"Star Trek: Discovery" Season 2 spoilers ahead. The Season 2 finale of "Star Trek: Discovery" left us scratching our heads somewhat — after a one-way trip through a time wormhole to place a dangerous collection of data out of harm's way, the USS Discovery now appears to be trapped 950 years in the future. In the final moments of that episode, "Discovery" stopped being a prequel to "The Original Series" and instead became the farthest future-flung series in the history of the franchise chronology, rocketing past the events of "The Next Generation," "Deep Space Nine" and "“Voyager," all of which take place in the 24th century and arriving at the end of the 32nd century, in the year 3187. Related: 'Star Trek: Discovery' Actor Rekha Sharma Teases Her Role in 'Star Trek Online' Compare that to the few decades' difference between "The Next Generation" and the new Jean-Luc Picard series, or the single century between "Enterprise" and "The Original Series." Now we potentially have a new, 14- or 15-episode story arc set nearly a millennium after the events of "Deep Space Nine" and "Voyager." This certainly raises a few questions and offers some interesting potential routes for the series to travel next. What we know Who's on board the Discovery that we know of? Cmdr. Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), Cmdr. Saru (Doug Jones), Lt. Cmdr. Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp), Ensign Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman), Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz), Cmdr. Nhan (Rachael Ancheril), Lt. Nilsson (Sara Mitich), Lt. Keyla Detmer (Emily Coutts), Lt. Gen Rhys (Patrick Kwok-Choon), Lt. Joann Owosekun (Oyin Oladejo), Lt. R.A. Bryce (Ronnie Rowe), Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) and Jett Reno (Tig Notaro) are all on board. Capt. Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), Lt. Spock (Ethan Peck) and Number One (Rebecca Romijn) are left behind aboard the USS Enterprise, back in the 23rd century. Finally, Agent Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif) is still serving with Section 31, and Admr. Cornwell (Jayne Brook) and Capt. Leland (Alan Van Sprang) are both deceased. Stamets (Anthony Rapp), Saru (Doug Jones), Tyler (Shazad Latif), Spock (Ethan Peck), Bryce (Ronnie Rowe), Owosekun (Oyin Oladejo), Rhys (Patrick Kwok-Choon) and Tilly (Mary Wiseman) stand ready for their next journey in the "Star Trek: Discovery" episode "Such Sweet Sorrow. (Image credit: Ben Mark Holzberg/CBS) At the end of the episode, the crew of the Enterprise were debriefed by a faceless Federation official and, following a suggestion by Spock, were ordered to never under any circumstances discuss the subjects of the time suit, the spore drive, the Discovery and anything generally connected to recent events. However, there were a few other witnesses: many Klingons, including L'Rell (Mary Chieffo) knew about the spore drive, and possibly the galactic grifter Harcourt Fenton Mudd (Rainn Wilson) did, too. This ban on discussion allows the writers to bring everything back in line with canon. But it might not be so simple: Some believe that the events of "Star Trek: Discovery" — specifically young Burnham being saved at Vulcan's Forge by the appearance of her mother as the Red Angel to Spock — have unwittingly created a new timeline separate to the events we've already seen in "Star Trek: The Next Generation," "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and "Star Trek: Voyager." Others maintain that this time tangent is what actually created what's generally called the Prime Timeline. Executive producer Akiva Goldsman, talking to Syfy.com , confirmed way back in 2017 that the series takes place in the Prime universe. "It's not the J.J. [Abrams] verse or the Kurtzman verse," Goldsman said. "It is 10 years before TOS [The Original Series], so we are in a section of canon that has been referred to a lot." So while the skew in the timeline was undoubtedly deliberate, how it unravels seems to boil down to how you interpret the season's events. This is what happens when you start introducing convoluted time travel plots into a story arc. Wibbly wobbly timey wimey. The producers of "Discovery" would have us believe that the actions of Gabrielle Burnham created what we know as the Prime "Star Trek" timeline, which suggests a grandfather paradox of sorts. (Image credit: Illustration by Scott Snowden/Ketwolski; Star Trek: Paramount; Space: NASA) If the producers have intended for events of "Discovery" to create the Prime Timeline, then one can't help but think an opportunity was wasted. By being in an ever-so-slightly different "Burnham Timeline," there would have been no need to