again: Everything Ruon Tarka does, he does for love. Everything he does, he does for that last torn and tattered flag of hope that he's kept up for all these years.

And isn't that why Star Trek exists? To show us hope? To bring us love? In all its myriad forms? Sometimes, one needs to take that hope, that love, to its illogical extreme. Sometimes, in a villain, you can still see the seed of their goodness; their raison d'être is still very much the same as everyone else's in their universe. They still operate off the principles of loving-kindness and hope for the future.

In the even the finest Star Trek characters, sometimes love forces them to do horrible things, make the wrong choices. Sometimes hope proves too enticing; they make a mistake.

Ruon Tarka made a series of mistakes, each one worse than the last. You know he's already gone too far the moment he capitalizes on Books' grief about having just lost his entire homeworld. You know he's gone too far, quite possibly before that moment. Likely, he was making reckless choices even before Discovery showed up, even before this new Federation existed.

But once more: he did it for love. Does that negate what he did? Absolutely not. Does it make him any less of a villain? No, not at all. But he is, in my view at least, a very interesting and lovable villain.

This has been a defense of Ruon Tarka; he's no less guilty, but maybe if you didn't like him before, I've helped you gain a new perspective.

And if you already loved him, well, here are the fics I wrote about him and Oros. Enjoy!

Round One

[lostyesterday]

I think Michael and Book are my favorite canon Star Trek romantic relationship. I mean, a lot of the canon Trek romances are poorly written so it’s not as if there’s much competition, but I really think their relationship is so, so compelling and interesting. For one thing, the actors have great chemistry, and both characters are fascinating on their own. And I love the progression of their relationship from initial antagonism and lack of trust mixed with an undeniable spark of connection to a gradual realization of deep, caring friendship. I love that they are shown to be friends before they become lovers – that it is so clear that these are two people who deeply understand each other and genuinely enjoy each other’s company. Too many Trek romances try to convince me that two characters who don’t even seem to enjoy spending time together are a well-matched couple, but Michael and Book in late season 3 feel like partners who are best friends too.

And then in season 4 when everything is broken for Book irrevocably, their relationship becomes no less compelling. To see your partner go through such a horrible, traumatic experience and be able to both deeply relate to it and yet unable to imagine the pain of it at all – to try desperately to help when you know in your heart that there is nothing you can do that will heal this wound no matter how much you desperately want to – these are such compelling character moments for Michael, a character whose desire to save others has defined her life.

And then Book and Michael find themselves on opposite sides of a moral dilemma with such far reaching consequences that they have no choice but to oppose each other. And they comprehend each other so completely that neither doubts the positive intentions of the other – that each can deeply understand the other’s point of view, and yet neither can change the other’s mind. The conflict is deep and fundamental, and yet it has little to do with their personal relationship and how much they love each other. Because they still love each other so much despite everything. And they still love each other in the aftermath too.

[cornflakesdoesart]

Micheal and Book <3  

for starshaker for the @startrekwintergiftexchange ! :))

Sorry for the delay, I kind of went on an odussey with this piece but it’s finally here and I hope you like it! ^^ 

(Under the cut I included the 4 discarded sketches as a bonus :’D)

I discarded these bc I wasn’t happy with the likeness, and I tried that technique were you trace the structure of a face and the landmarks on it but I felt like it didn’t work for me, also I couldn’t make the pose work, my brain just refused it and also also I couldn’t draw grudge in a pose and prespective and style that made sense and was coherent with the rest of the picture, so I had to let this go and start over, it be like that sometimes  :”)

[eastsideofthemoon]

Party at the Disco

Ain't no party like Disco party cause a Disco party don't staaahp!! 🙌🏿

[confessions-of-an-old-cassette]

me waking up every morning to complete my civic duty (defend Micheal Burnham from racists on the internet)

[tea-earl-grey]

lower decks is the best star trek show. i'm not taking constructive criticism at this time

[usslakevee]

i love how frequently star trek Discovery says "we will have to sacrifice for the greater good, some of us wont make it." And then three seconds later it's "just kidding we beamed him out just in time. Everyone lives bitch."

[zinda-his-eyes-red]

Finally finishing Discovery season 4. You sissy that walk Michael Burnham.

