discovery star trek saru

Early life [ ]

In his youth, Saru lived an agrarian life on his home planet Kaminar , with his sister, Siranna , and father, Aradar . Saru and his family were scared of the Ba'ul 's watchful eye, as it took Kelpiens as they experienced the vahar'ai . ( ST : " The Brightest Star ")

Saru remembered listening to children's stories told by village elders around a fire, including one about a kelp monster . ( DIS : " Su'Kal ")

Though discouraged by his father, Saru contemplated his people's place in the universe and questioned the ritual sacrifice of his people to the Ba'ul. On one occasion, Aradar instructed Saru to dispose of debris fallen from the Ba'ul ship . Saru instead built an interstellar communications device , identified by Lieutenant Philippa Georgiou as the first of his species to show the technical capability of doing so. ( ST : " The Brightest Star ")

Saru follows Georgiou to the stars, expecting to never see his people again.

After corresponding with Saru, Georgiou was given special permission by Starfleet to retrieve Saru. As his people were a pre-warp civilization , Saru accepted the caveat that he could never return (and potentially contaminate his culture) and departed with Georgiou for the USS Archimedes . ( ST : " The Brightest Star "; DIS : " The Sound of Thunder ") He took with him a handful of seeds and a knife that had belonged to his sister. ( DIS : " An Obol for Charon ")

After being granted refugee status by the Federation, Saru was processed at Starbase 7 , where he saw for the first time a diversity of lifeforms . Listening to their stories and aspirations, Saru resolved to join Starfleet to help those in need, as he had been helped. ( DIS : " An Obol for Charon ")

Starfleet career [ ]

Saru was the first Kelpien to join Starfleet. ( DIS : " The Vulcan Hello ") As such, he felt pressured to perform well, which led him to attempt to learn 94 Federation languages to the detriment of his personal health. ( DIS : " New Eden ", " An Obol for Charon ") He had a first contact specialist qualification. ( DIS : " Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum ")

Science officer of the USS Shenzhou [ ]

Saru at his post aboard the Shenzhou

In 2249 , Saru had obtained the rank of lieutenant and was serving in the sciences division aboard the USS Shenzhou under Captain Philippa Georgiou as a bridge officer . He was present when Michael Burnham arrived on the starship . ( DIS : " Battle at the Binary Stars ")

By 2256 , he had been promoted to lieutenant commander and worked as the ship's chief science officer . ( DIS : " The Vulcan Hello ")

That year, Saru participated in the Battle of the Binary Stars , and later evacuated the Shenzhou with the remaining crew after the death of Captain Georgiou. ( DIS : " Battle at the Binary Stars ")

The Federation-Klingon War [ ]

First officer of the uss discovery [ ].

Saru stands watch on the bridge of Discovery

About six months later, Saru had been promoted to commander , transferred to the command division , and made first officer of the USS Discovery under Gabriel Lorca .

When the prison transport shuttle carrying the disgraced former Starfleet officer Michael Burnham was brought aboard the Discovery for repairs, Saru escorted the former officer to engineering so that she would work as a "data cruncher" under Lieutenant Paul Stamets .

When the USS Glenn , the Discovery 's sister ship , suffered a catastrophe, Saru spoke up in Burnham's defense, describing her as the " smartest Starfleet officer [he] had ever met. " ( DIS : " Context Is for Kings ")

Saru comes in contact with the Pahvans

According to Saru, Kelpiens lived in a state of constant fear from the moment of birth . Saru may have been the first of his species to have this alleviated, as after encountering the native energy lifeforms of Pahvo , he briefly experienced relief from this state while on the planet. He became so desperate to continue experiencing this lack of fear that he proceeded to first deceive, and then attack his fellow officers in an attempt to keep the planet out of the Federation-Klingon war. These actions eventually led to the Pahvans withdrawing their influence on him, as they came to believe it was generating disharmony among their Starfleet guests. ( DIS : " Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum ")

Mirror universe and captain of USS Discovery [ ]

Following the victory over General Kol and the Sarcophagus ' destruction, Saru confirmed that the spore drive had dropped Discovery into unknown space . After learning that they were in a parallel universe , Saru then helped Cadet Sylvia Tilly to pose as her counterpart after Lorca decided to have Discovery pose as the ISS Discovery . After Lorca and Burnham boarded the ISS Shenzhou , Saru was left in command of the Discovery . ( DIS : " Into the Forest I Go ", " Despite Yourself ")

Saru and Tilly attempt to revive Stamets

Saru, along with Tilly, then found Dr. Culber dead and in the arms of Lieutenant Stamets. With Tilly, Saru agreed to use the mycelium spores to treat and heal him. Saru then had Tyler (who had been revealed to be Klingon sleeper agent Voq ) beamed back aboard the Discovery with information on the USS Defiant 's arrival to the mirror universe. Saru was able to decrypt the information on the Defiant , but much of the information was redacted. When Dr. Pollard and her medical team were unable to help Tyler/Voq, Saru then allowed L'Rell in helping Tyler/Voq in easing his pain. Saru was then contacted by Burnham to come to the ISS Charon . ( DIS : " The Wolf Inside ", " Vaulting Ambition ")

En route to the Charon , Lt. Stamets came to and told Saru of his counterpart 's damage to the mycelial network and the eventual destruction of the entire multiverse . Saru was then contacted by Burnham, who told them that Lorca was really a Terran posing as his counterpart . After this revelation, Saru decided to take command and destroy the Charon before it destroys the entire multiverse. Following Discovery 's arrival at the Charon 's coordinates, Saru then spoke with Lorca, who offered to spare him and Discovery 's crew in exchange for Burnham. At first, Saru agreed. However, when Burnham and Georgiou attacked Lorca, Saru ordered Discovery to open fire.

Discovery was successful in disabling the Charon 's shields. Saru then ordered Burnham beamed aboard prior to destroying the Charon . Following the Charon 's destruction, Saru and the crew then used the destruction's shock wave to return to their universe. ( DIS : " What's Past Is Prologue ")

Return to the War [ ]

Unfortunately, Saru, Stamets, and the crew then discovered that they overshot their return by nine months, by which time the war was going badly. Saru also discovered that Burnham had saved Emperor Georgiou and lied about the mirror universe Kelpiens. Discovery was then boarded by Admirals Shukar , Gorch , and Cornwell, and Ambassador Sarek . At first, Saru demanded to know the reason as to why they boarded. Saru then had mind meld with the ambassador, who learned about Discovery 's trip to a parallel universe, Lorca's true colors and apparent demise. Saru was debriefed on the specifics of the disastrous turn the war had taken since Discovery was seemingly destroyed, and subsequently relinquished command to Cornwell for Discovery 's trip to Starbase 1 . However, he sensed danger on approach, and Starbase 1 immediately turned out to be occupied by the House of D'Ghor . With several Birds-of-Prey converging on Discovery and Cornwell too shocked by this turn of events to give orders, Saru was forced to order a retreat.

Saru became first officer under Emperor Georgiou, posing as her prime counterpart , during a mission that was supposed to map Qo'noS' volcanic system for a future military strike. However, the mission turned out to be the military strike; rather than a mapping drone , Georgiou had brought a hydro bomb , which she intended to detonate in a volcanic vent, producing catastrophic results. After Burnham alerted him to the true mission, Saru contacted Cornwell and threatened to mutiny with Burnham if Starfleet Command did not back down. Burnham was authorized to prevent Georgiou from detonating the bomb, and handed the detonator to L'Rell , who took leadership of the Klingon High Council and rapidly enacted a cease fire . Saru was awarded the Starfleet Medal of Honor for his actions, the first received by a Kelpien. Soon after, Saru led the ship on a voyage to Vulcan to pick up the Discovery 's new commanding officer, but was sidetracked along the way to respond to a distress call from the USS Enterprise . ( DIS : " What's Past Is Prologue ", " The War Without, The War Within ", " Will You Take My Hand? ")

Post War [ ]

The red bursts [ ].

Saru met with the Enterprise 's CO , Captain Christopher Pike , along with Commander Nhan and Lieutenant Evan Connolly . He was told that Pike would be taking command of Discovery under Starfleet Regulation 19, Section C in order to investigate seven red bursts that had appeared. Saru believed the red bursts could be either temporal anomalies or black holes . As the Discovery investigated the first red burst, they found the USS Hiawatha on a interstellar asteroid . Saru kept Discovery 's shields down to ensure that the landing party and the Hiawatha 's crew were able to beam back. After Burnham was beamed back, Saru had piece of the asteroid brought into Discovery 's shuttle bay and Discovery left the system. Saru and Captain Pike agreed to a "joint custody" of Discovery for duration of the investigation. ( DIS : " Brother ")

Saru convinced Pike to use the spore drive to reach the second burst, knowing Starfleet would allow it. Saru was left in command of Discovery as Pike and his landing party investigated a distress signal from a white church at the New Eden colony on Terralysium . During this time, Saru warned Ensign Tilly that her reckless behavior could endanger her position in the Command Training program. ( DIS : " New Eden ")

The Vahar'ai [ ]

As Discovery tracked down Lt. Spock's shuttle, Saru began to feel early effects of Vahar'ai . Saru believed he would need to be killed due to the madness brought on by Vahar'ai. However, after the Sphere died, Saru and Burnham discovered that his threat ganglia had fallen off on its own and that he was not dying. He realized that the Ba'ul had been lying to his people for centures. ( DIS : " An Obol for Charon ")

When a third red burst was found at Kaminar, Saru was eager to tell his people the truth about Vahar'ai, despite Captain Pike's concerns. Saru and Burnham went to the surface to speak with his village priest. Upon his return, Saru found out that his father had died and his sister Siranna had becom their village priest. However, Siranna was upset that he had lived and that he was only interested in finding the Red Angel. When Saru returned to Discovery , the Ba'ul contacted the ship and demanded that Saru be returned in order to maintain the Great Balance. Saru, angered by the Ba'ul's actions, refused to be returned until the Ba'ul threatened his village. Saru, over Burnham and Pike's objections beamed himself down to Kaminar.

Saru was then taken to the Ba'ul's stronghold along with his sister. There, Saru tried to convince the Ba'ul let his sister go to no avail. As the Ba'ul attempted to study and dissect him and his sister, Saru was able to free himself and his sister. This convinced his sister that he had truly survived vahar'ai. Saru was able to contact Discovery , who told him that the Kelpiens were once the Ba'ul's predators. After hearing this, Saru and sister decided to initiate Vahar'ai in all the Kelpiens. Using the Ba'ul's own technology as he did when he contacted Captain Georgiou, Sa'ru and Discovery were able to initiate Vahar'ai in the Kelpiens. However, the Ba'ul attempted to activate their pylon in Kelpien villages in order to stop the Kelpiens from experiencing Vahar'ai. However, the pylons and the Ba'ul's stronghold's shield were de-activated by the Red Angel . Saru and his sister saw that the Angel was a humanoid equiped with advanced suit way beyond current technology. Saru said goodbye to his sister, as she chose to create a new balance with the Ba'ul on Kaminar.( DIS : " The Sound of Thunder ")

Search for the Red Angel [ ]

Saru continued to assist in searching for both Lieutenant Spock and the Red Angel. However, Saru continued to feel the aftereffects of Vahar'ai when he allowed a fight between Dr. Culber and Tyler to continue on. ( DIS : " Light and Shadows ", " If Memory Serves ")

Into the Future [ ]

Following the Battle near Xahea , Saru and 88 crewmembers took Discovery through the wormhole. Discovery was able to exit the wormhole in 3189 and crash-landed on The Colony . With Tilly, he was able to get help from the Colonists despite his encounter with the courier Zareh . With Burnham's and the crew's support, he became Discovery 's captain. In that capacity as Captain, Saru was able to help negotiate a truce between United Earth 's Defense Force and Titan 's raiders under Wen . He also allowed Inspector Adira Tal to remain onboard to help them find Federation Headquarters . ( DIS : " Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2 ", " Far From Home ", " People of Earth ")

When Discovery arrived at Trill , Saru had dinner party for his senior officers. However, dinner was cut short by some harsh remarks by Detmer, Tilly, and Stamets. Despite this, Saru then initiated movie night for the crew in shuttle bay. With Tal's memories, Saru and Discovery were able find Federation Headquarters . Saru, Burnahm and Tal were then brought aboard the USS Federation and met with Starfleet's C-in-C , Fleet Admiral Charles Vance . Following his debriefing about Discovery 's jump from 2258 to 3189, Vance told Saru that despite Kaminar's joining, the Federation went from 350 to 38 member worlds. ( DIS : " Forget Me Not ", " Die Trying ")

Dark Matter Anomaly [ ]

In 3190 , Saru, known as "Great Elder" became a member of his village council. He later spoke with the Ba'ul and Kelpien High Council about returning to the stars to assist the Federation. ( DIS : " Kobayashi Maru ", " Anomaly (DIS) ") Following this and the destruction of Kwejian , Saru returned to Discovery to resume the role of first officer under Captain Michael Burnham, remaining a member of his village council in absentia. He retained the rank of captain but asked to be addressed as simply "Saru," though he acquiesced to Burnham's suggestion of "Mr. Saru." ( DIS : " Anomaly (DIS) ")

Saru worked with Commander Stamets and Dr. Ruon Tarka in studying the Dark Matter Anomaly during Discovery 's evacuation of Radvek V . He allowed Tark to recreate a small version of the DMA but stopped the experiment. ( DIS : " The Examples ")

Personal interests [ ]

Professional development [ ].

As the first and potentially only Kelpien to enter Starfleet, Saru felt pressure to over-perform at Starfleet Academy and in his career. By 2257, he understood 94 languages including English , Mandarin Chinese , Wolof , Spanish , and Russian . ( DIS : " New Eden ", " An Obol for Charon ")

Even while serving aboard the Shenzhou , he imagined a path where First Officer Michael Burnham would be mentored by Captain Georgiou, move on to her own command, and he would take her place as Georgiou's mentee. As first officer aboard Discovery , he sought to emulate the command decisions of Starfleet's most decorated captains, including Georgiou, Pike, Robert April , and Jonathan Archer . ( DIS : " Choose Your Pain ")

In developing his skills, Saru memorized some of the writings of Sun Tzu . ( DIS : " Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2 ")

Relationships [ ]

Romance [ ].

In 3190 , Saru began a courtship of President T'Rina . Initially both Saru and T'Rina were anxious to allow themselves to be emotionally vulnerable but following advice from friends and colleagues and the events of first contact with Species 10-C , they decided to pursue a closeness with one another. ( DIS : " The Galactic Barrier ", " Species Ten-C ")

Friendships [ ]

Michael burnham [ ].

Burnham relieved that Saru has survived vahar'ai

Beginning in 2249 , Saru served with Burnham for seven years aboard the Shenzhou . They often disagreed with the handling of various situations, so much so that Captain Georgiou found it remarkable when they did concur. ( DIS : " The Vulcan Hello ") Nevertheless, Saru highly esteemed Burnham's intelligence and skills. He also held a great deal of affection for her, and in fact had come to view her as a surrogate sister. ( DIS : " Context Is for Kings ", " An Obol for Charon ")

Burnham's actions before the Battle of the Binary Stars in 2256 drove a rift between them. Saru had expected that, once Burnham was promoted to her own command, he would then have the opportunity to be mentored by Georgiou as she had been. After Georgiou's death, Saru was resentful of Burnham, which caused him to act coldly toward her when Lorca brought her to the Discovery . The two reconciled once Saru admitted his thoughts to Burnham, and Burnham gifted him Georgiou's telescope . ( DIS : " The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry ", " Choose Your Pain ")

Sylvia Tilly [ ]

Tilly respected Saru as a superior officer, and asked for his recommendation to the Command Training Program . ( DIS : " The Wolf Inside ") Upon acceptance, Tilly often worked with Saru as her CTP director. ( DIS : " New Eden ")

When Tilly tended to get overexcited and ramble informally in tense situations, Saru often advised her to maintain her professionalism. ( DIS : " Light and Shadows ") Though when appropriate, he also allowed her to do so if it helped her remain calm, such as when they hiked together to a settlement on " The Colony " in 3189 . ( DIS : " Far From Home ")

Key dates [ ]

• 2239 : Leaves Kaminar and joins Starfleet.
• 2240s : Assigned to the USS Shenzhou .
• 2250s – 2256 : Chief science officer of the USS Shenzhou .
• Participates in the Battle of the Binary Stars ; abandons the Shenzhou with the remaining crew after the death of Captain Georgiou.
• Is assigned to the USS Discovery as first officer , serving under Captain Gabriel Lorca .
• Participates in helping the Discovery defeat the Klingons during the Attack on Corvan II .
• Takes charge as acting captain of the Discovery after the capture of Captain Lorca until his return.
• Helps the Discovery to win a victory against Kol , destroying the Sarcophagus during the Battle at Pahvo .
• Ends up in the mirror universe after the Discovery 's spore drive appears to malfunction during a jump, though this was a part of Lorca's plan, as he was actually from this universe; once again becomes acting captain of the Discovery .
• Takes over command of the Discovery on a permanent basis when Lorca is exposed as an impostor.
• Led the Discovery on a mission to Qo'noS , which resulted in the end of the war; awarded the Starfleet Medal of Honor for his actions, the first awarded to a Kelpien.
• Continues his command of the Discovery on a voyage to Vulcan to pick up its new commanding officer, but is sidetracked along the way to respond to a distress call from the USS Enterprise , leading to Discovery taking Christopher Pike as interim commanding officer.
• Undergoes vahar'ai , a condition which is supposedly fatal, due to the influence of a living sphere , but survives and realizes that the Great Balance may have been a lie.
• Returns to Kaminar and liberates the Kelpiens from the Ba'ul .
• Takes command of Discovery in the battle against the Section 31 drone fleet.
• Presumed dead by Starfleet after taking Discovery and her crew forward to the 32nd century .
• Officially becomes the captain of the Discovery .
• Goes on sabbatical and returns to Kaminar to support Su'Kal , who spent his entire life in a holoprogram on a derelict science ship , leaving Discovery in Michael Burnham 's command.
• After five months spent on Kaminar assiting Su'Kal, returns to Discovery to serve as Michael Burnhum's first officer.