adhere 100% to canon and Kurtzman could've tweaked "Star Trek" in any way he wanted. The new Burnham Timeline could've been almost identical to the Prime Timeline, with just a few teeny-tiny differences, much like when there's suddenly fish in Col. Jack O'Neill's pond where there weren't fish before the time-traveling tomfoolery of the excellent "Stargate SG-1" Season 8 two-part finale "Moebius" (S08, E20), or even what happens to Marty McFly at the end of "Back to the Future." There was an opportunity here to have a little fun with history, instead of forcing unbelievable events on us while trying to maintain some sort of conformity with established history. Shortly after the season finale, showrunner Alex Kurtzman gave a lengthy interview with The Hollywood Reporter in which he was asked if it was safe to assume that Season 3 will follow the USS Discovery away from the present timeline. "Yes. We are jumping 950 years into the future for season three," he told The Hollywood Reporter. So it certainly sounds like the majority, at least, of Season 3 will be set in the 32nd century, 950 years in the future. We also know that a Jean-Luc Picard spinoff series is currently filming and a Philippa Georgiou series seems to still be going ahead. So it's more than likely there will be references to those in "Star Trek: Discovery" and vice versa. "Calypso" We also know that the "Short Trek" episode " Calypso " was set at some point during the 33rd century. At some point, the USS Discovery was abandoned in an ion storm and a quite charming artificial intelligence named Zora took up running the ship. The episode's writer, Michael Chabon, confirmed on Instagram that the name for the spacefaring civilization in that plotline, "V'draysh," is a syncope (the omission of sounds or letters from within a word) of "Federation." V'd-ray-sh — Fed-ra-tion. This admission, and the fact that we learn the V'draysh valued relics from the "Long Ago," an era of pre-warp Earth, suggests that this is what has become of Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets a millennium after the events of "Star Trek: Discovery." Craft — the principal character in this story – and people of Alcore IV, possibly others too, are at war with V'draysh, and Zora has been alone, in the ion storm, for almost a thousand years, suggesting the events of "Calypso" take place toward the end of the 33rd century. Craft (Aldis Hodge) is alone on the USS Discovery in the "Star Trek" short "Calypso." (Image credit: Michael Gibson/CBS) 31st century Before "Calypso," the furthest "Star Trek" had ever ventured was 700 years into the future, to the year 3074, in the "Voyager" episode "Living Witness" (S04, E23), and the 31st century in the two-part "Enterprise" episode "Shockwave" (S01, E26 and S02, E01), plus a mention in "Future Tense" (S02, E16). In these "Enterprise" episodes, we learn about the Temporal Cold War: a conflict fought between several time-traveling factions, each from different points in time and each trying to manipulate history for its own benefit, in violation of the Temporal Accords. With the assistance of Temporal Agent Timot Danlen (Matt Winston), we get a few insights into the future , including the 26th century, where there's a Universe-class USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-J). "Andromeda" In ongoing discussion about what to expect in the third season of "Star Trek: Discovery," fans have made lighthearted reference to "Andromeda," a five-season-long sci-fi series brought into production in 2000 by Majel Barrett from material found in Gene Roddenberry's archive after his death. The basic premise was that after being frozen in time for 300 years, Capt. Dylan Hunt (Kevin Sorbo) and his sentient warship Andromeda set out to restore peace and civilization to the known universe. When he wakes up it becomes clear that the great civilization he was once defending, the Commonwealth, has been eradicated from existence. Because this was never officially "Star Trek" canon it probably won't influence "Discovery" in any way, but it's nice to see that the collapsed cosmic civilization idea has been bandied around before by the creator of "Star Trek" himself. What can we hope for? Season 3 of "Discovery" is shaping up to be a story that's removed from anything familiar. This was also the basic premise, in another "Star Trek" series, of stranding the USS Voyager 70,000 light-years away from Earth in the Delta Quadrant, cut off from contact with the Federation in an utterly unknown region of the galaxy. However, the Discovery possesses a spore drive, which enables it to travel to just about anywhere in the universe, so distance is no longer an issue. Should the crew of the USS