[samnotsammy12]

DID T’RINA JUST ASK SARU OUT

Also once again LMAO THE LOOK ON MICHAEL’S FACE

[adricthemindnimon]

Man, the Discovery cast really deserves better writing than they’ve gotten in season 4. It’s just an amazingly talented cast. Sonequa Martin-Green is one hell of a leading lady, Owosekun and Detmer’s actors make me fall in love every time they so much as twitch, Jett Reno likewise, in her few scenes, the queer family are all so strong... and yet every single line this season is so stilted. Every scene is so weirdly constructed, and so lecturey. Nobody just talks. It’s... Deep Pronouncement About Values, followed by Deeply Personal Disclosure, followed by Therapy, followed by Thesis on Connection.

I just lost my shit at Detmer teasing Adira that she might bring up their embarrassing moment every day for the rest of their life, not because it’s actually that great a line, but because it actually felt real, and natural, and genuine. I am so sick of everyone speechifying all the time.

[aforgottenthing-in-space]

Just finished discovery s4 and. Oh boy oh boy oh boy. All I can think about now is a show that takes place like 10-20 years after the whole DMA and Species Ten-C thing, where the spore drive has been properly tested and perfected and become standard starfleet use. And the federation has used this to continue building bridges and alliances and connections further. To the point where they can better justify purely scientific and exploration based missions and then we get the first ship to be sent on an exploration mission outside the galaxy. There’s been an official starbase set up just outside the galactic barrier for years now that’s mainly been a seat for the Federation to maintain an alliance with the Ten-C. And now it becomes sorta the waypoint between this ship and the Federation. Have they solved the issue of communicating through the barrier yet? Idk. But we have this ship. It’s the first of its kind, a brand new exploration class. It’s bigger than most exploration vessels before, designed to be completely self-sufficient because there’s no telling how long they’ll be gone. It’s like Voyager but if they knew they were gonna be stranded without the means to communicate. I don’t think it’d necessarily be a family ship, like the Enterprise-D, maybe because of the uncertainty of what’s to come. The ship would have a huge linguistic department, as the Ten-C incident would prove the necessity of. And then, I know that starfleet captains have the authority in most cases to speak for the federation, but I feel like in this situation, where the ship is going to a place comms can’t reach, things would be a little different. And so then we get the diplomatic core. A small team of Federation diplomats as a permanent feature of the crew. The Captain has ultimate authority of their ship, however, in diplomatic issues the core has the authority to vote and overrule the captains decision. This leads to huge conflict between the captain and the diplomat leader. Neither of them is sure of what to make about the other. Is this ship yet another iteration of the Enterprise? This seems to match its mission statements from the past, but I could also see it being completely new, a start to something else. This was so much longer than I meant but man. I hope they stay in the 32nd century. They’ve created a really interesting world and I wanna see MORE. Do we think s5 will go out of the galaxy again?? Will we find out Ten-C’s actual name??? No clue, but excited to see

[rinshairandthoughts]

Best option for 2 of Captain rank, right?

[pepperf]

WHICH season 4, though???

[fortheloveoflatinum]

I posted 81 times in 2022

That's 81 more posts than 2021!

50 posts created (62%)

31 posts reblogged (38%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@most-beloved-star

@captainsolocide

@leehallfae

@weepylucifer

@federsturm

I tagged 74 of my posts in 2022

Only 9% of my posts had no tags

#star trek discovery - 40 posts

#star trek - 39 posts

#ruon tarka - 35 posts

#star trek disco season 4 - 28 posts

#ruon tarka/oros - 24 posts

#oros - 23 posts

#tarka - 21 posts

#star trek disco spoilers - 17 posts

#star trek ds9 - 15 posts

#ruon tarka & oros - 13 posts

Longest Tag: 39 characters

#yes i am implying they should go to bed

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

This is the first chapter of the Ruon Tarka/Oros fix-it fic I promised!

Summary:

Oros rescues Ruon Tarka from a certain death with a transdimensional gyroscope that pulls Ruon into his universe at the last possible moment.

Oros has been alone, in a universe called the In-Between. It's a universe of scraps, offerings, obols, lost things, and various assorted bits of detritus from other universes. He is furious with Ruon, but saves him nevertheless.