Memorable quotes [ ]

" Your world has food chains . Mine does not. Our species map is binary; we are either predator or prey. My people were hunted , bred , farmed … we are your livestock of old. We were biologically determined for one purpose, and one purpose alone – to sense the coming of death . I sense it coming now . "

" It is well known that my species has the ability to sense the coming of death. I do not sense it today. I may not have all the answers; however, I do know that I am surrounded by a team I trust. The finest a captain could ever hope to command. Lorca abused our idealism. And make no mistake, Discovery is no longer Lorca's. She is ours. And today will be her maiden voyage. We have a duty to perform, and we will not accept a no-win scenario. You have your orders. On your way. "

" I saw hope, in the stars. It was stronger than fear. And I went towards it. "

Appendices [ ]

Doug Jones wearing "squinted" contact lenses, discarded during pilot filming

Appearances [ ]

• " The Vulcan Hello "
• " Battle at the Binary Stars "
• " Context Is for Kings "
• " The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry "
• " Choose Your Pain "
• " Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad "
• " Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum "
• " Into the Forest I Go "
• " Despite Yourself "
• " The Wolf Inside "
• " Vaulting Ambition "
• " What's Past Is Prologue "
• " The War Without, The War Within "
• " Will You Take My Hand? "
• " Brother "
• " New Eden "
• " Point of Light "
• " An Obol for Charon "
• " Saints of Imperfection "
• " The Sound of Thunder "
• " Light and Shadows "
• " If Memory Serves "
• " Project Daedalus "
• " The Red Angel "
• " Perpetual Infinity "
• " Through the Valley of Shadows "
• " Such Sweet Sorrow "
• " Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2 "
• " Far From Home "
• " People of Earth "
• " Forget Me Not "
• " Die Trying "
• " Scavengers "
• " Unification III "
• " The Sanctuary "
• " Terra Firma, Part 1 "
• " Terra Firma, Part 2 "
• " That Hope Is You, Part 2 "
• " Kobayashi Maru "
• " Anomaly (DIS) "
• " Choose to Live "
• " All Is Possible "
• " The Examples "
• " Stormy Weather "
• " ...But to Connect "
• " Rubicon "
• " The Galactic Barrier "
• " Rosetta "
• " Species Ten-C "
• " Coming Home "
• " Red Directive "
• " Under the Twin Moons "
• ST : " The Brightest Star "
• " Holiday Party "
• " Holograms All the Way Down " (hologram)
• " Walk, Don't Run " (background only)

Background information [ ]

Saru was played by actor Doug Jones .

Saru and Michael Burnham are the only two characters to appear in every episode of Star Trek: Discovery ' s first two seasons.

Doug Jones did not have to audition for Saru, as the show was pitched to him.

Saru is the second character shown to serve as first officer while holding the rank of Captain, following Spock on the USS Enterprise -A .

Apocrypha [ ]

In the early novel Desperate Hours by David Mack , it is claimed that Saru is from a world called Kelpia and that he was rescued from that world by Starfleet officers. Saru later appears in Fear Itself by James Swallow , where his home planet is instead called Kaminar . The release of the Short Treks episode "The Brightest Star", months later, confirmed the latter name as the name of Saru's planet in canon.

External links [ ]

• Saru at StarTrek.com
• Saru at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works

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Q: How do you feel about Saru’s journey over the course of the series?

DOUG JONES: Saru has been on quite a journey over the course of the series. Starting very fearful, climbing the ranks as the first Kelpien in Starfleet needing to prove himself — but now we’re in a place for Season 5 where he has proven himself, time and again. He’s risen in rank and title, and become more of an empathic character to the younger crew members; more of a parental figure and a mentor guiding them along as they make their decisions.

I like being the older gentleman in the crew that can be that parental figure; it’s been great for Saru, and I felt like his storyline in Season 5 felt like, “This could be a good finale for him,” even before I knew it was  Discovery’s finale. So when I heard about the show ending, I was like, “Well, that almost makes sense,” for my character, selfishly.

We had the luxury of going back and filming a little coda, we’re calling it, that they will tack onto the last episode to give the audience a sense of closure for the whole series.

Q: how do you feel about Saru’s relationship with Michael Burnham?

JONES: Saru and Burnham are very much like siblings who have gone through the phases of competition, and then growing into “Oh, we’ve been through life and death together.” We’ve had disagreements —  she’s made decisions he maybe wouldn’t have done, and he’s had to reprimand her when he outranked her — we’ve had “break up” scenes and “make up” scenes and have gone through an awful lot together.

So where change might be afoot for Saru in Season 5 with an opportunity coming, what does he do with that? She really is his tether to the starship Discovery, and a moment comes where he expresses a sense of family with her by touching foreheads with her. It’s something that we Kelpiens do — I did it with my sister Siranna, and with my protégé Su’Kal. It’s not a romantic thing, it’s a family thing.

So there’s a moment with Burnham and Saru where I guide her into a forehead touch that was really, really quite touching for both of us.

Q: Saru gets a bit of action this season — was it a challenge to run around in the woods in full Kelpien prosthetics? 

JONES: When we filmed the away mission on that planet, it was outdoors in the forest where there was sunshine, but it was really quite cool and lovely, so I wasn’t facing any discomfort with the Saru prosthetics that I wouldn’t have on a regular set. But when you’re wearing hoof boots in a high-heel position — with no heel — out into the woods with sticks, rocks, uneven terrain… there’s a lot at stake!

So I want to give credit where it’s due, to my stunt double Bauston Camilleri. He’s 25 years younger than me — a tall, skinny guy who can take a hit and live through it. God bless him, he has saved my life so many times. He was my stunt double for The Shape of Water , and for What We Do In the Shadows , and for all five seasons of Star Trek.

I want to bow to him, and other stunt people like him, who save us actors and keep all of our limbs in one place. He took over a lot for the forest action Saru scenes — he did a lot of the work for me. As a 63-year-old skinny guy, I am happy to let a young person go do that! I’ll stay over here and keep my hips together.

Q: What can you tell us about Saru’s relationship with Vulcan President T’Rina?

JONES: The love story between Saru and T’Rina has meant the world to me. That’s the one with I’ve had for Saru throughout this entire series… “Can he find love?” [Laughs] When you’re playing an alien, a non-human species, it’s nice to have a love story. It’s more rare. Coupling him with a Vulcan? Perfection.

They’re both very diplomatic, they’re both very poised and proper — and he wants to be protective of her, but she’s adamant that she does not need his protection. T’Rina takes the lead often because she knows better than Saru does in many, many situations.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

We’ll be back tomorrow with our final Discovery interview of the week — with the one and only Captain Burnham herself, series lead Sonequa Martin-Green.

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Doug Jones reveals his greatest challenge in Star Trek: Discovery Season 3

Credit: CBS All Access

In the final three episodes of  Star Trek: Discovery  Season 3, Captain Saru ( Doug Jones ) is facing his biggest challenges yet. In Episode 11, "Su'Kal," Saru, Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), and Dr. Culber (Wilson Cruz) attempt to locate the cause of "the Burn," the mysterious disaster that occurred a century before their arrival in the 31st Century. In the new episode, the crew of the Discovery investigates a possible answer to the source of the Burn — which just leads to a lot of new questions.

At the center of it all is Trek 's latest starship captain, the Kelpien Saru, played by the incomparable Doug Jones, known to sci-fi fantasy fans for his amazing body of work in films like  Hellboy  and  The Shape of Water , as well as his terrifying (and hilarious) vampiric appearance in  What We Do In the Shadows . But now, after a sci-fi fantasy career defined by these various visages, the actor faces a new kind of acting challenge on  Star Trek: Discovery. 

In the Q&A below, SYFY WIRE caught up with Jones to talk about the big twist in  Discovery's  new episode, and what it all means for Saru's journey this season. 

**SPOILER WARNING! Massive spoilers for Star Trek: Discovery Season 3, Episode 11, "Su'Kal" below!**

For the first time in his Trek career, the character of Saru appears in this episode not just as a Kelpien, but also, shockingly as a human! In the reality of the episode, this is caused by a holographic program, which is attempting to mask Saru's true appearance, in order to not frighten a stranded Kelpien living on a complicated starship, basically opperated by a broken-down holodeck program. Burnham and Culber are transformed into a Trill and a Bajoran, respectively, but it's Saru's human visage that is easily the biggest twist. Here's what Jones said about how it all went down.

It's Doug Jones! As Saru! As a human! (Credit: CBS)

Let's talk about the big twist in Episode 11 — Saru appears as a "human." What was your reaction when you got this script?

It was a dual reaction. Part of it was, "Oh good!." Part of it was, "OHH NOOO." [ Laughs .] Being human buys the ability to go to the bathroom when I wish, whenever I wish. My hands aren't inside of rubber. I can work zippers and snaps. I can go to the craft services table and get myself a snack or have a coffee!

The terrifying part was that I've played many humans over my career. But, I'd never played  Saru  as a human. That's what scared me. All of his affectations came from that look, infused with his personality. Playing Saru is a package deal with the look; those boots that change my posture and change my walk. Now, take that all away, and you're still Saru,  go . I was like, "You've got to be kidding me!" So, I was scared of that. But also I was worried, and thought, will the fans buy this? Like, I don't want to be subject to a Twitter storm where somebody's like, "Eww he's way scarier without the make-up!" 

Yeah, that sounds tough. How did you tackle the challenge? Theater training? 

Well, thank heavens this happens late into Season 3. I've already worked with Saru for three years. I know how he thinks and talks. I know him well enough that his guts are still with me. It helped that I'd already established so much with him. 

Saru's captaincy has been beset with people constantly giving him advice and questioning his authority. Is this a  realistic  depiction of what it's like to get a job promotion?

I absolutely think so! Especially for Doug Jones. Anytime I've been given any authority in real life people always question me! With Saru — even though he gained new-found confidence after his threat ganglia fell out and he passed through Vahar'ai — being fearless doesn't mean you know everything. And he's aware of that. He's never lost his gentlemanliness. Part of being a gentleman is knowing how to collaborate and expect wisdom from those who have it.

Tilly (Mary Wiseman) and Saru (Doug Jones) face the future in Episode 2 of Discovery Season 3. (Credit: CBS)

Speaking of things that have changed over three years, talk to me a little about your dynamic with Mary Wiseman this season. Tilly and Saru's relationship is so different now.

I  love  Saru and Tilly together. It has a very father-daughter vibe to it. At first, [in Season 1 and 2] he was always rolling his eyes at her because she was always saying these jubilant and inane things. But he saw through that eventually and came to realize she's maybe the smartest scientist we've had on that ship. And how she puts others at ease, and that she has a diplomatic skill that has never really been tapped into until now. She's a really unique talent and gift to our crew. He recognizes that in her, which is why he put her forward in the Command Training Program. He loves her. Him putting her as the acting Number One is a very  bold move,  which he never would have done had he not felt she earned it.

Saru's relationship with Georgiou also evolved in huge ways this season.

There was an awful lot of emotion and tugging of the heart working with Michelle [Yeoh] . Love her. She is one of the most professional actors and performers I've ever worked with. It's hard to find someone more cinematically iconic than Michelle. As far as the characters, Mirror Georgiou and Saru have been sandpaper on each other for the whole time they have known each other. She has a predatory way, in her world, he's dinner to her. Saru never forgot that. He's kept her at arm's length and they've played tennis with barbs and insults, which I think is great.

But, when she was in great need, and Saru realized her life is at stake, he does have a heart, and he does stop to count, what are the good things that have come out of this strong woman we have with us. I'm glad that with Prime Universe Saru, that it was written in that I had a moment to say: You've been good. For all the sandpaper, there's a good side to you that I can accept and say goodbye to.

Saru (Doug Jones) and Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) share a tense moment.

What's the been hardest thing about all these changes?

The most challenging part for me is owning that sense of authority. In real life, when someone has another suggestion, I always defer. I'm always like, "Okay. Okay. That's fine!" I've often taken a backseat when it comes to thought leadership. So, playing Saru as a calm, confident leader has been my biggest challenge. He's getting more so, as the season progresses. It's been lovely to hear the fan chatter about the fact that they're buying that. 

This episode had a horror-vibe to it. You've played a lot of monsters in your time. Did that experience mesh with your Trek experience?

Su'kal's ship is absolutely a haunted house, isn't it? I think the monster that is plaguing him has the ultimate horror film element to it. We don't know it is yet. What is it? Why is it there? I've played in many horror projects before so, a lot of this felt very familiar, yes. Classic horror is like this episode: what's around the corner scares you way more than what's in front of you. 

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 is streaming now on CBS All Access. 

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Star Trek: Discovery 's Doug Jones Unpacks Saru's Surprise This Week

A lot of our faves on Star Trek: Discovery have been through some weird, weird stuff in three seasons, but few have had quite the journey Lieutenant—now Captain —Saru has had. But this week’s episode , “Su’Kal,” throws one hell of a curveball to our Kelpien friend...and to Doug Jones , the actor behind the makeup who found himself in an altogether more alien challenge than usual.

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“Su’Kal” sees Saru, Dr. Culber, and Michael on an away mission to the planet that Discovery believes might be the source of the Burn—the mystery Michael has chased all season, a cataclysmic event that detonated the D ilithium at the heart of every active warp core in a starship 100 years before the events of season three . And it might be the show’s strangest away mission yet. Not only was the planet they were beaming to unlike anything they’d expected, it had been radically altered by powerful holographic simulations to create new environments for its equally mysterious inhabitant.

It did more than that: the holo-programs also radically altered the appearances of our Away Team. Michael became a Trill. Hugh became a Bajoran. And Saru, the only alien among them? Well..suddenly he became a very human-looking Doug Jones . To find out more about how Jones approached a completely different vibe to Saru, io9 spoke with the actor—check out part of our interview below!

James Whitbrook, io9: What was it like for you when you received the script for this episode, and you realized that suddenly, you’re not in a large amount of Kelpien makeup, you’re...human!

Doug Jones: When I saw that in the script for the first time, I had two reactions at the same time. One was, ‘Oh, good!’ The other one was, ‘Oh, noooo ! ’ You can imagine! The good part was, ‘I don’t have to wear silicone rubber glued to my face. I can get my own snacks from the craft service table. I can undo my own pants when it’s bathroom time.’ There’s so many plusses, right? Then the ‘Oh no’ part was, I played humans many a time in my 35 -year career, but I have never played Saru as a human. This is terrifying. Can I pull this off? Will fans buy it?

All those questions and fears were right there with me. And the other thing too, in this age of social media...I didn’t want to face an onslaught of... [Jones adopts a shrill, dramatic voice] ‘ Ew, that’s what he looks like?! Ewwwwww! He’s much scarier without the make-up! ’ You know? All that, that you get. But I thought, ‘OK, OK , how do we?’ How do we...[sighs] I just had to buckle down and forge ahead with this human version of Saru.

io9: There is so much physicality to your performance as Saru on the show. What was it like those first few days, when you were just trying to get into the mood of how to modulate that performance, realizing you don’t have that sort of mask you usually have on the show to work with? Jones: Well, what was working in my favor was that I was living and breathing as Saru for many years, already. Saru is a part of me. I know him really well. So, without the look, I still can channel his insides—his heart, his soul, his intention, and his voice. The speech pattern was the first starting place. That could stay pretty much the same. What the biggest change was, was OK ...how I stand, how I walk, how I hold myself, how I gesture—not quite all the way human like I am when I’m Saru. The biggest change being the footwear. Those hoof boots as Saru change my posture, it puts my hips a bit forward and my arms a bit back. And my walk: it changes everything! So with my heels on the ground, I had to splice together Kelpien and human to make a walk that was still a hint Saru’s in there somewhere. Heels on the ground, you have to be somewhat human already. I wanted to glide like a supermodel down a runway if I could...but, I had to think to myself ‘Make it us able for a guy in regular boots.’

io9: We get this rare chance to really see quite an emotional side of Saru he doesn’t let out very often—he’s confronting the idea there’s a member of his species in grave danger and needs to reach out to this child figure in Su’Kal. What was it like to tap into this very vulnerable side of him, when he realizes who Sa’Kal is and what the situation is with him? Jones: I turned 60 this year, in my real life. The older I get, the more nostalgic I get for home, for family...Saru is kind of on that same journey. He’s left home twice now, in his life— firstly, going to  Starfleet at the very beginning , to being told he can never go back again. We do get back there [in season two] when they’re ready to bring us back, so I can liberate the Kelpiens and battle the Ba’ul and live in harmony and get my planet of Kaminar fixed. Then at the end of season two, we say goodbye again, we’re going to jump to the future. So, he suffered emotional loss and tried to keep it dignified all this time. So many times.

Now that he has not seen another Kelpien face, and the chance to see one again, and to be of help to them...and to maybe get back to the homeworld of Kaminar—‘Is there a potential for me to go to Kaminar?’ All this is tugging at his heart so, so much. There’s no way for him to [deal with it]...so, Michael Burnham says [to Saru this episode], ‘Are you emotionally compromised?’ She knows him really well, better than anybody else in the crew does. And she can see that yes, he is absolutely going through massive amounts of nostalgia and heart tugs to his homeworld. So that does affect his decision-making right now.

Star Trek: Discovery ’s third season is currently airing on CBS All Access. Stay tuned for more from our chat with the wonderful Doug Jones soon!

For more, make sure you’re following us on our Instagram @ io9dotcom .

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'Star Trek: Discovery' actor Doug Jones on conquering fear and stepping up screentime

Mercurial mime and character actor Doug Jones has portrayed a menagerie of unique Hollywood monsters for over three decades. 

His lean and lanky form was the perfect foundation for beasts and creatures in director Guillermo del Toro projects ranging from The Pale Man and The Faun in "Pan's Labyrinth" and Abe Sapien in "Hellboy" and "Hellboy II: The Golden Army," to the sexy amphibian man known as The Asset in 2018's Oscar-winning film, "The Shape of Water."

