Discovery's use of canon is...interesting. Their take on the Klingons is kind of heavy-handed, but it's not precisely un-canonical; it just draws from different parts of canon (notably, the Klingons speak mostly in subtitles because most of their dialogue is actually written in the Okrand Klingonese language!). We also have Rainn Wilson as a somewhat younger Harry Mudd, and there are parts of fandom that really don't like some of the writing attached to that so far (though Wilson is extremely good in the part). And the treatment of Sarek is likewise fascinating -- very intricately and defensibly reasoned, but in some ways a very sharp left turn from what one might expect. (James Frain is not quite as comfortable in Sarek's shoes as Wilson is in Mudd's, but then Sarek is not as comfy a character.)
As for grittiness/grimdark? It looks as if it should be (too much Mood Lighting, too many over-dramatic camera angles), and it does feature war with the Klingons as the initial major plot arc. But the core characters are really mostly pretty likeable, and both the writing and the performances reflect that. The most troubled characters are in (strong) secondary roles, not actual leads -- Sarek, Capt. Lorca -- and it looks to me as if the redemption arcs are being set up to outweigh or overcome the tragic ones.
War arc notwithstanding, I'd say that it's no grimmer than the AOS movies, that its overall tone is gradually lightening (much as Beyond is a bit cheerier than Into Darkness), and that the cast they've assembled for Discovery has amazing acting chops (Doug Jones as alien first officer Saru is dead flat brilliant).
I think we'll need to see the full season before we can really pass firm judgment on Discovery, given that the primary story arc is very strongly serialized. But given that they've been given a second-season order already, I am moderately optimistic that the season as a whole will live up to the potential I've seen so far.
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As for grittiness/grimdark? It looks as if it should be (too much Mood Lighting, too many over-dramatic camera angles), and it does feature war with the Klingons as the initial major plot arc. But the core characters are really mostly pretty likeable, and both the writing and the performances reflect that. The most troubled characters are in (strong) secondary roles, not actual leads -- Sarek, Capt. Lorca -- and it looks to me as if the redemption arcs are being set up to outweigh or overcome the tragic ones.
War arc notwithstanding, I'd say that it's no grimmer than the AOS movies, that its overall tone is gradually lightening (much as Beyond is a bit cheerier than Into Darkness), and that the cast they've assembled for Discovery has amazing acting chops (Doug Jones as alien first officer Saru is dead flat brilliant).
I think we'll need to see the full season before we can really pass firm judgment on Discovery, given that the primary story arc is very strongly serialized. But given that they've been given a second-season order already, I am moderately optimistic that the season as a whole will live up to the potential I've seen so far.