ValueSubtracted

I think "Prodigy" did something similar in season one, when Dal's various genetic traits were asserting themselves.

From the trailer, I don't get the impression that they're trying to come back from it - rather, they're leaning in to it.

Notaro likely didn't have a contract at all for Discovery, but I doubt that would have affected anything. I don't get the impression that Wiseman would be overly expensive, either - Notaro is still the bigger star.

Maybe Wiseman just didn't want to commit to a full season or something.

Does anybody play this game? Is that just...who the game's about?

I tried the Lower Decks game when it came out - it's an idle game, which didn't exactly interest me.

But hey, it led to me learning what an idle game is.

BASHIR: Captain, is there any word from Starfleet about Sloan or Section 31?

SISKO: There's no record of a Deputy Director Sloan anywhere in Starfleet. And as for Section 31, that's a little more complicated. Starfleet Command doesn't acknowledge its existence, but they don't deny it either. They simply said they'd look into it and get back to me.

BASHIR: When?

SISKO: They didn't say.

KIRA: That sounds like a cover up to me.

BASHIR: I can't believe the Federation condones this kind of activity.

ODO: Personally, I find it hard to believe they wouldn't. Every other great power has a unit like Section 31. The Romulans have the Tal Shiar, the Cardassians had the Obsidian Order.

When the top brass of Starfleet are covering your ass, you're an official agent, whether you're "on the books" or not.

I always took that explanation as the thinnest of lie meant to give an air of legitimacy.

I think a lot of people did, but the episode doesn't really make the case that it's a lie - in fact, Sloan is protected at the highest levels of Starfleet Command, which supports the idea that Sloan was being completely truthful when he was trying to recruit Bashir. It's a legitimate reading of the episode, at any rate.

Section 31 was portrayed less as an extremist cabal and more as a misguided morally-grey organization

My interpretation was more that they were "hiding in plain sight" at that point in time - Pike was under the impression that they were some kind of special forces, and learned the truth over the course of the season.

I only watched this trailer once, but I didn't see any insignia, so I think S31's exact status is still TBD.

The only current show that hasn't portrayed them as villains is arguably Lower Decks...

I was trying to temper my expectations, but mobile games are a bit of a letdown, to say the least.

In this case, I'm wondering if, since Spock is the origin of the serum, the crew are somehow reflecting his self-doubts.

Paramount+ has been cancelling shows (which sucks and is bad), but they're certainly not dumping the franchise has a whole.

Prodigy moved to Netflix because the studio - also owned by Paramount - was able to shop it around for a new distributor.