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But throughout his illustrious career under layers of latex rubber, makeup, and prosthetics, it's Jones' complex role as the mannerly Kelpien officer Saru in the Paramount Plus sci-fi series, " Star Trek: Discovery " that's been his longest-running professional gig by far.

To celebrate the new "Star Trek: Discovery Season 3" Blu-ray set that landed on July 20, Space.com spoke with Jones about his promotion to Federation starship Captain and the challenges and responsibilities that entailed, along with how he's continued to develop Saru into a fan favorite and what's in store for the hoofed Kelpien as Season 4 finishes up its shoot. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Related : 'Star Trek: Discovery' teaser trailer for Season 4 sounds like every other season

"Saru has helped inform Doug Jones on a better way to perceive the world around him." Doug Jones

Space.com: How has this recent season changed you as an actor and a person?

Doug Jones: Well, like Saru, Doug Jones had to face some fears and overcome them. I came into "Star Trek: Discovery" thinking that I was going to be second fiddle and I was happy with that position. I love being a supporting player. Taking on the Captain's chair? I knew that meant a bigger workload since more scenes need to go through the Captain and all the decisions made have to be approved so he's involved in a lot more. 

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[Actor] Sonequa-Martin Green is still the star of our show for sure and [her role] Michael Burnham is the character we're following, but Saru did step up his screen time quite a bit for Season 3. And that was rather intimidating because that means more 15- to 17-hour days in full makeup and contact lenses and shoes that hurt my feet. So I took a deep breath and thought, "Here we go!" 

The honor of it was not lost on me: It puts me in a very small small club of actors who've been able to play Captains of Starfleet ships in this franchise. That's a very exclusive, lovely club to be a part of. And to do it as an alien species — I'm the first alien species to ever take on the Captain's chair of a title ship in the franchise. It's a huge honor. 

Space.com: Of all the iconic creatures you've portrayed in your career, what makes Saru so interesting to you creatively?

Jones: I know him better than any other character I've ever played, because I've played more of him. After three seasons, and now we're currently filming Season 4 and almost done with it, I've lived in Saru's skin more than any character I've played. I've had the time and the luxury to explore his inner workings and peel back the layers like an onion. It's like a long engagement, you find out more and more about the person you're going to marry the longer the engagement goes. 

I love that Saru is not an emotionless alien. As a Kelpien, he's very connected to his emotions and he feels and plays off of all of them. I love that his care for others is something we all aspire to. He takes on his Captaincy with not only a Starfleet duty, but also in a fatherly way, looking at his whole crew as a family. As we jump to the future 930 years, all we have is each other. We're in the land of the unknown now and we do have each other still. He uses the word "together" so many times in Season 3, and that's a thought and an emotion that I really do love.

Space.com: With Saru becoming a series cornerstone and fan favorite, does that bring a level of added pressure to the role?

Jones: Pressure? Yes. And do I have to respond to that pressure? Yes. I'm a pretty lazy actor when it comes to real life. For me, less is more. So when given that responsibility of Captain, it brought on a whole world of fear. From playing Saru over those three seasons, and now the fourth, I've been inspired by him. Saru has helped inform Doug Jones on a better way to perceive the world around him. We can receive the same stimuli on two different things, but perceive it differently. 

Saru goes from a fear species to losing his threat ganglia and now forging ahead with the courage and confidence he's never had before. He's still faced with the same threats and perils, but how he responds to them is that, "We can get through this." And I think Doug Jones needs to adopt that too.

If I've been faced with a big fear of more dialogue, more scene time, more responsibility on film, more fans that can be upset or happy with me, then I'm going to take it with Saru's newfound courage. Yes, this is a task I can handle, and I will.

Space.com: What new elements did you channel into your Saru performance in Season 3?

Jones: Well, I think the butler from "Downton Abbey" is still a part of Saru. He's very prim and proper and loves to adhere to protocols and then diplomacy. He's all about that. I also think there's a little bit of Christopher Meloni's Detective Stabler from "Law & Order: SVU." He walks with a very cocky confidence and I think Saru added that to his demeanor once he lost his threat ganglia. Now that he's a Captain, he has to have that kind of confidence walking into a room, knowing that his opinion does matter and he might be right about whatever the topic is.

Space.com: With Season 4 nearly wrapped, what can you tease about what's to come?

Jones: Since we're still filming, I can't tell you "jack-nothing." 

Last time we saw Saru, he was on his home planet of Kaminar helping Su'Kal find his way as a Kelpien. He's handed the Captain's chair over to Captain Burnham and she flies off on a new mission with the crew. So I'm not stripped of my Captain status with Starfleet. How do they plug me in, and how do they utilize me in Season 4, that's what we have yet to discover.

"Star Trek: Discovery: Season 3" is available on Blu-ray, DVD and Blu-ray Steelbook.

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Jeff Spry is an award-winning screenwriter and veteran freelance journalist covering TV, movies, video games, books, and comics. His work has appeared at SYFY Wire, Inverse, Collider, Bleeding Cool and elsewhere. Jeff lives in beautiful Bend, Oregon amid the ponderosa pines, classic muscle cars, a crypt of collector horror comics, and two loyal English Setters.

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Star Trek’s Doug Jones Confirms Post-Discovery Plans After Donning Prosthetics To Play Saru

What's next for the acclaimed actor?

For five seasons, Doug Jones has played Star Trek 's first Kelpien, Saru, and done a bang-up job with the role. I'd rank the character my favorite of the new era of shows, and he's definitely in the conversation of one of the best Star Trek characters of all time . This is thanks, no doubt, to Jones' long history of acclaimed work as a character actor and someone who has spent most of his career in prosthetics. As the actor ages, though, what are his plans for these roles going forward?

I had the great opportunity to speak to Doug Jones about his plans post-Saru, ahead of the premiere of Star Trek: Discovery Season 5. The actor has hinted before that after the role was done, he'd be potentially retiring or stepping away from doing roles that involve heavy prosthetic work. So, when I asked him if that was still the case, he said the following:

You are very intuitive. Yes. I'm pursuing more human characters now and they've been coming. So I'm really tickled about that. You know, you come to a certain point where it's like, I think I've played every species, every hybrid known to man. And yeah, I'd like to play this guy. I wonder what he can do on film.

It looks like after Star Trek: Discovery , we can expect to see Doug Jones prioritize roles using his actual face and not one that requires hours of makeup to achieve. Readers who have watched What We Do In The Shadows actor might've seen this already, as he played the vampire Baron Afanas, who we've seen revert back to his normal form. It appears we will see more of Jones in those roles going forward rather than some of the iconic characters he's played over the years.

She's a great role model.

It's big news, to be sure, considering the legacy Jones has as a creature actor. As Saru, fans watched him transform his character , leaving behind his anxious feelings and becoming a strong and capable captain in later seasons. He was so beloved as Abe Sapien in Hellboy that he almost had a cameo in the reboot , and who can forget his role as Amphibian Man in the Oscar-winning movie The Shape Of Water ?

Those who don't have a Paramount+ subscription ahead of Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 better get one because it might be one of Doug Jones' last performances in prosthesis. Many might also want to see the crew's final adventure, which I likened a lot to Voyager . I'm also very interested in the ending, which Jones said gave him closure over the series' unexpected cancellation. Hopefully other fans feel the same way and it gives us all a reason to be excited about upcoming Star Trek shows .

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 kicks off on Paramount+ with a two-episode premiere on Thursday, April 4th. Tune in to see the possible last ride with the crew, and to potentially get a glimpse of what's in store for the future.

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Mick Joest is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend with his hand in an eclectic mix of television goodness. Star Trek is his main jam, but he also regularly reports on happenings in the world of Star Trek, WWE, Doctor Who, 90 Day Fiancé, Quantum Leap, and Big Brother. He graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Radio and Television. He's great at hosting panels and appearing on podcasts if given the chance as well.

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Star Trek: Discovery

Ten years before Kirk, Spock, and the Enterprise, the USS Discovery discovers new worlds and lifeforms as one Starfleet officer learns to understand all things alien. Ten years before Kirk, Spock, and the Enterprise, the USS Discovery discovers new worlds and lifeforms as one Starfleet officer learns to understand all things alien. Ten years before Kirk, Spock, and the Enterprise, the USS Discovery discovers new worlds and lifeforms as one Starfleet officer learns to understand all things alien.

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• Trivia The Starfleet vessels seen in the first season, including the Discovery, the Shenzou and the redesigned Enterprise, were all designed by production artist John Eaves. Eaves' work with Star Trek spans three decades. Probably his most notable contribution was the design of the Enterprise-E for Star Trek: First Contact (1996) .
• Goofs With Michael being the adoptive sister of Spock, the series has many flashbacks to their childhood and upbringing on Vulcan. Spock's Vulcan half-brother, Sybok, does not appear nor is mention during these scenes. In Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) , Spock says that he and Sybok grew up together. However, since it's never stated when Sybok joined Sarek's home - only that he did so following his mother's death - or when he was exiled from the family, it's not impossible Sybok moved in after Burnham, and left before she graduated (the two extremes of the flashbacks). Also, since Sybok was never mentioned before Star Trek V, it seems reasonable the family never spoke of him again after his estrangement.
• Alternate versions The serif-font legends and subtitles in the "broadcast" episodes are absent from the DVD versions, where they are replaced with the standard DVD subtitles.
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‘Star Trek: Discovery’: Scoop About That ‘TNG’ Connection, Saru’s Decision & Book’s Revelation

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[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for  Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Episodes 1 “Red Directive” and 2 “Under the Twin Moons.”]

Star Trek: Discovery just set Captain Michael Burnham ( Sonequa Martin-Green ) and the rest of the crew on quite the adventure for its final season, with a major connection to a previous series in the franchise.

The Paramount+ drama’s fifth and final season premiered on April 4 with the first two episodes, “Red Directive” and “Under the Twin Moons,” which also featured a farewell to a fan-favorite—but don’t worry, he’s not leaving the show, just the  U.S.S. Discovery —and a surprising revelation about the identity of one of the dangerous foes also after the same ancient power the crew is.

Read on for a breakdown of the major moments, plus some scoop on why the final mission is connected to The Next Generation and what’s still to come.

Discovery Expands on  TNG ‘s “The Chase”

It’s not until the end of the premiere that Kovich ( David Cronenberg ), after a lot of pressing from Burnham, reveals the details of the classified mission. A Romulan, Dr. Vellek (Michael Copeman), one of the greatest scientists of his day, was present when Picard ( Patrick Stewart ) found a message left by a race of ancient beings called the Progenitors who created life as we know it. A few thousand years ago, they would’ve been called gods.

Wilson Cruz on Learning About 'Star Trek Discovery' Ending & Culber's 'Epic' Journey

Vellek found their technology, whatever they used to design life itself, and when he disappeared 800 years ago, the location was lost with him. The crew has to find it first before it falls into the wrong hands, La’k (Elias Toufexis) and Moll’s (Eve Harlow).

“‘The Chase’ was an episode that had stuck with many of us from  TNG , just for the ideas and themes that it explores in an hour, and then that’s it. And then they go on to other adventures,” executive producer Michelle Paradise tells TV Insider. “But there are these very profound questions and explorations, and it just felt like an area that was so rich for exploration and asking what happened next.”

She continues, “When we were looking at Season 5 and looking at where our characters were emotionally and where we wanted to take them this season and the things that they were going to be exploring internally and discovering about themselves internally – questions of meaning, place in the world, where am I going? Where do I fit? — it felt like that was a really wonderful launching point in terms of theme. It also gave us a really great quest, and that was something else we wanted this season was an adventure, a quest, and so the quest to find this technology becomes the thing that they’re after. And it all seemed that it worked very, very well together.”

Saru Leaves  Discovery

Saru ( Doug Jones ) leaves behind the crew that’s his family to take a diplomatic post, but before doing so, he and Burnham go on one last mission together in “Under the Twin Moons.”

“Oh, I hate goodbyes in real life and for Saru and Burnham,” admits Jones. “Saru and Burnham’s relationship has been brother-sister-like since the very beginning where we are at each other’s throats a little bit and competitive with each other, and now going through life and death situations, we have grown such a respect and admiration for each other that when this new opportunity comes for Saru, and it might be time for him to move on, is it or isn’t it? And should he or shouldn’t he? So much goes into it. His loyalty to Discovery. His loyalty to her mostly is what really is the tether that, do I stay, do I go?”

He especially loved a significant moment the two shared. “When foreheads touch in my Kelpian culture, that is not so much romance as it is family. And so my goodbye temporarily, if I have to go and seek out a new position somewhere, I couldn’t do it without a forehead touch with her because she’s family to me now,” he says.

Michael Gibson/Paramount+

“That episode is so beautiful, and I love the way they told that story,” Martin-Green raves. “I love what the writers gave us, and of course, it’s always such a joy to work with the brilliant, once-in-a-lifetime, Doug Jones.”

Saru leaving the  U.S.S. Discovery is key for Burnham’s journey. “Here we have her guide, her big brother in a lot of ways, her voice of reason moving on, fulfilling his own destiny. And so it’s interesting because it’s like Burnham needed that,” explains Martin-Green. “It was a graduation for her in a lot of ways. It’s like, well, now the things that he gives me— speaking as Burnham—I’m going to have to find in myself because I think now it’s time for me to give, for me to be the guide, for me to be the shepherd, for me to be the one who’s sort of in the mentor position. So I love it. I also just love what it speaks to regarding Saru and him returning to his people and realizing that that’s where his place is. I think that that speaks volumes as well.”

But while Saru and T’Rina (Tara Rosling) are going strong, there are some challenges they have to navigate politically. Jones thinks it’s harder for T’Rina to do so because “she has more at stake diplomatically and politically because of her position as president of her planet and how things will look, how will her people respond to her relationship to an outsider, which I am in her culture. And so how is that going to affect her diplomacy?”

Moll’s Connection to Book

Book ( David Ajala ) realizes that the crew’s current foe, Moll, is the daughter of his mentor, making her the closest thing to family that he has left. Once he realizes who she is, “It is such a mix of emotions because how do you quantify that the last human life form of connection to your family is also potentially your enemy?” asks Ajala.

“There’s so many questions and of course, it just heightens the level of drama. Unpacking that was always going to be a fun challenge. And throughout the season there is closure at the end, but it’s still very, very gray,” he says. “And I really admire the way the writers have approached that specific storyline because it is a tricky one to quantify.”

What did you think of the first two episodes of the final season of  Star Trek: Discovery ? Let us know in the comments section, below.

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David ajala, michelle paradise, sonequa martin-green.

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• April 25, 2024 | Recap/Review: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Reflects On Its Choices In “Mirrors”
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Recap/Review: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Reflects On Its Choices In “Mirrors”

| April 25, 2024 | By: Anthony Pascale 72 comments so far

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 5 – Debuted Thursday, April 25, 2024 Written by Johanna Lee & Carlos Cisco Directed by Jen McGowan

A solid episode with plenty of lore and character development gets weighed down with a bit too much exposition.

No, I didn’t kiss you in the past last week, what makes you say that?

WARNING: Spoilers below!

“Maybe we’re not so different.”

As the crew regroups following the time bug incident that lost them 6 hours, they try to trace the trail of their main rivals in the search for the Progenitor tech. Book takes this time to reflect on the choices he has made in life and how it isn’t too late for Moll; perhaps he can redeem the daughter of his mentor and namesake Cleveland Booker. Stamets and Tilly figure out the trail didn’t disappear into nowhere: Moll and L’ak went through a wormhole. The aperture isn’t big enough for the Disco, so the captain assigns herself to shuttle duty—over the objections of her new XO, who is still struggling a bit. After a little bonding over old Kellerun poetry, she leaves him with “I know you can lead this crew” and heads off with her ex. Returning to their old banter, including some teasing about what happened during her time tour last episode, Book and Michael head through the wormhole. Things get really choppy as they fly through exotic matter “deaf and blind,” losing comms with the Disco, and dodging debris. Skilled piloting and good ol’ Starfleet engineering saves them, but things aren’t so hot for Moll and L’ak, whose ship is spotted cut in half. Their only hope for survival is another relatively intact ship that looks familiar. A 24 th -century scientist hiding a clue in this pocket dimension on a shipwreck from another universe makes as much sense as anything.  It’s the ISS Enterprise—and that’s no typo. If the “Mirrors” title wasn’t clue enough, the ISS does it: Things are about to get Terran, again.

After docking, Michael and Book make their way through the mess of a ship to the bridge with more playful banter. The warp drive has been bricked and all shuttles and escape pods are gone, very out of character for ruthless Terrans. They track three quantum signatures in sickbay, but start with a trace in the transporter room, which looks more like a makeshift refugee camp. A chronicle reveals the crew mutinied after the Terran High Chancellor (aka Mirror Spock) was killed for making reforms. A certain Kelpien rebel leader (aka Mirror Action Saru) led refugees to the Prime Universe, where they abandoned ship. While Book expositions, Michael puts a piece of her badge (and its important Prime Universe quantum signature) in a locket she finds. Pay attention BTW, or you will be confused later. In sickbay, they find Moll and L’ak, Moll and L’ak, and Moll and L’ak—until they take out the holo-emitters so the four former couriers can face off for real. Book tries the “I knew your father” gambit and is immediately rebuffed by Moll’s serious daddy issues. The baddies figure they have the clue so they have all the leverage, but Michael uses that locket as a bluff, claiming she has the real clue. Still, no deal with the Federation is good enough because they need the Progenitor tech to get rid of an Erigah… a Breen blood bounty. That’s right, L’ak is Breen. Holy refrigeration helmet , Batman.

Mirror McCoy was a bit of an evil pack rat.

“You both still have choices .”

