Saru and his sister in The Brightest Star

The third episode of Short Treks, “The Brightest Star,” has our favorite Kelpien facing the hard reality behind the expression “You can’t go home again.”

But in his case it’s literal. The military told him he’s not allowed to go there anymore.

Behind the Camera

Douglas Aarniokoski is back for the first time since the first season episode “Lethe.” He’s also going to pop by in season two for “The Sound of Thunder” and also an as-of-yet untitled episode. And he does damn fine work in “The Brightest Star.” This feels like a heartwarming little indie short that would definitely win big at The Spirit Awards. It’s beautiful, heartfelt and delightful.

A lot of that credit has got to go the writing team of Erika Lippoldt and Bo Yeon Kim. They also teamed up with Arrniokoski with the season two episode “The Sound of Thunder” and wrote the first season episode “Into the Forest I Go.” These two are shaping up to be the heart and soul of this series. 

In Front of the Camera

  • Doug Jones! If for some crazy reason there was anybody out there wondering why he was cast as Saru, “The Brightest Star” should have removed any question. He’s just a magnificent actor, and there’s not much more that can be said about it. He’s putting on a masterclass here. 
  • This episode introduces Hannah Spear as Saru’s sister Siranna. She’ll come back for “The Sound of Thunder” that also has the director and writers of this episode returning. This is definitely a companion piece to that episode.
  • Robert Verlaque plays Saru’s father, Aradar. This looks to be his first time playing a role on any Star Trek, and judging by the news that his character is dead by the time Saru comes back? He’s probably not going to be on anymore anytime soon.
  • The always delightful Michelle Yeoh comes back, this time as Lt. Philppa Georgiou! It’s always good to see Yeoh, and even better to see her as this universe’s perfect Georgiou.
  • David Benjamin Tomlinson plays “Male Villager #1” which I wouldn’t normally note. But? He also plays Linus from season two, appearing first in the premiere episode “Brother.” He also shows up in “The Vulcan Hello” as the Klingon Or’eq. This fella has been here since the beginning.

Listen in as your hosts, Jason and Joe, review the happenings of each episode on our Star Trek Discovery podcast! You might wanna subscribe to Disco Night: A Star Trek Discovery Podcast in iTunes. It’ll improve life and happiness.

Also, check out our other Star Trek podcast that has us going through the franchise in stardate order. It’s fun.

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