This is the story of how they come to terms with the years that have come between them and the things Ruon has done in the name of getting back to Oros. It's a story of penance and redemption and a love that never died.

15 notes - Posted March 19, 2022

#4

Star Trek Goes to School

So happy that I got to mention Star Trek in a uni assignment today. There are few things that are more fulfilling in this life.

16 notes - Posted August 25, 2022

#3

Some Thoughts

So I’ve basically just spent the entirety of the weekend writing rare!pair fanfic and obsessing over the latest episode of Star Trek: Discovery. 

🌟 First of all, I’m kind of disappointed in this season of Discovery, both for side-lining Tilly, and for their treatment of The Galactic Barrier episode.

🌟 On the latter point, Tarka calling Oros his “friend” is not inherently problematic and is, in fact, very in character for someone who has spent his whole life being closed off and giving away information only on a need-to-know basis. It’s how he’s survived the Emerald Chain.

🌟 HOWEVER, the mainstream media’s treatment of the issue left a lot to be desired. Continuing to call Tarka and Oros “friends” once it has become clear that there was more to their relationship? Not cool.

🌟 I am totally on-board with an asexual Tarka. I see some people posting about it, and I totally support you.

🌟 BUT friends do not usually lie in bed tracing mathematical equations on their ceilings, heads pillowed on one another’s shoulders. Friends do not make each other the kind of promises Tarka and Oros exchanged. Book acted out of love when he agreed to stand down; Tarka acted out of love, too, more specifically - love lost, and the possibility, no matter how remote of recovering that love.

🌟 A romance between Tarka and Oros isn’t quite canon, but it damn well should be.

🌟 And I think a lot of us are rooting for Tarka at this point. His ‘tragic backstory’ shone a very sympathetic light on his character. Sure, he’s been a jerk to Stamets (and Saru), and it’s true that he stands for everything Starfleet usually stands against, and yes, he’s manipulating Book, and he is doing everything he does for selfish reasons but I still want him to get his happy ending no matter what.

And that’s that.

16 notes - Posted February 27, 2022

#2

Small Tarka/Oros Things

Imagine....

🌠 How it got so cold in their shared sleeping space that they decided to share a bed one night, and never stopped.

🌠 Tarka squeezing Oros’ hand to calm him down when the sirens sounded again, or some other, small, little thing - a kiss to his temple, a hand on his shoulder...

🌠 Oros proving to be a worthy partner for Tarka, and teaching him something for once and Tarka being so glad to have met his equal but also being a dick about it because no one ever matched his genius before...

🌠 Maybe they fought once and it almost broke them and they agreed that they’d never again raise their voices or go to bed angry.

🌠 And in the middle of the night, when they were tracing equations above them, how they completed each other’s work and were of one mind and Tarka knew that he would never find anyone who would understand him that way again...

🌠 Or they even that had some tiny, private symbol of love that they would sign to each other in Morse code or Binary when the Emerald Chain guards took their anger out on one or both of them....

Just sayin’.

31 notes - Posted February 25, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

There Is No Such Thing As Too Much Star Trek....

I seriously just want a whole day to do nothing but watch Star Trek, read Star Trek fanfiction, write Star Trek fanfiction, and save Star Trek fanart to my screensaver.

Who am I kidding? I would probably be content doing nothing else but Star Trek for like, a decade straight.

108 notes - Posted March 4, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[eastsideofthemoon]

Celebrating Black History Month

Captain on the Bridge: CAPTAIN MICHAEL BURNHAM

Seasons 4 was our first full season of Michael as captain (finally)! So I'm reflecting on things she did that stood out to me. Also, it's Black History Month! She's our first Black female lead in a Star Trek Series and our first Black female lead captain, played brilliantly by Sonequa Martin-Green.

1. The Queen of Chaotic Ingenuity

Michael is a master of thinking on her feet. If a plan goes awry, she can course correct on the fly (bars). Honestly, we've seen her do this throughout Disco, but as captain, we especially see it in the season opener, Kobayashi Maru, with the Alshain (aka The Butterfly People). When their re-contact mission goes sideways, Michael is able to identify that there is an issue with their navigation and work with her crew to come up with a solution while being chased and shot at.