Cut to a series of Burn-era flashbacks when Moll was delivering dilithium to the Breen Imperium. The “bucket heads”  are not amused by the wisecracking courier who gets into a fight with one of them, but she turns the tables, revealing she knows he’s a disgraced member of the royal family—and she even knows his name. It’s L’ak, of course. He is intrigued by her plan to skim more latinum, getting payback for being humiliated for this cargo duty demotion. Soon enough, this unlikely pair is hooking up between cargo containers and he even takes off his helmet to show her his face, as well as his “other face.” It turns out the Breen have two: the one we have been seeing with L’ak and a glowing eyed translucent one.  Later, the star-crossed romance is threatened when Moll is drawn to the lure of even more latinum by delivering to the Emerald Chain. Before they can sort out if he should join her, Uncle A-hole shows up, not happy about his nephew’s little interspecies exchange program. He’s also not cool with L’ak using that old face and not the “evolved” glowy face. L’ak is given one chance at redemption: Kill Moll. He picks door number 2, killing some guards but sparing Primarch Ruhn, who declares the Erigah. L’ak knows this means they will never stop hunting him, but Moll is all-in on being a fugitive, so they escape together. Ah, true love.

Back on Mirror Enterprise, the standoff devolves into another quick firefight as the Breen/Human duo chooses not to take the offered off-ramp before going too far down the bad guy road. Moll and Book end up outside force fields that pop up around sickbay, so she reluctantly agrees to a ceasefire. The current Cleveland Booker tries again to connect, but Moll only has bad memories of a brutal childhood of abandonment after her Cleveland left her on her own at age 14. L’ak is all she has. L’ak feels the same about Moll, telling Michael that he would die before being separated, but seems open to the idea of them sharing a cell in the Federation pen. On the bridge, Book pivots to use his relationship with Michael to connect, but Moll’s need to get back to L’ak means no waiting for computer hacking, so she starts yanking out wires. The resulting short does lower the forcefield, but now the ship is out of control. Their shuttle is flung off with the jolt and there’s only eight minutes until the Big E is squished in the little wormhole. Book takes his final shot, handing over his phaser and telling Moll she is the only family he has left. She finally relents and they head to sickbay, where Michael and L’ak have resumed fighting. The captain gets the upper hand and ends up with the clue L’ak was holding and the Breen is left with a knife in his side, but impressed by the locket bluff. Moll arrives and is super pissed, so the Disco duo makes a quick exit before things escalate into yet another phaser fight. This former courier couple’s double date is over.

Uh, can you go back to the other face now?

“Maybe we can shape our own futures too.”

As Moll tries to patch up her boyfriend, Michael and Book work through the problem on the bridge, deciding that the tractor beam as their only hope. Over on the Disco, they detect an oscillating pattern, 3-4-1-4, which means something to Rayner. He now wants the nerds to figure out how to open the wormhole aperture big enough for a ship, offering kegs of Kellerun booze for the best idea. Adira sparks a team effort and Rayner rallies around the crowdsourced solution involving a hexagon of photon torpedoes. “We are only going to get one shot at this. I trust you will all make it count, red alert.” That’s the stuff. With what may be the last seconds of her life, Michael lets Book know she shared a “happy” moment with his past self during the whole time bug incident. Discovery fires the torpedoes and the crew is surprised to see the ISS Enterprise emerge at the last minute from the permanently collapsing wormhole. Everyone releases their tension as the captain informs her crew they saved her… but why is the Enterprise about to fire? A warp pod is launched! It’s Moll and L’ak. Before you can say “plot armor,” they escape to another episode. The captain returns to the Disco to tell Rayner she’s impressed with how he handled the crew during her time away, and he tells her how impressed he was with her subtle “3-4-1-4” message using the Kellerun “Ballad of Krull.” Alien poetry FTW!

In the background of the episode, Tilly has been noticing that Dr. Culber seems out of sorts. Everyone else leans on him, so she offers to be a friendly ear. As things wrap, Hugh takes her up on her offer over drinks at Red’s, admitting that ever since he was possessed by a Trill a few episodes back, he has been feeling a bit off, and he’s beening having some trouble coming to grips with the quest they are on with questions “so big and impossible to grasp.” He is not sure his matter-of-fact husband will understand what Tilly points out is a sort of spiritual awakening. This thread is left unresolved, unlike Adira’s mini-crisis of confidence: They were losing their science mojo due to guilt over the time bug, but got it back through Rayner’s tough love and being the one to come up with the hexagon of torpedoes solution. Things wrap up with Michael and Book looking over their prize, the latest piece of the map and a mysterious vial of liquid hidden inside, ready to set up the next episode once Stamets unlocks its secret. Burnham is starting to see a pattern with these clues and how the scientists who left them were trying to teach lessons along the way to the successful questers. The clue hidden in the ISS Enterprise came from Dr. Cho, a former Terran junior officer who later became a Starfleet Admiral. This happy ending for her and the others from Saru’s band of Mirror refugees fills them with hope as they can’t wait to find out what they will learn when they put the map together. There are just 2 more map pieces and 5 more episodes to go.

I think I have a thing for being possessed—no judgment.

Love stories

This halfway point episode is a bit of a mixed bag. Strong performances were a highlight, bringing extra life to welcome character development for both heroes and villains. But valiant attempts to expand upon franchise lore got weighed down in overly complicated exposition. And for an episode with a strong (and yes, often repeated) theme about choices, some of the directorial choices just didn’t work, potentially leaving some audience members confused or requiring a second viewing to follow the narrative. On the other hand, the episode carried on the season’s reflection on Discovery’s own lore and the evolution of its characters. David Ajala stands out as the episode MVP as he shows Book’s struggle to navigate the emotional complexities of his own choices and those of Moll while desperately trying to forge a new family connection. While some of the action scenes in this episode felt a bit perfunctory, the show is still getting better (for the most part) in finding moments for those character sidebars to talk about their emotional journeys and relationships. That was especially important in this episode, which took a closer look at how the events of the season are impacting some of the key romantic pairings of Book and Michael, Paul and Hugh, and Moll and L’ak.

Eve Harlow—and especially Elias Toufexis—stepped up to add layers and nuance to Moll and L’ak, with Discovery finally embracing how fleshing out adversaries and their motivations goes a long way towards making your plot hold together. The nicely drawn-out reflection of their love story with the rekindling one between Michael and Book adds another layer to the more obvious meaning behind the episode title “Mirrors.” Moll’s single-minded anger and L’ak’s desire for safety now all make sense, as does their unshakable bond. The episode also did a good job weaving in a handful of substories, including Rayner’s growing connection with the crew, with a nice sprinkling of Kellerun lore-building — adding some color to his character. Callum Keith Rennie continues to be a stand-out addition for the season, although Doug Jones is sorely missed, presumably not appearing in two episodes in a row for some scheduling reasons. Culber’s spiritual journey also gets just enough time, as it and these other substories all feel like they are heading somewhere without distracting or spinning their wheels, something that often weighed down mid-season Discovery episodes in past seasons.

Okay, let’s just agree we both have daddy issues.

Under the mask

The reveal that L’ak is a Breen was a surprise, but also nicely teased through the previous episodes. Fans of Deep Space Nine should relish finally getting some answers about this enigmatic race and finally having a first look under those helmets. “Mirrors” picked up on many elements from DS9, including the Breen language, refrigeration suits, neural truncheons, and the position of Thot , while adding lots to the lore, including some worldbuilding behind this new Breen Imperium and its “faction wars.”

Setting the Breen up as what appears to be the real big bads for the season involved a lot of data dump exposition here, surely keeping the editors of Memory Alpha busy for the next week. The notion that Breen have two forms with their signature suits and helmets allowing them to hold the more “evolved” form and face makes sense. If one were to get nitpicky, the Breen aren’t supposed to bleed, but perhaps that was a function of his suit; fill in your own headcanon. L’ak’s desire to hold the other, less evolved form making him a pariah in Breen society has echoes of allegorical episodes such as TNG’s “The Outcast.” That being said, the nuances are still not entirely clear, and fans who like the lore shouldn’t have to rewatch scenes to pick up the details. It feels like some details were cut, perhaps because this episode was already trying to cram in too much exposition with the Breen, Kelleruns (they boil cakes?), and the Mirror Universe.

Like the previous time travel adventure, this was a mid-season bottle show, this time using the conveniently located Strange New Worlds sets. Bringing back the ISS Enterprise was clever and fun, with the twist of how this time the Mirror Universe came to us. If you follow closely, “Mirrors” did a nice job of filling in some lore gaps and tying together the MU storylines from the first visit in “Mirror, Mirror” to follow-ups in Deep Space Nine , Enterprise , and Discovery . There is now a nice throughline from Emperor Georgiou saving Mirror Saru through to Mirror Spock, killed for the reforms he instituted after being inspired by Kirk. However, the redress of the Enterprise sets was not very inspired, with only a smattering of Terran wall sconces and some repainting, instead of demonstrating the brutality of the Empire with elements like agony booths. But what was even more missed was the promise of any character crossovers. There was a lot of talk about Mirror characters like Spock, Saru, Dr. Cho, and others, but we don’t get to see any, one of the many examples of how this episode broke the golden rule to show not tell. There were plenty of opportunities for a flashback or holo recording. Burnham longingly gazing at her brother’s science station is no substitute for Ethan Peck with a goatee.

We’re back!

Final thoughts

“Mirrors” is a decent episode, but it could have been much better with a few tweaks here and there. While not falling into the pointless plate-spinning trap of past mid-season Disco outings, it still dragged a bit for something so jam-packed with lore and revelations. Still, it provided a nice hour of entertainment, and possibly more with rewatches to catch up on the little details. The episode also continues the season’s welcome trend of weaving in the show’s own past, which makes it work better as a final season, even if they didn’t know that when they crafted it. Season 5 hits the halfway mark, and it’s still the best season yet, and hopefully the second half of the season will nail the landing.

Wait, we’re in this episode too? Anyone remember their lines?

• Like the previous episode, “Mirrors” began with a warning for flashing images.
• The episode is dedicated “to the loving memory of our friend Allan ‘Red’ Marceta ,” the lead set dresser who died in a motorcycle accident in 2022.  Presumably the USS Discovery bar “Red’s” was named in his honor.
• This is the first episode where Book’s personal log starts it off.
• Stardate: 866280.9
• Booker examined wanted notices for Moll from the Federation, Orion/Emerald Chain (who have a new logo), and the Andorian Empire.
• Tilly was able to reveal the wormhole by compensating for the “Lorentzian Coefficient,” referencing the real Lorentz Factor used in special relativity equations.
• A new ensign on the Discovery keeps a Cardassian vole as a pet.
• The ISS Enterprise was built at Tartarus Base, possibly referencing Tartarus Prime , from the TOS novel The Rings of Time .
• Moll refers to Breens as “bucketheads” (just as Reno did to Emerald Chain Regulators last episode). This could be a nod to the use of “ bucketheads ” in Star Wars as a derogatory term for stormtroopers.
• Moll’s mother died on Callor V in a mine for Rubindium , a substance first mentioned in TOS “Patterns of Force.”
• Linus can play the piano.
• Breen Primarchs may be a nod to the genetically engineered Primarchs from Warhammer 40,000 .
• How does Book know that Pike’s catchphrase is “Hit it”?
• This is the third (of five) season 5 episodes in which Oyin Oladejo and Emily Coutts do not appear, but their characters, Detmer and Owosekun, are mentioned when they get the honor of escorting the ISS Enterprise back to Starfleet HQ.
• Even though we didn’t see it warp away, presumably the missing intermix chamber was replaced, otherwise Owo and Detmer’s trip is going to take a very long time.
• Tilly says her long day makes her feel like she has been through a Gormangander’s digestive tract.

Remember when Mudd hid inside a Gormagander? Gross.

More to come

Every Friday, the TrekMovie.com All Access Star Trek Podcast  covers the latest news in the Star Trek Universe and discusses the latest episode. The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify ,  Pocket Casts ,  Stitcher and is part of the TrekMovie Podcast Network.

The fifth and final season of  Discovery debuted with two episodes on Thursday, April 4 exclusively on Paramount+  in the U.S., the UK, Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, and Austria.  Discovery  will also premiere on April 4 on Paramount+ in Canada and will be broadcast on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada. The rest of the 10-episode final season will be available to stream weekly on Thursdays. Season 5 debuts on SkyShowtime in select European countries on April 5.

Keep up with news about the  Star Trek Universe at TrekMovie.com .

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waste of ISS Enterprise

While I enjoyed the episode overall, the ISS Enterprise was a huge letdown and not even worth being an easter egg with what little they did with it. They should have just made it a generic constitution class ship from the mirror universe.

It felt like it was nothing more than a budget saver. Use existing sets from the other show. Which is weird because one of the arguments in favor of mini seasons is it allows more money to be spent.

That’s exactly what it felt like. Along with the missing, yet again, Detmer and Owosekun.

There must have been some deep budget cuts for the season.

Detmer and Owosekun were replaced by other characters so I don’t think they are missing for budget reasons. It’s more likely that the actresses were unavailable.

I get the budget issues considering what’s going on with the studio. But the end result was it showed that there isn’t much difference at all in the 900 years between the SNW Enterprise and the aesthetic of Star Trek Discovery. They both look as if they were set in the exact same era.

And there really shouldn’t be much. Discovery is from the same era, as the Enterprise. While the ship gets a technological upgrade, why would it get an interior design makeover?

Since it was deemed important (Stamets certainly makes since) that the crew stay on the Discovery, I would certainly think that psychologically having its design aesthetics stay similar to what it was would help give the crew a little bit of their past to hold on to, versus having all physical interactions be with a timeline that they aren’t native to.

Now where we should see it is in native places in this time. And we have seen some differences in design from standard Starfleet settings, versus Starfleet settings on this time (I actually wish we got more).

I did wish for a little more of self reflection from Burnham’s point of view as the ISS Enterprise should of course remind her of Spock (the Enterprise tie in), but also Georgiou (the ISS tie in). We get a small brief nod to Spock, but nothing to Georgiou (and while I still question the use of the character, there is no question that Burnham did have a connection with her, even if its primarily transference from her former Captain, not the mirror Universe Empress.

Agreed. The last two episodes just felt very budgeted and basically bottle episodes. And this just felt like a twofer, a way to use an existing set and add a little fan service but that’s all it was. I thought the Enterprise itself was going to be a viral part of not just the episode but the story overall.

Instead it was just a backdrop. And yeah it’s obvious they cut the budget for this season but all the live action shows have felt this way starting with Picard season 3 and SNW season 2. That all felt pretty bare a lot of the times. I guess this was all during Paramount+ belt tightening and probably not a shock why the show was cancelled.

And maybe the I.S.S. Enterprise should have been the refit or maybe the Phase II Enterprise? That would have been a lot of fun but combine a lack of vision with a reduced budget and this is what you get.

Looking back on “In a Mirror: Darkly”, season 4 of Enterprise was dealing with a reduced budget but managed to recreate sets from TOS, introduced a few new set pieces and did a lot of great effects work.

This was a missed opportunity.

Which was added by stretching that story over two episodes, so that they had the budget to recreate the sets they used. Having half the episode count, doesn’t really help avail yourself to planning out a two parter for a way to save costs.

I don’t get that. I never assumed that the Enterprise (or its mIrror Universe history) was going to feature in significant manner (certainly the producers and promotional department didn’t make a significant deal about it). Perhaps it’s the time difference. But I literally assumed it would be as significant as the Defiant going in and out of phase like TOS “Tholian Web” the time difference. And that was primarily set dressing. That’s not a bad thing. I mean Tholian Web is considered one of the better third season episodes.

And the only reason I assumed it was the Enterprise versus another Connie, is simple to give Burnham a moment to reflect on Spock. Now I do freely admit that I wish this was a slightly larger moment. But I never expected it to be anything but a small moment. Roughly my preconceived notion would be something like Spock’s Mind Meld scene with La’an in SNW where she is able to get a peak into Spock thinking about his sister and the emotion that comes with it. It’s a very brief scene, but I thought SNW did a good job in conveying the emotional aspect, especially from a half Vulcan/ Half Human.

When you feel like the Mirror Universe has been nothing but a let down after the initial TOS episode, It’s really not a surprise. There’s really nowhere to go with it, but I did find that the fulfilling of the promise that Prime Kirk spoke to Mirror Spock about from the original TOS episode quite satisfying. The ship’s inhabitants embraced the benevolence of the prime universe, and I thought that was great.

I felt the idea that the MU people just easily adapted was pretty ridiculous. But then, they admitted SNW was an alternate timeline. It’s not a stretch that alternate extends to all the Secret Hideout productions.

That’s my only complaint about this episode. Seeing the tantalus field show up would have been really cool. When Michael talked about how she was sure that Mirror Spock was a savage just like the other Terrans, I was sure that we would see a recording or something of Ethan Peck in a goatee to prove her wrong. Or flashbacks with Ethan Peck and Paul Wesley as their mirror counterparts would have also been cool.

All the stuff with the Breen and Mol and Lak was really cool though.

They ate Mirror Saru in season one…

Was that Saru or another Kelpian? It’s been a while since I watched Season 1, but I recall Mirror Saru saving Burnham from Tyler just as Voq’s personality re-emerged. I know Mirror Georgiou served Burnham some Kelpian, I just didn’t remember it being Mirror Saru.

Mirror Saru saved Michael from Tyler in The Wolf Inside, which was the episode that preceded the one in which they ate the food made from a Kelpien (Vaulting Ambition).

Looking at Memory Alpha now, it says that the chosen Kelpien ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVQSipQlJR8 ) was played by someone other than Doug Jones, but they look so much alike that I thought for sure she had chosen Mirror Saru.

As per Memory Alpha, we never saw him again after The Wolf Inside until season three, but that was in the alternate timeline Carl sent Georgiu to, so it wasn’t the same Mirror Saru.

Nope, that was another Kelpien.

“They ate Mirror Saru in season one…”

They didn’t.

Wasn’t Mirror Saru established as having survived in Season 3 (can’t remember the episode name).

Loved this episode. I liked seeing the I.S.S Enterprise though i would of loved to of seen maybe a video log of Mirror Spock.

As a big fan of DS9 I’m glad we finally get to see what a breen looks like and the 32nd century breen outfits look great.

