WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery’s Series Finale, “Life, Itself”
Summary
A long-standing question surroundingStar Trek: Discoveryis finally answered in the epilogue ofStar Trek: Discovery’sseries finale, “Life, Itself”. Decades after the events ofStar Trek: Discovery, Admiral Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) is called to active duty in order to take the USS Discovery out for one final mission. The Red Directive mission is assigned to Zora (Annabelle Wallis), the sentient artificial intelligence that was integrated with the USS Discovery’s computers as a result of merging with the Sphere Data inStar Trek: Discoveryseason 2. Zora’s mission is simply to wait, crewless, at predetermined coordinates for an unspecified amount of time.
Zora’s finalStar Trek: Discoverymission is intentionally vague, but should ring a few bells with viewers who are familiar withStar Trek: Short Treksseason 1, episode 2, “Calypso”.In “Calypso”, a wounded soldier named Craft (Aldis Hodge) seeks refuge aboard the abandoned USS Discovery 1000 years in the future.Craft’s only companion is the starship’s disembodied intelligence, Zora, who nurses Craft back to health physically before also healing Craft emotionally. War has disillusioned Craft, but Zora’s kindness kindles a romantic connection between the pair, before Craft ultimately decides to return to the wife and child he hasn’t seen in 10 years.
Star Trek: Ranking The 10 Best Short Treks (According To IMDb)
In 2018, CBS All Access released Star Trek: Short Treks as a companion to Star Trek: Discovery. These are the best episodes according to IMDb!
What Was Star Trek: Short Treks “Calypso” & Why It Was Controversial
“Calypso” Doesn’t Fit Star Trek: Discovery’s Timeline
For years,Star Trek: Short Treksseason 1, episode 2, “Calypso” presented more questions than it answered.“Calypso” is a story out of step with the rest of theStar Trekuniverse,in a far-flung future beyond evenStar Trek: Enterprise’s Temporal Cold War, since Zora tells Craft that Discovery has been abandoned for nearly 1000 years. The distance betweenStar Trek: Discovery’s present and the future in “Calypso” theoretically allows for the evolution of Zora as an independent entity within Discovery’s computer, and for the name of Craft’s enemies, the V’draysh, to evolve from their original title: the Federation. Unfortunately, asDiscoverygoes on, “Calypso” doesn’t add up.
Like the V’draysh being an elided version of"Federation"due to the passage of time,Star Trek: The Original Seriesseason 2, episode 23, features the"yangs"and"comms",named for slang evolved from"yankees"and"communists".
The USS Discovery’s jump to the future meansStar Trek: Discovery’s final 3 seasons take place within the original suspected time frame of theStar Trek: Short Treksepisode “Calypso”.Zora inStar Trek: Discoveryseason 3is a full-fledged character and new life form, suggesting the events of “Calypso” are still in the USS Discovery’s future – just 1000 years after the new 32nd century present, pushing “Calypso” all the way to the 42nd century. The wrinkle is thatDiscovery’s 32nd century refit with detached warp nacelles and 1031-A registry doesn’t match with the USS Discovery’s 23rd century exterior in “Calypso”, seemingly making theShort Treksepisode impossible.
The title of the episode “Calypso” comes from the Odyssey, where Calypso is the name of a nymph who rescues Odysseus and keeps him from continuing his homeward journey for seven years.
Star Trek: Discovery Ended By Making Sure “Calypso” Will Happen
“Calypso” Is Zora’s Red Directive Mission
The ending ofStar Trek: Discoveryensures that “Calypso” will happen. As Admiral Michael Burnham arrives to command the USS Discovery’s last mission, the “A” is being scrubbed off of Discovery’s hull. The retrofit to Discovery’s original appearance is confirmed when a flyby shows that Discovery’s warp nacelles have also been reattached.Burnham explains that Zora’s new mission is a Red Directive from Dr. Kovich (David Cronenberg),andKovich isStar Trek: Enterprise’s Agent Daniels(Matt Winston), a temporal operative who likely already knows exactly where and when Zora needs to be in 1000 years, even if Burnham’s only clue to Zora is the word"Craft".
With the coda ofStar Trek: Discovery’s series finale, “Life, Itself”,the pieces fall into place forShort Treks"Calypso" to happen as it should.Theories that “Calypso” takes place in an alternateStar Trektimeline or after Zora’s memory has been erased aren’t needed. Admiral Burnham suggests that after Zora completes her mission, Zora can seek out the original Discovery crew’s descendants, and essentially return to a family in the same way that Craft will after Zora and Craft’s fated meeting. By tying up the last loose end,Star Trek: Discoveryfinally explains howStar Trek: Short Treks'“Calypso” actually happens.
Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Short Treks are streaming on Paramount+.