Discovery emerge from the timehole in orbit above Terralysium in the Beta Quadrant, 51,000 light-years from Earth, they should still be able to return to Earth using the spore drive. Consequently, the factor at work here separating this crew and this series from anything we already know is time, a lot of time. This naturally offers the potential of new worlds, new antagonists, new species and new situations that put Burnham through the emotional wringer. It also offers familiar worlds that have dramatically changed. It will also be interesting to see how much of the far future from "Enterprise" will be referenced. If the Federation has become the V'draysh — and we assume that's the case — are they the bad guys? If so, why? Have values of the United Federation of Planets changed so much in nine centuries? Did it evolve to become a totalitarian organization? Has it, in essence, destroyed itself? Pike (Anson Mount) guides the Enterprise through its most deadly battle yet in the "Star Trek: Discovery" Season 2 finale, "Such Sweet Sorrow – Part II." (Image credit: Russ Martin/CBS) If this is the case, we could see worlds with more mechanical-style tech, or even a preindustrial civilization, rather like the excellent "Babylon 5" episode "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars" (S04, E22), although that seems unlikely given how, in "Calypso," Craft seemed to be familiar with the tech on the Discovery. So far in "Star Trek: Discovery" we've seen a tendency to lean toward nostalgia, from the obvious inclusion of the USS Enterprise, Capt. Pike and Lt. Spock to more subtle nods like the "Next Generation"-style communicator badges Section 31 had. This was even the case in Season 1, with the Mirror Universe playing as big a role as Section 31 did in Season 2. Interestingly, both elements played a role in "Deep Space Nine," which featured the most trips of any "Trek" series (five) to the Mirror Universe, and Section 31 was actually created by that series' executive producer Ira Steven Behr. "Deep Space Nine" received a lot of initial criticism from fans because it didn't follow the traditional template of "Star Trek," and look how that turned out: In this author's opinion, it's the best-written, most interesting "Trek" series in the entire franchise. That was 20 years ago, and the landscape of television is constantly evolving; to match it "Discovery" must also break away from the traditional template of "Star Trek" and embrace an unconventional, intelligent, well thought-out, grounded approach to storytelling, because trying to cover up a lame plot with excessive VFX — which is what happened in the Season 2 finale — just won’t work and ratings will drop.Make "Star Trek" interesting; adapt to the changing landscape of big-budget television. Adapt or die. My 2 cents Aside from crossing our fingers for a higher standard of writing, less technobabble, less exposition, a more evenly paced story arc and absolutely, positively no more of Burnham's emotional-sponge routine, we can hope for some truly original sci-fi drama, unconstrained by "Star Trek" canon. Personally, I'd like to seem some post-apocalyptic worlds with “Mad Max”-inspired civilizations.<doc-sep>In order to preserve the future, Star Trek: Discovery looked to the past and delivered a real treat for old and new Trekkies alike. Going bigger and bolder than ever before, the Season 2 finale, titled "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2," featured a deluge of Easter eggs and season callbacks in an emotionally charged hour that also tied up loose ends for two iconic characters. The jam-packed episode saw the crews of both Discovery and Enterprise bracing for the battle of their lives to prevent a bleak future in which all sentient life is wiped out. Control's (Alan Van Sprang) powerful armada of Section 31 ships flanked them all sides, but in true Star Trek fashion, they didn't face this imminent threat alone and soon received backup from Xahian queen Po (Yadira Guevara-Prip) and an army of newly-empowered Kelpians, as well as a Klingon battle cruiser helmed by Chancellor L'Rell (Mary Chieffo). In between the high stakes drama were smaller, beautiful moments that illustrated exactly what's at stake. In one of the hour's most touching moments, Culber (Wilson Cruz) reaffirmed his love to Stamets (Anthony Rapp), who'd been critically wounded by incoming debris. "I thought I could make a home on Enterprise. Then I realized you're my home so I came back," Culber said. "I'm your family. Wherever we go from here, we go together." Discover your new favorite show: Watch This Now! Meanwhile, as the federation of sentient beings stared down an army of drones, Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) braced