I enjoyed seeing Book/Burnham trying to get through to Moll/L’ak and i hope they can eventually get through to them. With this season about connections and 2nd chances i can see Book and Burnham talking both of them down before they do something that they can’t come back from.

The shot of the I.S.S Enterprise coming out of the ‘wormhole’ is probably one of my favorite CGI scene in all of Trek.

I’m glad they didn’t. I think the conceit of using the I.S.S. Enterprise was not much more than a budgetary decision to be able to use the sets. Could have made it a different constitution class, but then they don’t get to tell the story of the crew’s transformation into our society. Just don’t think about it too much.. because that universe is just pushing out its own doppelgängers into our universe.. which seems problematic. lol.

As a big fan of DS9 I’m glad we finally get to see what a breen looks like and the 32nd century breen outfits look great.

Any kind of big reveal was bound to be disappointing, I suppose. Still, the idea that they were just another latex alien was a letdown. I had always hoped that the Breen were gaseous or plasma creatures.

“This is the way.” 😉

But seriously that was a pretty good episode. I’d like to see a 31st century restored Terran empire that never went through “the burn.”

“ The reveal that L’ak is a Breen was a surprise ”

It really wasn’t, though. That was many viewers’ guess since the beginning of the season, and it’s been a common discussion on many websites. The surprise would have been if he HADN’T been a Breen.

I am on a lot of other sites and I haven’t heard anyone thinking he was Breen. And I don’t believe anyone voiced that in Trekmovie either.

LOL. It’s been a common theory.

Obviously not THAT common. LOL

I’ve seen the theory mentioned in the comments here on TrekMovie.

Yes, quite common from what I’ve been reading. I just commented on this very site a couple weeks back that I liked the idea, when somebody else theorized it (forget who it was)!

I guess it’s just where you go for these discussions but yeah the first YouTube review of episode one I saw theorized Lak was a Breen in the first scene he was in when he took off his helmet. And this was obviously before the species was mentioned on the show.

So yeah some people caught on the first episode the way others theorized Tyler was Voq the first time he showed up. Others needed more convincing.

I never saw it but I certainly don’t read the majority of comments. And almost never watch video reviews. Now Voq, was something I remember seeing in many places. Though in fairness, the amount of conjecture done about any Trek series for its Pilot and early couple episodes has been in my experience far more than what you see for most regular episodes. So that shouldn’t;t surprise me.

It was a surprise to me.

The Breen being so ordinary looking was a bit of a surprise.

Well, one of their forms are. It explains the frozen wasteland/tropical paradise. Their “evovled” form needs cryo suits, their “normal form” doesn’t

This season started out so well. What happened? It’s falling apart.

I hate to a agree. But its once again a long slow burn (pardon the bun) that I fear is going to lead to another whimper of a conclusion. I feel like the season could have been a movie instead. Where is Chapel?!

Wrong show. Chapel is on SNW. The ending was rewritten and new scenes were shot to make it a series finale. They had already started shooting when they got the word that it was ending after season 5.

presumably on Her show, SNW?

“pardon the bun” …🍔⁉️

What’d that poor bun do for it to be in need of a pardon? 😋

This is what happens in every single season of Discovery. Two lovers who want to destroy the galaxy so they can get to paradise was the plot of season four, and now they are recycling the exact same plot for this season.

Did you watch the show. In no seasons has two lovers wanted to destroy the galaxy….Period. L’ak and Moll want to pay off their bounty. Nothing about what they are doing is about wanting to destroy the galaxy.

Outside of the destruction caused by the aliens referred to as 10-C, did any character want to destroy the galaxy let alone a couple. The only couple we had, was one person wanting peaceful means of communication to prevent destruction, while the other wanted to use force to ensure the destruction doesn’t occur. In no case does that equal people wanting to destroy a galaxy.

I can understand not liking the show, but to have such a misconstrued concept of the plot of the seasons shows a shocking lack of basic understanding of what the plot and motivations of the characters are.

I mean the show has plenty that one can find legitimate issues with. Thats not one of them.

This episode was disappointing and fell flat. The return of the ISS Enterprise from the mirror universe was of no interest. I had hoped to possibility see a video log from Kirk, Spock, or another familiar character. Why not explore other Constitution Class Starships like the ISS Lexington, Hood, or Potemkin? Enterprise, Enterprise, Enterprise. (Sigh)

Maybe cause the enterprise is the trek ship pretty much everyone knows even if they are a new trek fan or a casual trek fan or not even a trek fan it is so engrained and intertwined with the name Star Trek that is why they chose to make it the iss enterprise instead of one of the others you mentioned

Because exploring a random ship isn’t the plot of the episode. It’s basically set dressing. Having it be the Enterprise versus a different Connie, gives it a tie to the lead character and part of her family she left behind. That it sorry wise. Another ship wouldn’t have any emotion aspect to the characters. Now production wise its to save a ton of money, as creating a random ship with multiple settings to take use of takes money (if your trying to give it the same level of production that you see for the primary ship). Now of course they could have just created a redress of an existing set to be random alien ship of the week. Those usually aren’t done to the same level of using the existing bridge set of another show. So it serves a small story purpose (ie a setting), it serves a small character purpose *reflection for Burnham, and it serves a production purpose (having high quality set pieces without having to build or do a serious redress and thus saving some money).

Seems rather obvious, to me.

I’m annoyed by what they seem to be doing with Owosekun and Detmer this season. I assume that the actors are absent because Paramount wanted to pay them less, and that’s poor treatment for characters who have been around since practically the beginning of the series.

“ I’m annoyed by what they seem to be doing with Owosekun and Detmer this season. ”

…as opposed to the previous four seasons, when all they did was sit in chairs and look meaningfully at each other?

Which is all Sulu and Chekov do in the average TOS episode. So yes, it’s aggravating for them to be replaced by other actors who are doing the same thing.

I doubt they are paid exorbitantly as recurring guests. It could be similar to what happened in season 4 and Bryce Ronnie Rowe Jr’s absences – he had another gig.

I have a theory that before it was decided that Disco would be cancelled, they were going to replace some of the characters. I think Owosekun and Detmer were going to be replaced, and also that Rayner would become captain and Burnham would go away to do something else. But then that didn’t work out, and so to us it just makes no sense why those two main characters are suddenly missing.

You might be right — I hadn’t considered that revamps due to cancellation might be involved.

Well… It is what it is . This was easily the worst episode of the 5. Tropes galore and really bad plot contrivances.

It feels like the reshoots for when they got the cancelation news are getting dropped in throughout the season. A lot of scenes appear grossly out of place. It feels like they just aren’t even trying anymore to be honest. As flawed as the show has been one thing that never came across among the other problems was a lack of trying.

I am loving the addition of Rayner and the professional Starfleet officer energy he is bringing to the ship. I also liked when he told Burnham the mission was too dangerous for the captain to go on. He is turning out to be a nice counterbalance to the unusual way Discovery has been run as a Starfleet ship after season 2.

I hope he doesn’t get killed off.

Sorry but this was another big fat ‘meh’ for me. This was very very disappointing. Nothing of consequence happened. We learn Mol and Lak backstory basically and it is cool we learn that Lak is a Breen which has been the leading theory since he showed up but it just felt sooo bare overall. Like another Discovery infamous spinning wheel episode where they do the bare minimum to move the plot along but just through a lot of action scenes and inconsequential dialogue to feel like we were getting any real development.

And the biggest elephant in the room (or dimensional wormhole) was the ISS Enterprise. Such a let down. It almost felt like a gimmick or just shoehorned fan service. There was no real reason it needed to be there other than HEY THE ENTERPRISE IS BACK!

Again one of the problems with this show, no real development just there for another connection. Think about what they did with In a Mirror Darkly on Enterprise. They brought in the Defiant as obvious fan service from TOS but the ship had a very vital part to the story. It helped changed the dynamics of the MU. It wasn’t there just for show like this was. And Anthony made a great point the redress felt like a joke. It just felt like an excuse to use the set but little else.

Here it was nothing more than just a backdrop and a really forced one at that. And the whole Saru thing just felt very contrived.

I did like all the Breen stuff though and hopefully they will be the big bad the rest of the season. I still think they should’ve used the Breen as the main villain for SNW instead of the Gorn but I digress.

But yeah this is probably the weakest one for me which is disappointing since last week is my favorite so far. I’m getting a little nervous now. It’s usually the second half of the season this show begins to falls apart but still open minded. Still enjoying it overall but please don’t end up a tedious bore like last season felt once it got to its mid season.

You have one last chance Discovery, make it count!

I never considered the Breen in SNW before, but that’s a cool idea. Yeah, I would’ve liked that much more than the Gorn.

For me it was literally the first Gorn episode I thought the Breen would’ve been a better idea. You get the same type of stories and it doesn’t feel like it’s breaking any canon like the Gorn obviously does. I ranted enough about it but nothing about their appearance on SNW feels remotely canon anymore.

But the Breen could’ve been a great substitute if they wanted a known species not named Klingons and zero canon issues.

Agreed. I always enjoyed the mysterious quality of the Breen. Seems ripe for exploration.

This season is largely working for me. Not as good as last week, but the chase is enjoyable. I have a little trouble buying that Mol and L’ak fell in love so fast. I would have liked to have seen that handled better.. but the slow burn of the plot works because of what they do to sustain individual episodes. Only episode I thought was kind of wasteful was the one on Trill.

That is a big part of the problem, yes. The characters have little chemistry.

The flashbacks took [place over an extended period of time, it wasnt THAT fast

“ it’s still the best season yet ”

Well, it was for the first two episodes, but the three since then have been a downward spiral. Seasons one and two were much better than this week’s episode and last week’s.

I’ve enjoyed it all except for the Trill episode. I think it’s been fun with a faster pace.. which has helped with a lot of issues that haven’t gone away. Raynor has been a very welcome addition to the cast.

Overall, very entertaining!

For complaints: any other constitution ship would be cool – but I also feel like we don’t know what happens next – there could be some Prime Mirror Universe people out there. & the “hit it!” joke felt like Dad was in the writer’s room.

Otherwise, I the pairings felt very TOS. Rayner is a little bit Serious Scotty when performing a captain’s role. And he took pride in rescuing her – which is feels good.

For me, this season has been 5/5.

Personal Log. Stardate: Today.

Week 4 of not-watching Discovery continues without incident. Opinions gleaned from critics on the latest episode seem to confirm that ‘mid-season malaise’ has been reached right on schedule.

Based on the collective opinion of commentators, there have been a grand total of one episode out of five that qualifies as “actually good”.

In conclusion, it appears the decision to not-watch until the penultimate episode has been vindicated. The plot points I am privy to following the one episode I watched are:

– There is a chase (or ‘The Chase 2.0’) for the Holy Grail / the technological marvel Salmone Jens left behind.

– The Cylon is now the First Officer.

– The Trill and the Robot are no longer together.

All in all, I remain confident that the recap at the beginning of the penultimate episode should be sufficient to fill in all the key points required.

Again, my thanks go out to the resolute souls who manage to endure what I could not.

these threads are for people to talk about the episodes they have seen. CLOSED.

Am I wrong or did the DS9 episode Through the Looking Glass make a reference to the Mirror Spock being on Romulus? Also given all the DS9 cross overs with the Mirror Universe you would think Burnham would have known something more about her brother’s counterpart.

Wow! The Breen. From CGI to burn victim.

Does anybody think the Commander Rainer is gonna become the Commandant of Starfleet Academy?

Everything involving Book is incredibly tedious. They brought back the ISS Enterprise as a way to resurrect the OG Enterprise in continuity. Perhaps it ends up as the Enterprise Q or whatever, if Saru is in command then ok. Burnham insisting on going on the away mission is diametrically opposed to how TNG dealt with this – e.g., when Riker as captain insisted on boarding the Borg cube in Best of Both Worlds, and his senior officers reminded him his place was on the bridge. I guess everyone got much dumber in the 32nd century, but “dumber” is Discovery’s whole concept.

This post missed an important Easter egg towards the end: Morn was at the bar “Red’s” just like he did on Quark’s on DS9.

We don’t call out or find every little egg, but when the bar was introduced last season we noted the Lurian (Morn’s species), who has been there ever since. We don’t usually do repeated easter egg bits for each episode

Yay! Good seeing the Breen again and their evolved design in the 32nd Century is great.

Boo! Pretty much everything else except Rayner who is the best character in the show.

Imagine they used the Star Trek: Tour set in Trekonderoga for the ISS Enterprise? What a cool surprise that would have been. But nope, we got the generic canon-breaking Discoprise. Not surprised.

I swear if they make the new Enterprise in the 3190s a refitted Constitution, I will facepalm. Just a stupid idea, when you have far superior tech and designs in the future time period. Please don’t, Disco-writers. Bad enough they did it with the Ent-G (one of my few criticisms of the great PIC S3).

News, Politics, Entertainment, Celebrity, Culture

Why 6’4″ Lt. Saru on ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Walks Like Supermodel

by 2Paragraphs in Culture | September 24, 2017

Doug Jones (left) on Star Trek: Discovery (Jan Thijs/CBS)

In the new series Star Trek: Discovery “new worlds and civilizations are explored by new members of the Star Trek universe.” The premiere episode is titled “The Vulcan Hello” and Kelpien (a new alien race!) Lt. Saru is the science officer aboard the Discovery who is easily compared to Spock and Data from previous Star Trek series.

Lt. Saru is portrayed by Doug Jones . The nearly 6’4” tall actor says Saru’s walk is inspired by supermodels (walking on the balls of his feet), thanks to the boots he has to wear as his character has hooved feet. Jones is accustomed to wearing lots of makeup and unusual costumes for his roles including  The Strain (The Ancient), Falling Skies (Cochise), The Neighbors (Dominique Wilkins), among others. Jones is also well recognized for his roles in Spike Jonze’s Adapation. (Augustus Margary), Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth , the Fantastic 4 movies (The Silver Surfer) and Hellboy (Abe Sapien) — see link above — among others. Fun Fact: Jones had a recurring role on The Weird Al Show in 1997 as a contortionist. Star Trek: Discovery premieres on CBS on Sunday, September 24 at 7:30pm, and then will be available on CBS All-Access.

Trying to show off my my supermodel “Lieutenant Saru” walk as a new species of alien, a Kelpien, at Saturday’s @startrekcbs panel. . #SDCC #startrek #StarTrekDiscovery #aliens #comiccon #actor #actorslife #supermodel #starfleet #llap A post shared by Doug Jones (@actordougjones) on Jul 24, 2017 at 12:17pm PDT

“What’s that?” asked Dougie, “it’s your birthday?!” Happy 52nd to my favorite director of all time, Guillermo Del Toro @realgdt ~ With Big Love from your very own Faun, Pale Man, Abe Sapien, Angel Of Death, Chamberlain, Edith’s Mother Ghost, Lady Beatrice Ghost, Long John, Ancient, Original Master, and Amphibian Man. Thank you for letting me play in your amazing dream world. . #GuillermoDelToro #Director #FilmLegend #PansLabyrinth #Hellboy #Hellboy2 #CrimsonPeak #Mimic #TheStrain #TheShapeOfWater A post shared by Doug Jones (@actordougjones) on Oct 9, 2016 at 10:55am PDT

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 5 Review: The Crew Solves Two of the Series’ Biggest Mysteries

While on the hunt for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5's powerful alien technology, Captain Michael Burnham solves two decades-old franchise mysteries.

The following contains spoilers from Star Trek: Discovery, Season 5, Episode 5, "Mirrors."

One thing about Star Trek: Discovery fans is they are very observant. The big surprise in Season 5, Episode 5, "Mirrors," was slightly spoiled by the trailers, particularly when these eagle-eyed fans captured and examined screenshots. While the return of the ISS Enterprise after 58 years is a big deal, there is more that happens in the episode than solving an old mystery from Star Trek: The Original Series . However, the answer that Captain Michael Burnham and Cleveland Booker uncover is a great one, and fans finally get a long-awaited first look at a mysterious alien species.

After dealing with the Time-Bug in the previous episode , the crew of the USS Discovery tries to figure out where Moll and L'ak disappeared to. While the space criminals have been very capable villains (almost too capable), they're not doing very well in the race. "Mirrors" marks the first time that Moll and L'ak put their hands onto one of the pieces of the Progenitors' puzzle before the Discovery crew. Of course, they aren't able to hold onto it for long after L'ak suffered a serious injury. Still, for the first time, both Burnham and Booker talk to their rivals, approaching them with the kind of compassion that Starfleet is known for. However, they still have to accomplish their mission, and L'ak's determination to be there for Moll gets in the way of any common ground they could've found. Thanks to flashbacks, viewers finally learn why the two are so eager to find this treasure, and where L'ak is coming from.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Continues To Put the USS Discovery in Classic Star Trek Situations

“mirrors” shows the crew rising to meet the challenge in classic star trek fashion, star trek: discovery's callum keith rennie shows a new side of starfleet.

From the lack of galaxy-ending stakes and major interpersonal drama among the crew, Season 5 is Stark Trek: Discovery at its most fun. This episode, in particular, is full of classic Star Trek moments, from forcing enemies to work together to sci-fi technobabble that provides a dramatic resolution to a major problem. The impetus for this race for the Progenitors' technology stems from Star Trek: The Next Generation's "The Chase (Season 6, Episode 20)," but there are major connections to all eras of Gene Roddenberry's universe throughout the season.

While they don't get a lot of screentime, the USS Discovery's crew under Commander Rayner's authority is an equally interesting part of the episode. The recently-demoted captain is hesitant to take full command of the ship in a crisis. In "Jinaal (Season 5, Episode 3)," he took command while Burnham and the away team were down on the surface of Trill. Yet, as far as he knew, their lives and that of the crew weren't in serious danger. His focus was on finding Moll and L'ak, and personally connecting with the crew in 20 words or less. That's not to say that the stoic commander was above some of the series' most emotional beats.

