I stopped running the Bechdel-Wallace Test on Star Trek episodes after a few episodes of Discovery because it seemed like every one was going to pass. But I started to wonder whether there was still some use in running the test anyway, especially after reading “Star Trek: Discovery is a Show Full of Women Who Don’t Interact” at crudereviews.net. The author did some really interesting analysis on the networks each character has in Season 1 of Disco and it made me want to continue adding to my own dataset for the record and to found future analysis.
As a reminder, in order for an episode to pass, it must include:
- Two named women characters
- Who talk to each other
- About something other than a man
I don’t apply other conditions, like the length of time that a conversation needs to last. Zane Dax has done this and shared their data at rpubs, as well as correlating with director gender, if you’re interested!
Overall thoughts
I’ve always noted that the Bechdel-Wallace Test has limitations, but Discovery was the first time in applying the test to Star Trek that I was forced to really think about how it fails to account for anyone who falls outside the gender binary. Even in their first episodes, when Adira was referred to as “she,” I didn’t count their conversations with women like Michael as passing the test. When Adira asserts their pronouns, they say they’ve always felt that way, so I didn’t want to misgender the character by way of the test. Under the Bechdel-Wallace Test, my only options were to count Adira as a woman or not a woman, so I chose the latter, reasoning that it doesn’t necessarily mean the other speakers are men.
Another character I needed to think about was Zora. I’m inclined to count Zora as a woman because she’s a named character, voiced by a woman, gendered as “she” by the rest of the crew, and in the short treks “Calypso” we’re given reason to believe she embraces a feminine gender identity. But as I’ve noted below, in most episodes where Zora has meaningful conversations with women like Michael, it’s not the only conversation between women, so the episode would pass anyway.
On the plus side, I had significantly fewer episodes that just barely passed or that were close to the line (though I’ve noted the few that were). When I analyzed shows like Deep Space Nine and Voyager I included two percentages. The main set of results were based on a requirement that the two women clearly addressed each other, even in group scenes. The adjusted results allowed a pass for any episode where two women characters had back-to-back lines about something other than a man, as in a bridge scene where two women speak but it’s not clear whether it’s to each other or the group. It’s so nice to feel like we’re not in the era of Star Trek where you had to really split hairs to pass an episode.
Season two had the most episodes that were close to the line, because Michael’s arc was so intertwined with her search for her brother, Spock. Still, they all passed in the end.
There were also often many examples of conversations between women in episodes, so in my notes on episodes that pass, I’m only noting the first example in the episode, not every conversation.
Results
Total: 96% Pass
Season 1: 93% Pass
| Episode | Pass? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Vulcan Hello | Pass | Burnham and Georgiou talk about their mission |
| Battle at the Binary Stars | Pass | In flashback, Georgiou and Burnham meet for the first time and talk about the Shenzhou |
| Context is for Kings | Pass | Burnham and Psycho talk about how many people Burnham killed (Psycho is named in the credits but not on screen). Burnham also talks to Landry and Tilly. |
| The Butcher’s Knife Cares Not for the Lamb’s Cry | Pass | Burnham has work exchanges with Landry and Tilly |
| Choose Your Pain | Pass | Burnham and Tilly |
| Lethe | Pass | Burnham has conversations with Tilly and Amanda |
| Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad | Fail | Burnham and Tilly talk at the party about Tyler and the kind of guys Tilly is into |
| Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum | Pass | L’Rell and Cornwell yell at each other |
| Into the Forest I go | Pass | Burnham and Cornwell |
| Despite Yourself | Pass | Burnham and Tilly talk about the Klingon data core and how Tilly needs to behave as Captain Killy |
| The Wolf Inside | Pass | Burnham talks to Mirror Detmer about firing torpedoes |
| Vaulting Ambition | Pass | Burnham has dinner with Mirror Georgiou, who accuses her of treason |
| What’s Past is Prologue | Pass | Burnham plots with Mirror Georgiou |
| The War Without, the War Within | Pass | L’Rell and Cornwell talk about the ongoing war |
| Will You Take My Hand? | Pass | Burnham quizzes Emperor Georgiou to try to unmask her as an imposter |
Season 2: 100% Pass
