What do I need to know from Discovery to appreciate Strange New Worlds?

October 12, 2023 7:49 AM

I took a little break from Star Trek, but am ready to rekindle our relationship. Am currently a few episodes into Strange New Worlds and love it, but I know I'm missing some details. Do I need to watch Discovery again, to really appreciate what's going on?

I'd watched the first two and a half seasons of Discovery, but found the mirror universe plot confusing and stopped watching partway through the Terra Firma episodes. I'd like to rewatch episodes from Discovery that will help me understand Strange New Worlds. Which episodes are they?

posted by The corpse in the library to Media & Arts (16 answers total)

Response by poster: I am also open to giving all of Discovery another try, if anyone wants to try to talk me into it.
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:50 AM on October 12, 2023

to your question above the fold, I'd say No

but I see you've added information and it sounds like you want to be convinced to revisit Discovery?

I watched zero Discovery and found SNW to be delightful
posted by elkevelvet at 7:53 AM on October 12, 2023 [5 favorites]

You don't really need to know anything from Discovery to enjoy SNW. I watched the second season of Discovery prior to the premiere of SNW for that reason, but other than one episode, it wasn't critical. I did, however, enjoy Disco S2 and Anson Mount as Pike. I was underwhelmed by Disco S1.

The one episode that is pertinent is Episode 12 "Thrugh The Valley of Shadows", where Pike becomes aware of the fate he faces in the TOS episode "The Menagerie".
posted by briank at 7:55 AM on October 12, 2023 [5 favorites]

If you need additional context for a given Trek episode, Memory Alpha will provide all you need, and then some.
posted by zamboni at 7:56 AM on October 12, 2023

Nothing. It really is stand-alone, episodic trek. The only real bit of crossover are that Pike knows how he will end up, but they go over that plenty. You may want to watch some Lower Decks if you haven't as there is a crossover there that is better if you enjoy both shows - but it isn't mandatory at all.
posted by Garm at 8:09 AM on October 12, 2023 [4 favorites]

Discovery is Star Trek: Big Feelings. Strange New Worlds is closer to classic Trek, and much funnier.
posted by emelenjr at 8:11 AM on October 12, 2023 [1 favorite]

In addition to Pike's foreknowledge referenced above, there are also a few brief references to the Discovery & Michael Burnham's fate at the end of season 2. Nothing beyond the Season 2 finale is relevant to Strange New Worlds, and you don't need to rewatch Disco to enjoy SNW.

Specifically, that Michael and the Discovery are sent into the future and wiped from Star Trek records, meaning that the crew members who served with them can never reveal it.

Separately: I recently did what you did (returned to Star Trek after a long time away, starting with SNW). I loved Strange New Worlds, which prompted me to go back to Disco (which I'd abandoned after Season 2). I ended up quite enjoying Season 4, which has some classic scifi/Trek moments. You might enjoy it, too.
posted by ourobouros at 8:51 AM on October 12, 2023

You might want to give Star Trek: Lower Decks a look, since it crosses over with Strange New Worlds.
posted by SPrintF at 9:04 AM on October 12, 2023 [2 favorites]

I bailed on Disco in season 3, but found that SNW is very accessible from the get go.
SPrintF beat me to the Lower Decks recommendation by a few seconds. i was skeptical, but it quickly won me over and is second only by a little bit to SNW as best Trek. I'm hoping both shows go on for many many seasons. (and then Movies!)
posted by OHenryPacey at 9:06 AM on October 12, 2023

I loathe mirror universes, but I can't tell you why I loved Discovery and am very meh about SNW without expanding on the spoilers posted under tags by ourobouros, so you'll get no convincing from me. I'm a weird Trek fan, though--my favorite Trek is the least Trek of all the Treks--DS9--so my affection for the more character-centered Discovery where the Federation is presented as rather flawed and even weak at times makes sense and is unlikely to convince anyone who just loves TOS and TNG to follow me into liking Discovery.

But I concur with other posters--there is nothing in Discovery you need to see to get everything you could want out of SNW.
posted by MagnificentVacuum at 9:17 AM on October 12, 2023

Don't forget Fanfare! there's often wonderful commentariat happening there.
posted by OHenryPacey at 9:46 AM on October 12, 2023 [2 favorites]

I do think that watching Through the Valley of Shadows is vital for understanding Pike's motivation. Because he knows how the future is going to go, he knows he has plot armor and can go on dangerous missions, setting the precedent for Kirk to lead almost every away team in TOS.
posted by rikschell at 10:14 AM on October 12, 2023

I watched SNW without having seen any of Discovery and really enjoyed it. That said, I'm going back and watching through Discovery *now*, and I absolutely love it. (It nearly lost me at the pilot episode, but thankfully the dialogue improves A LOT afterward, and at this point Discovery's crew is rapidly becoming one of my favorites, possibly even up there with TNG).

In short: no, you don't NEED to watch Discovery to enjoy SNW, and honestly it's working pretty well watching Disco as sort of a prequel to SNW and getting to see where Pike, Spock, etc., have come from experience-wise prior to their SNW adventures.

But as others have noted, watching Lower Decks is *highly* recommended. :)
posted by aecorwin at 11:05 AM on October 12, 2023 [2 favorites]

Agreed that you don't need to watch any of it, and that people who love TNG love SNW. Musicals? Whole crew trapped in a fairy tale? So very TNG.

I love Discovery, but I love a story about flawed systems and the fight to remain free among them. Discovery is the heir to DS9.
posted by advicepig at 2:20 PM on October 12, 2023 [1 favorite]

I am another one who watched SNW before DIS and it worked completely fine! The bit about how exactly Pike got spoiled for pt. 1 of The Menagerie confused me, but not so much that I couldn't get into the show.
posted by capricorn at 3:46 PM on October 12, 2023

Oh, and Lower Decks is 10/10 perfection, but apart from the one crossover episode it's not connected to SNW.
posted by capricorn at 3:47 PM on October 12, 2023 [2 favorites]