Following a first season that elated many fans and displeased many others, the final scene of the ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ season finale introduced fans to a slightly updated version of the original U.S.S. Enterprise – and the confirmation that the iconic vessel was indeed under the command of Captain Christopher Pike. Now, as ‘Discovery’ ramps up for production on its second season, fans are naturally wondering about another iconic character that, according to Star Trek canon, is stationed aboard the Enterprise at this point in the timeline: the half-human, half-Vulcan Spock, whom “Discovery” has established is “related” to Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), the main character of “Discovery.”
While the creative team has tried to be coy in their indirect answering of the question, Martin-Green seemed to give a slightly more affirmative answer in a recent interview when asked if the two characters will be meeting this season:
“You know, [showrunner] Aaron Harberts, he said after the finale, on ‘After Trek,’ that Season 2 was going to be about that line between science and faith. He also said that there’s going to be a lot of family dynamic. It is the Enterprise in that shot. We all know who is on the Enterprise. You see Sarek and Burnham look at each other, and there you have it.”
Martin-Green also went on to speculate a bit about why Spock may have never mentioned his “sister” before (besides the fact that, y’know, it wasn’t a thing before now):
“Alex Kurtzman, who helped create the show with Bryan Fuller, who obviously worked very closely with J.J. for his franchise of Star Trek films, said, ‘I know a lot of people are asking why he didn’t ever mention her.’ He was like, ‘Trust us. There will be an explanation.’
“That’s what happens when you come into this time period where you’re couched between two iterations. There’s a lot of those things where you can only go so far, or you have to find loops or whatever, as it surfaces in the story. We are so canon-specific and canon-compliant, and the moments where we are not, there is a reason for it.”
Martin-Green’s faith in the shaky canonical connections of “Discovery” aside, fans will have to wait and see what happens in the second season of the show, which will be returning to CBS All Access but does not have a specific premiere date at this point.