for a dangerous one-way trip through a wormhole in order to stop the menacing AI from evolving into the unstoppable force that threatened the entire universe. It was a difficult but necessary decision, one that required both Burnham and her adoptive brother Spock (Ethan Peck) to set aside their personal feelings and do what's best for the greater good. "For Spock, the logical solution to the situation overrode the emotional. It's necessary for the universe, for something bigger than both of them. I think it's what they signed up for," Ethan Peck told TV Guide. "[Spock is] between a rock and a hard place and he has to do what's better for those around him, not just for him. And I think that's so quintessential to what's essentially Spock." Spock's greatest struggle since childhood has been finding that balance between logic and emotion, an internal war that will carry over to his time aboard the Enterprise as Captain Kirk's trusted voice of reason. We already knew this. However, Discovery's dug deeper into Spock's mythology, revealing a new layer to the recognizable character. Burnham not only helped him get in touch with his human side, she essentially shaped the sensible Vulcan he would become later on in canon. "I think that Michael has passed onto Spock a lot of her strength and bravery and wisdom and I think it's incredibly beautiful because I myself have an older sister and I learned so much from her. To integrate lessons from those that are before you is no easy task and requires a lot of humility. I think it speaks a lot to the type of people persons that Spock and Michael Burnham are, that they're kind of cut from the same cloth in that way," Peck said. "I think the world of Sonequa [Martin-Green] and her performance as Michael Burnham. She brings so much strength and intelligence and veracity and certainty, and I think that, as a younger brother, Spock really absorbs that and takes it in. It's like she is so integral to his formation as the Spock in the original series, and I just never thought it would have come out that way. And so, to tie these characters together in canon in this way is so beautiful and truthful and realistic and I just feel honored to have been a part of it." Everything We Know About the Star Trek Picard Series Ethan Peck, Star Trek: Discovery John Medland, CBS That emotional goodbye, in which Spock declared her his balance, marked a full-circle moment for the pair who began the season estranged. No longer filled with resentment, Spock saw his adoptive sister with admiration and love, a complete turnaround from the baby Vulcan who slammed the door in her face. But that sweet moment was short-lived, as Burnham still had one more thing left to do. Bravely charging into the wormhole with Discovery in tow, Burnham and her crew traveled to the future in a bold move that destroyed Control and thus saved the galaxy. The downside, though, is that she might not have a way back home. And unfortunately, her heroic act would have to go unrecognized because the series still needed to tie up one major loose end. Spock had never before mentioned having a sister named Michael Burnham, and now we know why. In an effort to protect his big sister and prevent another threat like Control from rising, Spock persuaded the Federation to order anyone with knowledge of Burnham, Discovery, and its spore drive to never mention them again under penalty of treason. That precaution was extended to his parents, Sarek (James Frain) and Amanda (Mia Kirshner), who also agreed to remain silent about their adoptive daughter. Burnham might be stuck in the future, but it's pretty obvious she'll be back when the show returns for Season 3 since the episode wrapped with one major hint alluding to her fate. A clean-shaven Spock and Captain Pike (Anson Mount), back in their rightful places aboard the Enterprise, finally discover the seventh red signal -- Burnham's sign that she's just fine. In a fitting sendoff for the iconic characters, Pike and his crew set course for a new moon in the beta quadrant, closing the book on their time with Discovery... at least for now. The appearance of that final red signal certainly leaves the door open for both Pike and Spock to return to their new friends for one more adventure if an opportunity presents itself. After all, Star Trek: Discovery has already been renewed for Season 3, and Peck is ready to don the pointy ears once more. "I would like to come back, because being a part of Star Trek is like magic. It's funny, I think Star Trek is so divisive amongst people in the world that are like, "Never seen it, not interested." And those that do see it are very attached and find themselves very connected with it. To be a part of something like that is just really special. Now I feel like I've done a lot of the groundwork and Spock is very much a part of me. I'm the same but different having finished it. So would I like to continue? Yeah. I think it would be great," Peck said. Make it so, universe! Seasons 1 and 2 of Star Trek: Discovery are available to stream exclusively on CBS All Access. (Disclosure: TV Guide is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of CBS Corporation.)<doc-sep>
