In all the things Star Trek: Discovery possibly alluded to in its Season 2 finale, it appears the team's newest co-showrunner Michelle Paradise is willing to confirm at least one reference that teased the original Star Trek canon. Yes, when Michael was giving Spock her farewell pep-talk, that was the show's way of teasing why Spock and Captain Kirk became such close confidants. Here's what Burnham said, for those that may have missed the moment in the CBS All Access original.
There is a whole galaxy out there, full of people who will reach for you. You have to let them. Find that person who seems farthest from you and reach for them. Reach for them. Let them guide you.
Spock confided in his formerly-estranged sister that it was she that helped him understand it's possible to walk the line between human and Vulcan, and that he was disappointed in losing her once again. Because she embraces more of her humanity while still understanding Vulcan nature, Spock can be more Vulcan while still acknowledging his human side. Spock is happy with that balance, and is upset he's going to lose the sister who helped him center himself.
Of course, he's going to find Captain Kirk, who is going to allow Spock to be his calculated and logical self and serve as a counter balance. Long-time Star Trek fans more or less assumed Michael's line was nod to Kirk, and Michelle Paradise (who wrote both parts of the Season 2 finale) told Entertainment Tonight that was the case.
Absolutely. That is definitely Kirk.
It wasn't quite the cameo or appearance some were hoping for, but about the most Star Trek: Discovery could do before taking Michael Burnham and the Discovery crew and sending them 950 years into the future. While that will solve the problem some fans have had with the series butting up against the original canon (which were fixed in the Season 2 finale), it will also significantly lesson the chances that any characters from the original series will ever appear again.
It's not entirely impossible, of course, as this is the Star Trek universe after all. Characters from the past could jump to Discovery's time, although the new Starfleet code would seemingly prevent any return by Discovery back in time. Unless the future is full of a Starfleet comprised of a bunch of Kirk clones, that quote will probably be the closest we'll ever get to the Enterprise captain being involved.
That might be what the future holds for Season 3 of Star Trek: Discovery, but fans won't hear the details from Michelle Paradise anytime soon. The co-showrunner said she can't talk about what the plan is going forward, but that she is very excited to show audiences what is in store for the future.
I can't say anything about Season 3 except to say that I'm excited for it. I think fans will be excited for it and I'm so thrilled with Season 2. I'm so proud of how it turned out. Hopefully everyone finds the last episode as satisfying as we did and we did really work hard to pay off all of those character arcs over the course of the season, and the little character moments like the Stamets/Culber [scene in the medical bay]. I'm super excited to see where our characters go in the future and hopefully everyone else will be too.
For those that like references, Season 3 does have the potential to make a fair few of them. Going centuries beyond any Prime timeline live-action series to date means Discovery can reference more than just Captain Kirk, and potentially reference events that happened throughout other Star Trek shows that aired prior or even ones that are on the way.
Star Trek: Discovery will return to CBS All Access for Season 3, but fans will have to check in with CinemaBlend frequently for any yet-to-be-revealed details.
