It does at times. But I think that’s because it’s taking a lot longer to get its legs, IMO, as compared to Orville, even though both shows are trying very hard to do something that’s both core Trek and new Trek, if you’ll forgive the labels. I think Discovery faces a steeper hill. And starts with a significant handicap — the first two episodes of Discovery really felt like a prologue to me, and episode 3 felt like the actual pilot.
And I’ve thought about the grimdark thing. That was my initial impression of it as well, but I’m starting to think Discovery is not actually, strictly speaking, a grimdark (or #grimtrek) show, nor is it trying to be one. I think it’s representing itself as a story that starts off in a grimdark setting, and wants to break out and into a more optimistic Trek. I realize this may be a real stretch, at this stage, but it’s what I’m going with until I see more.
Sorta cross-posted in the Discovery thread.