Star Trek: Discovery 3.2 Review - Ups And Downs From Far From Home

5. Georgiou's 2-D Character Writing (Down)

Star Trek Discovery Georgiou
CBS

I, the writer, quite possibly stand alone in this one (hence the change in voice for this entry!). I mentioned earlier that there was one character who had suffered the most from poor character development and that character is Phillipa Georgiou.

Michelle Yeoh is fantastic in Star Trek: Discovery, a true success for the casting department. However, her writing has been far less successful. Her first appearance in the episode sees her rock up, covered in Leland's entrails.

Yes, Georgiou is eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeevil. The only thing she is missing is a moustache to twirl. The problem is that the audience is offered a reminder of this in every...single...scene with her. When one thinks back to the mirror universe episodes of The Original Series, Deep Space Nine and Enterprise, the scenery chewing is absolutely forgiven in those episodes because they are somewhat stand-alone. We're now pushing a season and a half with this version of Georgiou and it is getting very old.

There is plenty of potential here. Her relationship with Michael seems to be the one thing that is melting her hard exterior but this seriously needs to speed up a little!

Also, while not wishing to have her killed off - why on Earth didn't Zara (played by the great Jake Weber) kill her when she started causing trouble? Plot armour. That's why.

Contributor
Contributor

Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"