Star Trek: Ranking The Short Treks From Worst To Best

This is the first Short Trek and definitely feels like Mary Wiseman and a small crew shot this while the rest of the Star Trek: Discovery cast was busy filming scenes on the bridge or something.

While "Runaway" begins with a grand flyby over the Discovery reminiscent of the first time we saw the ship in "Context Is for Kings", the stakes are low and the story more or less a throwaway. Some interesting ideas about the planet Xahea and its relationship to the rest of the galaxy are thrown out, but it's in conversation between Tilly and the titular runaway, Queen (very long first name) Po. Unfortunately it's hard to care about Po's dilemma or her planet's geopolitical status when the entire scenario is revealed and resolved in a fairly casual chat in Tilly's quarters.

The funny thing about this very first Short Trek is it's also the most important. When Discovery reintroduces Po in "Such Sweet Sorrow" and "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part II", the show expects you to know her backstory from "Runaway". And that seemingly meaningless technobabble about dilithium recrystallization from the short plays a major part in wrapping up Disco's second season.

Wiseman's Tilly and Yadira Guevara-Prip's Po have great chemistry and their interplay is fun, but the characters are better when their story is worked into larger fabric of Star Trek: Discovery itself. So here's hoping Po was able to stowaway aboard Discovery yet again for its jump into season three and the distant future.