Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Star Trek: Discovery - The Final Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 9, 2025

It hasn't been too long of a road -- gettin' from there to here -- but it has been five seasons for Star Trek: Discovery, the second mainline live action Trek series (following Enterprise) not to make it to that seven-season standard set by TNG, DS9, and VOY. But long or short or somewhere in the middle, the road is now at its end for Discovery, a show that has been all over the galactic map, spanned centuries, rearranged itself a number of times, introduced and ditched tons of characters, and attempted to bring a contemporary sociopolitical spin into the fold, all to mixed-to-decent results. The series' concluding season is not a showstopper, but it's good, solid, robust, and largely enjoyable entertainment with a mix of bland (few) and engaging (most) episodes that aim to unlock the most pressing question every living being has ever asked: "where do I come from?"

Discovery is called to the site of an 800-year-old and very derelict Roman warbird. Her mission is to locate and retrieve an item — at any cost — that has been stored in the ship in a cloaked store room using all remaining power available. It is a mission of the highest priority, straight form the top. However, a pair of lovebird bounty hunters -- L’ak (Elias Toufexis) and Moll (Eve Harlow) -- beat them to the punch, leading the Discovery, led by Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), on a journey through the stars to retrieve the mystery item that has been centuries in the finding and which could answer a question that has been asked for millennia.

Season five seeks to answer the question of all questions: the origins of all living things. Where do all living things come from? What is the purpose of all living things? It’s a question that Star Trek has kinda-sorta dabbled with in the past, but here is probably the largest, and maybe even the greatest, effort to answer it, right in the middle of the usual shoot-‘em-up elements in a season that is narratively intense and dramatically high stakes. The season explores the question in multiple ways, with a blend of grand ambitions and small scales, one episode to the next, by building a plot that is essentially a mystery that takes Disco from one clue to the next, for all intents and purposes seeing the crew following a galaxy-wide treasure map that ultimately leads to the “X” that marks the spot of the origins of all life. It’s a little different for Star Trek, and it’s a good thing. After a somewhat slow start, the season picks up with its fourth episode and it’s really pretty fast and intense from there, with good writing, persistent action, high end drama, and solid character moments dotting the path. Yet in many other ways it's still the same old Discovery with a narrow(er) character focus that leaves most on the bridge reduced to occasionally speaking props with next to no development. People used to complain about Mayweather on Enterprise being grossly underdeveloped, but on Discovery he looks like Kirk, Spock, or McCoy in comparison to most. In one sequence, Rayner forces all of these background characters to give a 20 second blurb about themselves, speaking on something that’s not in their personnel file. It’s the most development most of them ever get on the show.

One of the fun things about the season is how it progresses the season arc while giving episodes their individual narratives and individualized thrills. One of the best is episode four, “Face the Strange,” where Burnham and Rayner are caught in a time warp that sees them jumping to various points in the Discovery’s now rather lengthy timeline. It's classic Trek, and that's when Disco is at its best, and this ranks as one of the best the season has to offer. And then the season, and the series, ends with episode ten, which is an hour-long climax which never feels drawn out. Full of action, real tension, and great character moments, it’s a fitting end to the season storyline. But then there's the wind down: some of the closing scenes are great, including a surprise reveal tying back into an older Star Trek series. On the other hand, the entire dénouement runs grossly overlong to the point that the final minutes feel more like filler than a fitting send-of. It’s certainly not the concise yet perfectly staged sign off from Star Trek VI.

Star Trek: Discovery - The Final Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

There's not much to say about Discovery's season five 1080p picture quality except to say that it flirts with perfection. The image is very good from start to finish, with sporadic noise really the only flaw in the ten episode run. I noticed minimal, if any, banding, aliasing, and the like. The picture is clean and efficient, boasting superior -- and I really mean superior -- details across the board. Close-ups of Saru, for example, show every intimate detail of his prosthetic features. Close-ups allow intimate access to hairs, skin imperfections, and all sorts of details on characters. The ship itself is of very high detail yield, though certainly it's so clean and so streamlined that there's also not a lot of "wow" factor to it from a video quality appeal perspective. Colors are bold, again and especially Saru's blue eyes, but also the various colors of StarFleet uniforms, blasts of phaser fire, explosions, and the like. Computer readouts are brilliant and bold. White balance is fine and black levels are excellent. Skin tones are perfect in every shot.

Star Trek: Discovery - The Final Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Paramount warps Discovery's fifth and final season to Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The 5.1 track is definitely up to snuff, delivering a healthy array of surround content right from the outset when the surrounds carry a deluge of swooshing sound effects, and accompanied with tangible front to back flow and plenty of ample bass in tow. The entire sonic concoction makes for a great opening moment (after the "last season on…" content). There are lots of good phaser fire blasts tearing through the speakers in "Mirrors" and plenty of other action effects throughout the season, especially in the first hour of "Life, Itself." Again, the track takes full advantage of the 5.1 configuration, never lacking surround fill and subwoofer usage. Of course the full-throttle action highlights the track, but the subtle support cues are also very well -- read seamlessly -- integrated, too. Music is rich and clear, dominant across the front but offering healthy surround wrap as well. Dialogue is mostly clear and always centered, but it does sometimes sound scratchy and edgy in episode three and tinny around the 27:16 mark in "Mirrors." I noticed similar issues in a few other places throughout the season. It's not bad, but just noticeable enough to warrant a mention.

Star Trek: Discovery - The Final Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Star Trek: Discovery - The Final Season contains a few extras on disc four. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase.

• Audio Commentary: For "Life, Itself:" Sonequa Martin-Green, David Ajala, Michelle Paradise, and Olatunde Osunsanmi.
• Deleted Scene (1080p, 0:41): Scene from "Life, Itself."
• A Team Effort (1080p, 20:04): Looking at all the work that goes into making Discovery great: the writers and the visual effects artists in particular, with a closer look at a few key VFX moments from the season.
• Discovery's Creative Force (1080p, 9:50): Exploring some of the greatest moments and technical achievements from the series. It also magnifies Olatunde Osunsanmi's contributions to the series.
• Being Michael Burnham (1080p, 13:15): Sonequa Martin-Green explores her role in Discovery, looking at makeup work for the final episode.
• Character Development (1080p, 23:31): As the title suggests, this piece looks at how Discovery introduces and evolves its characters throughout the series.
• Star Trek: Discovery: The Voyage of Season 5 (1080p, 38:57): A detailed exploration of the season's overarching storyline, plot and character specifics, how it all fits into the larger Trek universe, and much more.
• Gag Reel (1080p, 3:53): Humorous moments from the shoot.

Star Trek: Discovery - The Final Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Discovery has certainly had its moments of excellence, and many of them are here in season five. It starts slow, picks up steam, ends to general satisfaction, and lives on...and on...for a good 15 minutes past its welcome in the last episode. It's probably the most imperfect of all the mainline live action Trek TV series to date, Enterprise included, but it has definitely had its very high moments. This season five Blu-ray collection excels, offering top-tier video and audio and a nice assortment of extras on disc four. Recommended, and be sure to also check out the SteelBook packaging variant.