I'm with you buddy. On pretty much everything. There are things in Rise of Skywalker I like (Rey's new lightsaber is bitching but I also actually do like her taking the name Skywalker) but most of it feels like it was written by 14 people at the same time. But the sequels in general I do like quite a bit. BB8 is adorable, Rey is awesome, Finn is hot as balls, Poe can equally get it and I loved seeing Carrie Fisher back in the saddle

But he was never that. Ash Tyler was the one set up for having PTSD but the only thing close to it for Lorca was when he jumped Admiral Cornwall when they were sleeping together. But at the end of that episode we see him purposefully set her up to fail and then abandon her.

The new Treks are all much more modern and contemporary

As opposed to TNG, DS9 and Voyager using more modern and contemporary filming techniques than TOS? Enterprise going even further?

The underlying topics are much closer to reality

I... what? This is clearly from you looking back, not from you experiencing it at the time. EVERY TREK DID THIS. TOS had an episode aggressively about racism and segregation, not to mention the Uhura kiss in a time of extreme racism against anyone black and the civil rights movement. TNG had an episode about deafness being a part of his race but not a disability, a couple of years after Children of a Lesser God was released. They also had multiple episodes about genetic alteration, something that was just rising to prominence in reality with GMOs, engineered drugs and the first time animals had their genes changed. I mean even Barclays holoaddiction was a BLATANT comparison to the rise of video games at the time and worries about becoming addicted to it. The complaint that its "much closer to reality" is completely void.

It is a completely different category of show

The exact same complaint was made against TNG and DS9 but now both are under the same category. The category is Star Trek. Not Star Trek that feels a certain way. If it is Star Trek then it, by default, is in the same category.

I'll agree on the bit that different Treks feel different but I outright reject the notion that due to a different feel it doesn't get to be classed as Star Trek. Once again. Star Trek gets to have diversity in the numbers through characters, races and species. Why are the shows not allowed the same?

Yup. Proudly love the Sequels too. There are some flaws in them, don't get me wrong, but it's new Star Wars that expanded on what we got. Personally I found that a thousand times more interesting than the endless void of fanfiction being peddled as 'believe in whatever you prefer!'

. It’s the 23rd century, people should not be uncomfortable with their identities anymore

And people are totally comfortable. I am guessing that you're referencing Adira and their reaction to announcing that they're non-binary? That didn't happen in the 23rd century. It happened in the 32nd in an area torn with strife and isolationist behavior that is also not a part of the Federation. Their reaction is appropriate for the setting. There's a reason that Culber and Stamets are gay without addressing it. Because they are from the 23rd century where that isn't an issue.

For fuck sakes, the ship itself starts having an identity crisis at one point.

.... It's a newly born AI that is being threatened with being severed from its physical housing. Yeah I feel like that's kind of appropriate as well. I mean when they did that in TNG there was Measure of a Man... so...

Maybe it’s simply that the format changes a lot.

Then that makes the complaints even more pointless. If the format and style of the series changes continuously then what basis do people have for whining that it "doesn't feel like Star Trek"?

I feel that frequently a lot of complaints about the show are directed towards the entire series as a whole. That Discovery doesn't fit for whatever reason. Yet these people are the ones who are wrapping up so much variety throughout the shows to one 'feeling' and when it doesn't fit they check out.

Yeah, if you don't like that style that's perfectly fine. Personally I don't like the style of DS9. But I'm not out here saying that because it's different than what I am used to and what I like that it "isn't Star Trek" or "doesn't feel like Star Trek."

I've said this before but Star Trek shows off diversity through as many aliens and characters as they can. Why are people so angry when the shows themselves do the same thing?

Totally agreed, shnookums

Yes. We're gay lovers.

Chaotic good. Huh. Never would have guessed.

I love how easy it is to hate these two

So, no. They didn't retcon anything. They expanded the lore. It isn't a retcon to prove an assumption wrong. Moreover, prequels are always bad for fans? Opinion masking itself as fact. Worthless.

They’ve certainly not made any effort to make it integrate with the rest of Trek.

wut

It takes place between ENT and TOS and then in the far future. In every case they've done everything they can to have it fit with the timeline. They brought back Pike and Number One, actually giving her a name after 50 odd years. Then in the future they elaborate on the Romulan/Vulcan relationship and Spocks impact on the Unification he was seeking for in previous Treks. They honor every single actor and character they can by naming ships after passed actors or after characters. They build on to that lore. So yes. They do make an enormous effort to integrate it with the rest of Trek.

You can not like it, that's fine, but saying that they've not made any effort is an outright lie.