| Episode | Pass? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Brother | Pass | Amanda introduces herself to a young Michael |
| New Eden | Pass | Tilly talks to May |
| Point of Light | Pass | Tilly tells May she’s not real. Burnham congratulates Tilly on her run time. |
| An Obol for Charon | Pass | Tilly introduces herself to Reno |
| Saints of Imperfection | Pass | Michael and Georgiou talk about Section 31. |
| The Sound of Thunder | Pass | Michael and Tilly talk about the sphere data |
| Light and Shadows | Pass (close!) | Repeats a scene of Amanda and Michael’s introduction from “Brother.” Amanda and Michael talk, but about Sarek and Spock. Barely passes due to two conversations between Burnham and Georgiou that are mostly but not exclusively about Spock – also about Georgiou’s mom and Starfleet. |
| If Memory Serves | Pass | Admiral Patar has an exchange with Georgiou. Vina explains to Michael who she is. |
| Project Daedalus | Pass | Tilly talks to Cornwell but Pike interrupts before she replies. Airiam watches a conversation between Tilly, Owosekun and Detmer about kadis-kot. |
| The Red angel | Pass | Cornwell and Georgiou exchange lines about the approach to the Red Angel Situation |
| Perpetual Infinity | Pass | Young Michael talks to her mom about the light in the sky |
| Through the Valley of Shadows | Pass | Michael and Amanda have a conversation about Michael’s mom |
| Such Sweet Sorrow | Pass | Po and Tilly talk about ice cream. |
| Such Sweet Sorrow II | Pass | Detmer and Number One discuss what Burnham needs to do to succeed |
Season 3: 92% Pass
| Episode | Pass? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| That Hope is You, Part I | Fail | Michael only interacts with men. The only other woman only talks to Book. |
| Far From Home | Pass | Owosekun checks on Detmer after their crash landing and urges her to go to Sickbay |
| People of Earth | Pass | Detmer asks Michael how many died in the Burn and she replies. After the credits, Burnham and Tilly have a longer conversation about missing home. |
| Forget Me Not | Pass (barely) | Barely passes when Tilly and Owosekun urge Detmer to do a haiku at dinner. |
| Die Trying | Pass | Burnham welcomes Lt. Willa aboard. Burnham talks to Nhan about the seed vault. |
| Scavengers | Pass | Burnham and Georgiou talk about their mission to recovery the black box. |
| Unification III | Pass | Tilly and Burnham talk about science stuff and how to pinpoint the source of the Burn |
| Sanctuary | Pass | Burnham and Georgiou talk in Sickbay about her condition and Georgiou’s mother. Culber is present. |
| Terra Firma Part I | Pass | Mirror Georgiou and Tilly talk in the mess hall. Georgiou is aggressive about how Tilly is not Killy, and Tilly offers support if she’s struggling. |
| Terra Firma Part II | Pass | Mirror Georgiou talks to Burnham in her holding cell about whether Georgiou has gone soft and is intending to retire |
| Su’Kal | Pass | Burnham talks with Tilly to help her prepare to command the ship during her and Saru’s absence |
| There is a Tide… | Pass | Osyraa and Kanak talk about their attack on Discovery’s computer systems |
| That Hope is You, Part II | Pass | Burnham and Osyraa negotiate over getting the Federation to pull their ships back from Discovery |
Season 4: 100% Pass
| Episode | Pass? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Kobiyashi Maru | Pass | Burnham reassures Tilly she deserved her promotion |
| Anomaly | Pass | T’Rina offers Ni’Var’s science help to the Federation, and Rillak and Burnham thank her |
| Choose to Live | Pass | Rillak and T’Rina discuss the Qowat Milat nun and Federation membership |
| All is Possible | Pass | Rillak talks to Burnham about T’Rina and finding a compromise in the membership negotiations |
| The Examples | Pass | Burnham gives Nilsson an order and she replies. More significantly, Burnham talks to Zora in the turbolift about her feelings, then Burnham talks to Patri Doxica when she returns her family orb. |
| Stormy Weather | Pass | Burnham talks to Zora, then to Owosekun and Detmer on the bridge |
| …But to Connect | Pass | Michael orders Zora to give them the coordinates of Species 10-C. If you don’t count Zora, Burnham also speaks to Ndoye and they congratulate each other on their promotions. |
| All In | Pass | Burnham talks to Owosekun about why she brought her on the mission |
| Rubicon | Pass | Burnham talks to Nhan about why she isn’t still on Barzan |
| The Galactic Barrier | Pass | Burnham talks to Rillak about not questioning her in front of the crew |
| Rosetta | Pass | Burnham talks to Rillak about who needs to go on the mission, then to Ndoye about why they are seeking a diplomatic option |
| Species Ten-C | Pass | Burnham talks to Rillak about the message they’re trying to send to the 10-C |
| Coming Home | Pass | Burnham talks to Rillak and Ndoye about the person who sabotaged the ship. |
