The fifth and final season of Star Trek: Discovery It debuts Thursday with two episodes that delve into the season's big story, and tie directly into the series Star Trek: The Next Generation. TrekMovie spoke with co-showrunner Michelle Paradise about why they landed on the big mystery right away. The executive producer also talked about how this TNG episode helped build on the season's themes and give it structure.
Spoilers warning
Don't wait to open the mystery box
In previous seasons Star Trek: Discovery It tends to tease out big mysteries, like the source of “The Burn” in Season 3 or who was behind the DMAs in Season 4. But as part of the stated plan to pivot the show with a new sense of adventure in Season 5, the producers also opted for a big reveal in Episode 1. They even seemed to hang a lantern on the show's previous penchant for “mystery box” storytelling by making Episode 1's McGuffin a puzzle box Literal, which opened about halfway through the episode. The episode is powered by an eccentric old Android Soong named Fred.
Speaking to TrekMovie at the Season 5 premiere at SXSW, Michelle Paradise explained why they got to the big event right away:
“Because we're sending our heroes on a mission this season, we wanted to make sure that by the end of the first episode, the audience understood exactly what that question was, exactly what our heroes were looking for, exactly where we'd be next. There are of course some other mysteries to solve and some cards to play It has to be delivered as we move into the next few episodes. But it was really important to be honest — and that's what we're doing this season, and letting our audience come along for the ride.
Fred opens the Romulan puzzle box in “Red Directive”
Why return to the “chase”?
The box contains the diary of a 24th century Romulan scholar named Velek, giving a name to what was Background character In the sixth season Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “StalkingBy the end of “Red Directive,” Kovic has put all the pieces together, revealing that this season’s mission is to discover a source of strength Ancient beings who revealed themselves (via an old recording) to Captain Jean-Luc Picard and representatives of other species in that episode.
In “Red Directive” Kovic briefs Captain Burnham on a shot from “The Pursuit.”
At SXSW, Paradise talked about why this TNG episode from 1993 was a perfect fit for their plans for Season 5:
“The Chase” is an episode that has stuck with many of us because it deals with such huge ideas and huge themes. Where did we come from? Creating life. And then it was this one episode, and then that was it. Then they had another episode after that. And I felt like this was the thing that left us with many, many questions. what happened after that? what if? And so when we were thinking about this season in particular, and what we were going to do thematically and our characters looking at questions of meaning, questions of purpose, it seemed like this was a really great place to come back to as a starting point for this adventure, and that it resonated thematically.
naturally, Star Trek: The Next Generation It was designed to be episodic, so naturally, the show moved on to other stories. But introducing this idea that a single race (the Forerunners) implanted into the galaxy what became sentient human life from humans, Cardassians, Klingons, Romulans and beyond is very interesting. Ancestors were explored In the extended (non-canon) Star Trek universe, but for now Discovery It picks up the story and uses it as the basis for the fifth and final season.
In “Under the Twin Moons”, Captain Burnham sees a progenitor of “The Haunting”.
“The Chase” is the starting point for season five
In an early preview of the season premiere at WonderCon, Paradise talked about how they've been thinking about Ancestors for a while:
“We were talking about the ancestors, actually, in Season 4, and it wasn't something we ended up doing. But 'The Chase' is an episode that stuck with a lot of us because it explores such big ideas and big themes, and yet at the end of the episode, It would just be over and they would go on another quest. It was something that felt like something we could expand on when we got to this season… It just seemed like a really interesting place to explore the quests themselves. It felt very rich, with the idea of life itself and meaning and using that As a starting point for this adventure.
In “Red Directive” Kovic identifies Dr. Felic from “The Hunt.”
So, “The Chase” is shown again. This time Captain Burnham and the USS Discovery are pitted against former couriers Moll and Luck who are looking to score big. They may be looking to sell the Progenitor technology to the highest bidder. The first two episodes have already dropped some potential threats to the Federation including Breen, Tholians, and Orions.
A 24th century recording of Dr. Felic reboots “The Chase” for season five
The fifth and final season of Discovery It debuted with two episodes on Thursday, April 4, exclusively on Paramount+ In the United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia and Austria. Discovery It will also premiere on April 4 on Paramount+ in Canada and will air on Bell Media's CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada. The remainder of the 10-episode final season will be available to stream weekly on Thursdays. Season 5 will premiere on SkyShowtime in selected European countries on April 5.
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