The Best Episodes of Star Trek: Discovery
Every episode of Star Trek: Discovery ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Star Trek: Discovery!
Follow the voyages of Starfleet on their missions to discover new worlds and new life forms, and one Starfleet officer who must learn that to truly understand all things alien, you must first understand yourself.
Top Episode Highlight
The best episode of "Star Trek: Discovery" is "If Memory Serves", rated 8.2/10 from 4325 user votes. It was directed by T.J. Scott and written by Jay Beattie, Dan Dworkin. "If Memory Serves" aired on 3/7/2019 and is rated 0.0 point(s) higher than the second highest rated, "Such Sweet Sorrow (2)".
8.2/10 4,325 votes#1 - If Memory Serves
Season 2 Episode 8 - Aired 2019-03-07
Spock and Burnham head to Talos IV, where the process of healing Spock forces the siblings to confront their troubled past. Stamets desperately tries to reconnect with Hugh, while Tyler struggles to shed the crew's suspicions of him due to his past as Voq.
Director: T.J. Scott
Writer: Jay Beattie, Dan Dworkin
8.2/10 5,038 votes#2 - Such Sweet Sorrow (2)
Season 2 Episode 14 - Aired 2019-04-18
The U.S.S. Discovery battles against Control in a fight not only for their lives but for the future, with a little help from some unexpected friends. Spock and Burnham discern vital new connections between the red signals while Burnham faces one of life’s harshest truths: the right decisions are often the hardest to make.
Director: Olatunde Osunsanmi
Writer: Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet, Michelle Paradise
8.1/10 4,953 votes#3 - Vaulting Ambition
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 2018-01-21
Burnham heads to the ISS Charon with a special "gift" for the Emperor. With the help of an unexpected source, Stamets gains clarity while trapped inside the mycelial network. Saru asks for L'Rell's help.
Director: Hanelle M. Culpepper
Writer: Jordon Nardino
8.1/10 4,750 votes#4 - What's Past is Prologue
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 2018-01-28
Lorca plans to move forward with a coup against the Emperor, propelling Burnham to make a quick decision to save not only herself, but the U.S.S. Discovery.
Director: Olatunde Osunsanmi
Writer: Ted Sullivan
7.9/10 5,187 votes#5 - Into the Forest I Go
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 2017-11-12
Bypassing Starfleet's orders, Lorca uses the U.S.S. Discovery crew's ultimate asset, the ship itself, in an effort to end the war with the Klingons once and for all.
Director: Christopher J. Byrne
Writer: N/A
7.9/10 5,043 votes#6 - Despite Yourself
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 2018-01-07
While in unfamiliar territory, the U.S.S. Discovery crew is forced to get creative in their next efforts to survive opposing and unprecedented forces and return home.
Director: Jonathan Frakes
Writer: N/A
7.9/10 3,917 votes#7 - Project Daedalus
Season 2 Episode 9 - Aired 2019-03-14
When the Discovery crew infiltrates Section 31's headquarters, suspicions arise that the crew may have a traitor in their midst. Burnham tries to help Spock but her efforts don't go as planned.
Director: Jonathan Frakes
Writer: Michelle Paradise
7.8/10 4,591 votes#8 - The Wolf Inside
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 2018-01-14
The crew continues their guise, and Burnham is ordered on a merciless mission to end the resistance in hopes of returning home. Meanwhile, Tilly works on restoring Stamets’ neurofunction.
Director: T.J. Scott
Writer: Lisa Randolph
7.8/10 4,727 votes#9 - New Eden
Season 2 Episode 2 - Aired 2019-01-24
A new signal appears, prompting Stamets' emotional return to the mycelial network and leading Burnham, Pike and Owosekun to a pre-warp planet, where they face a complex ethical dilemma. Tilly's overeagerness lands her in trouble but when the planet - and Discovery's landing party - are threatened, her curiosity may be the one thing that can save them.
Director: Jonathan Frakes
Writer: N/A
7.7/10 6,833 votes#10 - Context Is for Kings
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 2017-10-01
Burnham finds herself aboard the U.S.S. Discovery where she quickly realizes things are not as they seem, including the mysterious Captain Gabriel Lorca.
Director: Akiva Goldsman
Writer: N/A
7.7/10 3,958 votes#11 - The Sound of Thunder
Season 2 Episode 6 - Aired 2019-02-21
When a new signal appears over Saru's home planet, Burnham, Saru and the crew embark on a perilous mission that puts Saru in danger and raises questions about the Red Angel's intentions. Hugh struggles to come to terms with his new reality.
Director: Douglas Aarniokoski
Writer: Erika Lippoldt, Bo Yeon Kim
7.6/10 3,373 votes#12 - Through the Valley of Shadows
Season 2 Episode 12 - Aired 2019-04-04
A fourth signal leads the U.S.S. Discovery to a world where Pike is forced to make a life-changing choice. Burnham and Spock investigate a Section 31 ship gone rogue, leading to a discovery with catastrophic consequences.
