Saru is a rare Kelpien – one that looks beyond his planet…

I really wanted to like this Short Trek – Jim Swallow’s novel delved deeply into the Kelpien psyche so I was hoping for more of the same, with the added bonus of Doug Jones playing the part as he’s done so well through Discovery’s first year.

Something, though, didn’t gel, and it took some time for me to realise what it was: whereas Tilly’s Short Trek could have been a B story in a Discovery episode, this is a flashback sequence with no frame around it. The writers’ comments on social media subsequently that answers will be given, I’m afraid, reminds me of Doctor Who writer Ian Briggs’ frequent reply when asked about the literal cliffhanger he wrote for the seventh Doctor (in the story Dragonfire) – “it’ll all be explained in the novelisation”. Here, they’re saying much will become clear in the second season episode that touches on similar areas – but frankly, I’d rather have a 75 minute episode, with these sections as flashbacks, than one of these episode-lets squandered.

Yes there are some great moments – Saru meeting Michelle Yeoh’s Georgiou and the choice she lays before him is my favourite – and this does play with the Prime Directive idea that is central to Star Trek, but it felt like a snippet of something bigger, not a Trek in itself.

Verdict: No doubt once the second season episode featuring Saru airs, we’ll go back and reassess this, but as the only piece of new Star Trek this month, it doesn’t stand up well. 6/10

Paul Simpson