The Alshain did not report the problem, but by providing them a solution - no strings attached - Captain Burnham was able to win over their trust with the Federation.

2. Collaborator

I love how Michael respects the expertise of her crew and encourages their involvement with problem-solving. Having personally been on teams where collaboration was encouraged, it does a great deal in boosting team morale, building teamwork, and communicating through action that the individual team members' skills and ideas are valued. This is seen best in Anamoly and Stormy Weather. It's also seen with how she suggested to Book that he talk to Dr. Culbert. As a counselor, he's more equipped to manage Book's mental and emotional state after losing Kwejian.

3. Recognizing the needs of her crew

"All In" was one of my favorite episodes this season. The fun, the action, and Owosekun getting to shine. One of my favorite scenes was seeing how Michael responded to Owosekun's outburst with Saru from a previous episode. Instead of choosing to double down with additional punishment or verbal reprimand, she saw an opportunity to allow Owosekun to do more in her service to the mission at hand.

O: Why bring me?

M: Saru told me about what happened at the subspace rift. How you didn't want to stand down when he told you to.

O: I was totally out of bounds. I apologized to him.

M: I know. I also know how it feels to want to do something. Anything. And how it feels when you can't.

Michael recognized Owosekun's actions didn't come from a place of rebellion but a place of wanting to do more to help. Michael found an opportunity to allow her the space to fulfill that desire and utilize that drive.

Also, allowing a place on her ship that provides mental and emotional support for the crew via Dr. Culbert becoming the ship's councilor is the sign of a leader that cares about the whole health of her crew. Yes, I know other captains have had a ship’s counselor. The point it Captain Burnham does too and it deserves recognition.

4. Balancing her heart and duty

Captain Burnham had the challenge of being the supporting partner to the man she loved, who lost his entire home planet while maintaining her commitment to Starfleet. And she did a stellar job. Yes, she loves Book deeply and was willing to do all she could to help him. But when he went rogue, she chose to stay committed to the course of a peaceful first contact, despite it putting her at odds with the love of her life. Furthermore, when she thought Book died (Sonequa gave one of the best performances in Star Trek), she was still able to see the mission through, despite her heartbreak.

5. How she handled the Magistrate

Although empathetic to their plight, Captain Burnham still set clear boundaries with the magistrate about WHO has the authority, what WILL happen while on HER ship, and some food for thought when they arrive to wherever they find refuge. And she didn't have to raise her voice to do it. One's ability to yell at subordinates is not a true show of power and authority.

6. The Beginnings of a Diplomat?

Now we know Michael is a Kirk-type captain. And this season, she does not like politics or politicians. But during season 4, as much as she can’t stand it, we are shown that Captain MB may have the makings of a Diplomat as shown best in All Is Possible and But To Connect.

7. Leading a successful First Contact

Captain Burnham led a first contact like none other. A true first contact with serious stakes riding on its success or failure. After successfully getting through the Galatic Barrier (shout out to Detmer's immaculate piloting) and utilizing her (Michael’s) xenoanthropologic skills to investigate the 10-C's home planet, she along with some of the Federation's best had to figure out how to connect with the 10-C. A truly alien species, where universal translators failed to help with communication and who Starfleet had 0 records of. What makes Captain Burnham stand out is her willingness to step out on faith. She led her team on a mission on the 10-C's home planet to find some form of culture context to aid in their ability to communicate with them. It paid off. It laid the foundation for the first contact team and the USS Discovery crew to help understand how to communicate with the 10-C. Also, it should be noted that Michael admitted to President Rillak that she was angry, but we don't see her anger and frustration run her emotions or hinder her ability to command. I've seen people accuse her of being emotional. There's a difference between emotional intelligence and being emotional.

Also, I admire her recognizing when to take the lead and when to be a team player. As already stated, her calm demeanor and unwavering trust in the crew were excellent in helping them get across the Galatic Barrier. But she also recognized that it was President Rillak's voice that needed to be heard when informing everyone that the DMA moved to the Alpha Quadrant. It takes maturity to know when someone else need to lead and humility to let them lead. All of these actions lead to a successful first contact.

