Inject Sonequa Martin-Green’s Joy on the ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Premiere Directly Into My Veins

There’s a lot that’s good about the premiere of Star Trek: Discovery Season 3, “That Hope Is You.” But there is no better moment in the episode than Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) nearly screaming with laughter the first time she glimpses how 32nd century weaponry really works. And if I could, I would inject this joy directly into my veins.

Spoilers for the episode past this point, but in the episode Burnham crash lands on a planet in the far future of her future, specifically 930 years after we last saw her in 3188. Alone without the crew, she’s terrified when we first see her, specifically over the prospect that her plan to stop an evil artificial intelligence last season didn’t work.

“Is there life here? Anywhere?” she practically begs the computer in her time suit (don’t ask).

“Multiple life signs detected,” the computer answers, to screams from Burnham. This isn’t the joy I’m talking about, this is more a howl of relief; but it gives us a hint of the journey the usually locked up Burnham will go on over the course of the episode.

As she discovers more about the future, she learns that though she saved all sentient life, things got dark in their own way thanks to an event called The Burn. A century earlier, Dilithium — the crystal that helps propel starships across the cosmos — blew up, leading to the disappearance of the Federation, and a general sense of sadness and distrust throughout the galaxy. She makes a frenemy in Cleveland “Book” Booker (David Ajala), but even he is very much out for himself; or at least, his own mission, which is to save a nearly extinct race of creatures called Transworms.

Led to a trade-post called the Mercantile for Couriers — people who work transporting the scant supplies from one planet to another in exchange for Dilithium — and betrayed, Burnham is drugged by two other Couriers looking for Book. The drug is supposed to make her loose enough to tell the truth, and it does… But also, perhaps for the first time since Star Trek: Discovery premiered: Burnham relaxes.

“Mmm,” she says, laughing when hit with the drug. “Damn.”

She escapes, with Book of course, and the people who want Book and his cargo give chase. That’s when we get the moment in a question, as much an expression of who Burnham will become as Martin-Green’s range as an actor, a laugh so wonderful it should probably be listed in the dictionary under “jubilation”

More than just a fun moment, it points to the ways Martin-Green has grown from being great as a dramatic actress and action performer, to a legitimate, capital “S” Star. She’s always been luminous on screen, but thanks to her role as Sasha on the often grim The Walking Dead, and her conflicted nature as a human raised by the logical Vulcans on Discovery, dealing with constant tragedy and loss throughout her young and adult life, we’ve mostly seen her play serious to a fault while others around her get to smile and make jokes.

This episode changes all of that. We get to see happy Burnham (even if it’s drug induced), and it is glorious. It’s the sort of moment that is infectious, one that makes you wish the character had been allowed this sense of happiness long ago. It also, in a year mostly bereft of this sort of ebullience is a panacea, something that allows the viewer — through Martin-Green’s cackles of delight — to feel that same triumph, too.

In case you’re wondering: yes, I’m starting to run out of synonyms for joy. Exultation. Jouissance. You get the idea. But the point still stands that Burnham, and through her Martin-Green, turns her already star-making performance into something greater in a single moment. Her intensity, as well as generosity in sharing scenes has always characterized Martin-Green as an actor, but there’s something more at play in this season of Star Trek: Discovery, showing the range she has that embraces delight as well as despair. It may have taken two seasons plus to get there, but the folks behind the scenes have finally been able to get her to a place where we can see the full array of what Martin-Green has in her arsenal.

Later in the episode, Burnham asks Book about his ability to seemingly commune with plants and animals. “What’s it like to feel… Everything?” she asks. And it’s clear that Burnham is ready to explore her own emotions. All of them, including joie-de-vivre. Yes! Got one more synonym in there. Whew.

It continues, too, through her burgeoning relationship with Book, and her meeting with one of the few remaining members of the Federation, scenes that virtually shine with her power as a performer. The title of the episode, “That Hope Is You,” refers to Michael Burnham, of course; but it also refers to what Martin-Green brings to her scenes… A sense that somewhere out there, even in the darkest hours of our lives, that hope exists. That’s of course what Star Trek has always been about, and at least in this premiere, in one moment, it’s embodied by Burnham’s glorious, intoxicating laughter. May it live long and prosper.

Star Trek: Discovery airs Thursdays on CBS All Access.

Where to watch Star Trek: Discovery