10 Star Trek Moments That Always Make You Smile
5. Cake Is Eternal
Star Trek: Discovery was unique in one of its mission statements. It was a Trek that was highly concerned with wearing its heart on its sleeve and, thanks to that, we got the character of Sylvia Tilly.
She was instantly the audience stand in, ready to be our eyes and ears in the 21st Century, even if she was positioned in the 23rd. Tilly was an updated version of the ‘young’ character that Chekov, Wesley, Jake, Naomi, and Hoshi served in times past. Tilly may have been more outwardly emotional, but she reflects the time in which she was written.
Her arrival in the 32nd Century was jarring, but also helped us, the audience, acclimatise to the new setting. She immediately jumped into professional mode, but when she got to meet Michael - who had arrived before her - they bonded over the simplest idea in the world: cake is eternal.
These two friends, separated by years, light-years, and the love of exploration, reunite to discover that the universe could do very little to hold dessert lovers apart.
Star Trek can sometimes veer toward taking itself too seriously, but the moments like this remind us all that, even in the future with starships out of whack and people clamouring for familiarity, there are those certainties that never change.
Friendship is forever, and cake is eternal.