10 Dumbest Things In Star Trek: Discovery

2. Unmasking the Breen

L'ak Discovery s5
CBS Media Ventures

Deep Space Nine went to great lengths to ensure that the mystery of precisely what the Breen looked like was preserved for all of their appearances in the show. Right from season four's Indiscretion through to What You Leave Behind, fans could speculate, but they were getting no answers. It was one of those nuggets, a visual tease, that the franchise had thrown in during TNG, and the space station spin-off had more than happily taken on.

But as with other points on this list, Discovery just had to open it up and have a play. 

Hidden behind their environmental suits, the Breen had been an enigma and one that fans welcomed. They were a real unknown that offered speculation and fan theory without requiring any explanation. They were designed that way and were a nod to the intelligence of the audience, that they didn't need to be explored any further than the Dominion War had. 

Yet Discovery's fifth and final season literally took the covers off by having one of its main antagonists, L'ak, be a Breen unhindered by protective suits and helmets. While it allowed the actor beneath to be more expressive for the cameras and the story itself, it was as wise as shaving a Klingon, removing that subtlety of previous generations, which was unrequired and potentially unwanted.

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A Star Trek fan from birth, I love to dive into every aspect of the franchise in front and behind the screen. There's something here that's kept me interested for the best part of four decades! Now I'm getting back into writing and using Star Trek as my first line of literary attack. If I'm not here on WhatCulture then you're more than welcome to come and take a look at my blog, Some Kind of Star Trek at http://SKoST.co.uk or maybe follow me on Twitter as @TheWarpCore. Sometimes I force myself not to talk about Star Trek.