STAR TREK: DISCOVERY
SEASON 1, EPISODE 13
SEASON 1, EPISODE 13
What's Past is Prologue
Series: Star Trek: Discovery - (2017 - 2024)Season: 1
Episode #: 13
Original Airdate: January 28th, 2018
Writer(s): Ted Sullivan
Director(s): Olatunde Osunsanmi
Guest Stars
Michelle Yeoh as Emperor Philippa Georgiou
Rekha Sharma as Commander Ellen Landry
Emily Coutts as Keyla Detmer
Jeremy Crittenden as Lord Eling
Patrick Kwok-Choon as Rhys
Sara Mitich as Airiam
Oyin Oladejo as Joann Owosekun
Ronnie Rowe Jr. as Bryce
Bart Badzioch as ISS Charon Officer (uncredited)
Mustafa Bulut as ISS Charon Officer (uncredited)
Wilson Cruz as Hugh Culber (uncredited)
Phi Huynh as ISS Charon Officer (uncredited)
Jonathan McGuire as ISS Charon Officer (uncredited)
Joseph Racki as ISS Charon Officer (uncredited)
Julie St-Louis as ISS Charon Officer (uncredited)
Stardate: 1834.2
Synopsis
Aboard Discovery, Saru, now acting as Captain, leads the crew towards their main goals now that they've recovered Stamets: retrieving Burnham and Lorca, getting home, and winning their own war. But it isn't going to be easy. For one thing, the mycelium network is dying, poisoned by the Terran Empire's and Mirror Stamets' greed in creating the core of the Emperor's flagship. They find out that Lorca is actually mirror Lorca, and they've been deceived the whole time.
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Saru, meanwhile, finds out that there's no way to conventionally destroy the core of the Emperor's ship, which is dooming life in the Universe. If they weaponize the spores on board, they can do it, but Discovery's shields will fail and they'll all die. However Saru, after delivering a moving speech, rallies the crew of Discovery behind him, as they look for a solution that doesn’t equate to a ‘no-win’ scenario.
On board the Emperor's ship, Emperor Georgiou's team is fighting bravely against Lorca's rebels, but they're losing the battle. Burnham brings the Emperor to Lorca, offering herself, her mind, and her skills to Lorca in order to save Discovery's crew. Lorca appears pleased; the ultimate believer in destiny — the destiny that propelled him from certain death into another Universe, the destiny that brought the same people together across time and space — saw prime Universe Burnham betray her Georgiou; saw mirror Universe Burnham betray the Emperor; and now sees prime Burnham betraying mirror Georgiou.
Over on Discovery, Tilly discovers a potential way home: riding the mycelium wave/ripples that will be emitted from destroying the core of the Emperor's ship. Stamets interjects that the combination of their shields and a warp bubble, if they combine the spore and warp drives, could protect them, allowing Stamets a chance to guide them home. It's a way to win in the no-win scenario.
Discovery warps to confront the Emperor's ship, and after Saru dismisses Lorca's pleasantries, sees the moment is right to strike when Burnham and Georgiou begin their rebellion. Discovery's first strike hits home, rocking Lorca and his troops, allowing Burnham and Georgiou to take advantage. In a brutal battle, Lorca's crew are defeated, one by one, as Burnham and Georgiou take them all down. In the end, Burnham defeats Lorca, however she refuses to kill her once-Captain. However his fate is sealed when he’s stabbed through the chest by the Emperor, who then kicks him into the mycelium core. Georgiou then offers to spend her life buying Burnham the critical moments to find a way home, and Burnham brings down the core confinement protection. But at the last minute, she rushes to grab Georgiou, saving her, against all logic and even perhaps against Georgiou's will. Apparently, Burnham won't accept a no-win scenario either.
Discovery beams Burnham and Georgiou out, triggers the core's destruction and blows up the Emperor's flagship, and then creates the wave for Stamets to ride home. He initially can't see which path to take, but his prior journey through his mind, from back when he was in his coma, leads his memories of Hugh Culber to successfully guide him home. The mycelium network is intact, and they're back in the prime Universe. The only catch is they're nine months in the future, and the Klingons have won the war.
Trailer
Posters courtesy of Laz Marquez and J.J. Lendl
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