Director: Douglas Aarniokoski
Writer: Erika Lippoldt, Bo Yeon Kim
7.5/10 7,337 votes
7.5/10 5,801 votes#14 - Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 2017-10-29
As the U.S.S. Discovery crew attempts to let loose at a party, an unwelcome visitor comes aboard bringing about a problematic and twisted sequence of events.
Director: David Barrett
Writer: Jesse Alexander, Aron Eli Coleite
7.5/10 4,039 votes#15 - The War Without, The War Within
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 2018-02-04
Burnham and the U.S.S. Discovery crew are faced with the harsh reality of the war during their absence. In order to move forward, Starfleet must use unconventional tactics and sources to take their next action against the Klingons.
Director: David Solomon
Writer: N/A
7.4/10 5,174 votes#16 - Brother
Season 2 Episode 1 - Aired 2019-01-17
After answering a distress signal from the U.S.S. Enterprise, the U.S.S. Discovery welcomes aboard Captain Christopher Pike and begins a new mission to investigate the meaning behind seven mysterious red signals. Michael Burnham grapples with her past growing up on Vulcan with her foster parents and brother Spock.
Director: Alex Kurtzman
Writer: N/A
7.3/10 5,745 votes#17 - Choose Your Pain
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 2017-10-15
Lorca unexpectedly finds himself in the company of a prisoner of war, Starfleet Lieutenant Ash Tyler, and a notorious intergalactic criminal, Harry Mudd. Meanwhile, Burnham voices her concerns about the repercussions of the spore drive jumps on “Ripper.”
Director: Lee Rose
Writer: Kemp Powers
7.3/10 5,345 votes#18 - Lethe
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 2017-10-22
The U.S.S. Discovery crew is intrigued by new addition, Lt. Ash Tyler. Sarek seeks Burnham's help, rekindling memories from her past. Admiral Cornwell questions Lorca's tactics.
Director: Douglas Aarniokoski
Writer: Ted Sullivan, Joe Menosky
7.3/10 4,121 votes#19 - An Obol for Charon
Season 2 Episode 4 - Aired 2019-02-07
A mysterious sphere threatens the U.S.S. Discovery even as May, in her original form, implements a plan that puts Tilly's life in danger. Saru and Burnham's bond grows when Saru is forced to acknowledge a deeply unsettling Kelpien truth. Pike receives new intel on Spock from a loyal friend.
Director: Lee Rose
Writer: N/A
7.3/10 3,568 votes#20 - Light and Shadows
Season 2 Episode 7 - Aired 2019-02-28
Burnham goes to Vulcan in search of Spock, where she unearths surprising family secrets. In researching what is left of the Red Angel's signal over Kaminar, Pike and Tyler end up in battle with time itself. Georgiou has a few tricks up her sleeve for Leland and Section 31.
Director: Marta Cunningham
Writer: Ted Sullivan
7.3/10 3,834 votes#21 - Such Sweet Sorrow (1)
Season 2 Episode 13 - Aired 2019-04-11
When the U.S.S. Discovery's crucial mission does not go according to plan, Burnham realizes what must ultimately be done. The crew prepares for the battle of a lifetime as Leland's Control ships get closer.
Director: Olatunde Osunsanmi
Writer: Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet, Michelle Paradise
7.3/10 5,097 votes#22 - That Hope Is You (1)
Season 3 Episode 1 - Aired 2020-10-15
Arriving 930 years in the future, Burnham navigates a galaxy she no longer recognizes while searching for the rest of the U.S.S. Discovery crew.
Director: Olatunde Osunsanmi
Writer: Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet, Michelle Paradise
7.3/10 3,571 votes#23 - Die Trying
Season 3 Episode 5 - Aired 2020-11-12
After reuniting with what remains of Starfleet and the Federation, the U.S.S. Discovery and its crew must prove that a 930 year old crew and starship are exactly what this new future needs.
Director: Maja Vrvilo
Writer: N/A
7.2/10 8,115 votes#24 - The Vulcan Hello
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 2017-09-24
While patrolling Federation space, the U.S.S. Shenzhou encounters an object of unknown origin, putting First Officer Michael Burnham to her greatest test yet.
Director: David Semel
Writer: Bryan Fuller, Alex Kurtzman
7.2/10 5,840 votes#25 - The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 2017-10-08
With tensions and stakes high as Starfleet continues in their efforts to end the war with Klingons, Burnham begins to settle in to her new position aboard the U.S.S. Discovery.
Director: Olatunde Osunsanmi
Writer: Jesse Alexander, Aron Eli Coleite