Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery’s Series Finale - “Life, Itself”
Summary
Star Trek: Discoverycame to a powerful and emotional conclusion with its season 5 finale, butDiscovery’s coda establishes that the series' real ending actually happened in 2018. Written by Kyle Jarrow and Michelle Paradise, and directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi,Star Trek: Discoveryseason 5, episode 10, “Life, Itself”, wrapped up Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the USS Discovery’s hunt for the Progenitors technology. But the finale’s stunning epilogue flashes forward 30+ years to Admiral Burnham launching Discovery on her final mission -to synch up with the 2018Star Trek: Short Treksepisode, “Calypso”.
Before Star Trek on Paramount+ expanded into multipleStar TrekTV seriesand a streaming movie,Star Trek: Short Trekswas intended to bridge the gap betweenStar Trek: Discoveryseasons 1 and 2. (A secondShort Treksseason in 2019 continued filling in gaps fromDiscoveryand set upStar Trek: Picardseason 1.) Written by Michael Chabon and directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi,Star Trek: Short Treks'“Calypso” was set a thousand years in the future where the USS Discovery was long abandoned, and Zora (Annabelle Wallis), Discovery’s sentient A.I., meets and falls in love with a human soldier named Craft (Aldis Hodge). However,there were doubts for years whether “Calypso” was actually part ofStar Trek: Discovery’s canon or if theShort Trekwas set in an alternate timeline.
Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Finale Ending & Shocking Epilogue Explained
Star Trek: Discovery comes to an end with season 5’s finale wrapping up the Progenitors treasure hunt and an epilogue concluding the entire series.
Star Trek: Discovery Made 2018’s Short Trek’s “Calypso” Its Real Ending
Discovery’s final mission leads to “Calypso”
Star Trek: Discovery’s final, shocking twist in its series finale was to ensure that the USS Discovery spore jumps toward its destiny, which isStar Trek: Short Treks' “Calypso”,making “Calypso"Star Trek: Discovery’s real ending. In the 33rd century, Admiral Michael Burnham commands the USS Discovery on its final,Red Directive mission. Burnham tells Zora when they reach their ultimate destination, she and the crew will leave Discovery. Zora’s mission is simply to wait for"Craft”.Afterward, Discovery can come home to the United Federation of Planets.
Zora waits roughly a thousand years for Craft, meaning theStar Trek: Discoveryfinale’s 33rd century starting point sets Star Trek: Short Treks' “Calypso” to happen sometime around the 43rd century.
Star Trek: Discovery’s jump to the 32nd century initially made it doubtful thatStar Trek: Short Treks' “Calypso"was canon. InStar Trek: Discoveryseason 3, the USS Discovery was refitted with 32nd-century technology, programmable matter, detached nacelles, and rechristened the USS Discovery-A. But “Calypso”, which was produced beforeStar Trek: Discoveryseason 2, showed the USS Discovery in its original 23rd-century design. This gave credence to the “Calypso” is an alternate timeline theory. But then, Zora was also introduced inStar Trek: Discoveryseason 3, and “Calypso” became a lingering mystery audiences assumed the series would simply ignore as a remnant of previous or abandoned creative plans.
Discovery addressed its biggest mystery
“Calypso” was one of the most striking, evocative, and memorable episodes ofStar Trek: Short Treks,but why didStar Trek: Discoveryultimately conclude by setting up its events? According toStar Trek: Discoveryshowrunner Michelle Paradise,Star Trekexecutive producer Alex Kurtzman wantedDiscoveryto answer the “Calypso” question. HadStar Trek: Discoveryseason 6happened, “Calypso” would have been its endgame. But when Paramount+ set season 5 asStar Trek: Discovery’s final season and allowed the cast and crew to film a coda to wrap up the series, it was decided thatStar Trek: Discovery’s season 6’s plan to lead into “Calypso” would be the conclusion of the coda and the series itself.
Star Trek: Discovery synching up to “Calypso” brings the saga full circle.
Star Trek: Short Treksweren’t as widely seen asStar Trek: Discoveryso many fans may have been confused about where the USS Discovery was going and why at the very end of the series. However,Star Trek: Short Treksis streaming on Paramount+, andStar Trek: Discoverysynching up to “Calypso"brings the saga full circle. As such, the ending for the USS Discovery and Zora is a tragic one, where the compassionate A.I. will have to wait hundreds of years for the fleeting experience of love and loss with Craft. It’s just a shame thatStar Trek: Discoveryseason 6 didn’t happen, which could have fully built up exactly why Zora is destined to meet Craft inStar Trek: Short Treks' “Calypso”.