An early scene in the episode, where Captain Burnham tells her new Number One that she believes in him, was subtle but touching . After Rayner showed that he studied Earth customs and sayings, such as "breaking the ice," Burnham returns the favor and cites a historical epic from the Kellerun people. This comes into play when she's able to reference that story later on as a distress call for herself and Book. Instead of badgering the crew, Rayner uses his newfound personal connections (and a friendly offer of Kellerun Citrus Mash) to inspire the crew to solve the problem. This was as classic a Star Trek moment as any, and one longtime franchise fans will surely love.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Reveals the Face of the Breen Imperium Through Moll and L'ak

Star trek fans have wondered what the breen looked like under their armor for decades, star trek: discovery's mary wiseman, wilson cruz and blu del barrio hype finale.

First introduced in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , the Breen Imperium was a galactic seat of power outside of Federation space who allied with the Dominion. The armored aliens look like something out of Star Wars , particularly their helmets, which were reminiscent of Princess Leia's Boussh disguise in Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi . The Breen's appearance and who they really were was one of the most enduring mysteries in Star Trek canon. Even the Dominion didn't know what their Breen allies looked like under the armor. Star Trek: Discovery finally reveals the armor keeps their bodies in a translucent, almost liquid-like state. L'ak, as viewers have seen them, are what the Breen call their "other face."

Moll originally teamed up with L'ak to cheat the Imperium out of some faulty dilithium, a commodity that became scarce because of the Burn . They soon fell in love and when L'ak's uncle, the Primarch of the Sixth Fleet, found out, he ordered L'ak to kill Moll. He instead killed his uncle's guards, but spared the Primarch because, as L'ak said, "he raised me." This defiance earned him an "Erigah," a Breen bounty that is impossible to lift. He now hopes that bringing the Progenitors' technology to the Primarch will lift this death sentence.

Moll also bonded with her quasi-brother Cleveland Booker, though he's the fourth to use that name. Her father was the third Booker, which made him desperate to "save" Moll. Knowing that all she really wants is to live a quiet life, "Mirrors" could be the start of Moll and L'ak eventually joining forces with the USS Discovery crew. Captain Burnham is, after all, a big fan of second chances and redemption . If Season 5 is to have a big villainous threat, it will clearly be the Breen trying to collect on L'ak's Erigah, not two petty criminals.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Reveals What Happened to the Mirror Universe Enterprise

The iss enterprise was introduced in star trek: the original series “mirror, mirror (season 2, episode 4)”, star trek: discovery actors doug jones & david ajala prepare for their last adventure.

"Mirrors" also reveals another, older Star Trek secret, specifically the ultimate fate of the ISS Enterprise, formerly under the command of Tiberius Kirk . Previously, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Crossover (Season 2, Episode 23)" revealed what happened to the Mirror Spock and the Terran Empire. He started the revolution that Kirk suggested and was successful in conquering the Terran Empire to usher in galactic peace. Unfortunately, an alliance of Klingons and Cardassians attacked their weakened forces and took over the galaxy -- or at least the sector containing the Cardassian and Bajoran territory. The fate of Spock himself and his flagship was left open for other storytellers to explore.

Star Trek: Discovery still leaves Spock's ultimate fate an open question, though it seems unlikely that he would have fled his universe. His ship, however, became a refugee vessel for Terran reformers who fled, either in the face of Klingon-Cardassian attacks or a resurgence of the Terran Empire's xenophobic and warlike ways . Their goal was to cross over to the Prime Universe, where they knew the universe they hoped to build already existed. Along with Doctor Cho, the Federation scientist who hid the clue, the Mirror version of Saru (who also became a revolutionary) came with them. This placed the crossover sometime in the Kelpien lifespan, but close enough for Doctor Cho to still be alive. The use of the ship at all is mostly fan service, but it doesn't take away from the story's importance.

In Star Trek: Disocovery Season 3, a holographic interrogator told Philippa Georgiou, the former Terran Empress, that there was a subatomic "chimeric strain on the Terran stem cell" which explained their "evil" natures. Georgiou doubted this, and the ISS Enterprise's refugees are more evidence that the Empress was right. The ideal of Star Trek is that anyone welcomed into this utopian society would discover the logic and practicality of Federation morality, and thus abandon their more outdated worldviews. It obviously worked on Dr. Cho, who hid the clue to the Progenitors' technology instead of using it like a Terran out to reshape an ordered universe in their vainglorious image .

Moll & L'ak Are Bigger Wildcards Than Starfleet's 'New' Enterprise

Star trek: discovery season 5 suggests the uss discovery is headed for a confrontation with the breen imperium, star trek: discovery's sonequa martin-green embarks on one final voyage.

Thanks to the crew of the USS Discovery, the Federation is now in possession of a 23rd Century Constitution-class Terran warship. That said, its value is likely little more than that of an ancient relic from the Terran dimension. If anything, the dilithium left in the ship's stores is worth more than the rest of the ship's parts put together. However, one piece of it -- a warp-capable Terran life-support and escape vessel called a warpod -- disappeared with Moll and L'ak inside of it. The Breen's fate is an open question, but Moll will certainly return for the final piece of the puzzle. She doesn't have to solve the clues; she just has to follow Booker.

This episode is the middle point of Star Trek: Discovery 's final season , and the crew are just two pieces away from the full clue device. The race against Moll and L'ak will probably end in three episodes at most, leaving two for a different, more difficult mission. Whether or not L'ak survives, the Erigah placed on his head means that the Breen and the USS Discovery are headed for conflict. It's looking more likely that Star Trek: Discovery is going to go out with a big space battle. Star Trek is a sci-fi action-adventure story, too, which makes episodes like these even more special.

Star Trek: Discovery examines the kinds of big questions that Star Trek is supposed to. A happy ending for some of the "good" Terrans is reminiscent of how Picard brought the Borg into the Federation . In this universe, the heroes don't defeat their enemies; they convince them to become their allies. As Commander Hugh Culber and

Sylvia Tilly discussed in the lounge at the end of "Mirrors," the characters of this universe are essentially going to meet God, and not that phony one on Sha'Ka Ree. The fights ahead will be fun, but the biggest challenge facing Star Trek: Discovery from this episode onwards is making the discovery of the Progenitors' "prize" as meaningful as it needs to be.

Star Trek: Discovery debuts new episodes Thursdays on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

• Moll and L'ak get overdue screentime to tell their side of the story.
• Commander Rayner begins to find his place as a true member of the USS Discovery crew.
• The fate of Mirror Saru and the other Terrans is good Star Trek storytelling.
• Moll and L'ak's escape feels convenient, continuing the 'cards-down' approach to their telling story.
• The use of the ISS Enterprise could reasonably be called 'fan service' because the ship itself means nothing to the characters.
• The choice to keep the sequences on the ISS Enterprise so dark might be visually unappealing to some viewers.

Star Trek: Discovery Just Brought A Legendary Original Series Episode Back Into The Mix

Let's fly ... away from spoilers . Read no further if you haven't watched the latest episode of "Star Trek: Discovery."

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the strangest of them all? In "Star Trek," that title goes to one of the zaniest concepts ever introduced into the canon: The Mirror Universe. The idea of our alternate selves living completely different lives somewhere out there is no longer the sole domain of perhaps the nerdiest franchise in all of sci-fi (although shows like "For All Mankind," "Foundation," and "3 Body Problem" are creating some stiff competition), the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or the best episode of "Community" ever made . Fans might be surprised to find out that many in the scientific community believe the theory is worth discussion these days . But "Trek" put its own unmistakable fingerprints on the multiverse by emphasizing one in particular that stands at odds with the usual Prime Universe -- one that poses a fundamentally moral dilemma between the paragons of Starfleet we know and love, and the absolute worst versions of themselves.

It doesn't come as a huge surprise that "Star Trek: Discovery" would use its final season to travel full circle and return to the Mirror Universe that played such a significant role back in season 1 (even if, ironically, there might be a parallel universe out there where we were able to see  former showrunner Bryan Fuller's more complex and nuanced take on it ). But what's sure to shock and delight longtime fans in episode 5, aptly titled "Mirrors," is a deep-cut reference to arguably one of the most influential hours of "Trek" ever made, and the one that introduced the Mirror Universe in the first place.

Read more: Every Star Trek Show And Movie In Chronological Order

A Different Kind Of Black Mirror

There might not be any sinister goatees or chest-baring V-necks in sight throughout this episode of "Discovery," but the lasting effects of "The Original Series" episode "Mirror, Mirror" are plain to see. Upon entering the wormhole that took scavengers Moll (Eve Harlow) and L'ak (Elias Toufexis) into multidimensional space, Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Book (David Ajala) discover the wrecked remains of their ship ... alongside the still-functioning husk of a familiar-looking Starfleet vessel, emblazoned with the name, "ISS Enterprise." For those who haven't brushed up on their 1967 "Trek" lore (and, quite frankly, shame on you if that's the case), Burnham helpfully points out that this isn't exactly the same starship captained by the fabled James T. Kirk thousands of years ago. It's one that has somehow found its way from the depths of the Mirror Universe (the exact specifics are oddly brushed aside) and remained stranded ever since.

But then "Discovery" goes a step further and hearkens back to "Mirror, Mirror" more thematically. While exploring the derelict ship, Burnham and Book stumble upon information about the previous occupants of the ISS Enterprise and specifically that of a certain Kelpian who rose from a slave to a leader in his own right. That, of course, refers to none other than the Mirror version of Saru (Doug Jones) seen in season 3, whom Emperor Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) saved from certain death and pointed towards his proper path. Where the ending of "Mirror, Mirror" suggests that Mirror Spock is still "a man of integrity" despite the ruthlessness of the Empire he serves, "Discovery" reconfirms that even the comically rampant evil of the Mirror Universe is no match for the stubborn idealism of "Trek."

New episodes of "Star Trek: Discovery" stream on Paramount+ every Thursday.

Read the original article on SlashFilm

Screen Rant

Star trek: discovery season 5, episode 2 ending explained.

Saru has an eventful last day in Starfleet, while Burnham selects his surprising replacement as Star Trek: Discovery's treasure hunt continues.

WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery, season 5, episode 2, "Under the Twin Moons".

• Captain Burnham picks her new Number One as Saru departs after exploring a sacred planet in search of Progenitors' treasure.
• Rayner becomes Burnham's Number One after proving commitment to the mission, diverging from Saru's suggestion of Book.
• Discovery's next destination is Trill, setting up a reunion between Adira and Gray.

Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) selects her new Number One as Captain Saru (Doug Jones) leaves for pastures new at the end of Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 2, "Under the Twin Moons". Written by Alan McElroy and directed by Doug Aarniokoski, "Under the Twin Moons" depicts Burnham and Saru's " last dance " together, which takes them to the abandoned planet of Lyrek in the Vileen system in search of the Progenitors' treasure. Fighting off the planet's formidable security systems with assistance from Ensign Adira Tal (Blu del Barrio) and a returning Lt. Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman), Burnham and Saru obtain the next clue in their hunt for the Progenitors' treasure .

Meanwhile, Book (David Ajala) and Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz) attempt to create a psychological profile for Moll (Eve Harlow) and L'ak (Elias Toufexis), which reveals some surprising information. While Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 2, "Under the Twin Moons" largely focused on Saru's action-packed last day as a Starfleet officer , it also provides tantalizing teases about the backstories for Discovery 's new heroes and villains. As the reshuffled crew of the USS Discovery head toward their next location, it will be interesting to see if these new dynamics will help or hinder the hunt for the Progenitors' technology as Discovery season 5 continues.

When Does Every Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Episode Premiere (& How Many Are There)?

Rayner is burnham's new number one, discovery's saru replacement isn't a yes man..

At the start of Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 2, Captain Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) was severely reprimanded for his reckless actions on Q'Mau, jeopardizing his future as a Starfleet officer. However, despite this, Rayner reached out to the USS Discovery, helping Tilly and Adira find solutions to Burnham and Saru's predicament on Vleen . This impressed Burnham, who recognized that Rayner's gruffness and his recklessness on Q'Mau were borne out of an unwavering commitment to the mission at hand, and an overriding desire to protect Starfleet and the Federation.

Which is why, at the end of Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 2, Burnham requests to have Rayner assigned to the USS Discovery as her Number One . Burnham's decision is also inspired by Saru, who saw her potential way back in Star Trek: Discovery season 1, even when she was a convicted mutineer. Now that Saru has left the USS Discovery, she wants to honor his legacy by giving Kellerun Captain Rayner the sort of second chance that she too was afforded.

Elias Toufexis, who plays L'ak in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, also played Cold, one of Burnham's fellow prisoners in season 1, episode 3, "Context is for Kings".

Burnham and Rayner's dynamic should be fascinating to watch during Star Trek: Discovery season 5, especially as she's made it very clear that she doesn't want him to be a " yes man ", nor does Rayner wish to be one. More interesting still is that, by selecting Rayner, Burnham is ignoring Saru's initial suggestion of her ex-lover, Book, for the role of Discovery's new First Officer . Hopefully, later episodes will drill down into why the unpredictable and reckless Rayner is a better Number One for Burnham than the man that she used to trust with her life.

"Action Saru" Has Officially Left The USS Discovery

The kelpien lives up to his nickname on his final starfleet mission..

There are moments in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 2, "Under the Twin Moons" that play on the cop show cliché of the detective being killed on their last shift before retirement. Thankfully, Star Trek 's first Kelpien doesn't meet his end on the mission to Lyrek, even if he does sustain some minor injuries while living up to his "Action Saru" nickname. While Michael believes that the nickname was given to Saru by Booker, her Number One reveals that "Action Saru" originated with Discovery's acerbic engineer, Commander Jett Reno (Tig Notaro) , who was impressed by how he handled himself in the 32nd century.

Saru's Kelpien abilities made him the ideal candidate to temporarily disable Lyrek's security systems for long enough to retrieve the next clue. Every skill that Saru possesses is on display in his final Star Trek: Discovery away mission ; moving through the jungle at speed, dodging phaser blasts, and shooting drone-destroying needles from his neck. All that's left is a final touching farewell between Saru and Burnham, in which he advises her on how to look after his garden, before he heads off to Federation Headquarters to take up his new diplomatic role.

While "Under the Twin Moons" sees Saru leave the USS Discovery, Doug Jones will continue to appear in the remaining episodes of Star Trek: Discovery season 5.

Star Trek: Discovery's 8 Best Saru Episodes

Moll and booker have a family connection, book's mentor was moll's father..

The end of Star Trek: Discovery season 4 saw Book sentenced to community service for his crimes against the United Federation of Planets and Species 10-C. After months of helping to resettle the refugees left homeless by the DMA, Book has now been assigned to the USS Discovery to track fellow Couriers, Moll and L'ak. Studying the intelligence that Discovery has acquired thus far, Book recognizes that they're a couple in love, not unlike Burnham and Book were at the start of Discovery season 3 . Convincing Moll and L'ak to talk to him, Book isn't able to lure the couple into his trap, as they once again evade Discovery.

However, Moll's birthmark reveals something more surprising; that L'ak's partner in crime is Moleen, the daughter of Book's mentor, Cleveland Booker IV . Book tells Culber that while he never met his mentor's daughter, he had seen a holo-image, suggesting that father and child were separated when Moll was around 7 years old. As Booker lost his entire family and home planet to the Dark Matter Anomaly in Star Trek: Discovery season 4 , Moll now represents the closest thing he has to a sister. However, it remains to be seen if this family connection will be enough to convince Moll to turn her back on her villainous ways.

Admiral Vance Has A History With Rayner

They saw action together after the burn..

It first becomes clear that Captain Rayner and Admiral Charles Vance (Oded Fehr) during the investigation into the events on Q'Mau. After Vance quietly chides Rayner for not helping his case, he later thanks Burnham for her words of support. Vance and Rayner's connection becomes clearer at the end of Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 2, when the Admiral reveals that the two men saw action together . Unlike Vance, Rayner is struggling to readjust to a time of peace in the Federation, warning President Laira Rillak (Chelah Horsdal) that " war is always a possibility. "

Vance and Rayner's friendship stretches back 30 years, meaning that they served together during the aftermath of the Burn. This 30-year bond enabled Vance to quietly convince Rayner to take early retirement, rather than leave Starfleet and the USS Antares, in disgrace. Admiral Vance was clearly touched when Burnham requested Rayner as her Number One , perhaps recognizing that she was the one officer who might get through to his wayward friend.

What DS9’s Kelleruns Can Tell Us About Star Trek: Discovery Season 5

Tilly is back as discovery's science advisor, she's on loan from starfleet academy..

After showing signs of frustration with the current crop of Starfleet Academy cadets in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 1, Tilly gets assigned to her old ship in the second half of Star Trek: Discovery 's season 5 premiere . On loan from Starfleet Academy, Tilly is the USS Discovery's science advisor for the duration of their hunt for the Progenitors' technology. Given that it was Tilly who unearthed the recordings of Dr. Vellek (Michael Copeman) in the first place, this only seems fair. In episode 2, Tilly teams up with Adira - who is glad to have their friend and mentor back - to provide assistance to Burnham and Saru on their mission to Vleen.

Tilly's return to Star Trek: Discovery and her interactions with Captain Rayner's hologram suggest some fun material to come for both Mary Wiseman and Callum Keith Rennie. It's also fitting that, as Saru, one of Burnham's early champions, leaves Discovery, another of her closest friends and supporters comes back aboard. Tilly is also able to lend an ear to Adira's concerns about their relationship with Gray Tal (Ian Alexander), as they become more comfortable with their role aboard the Discovery. It's therefore hard to deny that Tilly being back aboard the USS Discovery is a very good thing indeed .

Discovery Has The First Piece Of The Treasure Map

All five pieces will lead to the progenitors' technology..

With the next piece of the puzzle - a piece of patterned stone - taken from Lyrek, Captain Burnham and the crew set to work figuring out what it means to Star Trek: Discovery 's treasure hunt. Consulting Dr. Vellek's journal once again, Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) sees a link between the piece of stone and the illustrations in the journal. Producing a 3D version of the sketch, Stamets and Burnham realize that the stone segment fits neatly into one of the patterned slots like a jigsaw piece .

