WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery’s finale, “Life, Itself”
Summary
There’s an argument to be made that the big twists from theStar Trek: Discoveryfinale were too"inside baseball" and obscure to make the desired impact on the casual viewer. Written by Kyle Jarrow and Michelle Paradise,Discovery’s finale, “Life, Itself” was both a sequel toStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 6, episode 20, “The Chase” and the culmination of five seasons worth of adventures for Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green).Discovery’s series finalebeing aTNGsequel was emblematic of the larger issues with the big revelations in the finale’s closing scenes.
The first big revelation was thatDavid Cronenberg’s Doctor Kovichwas an older Temporal Agent Daniels (Matt Winston) fromStar Trek: Enterprise. Daniels wasn’t even a series regular onEnterprise, so the revelation may have been too leftfield for some viewers, particularly those who never saw theStar Trekprequel series. However, the most obscure revelation inStar Trek: Discovery’s finale was the epilogue set in the 33rd century, which set up an episode of the short-lived anthology seriesStar Trek: Short Treks.
“That Pissed Me Off”: Enterprise Actor Gives His Honest Take On Star Trek: Discovery’s Finale Twist
Star Trek: Enterprise’s Dominic Keating is no fan of Star Trek: Discovery’s twist that Doctor Kovich is really a character who met Captain Archer.
Discovery’s Kovich Twist Relied On A Star Trek Show That Ended Almost 20 Years Ago
Star Trek: Enterpriseended in 2005, so it does seem odd for such a bigrevelation about aStar Trek: Discoverycharacter to rely so heavily on a show that ended 19 years ago. It’s even stranger given thatTemporal Agent Daniels last appeared inEnterprisein season 4, episode 2, “Storm Front II”, which aired in October 2004. While the majority ofDiscoveryviewers will know about Daniels and the role he played in the Temporal Cold War, there will be a portion of the audience that haven’t revisitedEnterprisefor years, or who never even watched it in the first place.
“Shockwave, II”
“Storm Front, II”
Season 4, Episode 2
WhileScott BakulaandEnterpriseis getting a reappraisal, the show never tapped into the cultural zeitgeist in the way thatStar Trek: The Next Generationdid. That’s why theTNGreferences inStar Trek: Discoveryseason 5 feel less jarring than Kovich’s true identity. Kovich being Daniels is a fun twist, and explains a lot about his enigmatic nature throughoutDiscovery. However,David Cronenberg delivering the line “Agent Daniels” means absolutely nothing to those viewers that haven’t dipped intoEnterpriseon Paramount+, nor is it an enticing tease for them to do so.
Star Trek: Discovery’s Epilogue Means Nothing If You’ve Not Seen Short Treks
WhileStar Trek: Discovery’s Kovich reveal was ultimately a throwawayStar Trek: Enterprisereference, the finale’s epilogue is a much bigger issue. The decision to dedicate such a substantial amount of screentime to setting upStar Trek: Short Treks' “Calypso"madeStar Trek: Discovery’s finale underwhelming.Short Trekswas a short-lived anthology series of shorts that wasn’t always easy to access. And yet, because “Calypso” depicted the USS Discovery abandoned in the far future,a small section of fandom were determined that thisShort Trekmust be explained beforeDiscoveryended.
The original plan forStar Trek: Discoveryseason 6 was to tell the story of how Zora ended up abandoned in “Calypso”.
However, there is merit in leaving some mysteries unsolved, especially as the alternate future inStar Trek: Discoveryseason 5, episode 4, “Face the Strange” created a possible solution. Instead,Discoverydedicated almost 20 minutes to Admiral Michael Burnham embarking on the USS Discovery’s final mission to abandon Zora (Annabelle Wallis) in the far reaches of space because “Calypso” dictated it. In doing so, theStar Trek: Discoveryepilogue placed fan service over providing a satisfying ending for the show’s audience and cast.
Star Trek: Discovery
Cast
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.