Conclusion:

In closing, Captain Michael Burnham is not the same Michael Burnham we met in season 1. In season 4, she has inner peace. She has a balance with human emotions and her Vulcan-trained logic. She knows who she is and has confidence in herself. Her duty to Starfleet and the Federation is matched with joy in what she's fighting for. Captain Michael Burnham is THE captain of the USS Discovery. No one else.

I want to end with this. There's plenty of room for more than one Black Starfleet captain. We can celebrate Sisko, Burnham, and Freeman in a way that respects them all. There's no need to pit them against each other. They all matter and are important in representing Black people in the future.

Happy Black History Month

[bagog]

Star Trek: Discovery Narrative Highlights

So I really like Discovery, but differently than I like other Star Treks. My love for Voyager, for instance, is based off the sense of found-family in the face of sci-fi shenanigans. I could pick out favorite episodes, but my favorite episodes don't necessarily represent the epitome of what I love about the show, y'know?

It's different with Disco. There are concrete moments from through out the show that made me go "Okay, I like this, I want this. More of this." Here's some of them! This is indulgent and all from memory

Season 1 - Klingons Speak Klingon

In a story about Klingons fearing the Federation as an institution which will irrevocably alter their culture, the Klingons actually speak Klingon. Love it. Season 1 - Gabriel Lorca

I loved seeing a Star Fleet captain who seemed to have ascended because of his skill at war: a trait which ordinarily would not elevate one within Starfleet service, per se. It made him interesting. Your mileage may vary on where this went, but. He's still a big appeal on rewatch.

Season 2 - Queer People Helping Queer People

The introduction of Jet Reno is one of my favorite hallmarks in the show. I love Jet, and I love the way she serves as a foil to every other character. But best of all, I loved the scene when she is talking to Hugh Culber about how distant he's been from his husband (since coming back from the dead, so, you know) and helps him by relating her own story about her wife, who is now passed. To say I'm happy to see queer stories on Star Trek is a massive understatement, but this was the moment it locked in for me. In the world of the Federation, there's no difference between being queer or straight and anyone could've talked Hugh out of his funk. But in our world, it's usually queer people helping queer people make sense of their experiences. Recognizing the importance of that distinction and going with the queers-helping-queers take is a really big deal for me.

Season 2 - Amanda

This is hands-down the best representation of Amanda we've ever been given and she is so wonderfully human and warm that it helps you understand Spock and Michael so much better. I don't know what to say other than that, I love her.

Season 3 - The Future

I love that they went not just into the future, but further into the future than any mainline trek lore has gone. Hell yes. I'm bummed it's kinda a post-Utopian mess, but I get storywise why that's the case. I love the future starships, I love the future technology, I like that we just "BZP" to wherever we want to be in the ship now. In a show increasingly steeped in centuries of canon lore, it's smart and challenging to try to do "a millennium in the future."

Season 3 - Queer Family

Queer Family! Queer Family in Star Trek! This is my queers-helping-queers point but dialed up to 11. Love it, would do anything for it.

Season 4 - Artificial Intelligence

The ship is alive and she's named herself. This comes to a head in an episode in Season 4 where Paul Stamets feels very hesitant about this, after the plot of Season 2 was trying to stop AI from destroying the galaxy. There's this whole Measure of a Man but Not Quite Because Its the B Story thing going on, but at the end of it, there's a twist. Paul eventually learns to accept his new crewmate, but then he asks the person in-charge of the inquest "What would you have done if I said I wasn't comfortable serving with an AI?" and the dude goes "I would've assigned you to another ship. This was never about whether she has a soul or whatever, it's about if you can learn to accept that with you 22nd century brain." And that's.... that's great.

Season 4 - Mental Health

Mental Health is a thread running through some of Discovery (Season 2 flirts with Spock's neurodivergence, for instance) but never more than in Season 4. Hugh Culber, the ship's ray of sunshine and de facto counselor, is in bad shape, mentally, and he needs help. But the best moment is when the away-team is beset by chemical memories of panic and basically rendered useless with fear... except for Detmer, who helps them all get through it. When asked why she was unaffected, she says "Oh I totally was affected, but after my grievous injury during the war, I went to therapy for the PTSD and learned some coping strategies" AND THAT'S WHAT SAVES THE GALAXY.

Anyway, this is very indulgent and probably nobody reads this, but thanks if you did.