Ever since the stunning finale of Star Trek Discovery Season two fans have wondered what will happen next. We’ve gathered all the information here in one place. Warning: This article contains spoilers for season two of Star Trek Discovery Season two of Star Trek Discovery left the titular ship in unfamiliar territory following a time jump 950 years further into the future leaving them squarely in the 32nd century. While we’ve glimpsed further into the future before, the 26th century with a brief appearance by the Enterprise J in Star Trek Enterprise (Azati Prime) and one episode of Star Trek Voyager (Living Witness) set in the 31st and briefly in the 38th century, we have never seen the state of the Alpha Quadrant beyond the events of Star Trek Nemesis. For the first time since the premiere of Star Trek The Next Generation we will boldly go well into the future with Star Trek Discovery Season 3. What’s going on behind the scenes of Season 3? CBS announced in February, shortly after the premiere of Season two that Star Trek Discovery was being renewed for a third season and that they were adding a new co-executive producer and co-showrunner in Michelle Paradise who joined the production team midway through the second season and was reportedly well received by the team. The addition of Paradise appears to be a move designed to free up Alex Kurtzman to continue developing new projects for the franchise including the upcoming Star Trek Picard which is expected to premiere later this year or in early 2020 and Star Trek The Lower Decks which has just passed another milestone on the road to production and won’t be far behind. Who’s back and who’s gone? “Such Sweet Sorrow” — Ep#213 — Pictured (l-r): Anthony Rapp as Stamets; Doug Jones as Saru; Shazad Latif as Tyler; Ethan Peck as Spock; Ronnie Rowe as Bryce; Oyin Oladejo as Owosekun; Patrick Kwok-Choon as Rhys; Mary Wiseman as Tilly of the CBS All Access series STAR TREK: DISCOVERY. Photo Cr: Ben Mark Holzberg/CBS ÃÂ©2018 CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The bulk of the cast will return including Sonequa Martin-Green (Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Saru), Anthony Rapp (Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Sylvia Tilly), Sara Mitich (Nilsson) and the revived Wilson Cruz (Hugh Culber). We have yet to receive confirmation on the return of recurring characters including Mary Chieffo (L’Rell), James Frain (Sarek), or Michelle Yeoh (Philippa Georgio) though the former Terran Emperor ended up in the future along with the crew of Discovery making her likely to appear in at least some of season 3 before a departure to star in her own spin-off Star Trek Section 31. It remains unclear if fellow Section 31 agent Shazad Latif (Ash Tyler) will remain a part of the cast of either the main series or the spin-off. We’ve already received confirmation that Anson Mount (Christopher Pike) and Rebecca Romijn (Number One) will not return for season three. Additionally, it seems unlikely that Ethan Peck (Spock) will return given that he remained in the 23rd century and we know where his character will go from there. When will season 3 release? The first season began on September 27, 2017 and the second season on January 17, 2019 (17.01 for those who missed the Easter egg) so the normal routine would seem to put season 3 in early 2020, however, with Star Trek Picard set to release in that vicinity and the possibility of Star Trek Lower Decks releasing within 12 months a late January to February 2020 date seems most likely, although that has yet to be confirmed by CBS. Regardless of the exact release date the mandate is to have something Star Trek broadcasting at all times throughout the year so a wait of over 12 months seems highly unlikely. What will the story be? No teasers, trailers or storylines have yet been confirmed for season 3, but that’s not stopping fan speculation as to where the crew will go next. So far we know they will spend at least some time in the 32nd century and will most likely remain in the distant future for the remainder of the series run, with the exception of Georgio who is the most likely character to return to the 23rd century given her pending spin-off.