‘Star Trek: Short Treks’ has been packing a lot of story into tiny episodes, and ‘The Brightest Star’ is no exception. The story takes a look into how Saru, a Kelpian from a pre-warp society came to be a member of Star Fleet. The episode also features the surprise re-appearance of a character we haven’t seen in a while which is a nice way to top off an inspiring episode. We open to find the Kelpiens preparing themselves for the coming of a piece of Ba’ul technology they call ‘The Watchful Eye’. We don’t know if it’s a ship or a weapon, but the assembled Kelpiens are either transported away somewhere or they are vaporized. Saru can imagine a future beyond this, putting him at odds with his father who plays an almost ministerial role to his people and encourages blind obedience to the traditions. During the ceremony, a piece of technology gets left behind. Saru’s father tells him to dispose of it, but instead, Saru takes it apart and manages to build a beacon. The more he discovers, the more he wants to discover. Communication begins slowly with whoever is on the other end of the technology he’s created, and Saru begins to realize that he’s meant for more than to sacrifice himself to ‘stop the pain of the Vahar’ai’. Eventually, a shuttlecraft arrives, and none other than Philippa Georgiou steps out. She offers Saru a difficult choice - he can either stay with his people or he can go with her to find out what is out there. If he goes with her though, he will be unable to return to his people. Saru comes to realize that his place is not there any longer and goes with Georgiou. ‘The Brightest Star’ provides us not only with an interesting look into Saru’s past but like each of the previous ‘Short Treks’ leaves us wondering if we’ll revisit the ideas presented. It seems unlikely that Saru will never go home again if only because if a warp capable society is interfering with the development of the Kelpiens, it seems like Star Fleet might want to do something about that.
Raurquiz
Impending Fascination