Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Star Trek: Discovery Season 4 episode “Rubicon,” read at your own risk!
Star Trek: Discovery is in the midst of Season 4, and is engaging audiences with one of the biggest mysteries the show tackled to date. The Dark Matter Anomaly, which had the power to annihilate planets, turned out to be the work of mining equipment from a powerful species nicknamed Species 10-C, which the Federation has no experience with. The latest episode saw Ruon Tarka attempt to destroy the DMA (after Booker assured a desperate Michael Burnham they wouldn’t use the weapon), and while Tarka was successful, a replacement appeared in its place not long after.
Species 10-C is a mystery, and showrunner Michelle Paradise would only tease what to expect rather than give specifics on this extragalactic species. I asked Paradise about her favorite part of the Species 10-C storyline during a Twitter Spaces event for Star Trek: Discovery that CinemaBlend moderated, and received the following in response.
It's hard to answer that question without giving any spoilers for the episodes to come, so I will be deliberately vague except just to say that it has been quite a journey and was very interesting for us in the room to create a species somewhat unlike any we'd seen and to build mystery around the species. I can say that in the episodes to come, yes, we will learn more, and the mystery will only deepen. . .I will say that it’s very unlike anything we’ve done on the show before, and it’s unlike a species we’ve seen before. It felt important to us to really dig deep with that and explore that in a way that felt right for the show and right for Trek specifically.
Color me intrigued, and for a necessarily vague response (something the showrunner is known for), that’s one that should get Star Trek: Discovery fans excited. My assumption was that this species might be one Trek fans might be vaguely familiar with, or some blending of well-known Trek species, like that interesting looking Ferengi.
The mystery will certainly deepen on Species 10-C as Star Trek: Discovery continues, but fans will be relieved to know at least most of the questions they currently have about the cryptic species will be revealed in the coming weeks. Michelle Paradise confirmed that by the end of Season 4, fans will have many of the answers they currently crave ahead of Season 5.
We will absolutely know the full scope of it by the end of the season.
That’s exciting to hear, especially after how effortlessly Species 10-C regenerated its planet-destroying mining equipment after its destruction. For the sake of the Discovery crew and the rest of the Federation, I hope this species is full-scope friendly.
Star Trek: Discovery streams new episodes on Paramount+ on Thursdays. Tune in for the back half of Season 4, and gear up for the Season 2 premiere of Star Trek: Picard by snagging a Paramount+ subscription right now.