Burnham surmises that this is one part of a treasure map that will lead to the Progenitors' technology and the source of all humanoid life in the universe. Once all five segments are assembled, it will somehow show the USS Discovery the way to where the secrets of existence are hidden. While this is an exciting development, there are still four pieces left to find, and Moll and L'ak are hot on the trail as Star Trek: Discovery season 5 continues .

The Next Piece Of Season 5's Treasure Map Is On Trill

Adira and gray are about to be reunited..

As well as the piece of the treasure map, Burnham and Saru also found a poem that provided the next location. The full poem was obscured by one of Lyrek's many statues, meaning that Moll and L'ak only read the first verses, which would lead them to Betazed. Reading further, Saru recounted the next verses of the poem, and they were words that spoke to Adira and their thoughts about Gray.

"A world like no other, where two souls entwine, join as one..."

This, combined with the mention of water, invoked memories of the Trill homeworld for Adira. As the USS Discovery heads to Trill in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 3, "Jinaal", Adira and Gray will be forced to confront their relationship. However, romantic reconciliations may need to take a backseat if Moll and L'ak are already heading to Trill to find the next piece of the Progenitors' puzzle.

Star Trek: Discovery streams Thursdays on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

*Availability in US

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Star Trek: Discovery is an entry in the legendary Sci-Fi franchise, set ten years before the original Star Trek series events. The show centers around Commander Michael Burnham, assigned to the USS Discovery, where the crew attempts to prevent a Klingon war while traveling through the vast reaches of space.

'Discovery's Elias Toufexis Could Be 'Star Trek's Next Jeffrey Combs

Toufexis and Eve Harlow breakdown their Breen backstory and call the 'Discovery' set the best they've ever worked on.

The Big Picture

• Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 5, "Mirrors," delves into Moll and L'ak's backstory, revealing their love and the price on their heads.
• Stars Eve Harlow and Elias Toufexis discuss fleshing out their romance, joining the sci-fi series for its final season, and L'ak's connection to the Breen.
• The duo also praises the Star Trek: Discovery cast and crew for the warm and welcoming atmosphere, with Sonequa Martin-Green leading the way as a fantastic number one.

A few weeks ago, Star Trek: Discovery kicked off the series' final season with a dazzling new mystery and a pair of wildly compelling antagonists. Seemingly out to cash in on the greatest treasure the galaxy has to offer, lovers Moll ( Eve Harlow ) and L'ak ( Elias Toufexis ) have been neck-and-neck with Michael Burnham ( Sonequa Martin-Green ) and her crew as they hunt for clues . This week's episode "Mirrors," sees Burnham catch up with the two as she and Book ( David Ajala ) corner them on an abandoned ISS Enterprise from the Mirror universe.

As the two couples are made to face each other, we also get a glimpse into Moll and L'ak's backstory. Not only do we learn how they fell in love, but we also come to understand why they're on the run — L'ak is a Breen and in their attempt to run away together the duo killed a pair of guards. Now the warlike race has a price on their heads.

Ahead of the episode, I sat down with Harlow and Toufexis to talk about the big reveals in "Mirrors," the complex relationship between their characters, and what they're taking away from their time on Discovery . During our conversation, we also spoke about their personal experiences with Star Trek , when Toufexis learned he would be playing a Breen, and which episodes of Season 5 are their favorites.

Star Trek: Discovery

Taking place almost a decade before Captain Kirk's Enterprise, the USS Discovery charts a course to uncover new worlds and life forms.

Both Harlow and Toufexis have a fair share of sci-fi credits to their names with Harlow having made waves on shows like The 100 and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. while Toufexis appeared in the smash hit series The Expanse as well as having voiced characters in a truly impressive number of video games. When asked what it was like to go from their sci-fi roots to arguably the biggest sci-fi series of all time, Harlow admitted that she'd actually "never seen Star Trek before." She went on to explain, "to me, I was like, 'Oh, cool, another job. Oh, cool, I get to be in space!'"

Meanwhile, Toufexis was a huge Star Trek fan. "And Elias was like, 'No, you don't understand. This is Star Trek .' Even in the sides for the audition, I remember the word “Klingon” being in there, and I'm like, “Wait, how do I pronounce this? What is this?” And on set it was like, “What's a Tribbler?” Harlow joked. "Then Elias was like, 'Okay, let me send you a YouTube video.' So I think for me it was just like, 'Oh, cool. This is fun. This is nice,' and then being told the importance of it by my co-star," she laughed.

For Toufexis, the role was a dream come true. He explained:

"It was great for me. I love sci-fi, and I was happy to do a lot of sci-fi before Star Trek, but yeah, I'm a giant Star Trek fan. Accepting the role was a no-brainer, and I was very, very happy and geeked out every day on set. I would get mad at people who worked on the show who didn't know the stuff that I knew. Not Eve. I would never get mad at Eve."

As actors, both Harlow and Toufexis know the struggle of auditioning over and over for until something sticks. He said, "as an actor, you audition for everything, and you take what sticks, right? That's the nature of the beast." He went on, calling Discovery a career highlight. "So it just happened to be that I have done a lot of sci-fi stuff in my career, so Star Trek is kind of the peak sci-fi . So, it's all downhill from here," he laughed. However, as any good Star Trek fan knows, playing one character is not always the end of the line for an actor in the series. I joked that Toufexis could return on another series in the future, following in the footsteps of actors like Jeffrey Combs and Suzie Plakson , to which he heartily agreed, "I'll play, like, 10 characters."

'Star Trek: Discovery's Moll and L'ak Are Hopelessly Devoted to Each Other

Shortly after we meet these two in the first episode of Season 5 , it becomes very clear that L'ak would do anything to protect Moll, to the point of taking out excessive violence on anyone who threatens her. When asked if that defensive nature was a result of their nature or inherent in them as individuals Toufexis explained, "I think it's inherent in them, but they bring it out of each other. It's a part of their character."

He went on to explain that L'ak was already looking for a way out of his life as a high-ranking Breen when he fell in love with Moll. He said, "I don't know if he was looking for love, but he found it, and then that brought out the guardian in him." He went on to say that one thing he loved about the fifth episode is that, in learning their history, we see that Moll and L'ak are more equals than it seemed in the first four episodes.

"It looks like he's almost her bodyguard, but when they're alone, you see it's not really the case. They're on absolutely equal footing, and he defers to her a lot. He's just protective of her, but she is of him, and that's their love." He went on to explain, " My favorite thing about these characters is their love for each other. It's rare in sci-fi that you have antagonists that have a genuinely good reason to do what they're doing, that I think people would relate to their love and passion for each other and freedom. That's it. We're not bad guys. We just want you to leave us the hell alone." He points out that in this episode, Moll admits they never would have made an enemy out of the Discovery crew if they'd just been left alone, "But you keep on us, and we’re gonna defend ourselves.”

Meanwhile, Harlow explained that the complete devotion Moll and L'ak have for each other is what makes them relatable. She said:

"I do think it's inherent to their nature, and I think that that's what makes them likable, is that there's the love and loyalty there, and they're the first beings in each other's lives that have been, like, he's proven to me that he's worth the love, he's worth the loyalty. Literally, everybody else has either died or betrayed, left. All that stuff. This one being has shown me that it's like, 'No, this is actually where I can store my loyalty, love in this being, and I'm gonna hold on to this being no matter what.' "

With this episode being called "Mirrors," not only for the time spent on a Mirror Universe ship, but for the relationships within, as Moll and L'ak serve as a foil to Book and Burnham. I asked the pair if they felt like their characters recognized themselves in their counterparts. For Toufexis, Book and Burnham are barely even on his radar. He said, "At least as an actor, I never even considered that. I was just like, 'Nah, I don't care about them.' He's very one-track-minded." He then laid out L'ak's priorities, saying:

"At least for me, the way I played it was, 'I just want Moll, and I want you to leave us alone. And if this tech, whatever it is that we may not understand, or even if they understand its power, whatever this tech is, if it could grant us freedom and to be left alone and to just go live our lives in love together, that's all that matters.' So I don't think they're looking and going, 'Oh, they're a lot like us, those two.'"

Meanwhile, Harlow agreed, comparing their characters to "caged animals." She said: "Everyone else are [our] oppressors, and so I don't care what's happening out there. I don't care how similar it is, because ultimately they have the key to the door to freedom, and they're holding here. It’s like, 'Fuck yeah!'"

Elias Toufexis Learned He Was Playing a Breen While Getting His Prosthetics for 'Star Trek: Discovery'

While the Breen have existed since the 90s, having first appeared in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , we know very little about their species. Most notably, we don't know what they look like under their helmets — at least we didn't until this episode. As a fan of the franchise, I had to ask Toufexis if he knew he would be playing a Breen when he first got the role or if he found out when he read the script. He revealed that he actually found out while getting his prosthetics made. But before telling the full story of how he found out L'ak was a Breen, Toufexis took a brief detour to joke about another vast disparity between his Star Trek experience and Harlow's.

He said: "This is a funny story we haven’t told yet. When I auditioned, I knew I was gonna be in makeup because I had already been on the show in the third episode. I played one of the prisoners that's on the show, on Discovery , so I knew I couldn't play with my own face again. I knew I'd be in prosthetics. And I remember, this is like a side thing, but I remember calling Eve and talking about working together, and I said, 'So what's your makeup process?' She's like, 'I don't have any makeup. I don’t have any prosthetics.' 'What? You mean I have to go through five hours of hair and makeup…?'" Harlow chimed in confirming the call, "You were like, 'No, no, no, like prosthetics.' I’m like, 'Yeah, no. Nothing.' And he's like, 'Wait, are you sure?' [Laughs] I’m like, 'I don’t know how to break it to you, but no.'"

He joked that he was "hoping we were both gonna have 2:30 a.m. calls and all that kind of stuff," before diving into how he learned he'd be playing a Breen. He explained:

"But when I found out that he was a Breen was when I went to do the first step of the prosthetics. Being a giant Star Trek geek, I said, 'Can you show me what I'm gonna look like?' Because they’re doing that thing, the plaster mold, where you have to sit there in 20 minutes and try not to have a panic attack. But at that session, I said, 'Do you have any art of what he's gonna look like?' And they showed me, and I said, 'Do you know what race he is?' Because I think I had heard that he was a new race, or an unseen race, or something like that. And they said, 'Yeah, he's a Breen.' I was like, 'Wait, Breen? They don’t take off their helmets.' My geek mind starts going. Then they're like, 'Yeah, you're gonna be the first time that this race is revealed in Star Trek,' and that really got me going. I was like, 'Oh, okay! Let's plaster me up. Let's do this.' And somehow I got through it. But yeah, I was really excited to find that out. Especially [because] Deep Space Nine to me is, like, I love Deep Space Nine . I know the Breen they talk about in TNG a little bit, but Deep Space Nine to me is, like, one of my favorite shows ever, not just Star Treks shows. So, the fact that I was gonna be involved in that. We kind of delve into Deep Space Nine , so I was super happy."

Moll and L'ak Aren't Villains — They're Just Antagonists

In "Mirrors," Moll and L'ak become much more fleshed-out characters as we get a glimpse into their history with each other. Much like the revelation with the Breen, I had to ask Harlow and Toufexis if they had made up any backstory for their characters prior to learning the roots of their love story when they got the script for this episode. Harlow explained that they really only fleshed out the basics like how long they'd been together. She pointed out that sometimes if you make up a backstory for your character it can get entirely undone by the narrative. She said: "The thing is, you could create a backstory, and then you get the next episode and it’s like, 'Ha, joke’s on you. Totally wrong. Everything that we thought…' So, at least this is the way that I work, it's like, 'Okay, what are the stakes? This person is my everything.' That’s just how I’m gonna play it. "

"In terms of the flashback, I mean, it was fun," she grinned. "This might sound really vain, but looks-wise, what did she look like back then? I’ve just got to shout out to the hair and makeup and costume team. Freaking amazing. Such talented people, and also so collaborative, and talking about all this, and being excited about it as well. I think this is what was really cool about the show. Literally every single person is so excited about what they do. Like the props people, they're like, 'This is so awesome,' and then you're like, 'Yes! This is so awesome.'"

Despite not being a Star Trek fan before joining the franchise, Harlow explained that she couldn't help but fall in love with the whole team. "So even though, again, I did not know Star Trek , you can't help it. It's infectious when you're surrounded by that energy, and so it's like, 'Oh, cool. We get to explore our characters’ backgrounds and be in this Breen world.'" She went on to say, "seeing the sets is insane. That screen, the wall, is incredible. You step into the space and you're like, 'Whoa, people created all of this and I get to be a part of it? Incredible.'"

Toufexis was thrilled to get an episode so heavily dedicated to Moll and L'ak's motivations. Having played his fair share of TV baddies , he noted that this is the first time he's gotten to play out the why of what his character is doing himself. He told me:

"The backstory was the best part for me because, I've said this before, but I play a lot of bad guys on TV, and very often it's other characters that are just explaining why my character is doing what he's doing, or make a line thrown here or there, like this is what happened to me, so this is why I'm doing this. Whereas with L’ak, I got to play it. I got to go back and play how he got to where he is, and the great thing is it's justified. What I hope is that the people who watch Episode 5, when they rewatch, they go, 'Oh, yeah, everything they're doing they have a right to do. They're not bad. They're just the antagonists.' I don't mind if they call us villains for promotional purposes, but I’m kind of like, 'They're not villains.'"

Harlow chimed in saying, "They have hearts of gold, okay?" To which Toufexis doubled down on Moll and L'ak's desire to just be left alone.

Eve Harlow and Elias Toufexis Reveal Their Favorite Episodes of 'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 5

Again, as a pair of Trekkies, I had to ask Toufexis about the incredible experience of getting to actually spend time on the bridge of the Enterprise in this episode. Naturally, he was delighted. He told Collider:

"Well, you can imagine. I've already said I'm a super nerd. And also, The Original Series , that's what I watched growing up . I'm not that old, my dad had them all on tape — so I'm old, but I'm not that old. My dad had them all on tape in the ‘90s, so I watched them over and over and over again, and the movies, especially. So, for me, that was my introduction to Star Trek was the Kirk Enterprise, right? Even though I know this is not the Kirk Enterprise, but Kirk's on it. So being on that ship, I know story-wise it was the ISS Enterprise, but I'm still like, 'This is the Enterprise. I don't care what decals they put over this. I'm sitting on the Enterprise.' I went and took secret pictures of me on the bridge and stuff like that. I was just freaking out, man. I was like, 'This is like the coolest thing.' How can you not freak out being a fan of something and then suddenly getting paid to be there? It's pretty cool."

While she didn't have any personal connection to the sets herself, Harlow understood the importance through Toufexis' experience. "I had him explain all this to me," she laughed. "It's like this is my very own Star Trek Wikipedia sitting next to me. I'm like, 'Okay, cool, noted. Thank you.'"

When asked what their favorite episodes of Discovery Season 5 were, Toufexis decidedly chose the one we all just watched. "Five for me, for sure," he said, though he was sure to give some praise to the rest of the season as well. "There's a couple of episodes coming up that are really good, too, but for me, it's five because of that, the background and getting to play the background. It's kind of their big episode that reveals everything about her. So for me, it's five. " Meanwhile, Harlow set her sights on the series finale, saying, "I forget which episode it is, but it's later, it's either Episode 9 or 10, and I don't think I can say anything. I'm not gonna say anything, but yes, there is one I like."

The 'Star Trek: Discovery' Set Is Unlike Any Other Thanks to Sonequa Martin-Green

While this is Harlow and Toufexis' first season of Discovery, it's also the show's last. As I noted in my review, despite the writers not knowing Season 5 was the end, they somehow managed to bring the story to a full circle moment. And Toufexis felt the exact same way, he said, "You know what, I was just thinking about this morning. I was thinking about how it's somehow in this weird… The TV gods… Because the episodes that were already written before they knew it was gonna be the last season have this feeling of closure in this weird way, right?" He went on to explain, " Like Episode 4, where they go back and see themselves in the past. That is something that you would do when you would be ending a show, or Doug [Jones], Saru, going off and having these new chapters. That's something you would do when you would end the show. So, it’s this weird kind of thing that happened where it almost was fate that it was going to be the last season . I don't know if that is a sad note or something, but it just worked so well."

"So what I hope people take out of it is just this great feeling of closure of this amazing five years that these people have done. I mean, I'm a fan of the show and I've watched every episode. You're sad that it's ending but at the same time it's ending so well that you just kind of hope everybody just really enjoys the ride of this last season and then looks at everything as five years of what this show actually accomplished, which if you step back and look at it is a lot."

While Harlow admitted that she hadn't "thought about it that deeply, but ultimately I just want people to like it." She had nothing but high praise for series star Sonequa Martin-Green , saying: "The first thing, I stepped on set and everyone, Sonequa was so kind and so welcoming. Every single person on that set was wonderful , and one of the first things that I was told was, 'Welcome to the family.' I just want people to like it, to deserve that title of being in the family, if that makes sense."

For these two, working on Discovery was unlike any other set they'd ever worked on. "I would like to piggyback off of that," said Toufexis. "Eve has worked a lot, I’ve worked a lot, and this is one of the best sets you could work on. From Sonequa and down to the crew, to Michelle [Paradise] and Tunde [Osunsanmi], and all those guys, Alex Kurtzman. You just end up going like, 'All these people are nice.'"

The vibes on set were amazing from the start, to the point that Harlow could hardly believe it to be true, certain that at some point the magic would wear off. However, the warm, familiar atmosphere never faded. She explained:

"When I started, I was like, 'There is no way that this lasts for six months. There's no way.' Because people get stressed. It's just like being on sets — it's chaotic, there’s so many people. And, oh my god, until the very end people were so kind. I feel like a fangirl when I talk about it, and I feel like I've talked about it so much, but it's just because it's lasted, and it just shows what a set can be like. We had this thing, crew appreciation, which is like every single day, a different crew member would be clapped for, and throughout the day, if you saw this crewmember, you could just start clapping for them. So that means that by the time we finished filming, everybody knows everybody's names and what they do and has an appreciation for everybody's job. I've never seen that on any set. And it didn't get in the way of us finishing days. I know that some people are like, 'Oh, it takes time to do this care and appreciation.' Yes, it takes time. It’s, like, 30 seconds, and it lifts everybody's spirits. Anyway, yeah, it's great."

