Hypable’s two resident Trekkies discuss where the events of the Star Trek Discovery fall finale leaves us.
Ahead of our conversation, one thing about Star Trek: Discovery‘s first run has won us over. That and we hate Captain Gabriel Lorca almost as much as we love him. Both of which make it annoyingly hard to sit back and wait for January!
So here, two of Hypable’s Discovery enthusiasts attempt tease out some ideas set up in the finale.
Brittany: Let’s start with the question that brought us here — have we been in a Mirror Verse this entire time, or are we in one now?
Donya: I think there’s merits to both ideas, and, honestly, I’ve kind of been going back and forth between them. Either possibility opens up huge potential for the story in the back half of the season, and that’s really exciting for me.
Brittany: I was definitely intrigued by the idea that we were in a parallel universe this entire time.
However, being the type of crazed person who can’t let something go, I rewatched most the scenes that take place while using the spore drive and I have to say, I am leaning heavily toward the theory that we are now, currently, in an uncharted galaxy or mirror-verse.
They’re in one of the dark spaces that Lorca and Stamets discuss during their final meeting, ahead of the 133 jumps.
Donya: I’ll admit, the thought of them having been in the Mirror Verse, or any alternate universe, and jumping to the Prime timeline would definitely be a curve ball that I wouldn’t have seen coming — but there’s a niggling thought at the back of my head that won’t leave me alone about it.
That it’s still possible.
But, equally, them warping into a dark space, or an alternate universe, would explain a lot about why we might not have heard about Discovery before this point — or why the Spore Drive isn’t in mass use in the Prime universe.
At any point. That we’re privy to as an audience, anyway.
Brittany: Great point. The idea of the spore drive not making it into the Prime universe has been bugging me this entire season. But then I think back to the Glenn explosion and now the condition that Stamets is in and it is making more sense.
Could this become “classified” science? Burnham makes a note in her first day in Engineering that the labs are not classified or restricted. Now we are on a war vessel that was never meant to fight a war. Could there be new regulations in place?
Donya: It definitely has the potential to become classified technology — especially if there are consequences that far outweigh the benefits.
As it stands, Starfleet does have a single-mindedness in making the drives accessible to all of their ships, much in the same was the Klingons have done with their cloaking technology, but the simple fact of the matter is that never happened.
What the catalyst for that being the case is, clearly, yet to be seen — and is likely coming in the back half of this first season. As I believe the war isn’t going to continue into its sophomore run?
Related: Why am I waiting for Star Trek: Discovery to feel like Star Trek? It already is
Brittany: Yes, it is only “one chapter” of the series. Additionally, this gives more fuel to the fire for the Discovery winding up in a different universe when we come back in January.
Lorca’s wheels start turning when he hears that Admiral Cornwell is alive and going to pull through. She is definitely going to recommend Lorca be removed from his ship. At that point the Discovery will likely be studied and replicated.
Something Lorca definitely does not want to happen. He wants to continue charting out the jumps. And so he changes his fortune in life.
Those cookies are a clever, clever plant.
Donya: I didn’t believe for a damn second that Lorca was being invited back for a commendation. It was a poor attempt at trying to manipulate Lorca via his presumed ego and pride, but he’s far more devious than Starfleet seem to give him credit for.
Wherever his desperate move landed them, there are going to be some serious ramifications — let’s not forget that, regardless of the outcome, Lorca disobeyed direct orders from a superior officer. I’m not sure that Starfleet was going to need Cornwell’s recommendation to remove him.
I think, talking this through, I’m more and more on the side of the Discovery having jumped to a different universe.
Brittany: The final scene in the episode really drove this home for me. When the ship jumps, right after Stamets yells, the visual shows the Discovery splitting in two then coming back together.
That plus Lorca OVERRODE the jump to “Mark: Unknown.”
I was trying to watch his combination of buttons he punched to see if they aligned with coordinates on the map he showed Stamets (yes, really) but I couldn’t make any of it out clearly enough for definitive proof.
Donya: We wouldn’t be who we are if we didn’t obsess over every single detail, huh?
But, really, everything we know about Lorca is that he is willing to do anything to win. What winning really constitutes for him is less clear – because I can’t say that I believe him entirely when he says it’s to win the war, and send everyone home safe and happy. Not when he was willing to sacrifice Stamets, a member of his crew, to that end.
Twice over, in fact, because there was no guarantee that Stamets would even survive the consecutive jumps. And, without medical intervention, he wouldn’t have.
Brittany: Right. And Stamets only gave Lorca a bit of support because he inspired awe. At the start he called him a “warmonger.” He’s a weapons collector.
This makes me believe he wants to be the alpha of whatever his end game is. He has a way of manipulating everyone to work for his vision — Burnham included — with impassioned speeches that hit the right notes. But nothing ever feels grounded. No one knows what the mission is.
Donya: So. With the possibility that they’re in an entirely new universe — be that the Mirror one we already know, or otherwise — what’s next? Is Stamets even Stamets any more? What can he see?
Will Burnham and Sarek’s bond still work? If they’re removed from the war, and the Klingons, what will L’Rell’s goal be? What will Lorca’s, without a war to win?
And: WHAT IS UP WITH TYLER?
Brittany: Sweet Tyler. I believe Voq is somehow tangled with this poor soul. Once he is extracted, there will be a WHOLE mess of problems to sort out. Like, what exactly does L’Rell want? Maybe she wants to let Starfleet do the dirty work of overthrowing the united houses and then bring Voq to power when the time is right.
But since they are away in this new universe, that time might have to wait, or it could happen aboard Discovery! Who knows!
Stamets is definitely not himself. But I don’t think he is gone forever either. He says that he can see “infinite permutations.”
Can he see all the possible places in the universe? OR events in the universe? OR BOTH?
Donya: Is this the appropriate time to use the both is good GIF?
Brittany: ^^ Yes. Whatever he can see, it’s not going to be good.
I think eventually it could be a cool party trick, but for now, it’s not great.
Donya: Especially when you consider the unbelievable burden of knowing every possible thing in the universe. I saw what happened to Rose in Doctor Who, I know how this could go.
Brittany: And as for where they are currently, I noticed that Saru’s fear ganglia were noticeably tucked away. So at least he is not afraid.
Donya: Good point. VERY good point.
Brittany: Phew, my head hurts. I need it to be January.
Donya: Hard same. And I just know I’m going to be obsessing over this until the show returns.