That Huge ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Finale Cliffhanger, Explained

Warning: Spoilers for the Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 finale, “Will You Take My Hand” past this point!

The crew of the Federation starship USS Discovery has traveled to alternate universes, accidentally ended up in the future, and died multiple times in one episode due to the machinations of a crafty smuggler. But the biggest moment of the series was, arguably, the tag at the end of Sunday’s (February 11) finale, when they finally encountered… The USS Enterprise.

You know the ship, whether you’re a casual Star Trek fan or a lifelong Trekker. Captained by James Tiberius Kirk, the Enterprise is the ship that’s anchored multiple TV series, movies, and was even name dropped one or two times during the freshman run of Discovery. But so far the storied ship has stayed off-screen, even in the middle of an apocalyptic war with the villainous* (*arguably) Klingons that nearly decimated the entire Federation of Planets.

In this week’s finale, Discovery is rocketing back to the planet Vulcan to pick up their new captain (after their old captain turned out to be a refugee from an alternate universe who manipulated a dimension traveling drive that… You know what, it’s too complicated, never mind) when they receive a distress call. Acting Captain Saru (Doug Jones) hails the ship, and then its on screen: the Discovery is face to face with the Enterprise. See you next season!

But first, if you’re a casual fan (or even a hardcore fan with a bad memory), you may have a few questions:

Who is Captain Pike?

From the early 2250s to 2262, Christopher Pike was the captain of the Enterprise. He was preceded by Robert April (who only appeared in the mostly forgotten animated series), and followed by the more famous Captain Kirk. In the real world, Pike was the captain of the Enterprise in the original, scrapped pilot of Star Trek, before creator Gene Roddenberry and crew decided to try again with Kirk and company.

As a neat little meta-wink, though, Pike was kept in continuity as the “original” captain of the Enterprise, later showing up in a season 1 two-parter titled “The Menagerie.” You might also remember him as the guy giving Kirk a sobering bar talk in 2009’s Star Trek, but those movies are a different continuity called the Kelvin timeline which… You know what, it’s too complicated, never mind.

So… When does Discovery take place, exactly?

Most of the show takes place in the years 2256-2257, meaning it’s squarely in the middle of Pike’s tenure on the deck of the Enterprise. That’s why when Saru gets a scratchy transmission from the in-trouble vessel, he’s not calling out Kirk’s name (and also why they clarified which ship it was in the dialogue, so there was no confusion).

What was with those letters and numbers?

The call sign for the USS Enterprise is NCC-1701. When they put five sevenths of that up on the display next to Saru’s chair, that excited screaming you heard was me.

But the Enterprise looks different. I don’t like change.

Yeah, it’s 2018, and Discovery made the conscious decision to not stick with the antiquated look of the show from the 1960s. That extends to the Enterprise, which now has a lot more bumps and “working” parts, but has otherwise retained its classic shape.

So no Kirk? That’s a bummer…

Kirk didn’t take over the Enterprise until 2265. He actually just graduated from Starfleet Academy (depending on the exact timing of this episode), and most likely serving on the USS Farragut, which is somewhere in deep space. That said, there’s another crew-member who stuck with the Enterprise through both Pike and Kirk’s time on the ship.

*extremely Brad Pitt in Se7en voice* Who’s on the ship? Who’s on the shiiiiip?

That would be Spock, most famously played by Leonard Nimoy.

But isn’t Spock sort of Michael Burnham’s (Sonequa Martin-Green) brother???

Yep, and Sarek’s (James Frain) son. Discovery has mentioned Spock before, but never shown him or specifically addressed whether he and Burnham (who was adopted by Sarek as a child) have met. So assuming Spock is on the Enterprise, and Sarek is currently on the deck of the Discovery with Michael, it should be an interesting family reunion.

Who is playing Spock on the show?

No idea. May I suggest a time-traveling, young Zachary Quinto?

Any clue what the distress call is about?

Unfortunately, no. Other than “The Cage” and some fanfic, there’s not a lot known about the years Pike was at the helm of the Enterprise. So really, it could be anything (please don’t be the Borg, please don’t be the Borg).

What was the deal with that music over the closing credits? That wasn’t the Discovery theme. I’m mad.

That would be the classic Star Trek theme from the original series, in a winky nod. Also, calm down.

Okay, fine… How long do I have to wait to see this resolve?

A second season has been ordered, but there’s no premiere date yet. Hopefully it won’t be a five year mission to bring this back to screen.

Stream Star Trek: Discovery on CBS All Access