Toufexis confirmed that the source of those good vibes without a doubt comes back to their fearless leader. "It's Sonequa’s set," he said. "Sonequa was the number one, and she's the best number one I've ever worked with. Hands down. Just [the best] of the whole show. She's amazing. I could never say enough good about Sonequa." And Harlow couldn't help but agree: "Every single time I see her, I’m like, 'Sonequa, I love you so much!' I know I'm gushing again for the 50th time, but yes."

"Mirrors" is available to stream now on Paramount+ . New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery hit the platform every Thursday. Stay tuned at Collider for more.

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Review: Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Episode 5 “Mirrors”

Star Trek: Discovery picks up immediately where “ Face the Strange ” left off, as our protagonists track their quarry’s ship to a hidden, interdimensional pocket of space that holds a few surprises for them and the audience.

Thanks to some sciencing from Paul Stamets ( Anthony Rapp ) and Sylvia Tilly ( Mary Wiseman ), Captain Michael Burnham ( Sonequa Martin-Green ) has a way to find where Moll ( Eve Harlow ) and L’ak ( Elias Toufexis ) are. Apparently, there’s a wormhole hiding in plain sight near where Discovery lost track of the criminals’ warp signature.

This wormhole is too small for a Crossfield- class ship to fit through, so Burnham and Cleveland Booker ( David Ajala ) – the latter of whom is on a mission to rehabilitate Moll, if possible – take a shuttle and see what’s on the other side of the wormhole’s aperture. Find a surprise, they do indeed, as the I.S.S. Enterprise , the evil version of the heroic Starfleet ship, is nestled in the wormhole – albeit without its crew, which apparently evacuated the vessel at some point. It’s beaten to hell and serves as a refuge for Moll and L’ak, whose own ship was destroyed by the interdimensional pocket of space’s destructive environment.

Discovery writers sure can be sneaky! They’ve been foreshadowing the appearance of a Constitution­ -class for the last two episodes; remember when Gen Rhys ( Patrick Kwok-Choon ) and Commander Rayner ( Callum Keith Rennie ) both remarked the Connie was their favorite ship? As we’ll see, this isn’t the last bit of foreshadowing that comes true in this episode.

“How did it end up in interdimensional space?” “I don’t know. Must be one hell of a story.” – Book and Burnham upon seeing the I.S.S. Enterprise

Astute viewers will recognize an often-used cost-saving measure in the annals of Star Trek history: the reuse of sets from another concurrent show. (Seriously, rewatch TNG , DS9 , and Voyager and you’ll be surprised how often props and sets are reused between those shows.) As Burnham and Book explore various halls and rooms, including the bridge and sickbay, the familiar surroundings seen in Strange New Worlds are subtly transformed by Mirror Universe iconography. While nods to the iconic starship Enterprise are always appreciated, our initial reaction to this surprise location—admittedly tinged with pessimism—is that it’s of course it’s the Enterprise . A practical move, perhaps, to keep expenses in check. By Grabthar’s hammer… what a savings.

Finding the ship deserted sure is strange, and Burnham and Book ascertain Moll and L’ak are in sickbay, presumably with the next clue in the Progenitor puzzle. But first, the pair check out the transporter room, which holds some strange items, such as blankets, children’s toys, and a locket that holds a picture of two people, which Burnham inexplicably decides to take with her. Moreover, the dedication plaque of the I.S.S Enterprise tells the story of the ship and its crew: the Terran Universe emperor seemingly tried to make changes to the way things were done in that evil universe, and the Enterprise escaped and picked up refugees who were trying to flee the Terran Universe and enter the Prime Universe.

One of the leaders among those on the Enterprise was a Kelpien, who Burnham deduces must have been the Mirror Universe version of Saru, and that the crew must have fled the Enterprise once it got stuck in the interdimensional pocket of space. Is it just us, or does this sound like a potential episode of Strange New Worlds ?

Burnham, Book, Moll, and L’ak face off in sickbay, where Burnham makes a startling connection between L’ak and a particular dilemma he is facing. The criminal pair hope to use the Progenitor treasure to clear L’ak’s Breen blood bounty. Yes, L’ak is Breen, that enigmatic and masked species from Deep Space Nine . Neato!

The rest of the episode bounces between what’s happening on the Enterprise , and flashing back to how Moll and L’ak first met and became romantically involved. Moll, the courier, would do business on the Breen space station on which L’ak, a member of a royal Breen family, was posted. The two connected over L’ak’s recent demotion and efforts to fight the embarrassment that came with it.

Over some time, the two became nearly inseparable, and L’ak even took the bold step with Moll by showing her his face – a big deal in Breen culture, as keeping their masks on allows them to retain their true, semi-transparent form, and not the solidified appearance we’ve seen on L’ak. Their relationship is tested when L’ak’s superior (and uncle), Primarch Ruhn ( Tony Nappo ) decides to interrupt their courtship. L’ak doesn’t take kindly to being asked to kill Moll, so the Breen turns on his own people, earns a Breen blood bounty, and flees with Moll. The pair now share a goal: earn enough latinum to retire on an (unnamed) fabled planet somewhere in the Gamma Quadrant, free from the trials and hardships of the courier life.

Suffice it to say, “Mirrors” is most memorable because it casts a welcome light on the shadowed backstory of this season’s main villains. Moll and L’ak are now a relatable pair, star-crossed lovers who are hell-bent on earning themselves a happy ending. As much as we don’t want to see the Progenitors’ tech get into the wrong hands, who now doesn’t want to see everything work out for Moll and L’ak?

Anyway, the quartet still need to get off the Enterprise , but the shuttle on which Burnham and Book arrived is destroyed by the turbulent pocket of space. With mere minutes to spare before the Enterprise is destroyed by the wormhole’s tiny aperture, Book and Moll share some last-minute words about their shared relationship with the late Cleveland Booker, and how Book hopes Moll makes the right choices regarding her quest for the Progenitor tech. Burnham, meanwhile, engages in a melee with L’ak, and the Breen ends up injured and inadvertently relinquishes control to Burnham of the next map piece in the Progenitor puzzle. The courier and disgraced Breen end up escaping the ship in a convenient Terran warp pod, leaving the chase between our heroes and enemies for another day.

“If we hit it precisely with a sequential hexagonal pattern, it should stay open for approximately sixty seconds. But once it collapses, it’s gone for good.” “Why hexagonal?” “Doesn’t matter… it’ll work.” – Adira ( Blu del Barrio ), Rayner, and Stamets as the crew finds a way to get the wormhole aperture bigger. We think this line from Stamets is reflective of the evolving working relationship between the results-orientated Rayner and the crew, and how this relationship is getting better the longer Rayner is first officer.

Burnham devises a novel way to signal her first officer for help in getting the Enterprise through the aperture: a pulsing tractor beam emitting from the Enterprise , shot through the wormhole’s opening, in a numerical sequence featured in a famous play from Kellerun culture. Rayner is then able to lead his crew to devise a way to pull the Enterprise into normal space.

The sequence where Rayner is faced with command of a ship tasked with the near-impossible rescue of his captain is the best of the episode. It’s no secret Rayner was knocked down a few pegs after his demotion and reassignment to Discovery , but that lack of confidence and inner angst is demolished thanks to Rayner listening and working with his bridge crew to save the Enterprise . Plenty of lesser-known bridge officers get a say in how Discovery could help the Mirror ship, and lightning-fast decision-making shows Rayner back on his game.

The last element to note about this episode is some emotional trouble Doctor Hugh Culber ( Wilson Cruz ) is having. Tilly provides an outlet for this angst. Culber explains the experiences he’s had in the last few years – namely dying, coming back to life, and being a Trill host – really put into perspective the intellectual journey he is on in the face of the Progenitor’s quest. Tilly helps him realize he isn’t only experiencing an intellectual quest, but a spiritual one. This conversation is just another instance of Discovery setting up some wild expectations for what the crew might ultimately discover at the end of the season – something beyond the bounds of science, perhaps?

Even though their prey gets away again, Burnham and her crew have the next clue in the Progenitor puzzle, and it is hiding in the I.S.S. Enterprise ’s sickbay. Hidden in the map piece Burnham grabbed from L’ak is a vial, which Stamets will analyze soon. Burnham learns the crew who escaped from the I.S.S. Enterprise ended up in the Prime Universe and were able to start new lives. A Terran scientist aboard the Enterprise , Dr. Cho, ended up being a branch admiral, and we’re meant to assume she was one of the scientists on Dr. Vellek’s team hundreds of years ago as they studied the Progenitor tech. Dr. Cho then hid her piece of the Progenitor puzzle aboard her old ship as a symbolic gesture of her ability to find freedom in a new universe.

Discovery continues its final season with another thumbs-up episode that serves an important lore-building role in the franchise. Seeing the Breen again is a joy, especially since we were staring at one the whole time and never knew it. And how striking was that Breen space station where L’ak was based? Another important note for Star Trek historians is that now the Mirror Universe Enterprise is in the 32 nd century, and stationed near Earth thanks to Joann Owosekun and Keyla Detmer piloting the ship back to Federation space. Will we see that ship again this season?

As the Progenitor puzzle deepens, so do the emotional stakes for our crew, exemplified by Culber’s introspective journey, the subtle reignition of Book and Burnham’s relationship, and Rayner’s triumphant return to leadership. We’re now at the halfway point in this season, so there’s still plenty of time for surprises, emotional consequences, and expectation-setting for this eagerly awaited treasure.  

Stray Thoughts:

• Hopefully, you’re watching this episode with subtitles on, because goodness is it hard to hear what masked Breen says.
• The Mirror Universe version of the U.S.S. Enterprise was last seen in the Original Series episode “Mirror, Mirror,” albeit this wasn’t the Strange New Worlds version of the ship. Likewise, the Terran version of Spock, whom Booker asks if Burnham ever met, was in that same episode.
• How did Adira conclude they were the one who brought the time bug aboard Discovery ?
• Why didn’t Burnham and Book try talking down Moll and L’ak before diving into the room with the holo-projected doubles?

New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery stream Thursdays on Paramount+ , this season stars Sonequa Martin-Green (Captain Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Saru), Anthony Rapp (Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), David Ajala (Cleveland “Book” Booker), Blu del Barrio (Adira) and Callum Keith Rennie (Rayner). Season five also features recurring guest stars Elias Toufexis (L’ak) and Eve Harlow (Moll).

Stay tuned to TrekNews.net for all the latest news on Star Trek: Discovery , Star Trek: Prodigy , Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , Star Trek: Lower Decks , and more.

You can follow us on X , Facebook , and Instagram .

Kyle Hadyniak has been a lifelong Star Trek fan, and isn't ashamed to admit that Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek: Nemesis are his favorite Star Trek movies. You can follow Kyle on Twitter @khady93 .

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Published Apr 25, 2024

WARP FIVE: Sonequa Martin-Green on the Gift of Michael Burnham

The Star Trek: Discovery actress walks us through 'Face the Strange,' her love of the franchise, fandom, and more!

SPOILER WARNING: This article contains story details and plot points for the fifth season of Star Trek: Discovery.

Getty Images / StarTrek.com

For the fifth and final season of Star Trek: Discovery , Michael Burnham finally gets to settle in and soak in the thrill of an epic chase with the galaxy’s biggest threat (the Dark Matter Anomaly) behind her.

Ahead of season’s premiere, StarTrek.com sat down for an intimate conversation with series star and executive producer Sonequa Martin-Green where we discussed what the franchise means to her, being surrounded by the fandom, the first half of the final season, and more!

Facing Michael Burnham’s Legacy

"Face the Strange"

StarTrek.com

In the latest episode, " Face the Strange ," Michael Burnham, Rayner, and Paul Stamets are stuck in a time loop after fugitives Moll and L'ak plant a time bug on the U.S.S. Discovery . The episode allows fans to revisit pivotal moments across the series' first four seasons and Captain Burnham to face herself, literally, as she stands before the mutineer who was offered a second chance to serve the Federation.

Burnham reflects on that moment in the episode telling her first officer, "The first time I walked onto this bridge, it took every ounce of strength I had not to turn around and run right back off. I respected Starfleet too much to believe I deserved to be here after what I had done." As Rayner notes, Burnham has to be "the only person in Starfleet to ever captain a ship that [they] first boarded as a prisoner."

"That’s one of my favorite episodes of the entire show," Martin-Green shares. "We get to see old Burnham, and that interaction, I feel that it was a gift. It was a gift that the writers gave me, and it was a gift that they gave Burnham. It really means a lot to me because you see this woman falling forward, you see this woman going through the necessary trouble to grow. And you can almost forget where Burnham started, when you look at where Burnham ended, when you look at where I ended up as Michael."

"That right there, that episode gives context," states Martin-Green. "For me, doing it, and then being able to see it in Post, you see it. You see the progression right there in front of your face. That was just one of the best gifts that we could have given to Michael Burnham. It champions the permanent change that is a tenet to our story because every character can do that. Every character could look back and see who they were in Season 1 and see the growth, see the distance that they’ve traveled. It was representative of one of our cornerstones."

The Changing of the XO Guard

"Under the Twin Moons"

Following Discovery 's first run-in with Moll and L'ak on Q’Mau in " Red Directive ," Saru steps down as Burnham’s first officer in " Under the Twin Moons ," allowing the captain to extend a second chance to the gruff Antares captain, Rayner .

Reflecting on Burnham’s relationship with Saru, who served alongside her on the Shenzhou , before their history aboard Discovery , and his decision to take a new position with the Federation, Martin-Green says, "That was such a heartbreaking moment for Burnham."

"The relationship between Burnham and Saru is just one of my favorite things about Star Trek: Discovery ," she continues. "That brother and sister, they will always be unified. Their relationship was refined with fire and carved in stone, if you will. Him going off to fulfill his own destiny is necessary, honestly, for Burnham's development and maturation. Having him as a guide, a shepherd, and a big brother in a lot of ways gave me as Burnham a sense of security and a sense of peace. And so those things are going to have to be found from within. It's that process of growth. Saru has also, he's matured to that place. He has transformed. He has morphed into this confident, fearless leader and legend with his people. It’s really beautiful because you see these people actualizing. You see these people literally stepping into who they were meant to be and doing it together. They couldn't have done it without each other."

Ushering in a New Era

With the conclusion of Star Trek: Discovery , the series star has had ample time to reflect on the journey these past seven years. As Michael Burnham took us to the 32nd Century, Sonequa Martin-Green took Star Trek to uncharted territory ushering a new modern era for the franchise when Star Trek: Discovery debuted in 2017, 12 years after Star Trek: Enterprise went off air.

Looking holistically, Martin-Green imparts, "We all knew that this franchise has made an impact on our society. We knew that we needed to do it justice, and we were all passionate about that and there was no ego. We knew that we had a great responsibility and a great duty ahead us. And so it is thrilling."

"It's thrilling to be able to be a part of something that has already made an impact, that's already solidified in the consciousness of society," she adds. "It's also great to play these characters, to bring these characters to life that are brand new and fresh. It was great and fulfilling to be able to tell a serialized story, to be able to be the most diverse Trek ever, and to be able to go beyond where any Trek had gone before, even from a timeline perspective. It's really thrilling and fulfilling as an artist, as an actor, as a human being, for me as a Black woman. Also, to be brutally honest, as a Christian, as a wife and mother. It's been a blessing."

What Star Trek Means to Sonequa Martin-Green

"Jinaal"

Executive producer and showrunner Alex Kurtzman, speaking exclusively to StarTrek.com , shared that in the run up to the production of the series, they were lucky to come across Martin-Green, "It's that beautiful thing. We had been looking for so long for the right Michael Burnham. And it's that miracle moment that you always wait for when you're in a casting process where just the right person shows up and starts saying the lines, and you go, 'That's my Michael Burnham.' That's what we got with her just out of the gate."

On taking on the role, Martin-Green recalls, “I remember saying really early on that, to me, Star Trek was a call to rise. And I still feel that way.”

“Now here we are almost seven years later after I first said that,” Martin-Green concludes. “And I can attest that it has been true. It has allowed me to grow in my own understanding of who I am. It's emboldened me to express myself more authentically. It's encouraged me to understand my worth and my value and that it is intrinsic. It's inherent. It's not something I need to fight for. All of those things have really deepened in me from being a part of this. And I've heard countless stories. I've had the blessing of hearing countless stories of people saying a version of that as well because of this franchise and because of Discovery specifically. So to me, it's still that call to rise, even if that rise is rising to who you really are and what you're really here to do.”

The Beauty of Her Fandom Experience

Star Trek: The Cruise

As Discovery readies itself for its final journey, Martin-Green sees the Discovery family extending beyond the cast and crew, to the fandom.

"It's really transcendent, honestly, being a part of the franchise," she shares. "And I had an interesting experience because when I came into the franchise, I knew of it peripherally, but I didn't know it intimately. And we were a family on Discovery ."

"And then over the years, I've come to understand all the different families that make up the franchise, the audience being part of it, being the extended family," notes Martin-Green. “And now here on [ Star Trek: The Cruise VII], my first time doing the full cruise. And now that we're done with Discovery , I feel like now I can see it more clearly. Hindsight is 20/20, and I feel that I have a more objective point of view now and I'm getting to understand these families that make up the franchise in a brand-new way. It's almost like being separated from it is allowing me to be a part of it like never before. In a weird way. It's kind of beautiful though."

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Christine Dinh (she/her) is the managing editor for StarTrek.com. She’s traded the Multiverse for helming this Federation Starship.

Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-4 are streaming exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., the UK, Canada, Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia and Austria. Seasons 2 and 3 also are available on the Pluto TV “Star Trek” channel in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. The series streams on Super Drama in Japan, TVNZ in New Zealand, and SkyShowtime in Spain, Portugal, Poland, The Nordics, The Netherlands, and Central and Eastern Europe and also airs on Cosmote TV in Greece. The series is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.