It made no one look bad that they lacked the resources after being struck by a devastating cataclysm, and that they didn't have access to the information or the propulsion technology needed to solve the issue.

All of the quadrants governments were crippled by the Burn, the Federation being the largest interstellar nation. The Federation investigated to the extent they could, they had theories as a result, but any further investigation was hampered by limited travel and the need to see to their citizens.

She didn't simply look at existing records. She had to hunt down that information for over a year, and she still only had one piece of the puzzle. She then still needed information from Ni'Var's SB-19 project who had closed relations with the Federation.

That doesn't really track with what we see in the show. The Burn for example wasn't a matter of idiocy. Due to the limits on travel, they could only investigate but so far, the spore drive allowed Discovery to really pursue the investigation. The rest of the world was never dumbed.

Kate Mulgrew and Sonequa for me. For the third I just can't pick between Stewart and Brooks.

True, and to say so is to say the quiet part out loud that the writing in Discovery served those characters better than SNW has.

Prodigy, Season 2 episode 9, The Devourer of All Things Part 1. "Edward, I only have three rules when captaining a starship: keep your shirt tucked in, go down with the ship, and never abandon a member of your crew."

Without doubt or reservation she is the gold standard. Her work is so rich and textured on so many levels.

She's a beauty. Worthy of the name Enterprise.

DS9, which is my favorite Trek show alongside Discovery, has been pretty well regarded in recent years. Voyager and Janeway on the other hand stay getting dragged through the mud so the Voyager respect I think was especially needed and appreciated.

Truly. Voyager always felt like the red headed step child of classic Trek which was totally unjustified to me, and the vitriol with which Janeway has been treated always infuriated me, so I'm so glad new Trek has given Voyager and Janeway their proper respect in the lore.

Same here. I'm hoping they pop up in Starfleet Academy.

I was blown away. They had me at hello.

There are so many awesome episodes so it's hard to pick one, but I'd have to go with Unification 3.