12 Questions Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 Needs to Answer
With only a few episodes left in Season 1, here are the subjects we'd like to see Star Trek: Discovery address.
Warning: This Star Trek: Discovery article contains spoilers through Episode 12, “Vaulting Ambition.”
Star Trek: Discovery has been throwing game-changing twists at us ever since the midseason premiere, when we landed in the Mirror Universe. From the Voq reveal to the confirmation that Lorca is not from our universe, Season 1 has a fair amount to wrap up before the season comes to a close. Here are 12 questions we hope they get to…
What is Lorca’s plan?
What’s this dude’s endgame? Presumably, he will attempt another coup. With knowledge of the spore drive on his side and Mirror Stamets as a potential ally, he is at a distinct advantage. Could he come for our universe next?
Where is the other Lorca?
Is this a Mad-Eye Moody situation? Does Lorca have our universe’s Lorca hidden in some trunk somewhere? Did he turn him into a Tribble? Is he hidden in his bowl of fortune cookies? The world needs to know!
Is the other Michael alive?
If Mirror Lorca is alive, then it follows that Mirror Michael might be, too. (Especially because Star Trek never met a main character they didn’t want to slap facial hair on and show in the Mirror Universe.) Could Lorca’s endgame be to rescue his partner? If so, where could Mirror Michael possibly be hiding?
Is anyone looking for Discovery?
So, the Discovery is the Federation’s big hope for the war against the Klingons, and it mysteriously went missing. Someone has to be looking for them, right? Have they made any progress? (To be honest, from what I’ve seen so far, I don’t have a high degree of confidence in the competency of the Federation circa Discovery.)
There’s also Sarek to consider. Not only does he love Michael as a daughter, but he shares his katra with her. You’d think that might be helpful in finding someone on the other side of the mycelial network, no? (As long as I’m making requests, I’d love to see Amanda Grayson again.)
Is Hugh really going to stay dead?
The Star Trek EPs said that Hugh’s death does not fall into the “Bury Your Gays” trope and that this is only the start of an epic love story. So far, however, Hugh has stayed dead—despite some hang out time with Stamets in the mycelial network. Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer both members of my fictional love stories to be alive.
Who will win: Tyler or Voq?
Currently, they’re both stuck somewhere inside the same body. Will that last? L’Rell seemed to make some kind of progress healing Tyloq (Voler?), but I don’t know what the best case scenario here looks like. Narratively, it might be interesting to see what this character would look like if he were forced to recognize both parts of himself—a metaphor for the struggles of peace and co-existence that applies to the larger wars that have been such a big part of Discovery‘s story so far.
Did Saru write Tilly’s recommendation?
In “The Wolf Inside,” Tilly asks Saru if he will write her a recommendation for the command training program. Well? Stamets is out of the woods. Time to start crafting that letter, Saru.
Did the Mirror Universe resistance survive?
Michael gave the members of the resistance time to escape their camp, but Emperor Georgiou showed up to blow them to smithereens before the allotted period was up. That bombing looked pretty thorough, but is there a chance that Sarek, the Fire Wolf, or anyone else survived? How invested should I be in the geopolitics of this universe? Because I want to care, but I also don’t want to waste my time if we’re just going to zap out of this universe at the end of the season, you know?
How does Spock fit into all of this?
I don’t need to know what Spock and Michael’s relationship is like, but I would really, really like to.
What is going on in other universes?
When Star Trek tells Mirror Universe stories, it sticks to one parallel universe, but there are an infinite amount of other universes out there. The development of the spore drive and the exploration of the mycelial network seems like the time to explore the importance or at least acknowledge the existence of these other places.
Is Michael’s universe the “Prime” universe?
We’ve all been operating under the assumption that the universe Discovery started in is the same universe as the one we know from The Original Series, etc. But is it? It could just as easily be another universe with one small difference, a la the Kelvin universe we’ve seen in the reboot movies. It would explain some of the inconsistencies we’ve seen in terms of technology or look.
Does the command crew of the Discovery play poker, Next Generation-style?
Just one poker scene before Season 1 ends, that’s all I ask.