‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Says Farewell in Epic Series Finale — How It Ended After 5 Seasons

Star Trek: Discovery’s series finale — which aired on Thursday, May 30 — picked up where the penultimate episode left off. After disappearing through a portal, Captain Michael Burham (Sonequa Martin-Green) awakened on a suspended platform that stretched into eternity, offering infinite gateways that led to other exotic worlds. She encountered Moll (Eve Harlow), and after trading punches, the two begrudgingly teamed up to find the Progenitors’ technology, which was used to create humanoid life.

“I need you to trust me … I give you my word,” Michael pleaded.

Michael and Moll eventually discovered the Progenitors’ inner sanctum: a surreal pasture of yellow flowers with a mysterious interface atop a pedestal. When a fuzzy voice communication from Book (David Ajala) came through for Michael, Moll knocked the distracted Starfleet captain unconscious and fiddled with the interface. She clearly did something wrong, because she’s engulfed in energy, unable to move.

With Michael and Moll in the Progenitors’ realm, Discovery fought off a swarm of Breen combat fighter ships by firing a slew of photon torpedoes that ignited the surrounding area. Saru (Doug Jones), meanwhile, bluffed his way through a tense conversation with Breen primarch Tamal, threatening to call upon formidable allies — allies he didn’t actually have — to attack Tamal’s military bases.  

“Look into my eyes and tell me if you see even the slightest glimmer of doubt,” Saru said menacingly, before Tamal stood down.

When Michael regained consciousness, she pulled Moll away from the pedestal and learned how to correctly use the alien interface. After being transported to yet another plane, she met one of the Progenitors, who explained in their own enigmatic way that everything around them was actually created by another even more ancient race. The Progenitor also gave Michael the unenviable task of deciding what happens to all this advanced alien technology. Should she become its steward or leave it all behind and return to her ship?

On Discovery, Commander Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) cooked up a creative solution for getting rid of the giant Breen dreadnought ship that loomed nearby. By using Discovery’s unique spore drive, which could transport them virtually anywhere in the universe, the crew transported the Breen dreadnought to a far-flung area of space, where it would take decades for the ship to find its way back.

When Michael returned to Discovery, she explained to her bewildered crew what had happened to her and why the alien technology must be sent far away. “It’s too powerful for one person or one culture to access or control,” she explained. Then, Discovery used its tractor beam to steer it beyond the event horizon of a black hole, which made it unreachable to everyone but the Progenitors themselves.

The remaining half-hour of Star Trek Discovery’s oversized finale was a love letter to the show’s loyal viewers. Returning to Starfleet headquarters, Michael caught up with Dr. Kovich (David Cronenberg), who revealed his real identity: temporal agent Daniels, who appeared in a previous Star Trek series, Star Trek: Enterprise.

On a tranquil alien beach, as lights floated in the air, Saru and T’Rina (Tara Rosling) tied the knot surrounded by friends and family. Away from the wedding reception, as the waves gently lapped up against the sand, Michael and Burnham had a heart-to-heart. The on-again, off-again couple resolved to spend the rest of their lives together.

“You should know I never stopped… I love you,” she confessed, eventually adding, “Let’s see what the future holds.”

Decades later, Book and Michael, now a silver-haired Starfleet admiral, embraced in their stunning rustic house of wood and stone. (If Architectural Digest existed in the 31^st century, surely their home would be in it.) A space shuttle descended on their lawn steered by their grown-up son Leto (Sawandi Wilson), who was recently promoted to captain. Leto transported his mom to Discovery, which was ready to embark on its last mission.

As Michael made her way around Discovery’s bridge, she and the ship’s computer Zora conversed. Discovery, it seems, will travel to coordinates in space and stay put for a long, long time, basically acting as a time capsule.

“All right. Are you ready, Zora? One last time, then,” said Michael, before commanding the ship to get a move on. “Let’s fly.”

As Discovery departed the space dock, it was flanked by Federation starships and shuttles on either side in a fitting send-off. Discovery used its spore drive once more, transporting itself to a resting place, where one day, it will be found by a new generation of explorers with dreams of finding new life and boldly going where no one has gone before.

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 All 5 seasons of Star Trek: Discovery are available to stream on Paramount+.