At Friday’s SDCC press conference, Star Trek: Discovery showrunner Alex Kurtzman promised season 2 will answer many nagging questions, including why Spock never mentioned his foster sister Michael Burnham in previous canon stories. Concerns about the newest Trek series’ place in overall canon became an issue for some fans as new ships and characters were introduced and loosely tied in with Trek lore. Season 1 took place prior to the events of Star Trek: The Original Series.
Among the biggest and most problematic season 1 reveals was new main character Michael Burnham’s relationship with original Trek character Spock. Though Burnham is Spock’s foster sister, and has scenes with Spock’s parents Sarek and Amanda Grayson, fans were quick to point out how odd it was that Spock never mentioned having a foster sister in The Original Series or any of the Trek movies (or any other canon Trek story for that matter). This was not the only nagging issue that cropped up during the season, as Discovery went about the business of telling its story while drastically reworking the pre-TOS timeline.
Speaking to reporters during a press conference at San Diego Comic-Con, Discovery showrunner Alex Kurtzman promised the above issues will be addressed during season 2. Specifically, Kurtzman said fans will get answers as to why previous stories never referenced Spock’s foster sister, even though the events of Discovery show her in the middle of some very monumental happenings, including the massive Klingon war (in which she plays a pivotal part). Season 2 is expected to introduce a pre-TOS version of Spock, and indeed Spock’s arrival was teased during the new season 2 trailer dropped during SDCC.
Another issue Kurtzman says the show will deal with in season 2 is why no one ever previously mentioned spore drive, the incredibly powerful new method of locomotion discovered in season 1 and used to zip all over the galaxy at speeds far beyond those achievable via mere warp drive. Fans are also promised answers as to why the Discovery crew and their many galaxy-rocking exploits were never referenced prior to the existence of the new series.
Explaining away the canonical non-existence of the events of Discovery will arguably only get tougher as season 2 brings in more familiar bits of Trek lore, including the Enterprise itself, and its original pre-Kirk captain Christopher Pike (played by Anson Mount). How exactly the show will choose to address these questions is anyone’s guess. One possible method could be a timeline altering event, much like the one employed by J.J. Abrams in his 2009 Star Trek reboot movie, when he created his so-called “Kelvin” timeline. Another possibility is that the events depicted in Star Trek: Discovery ultimately have to be buried by the Federation for security reasons, forcing everyone involved to either disappear or be sworn to secrecy. It could turn out that Spock was not able to mention his illustrious foster sister because he was simply ordered to forget she ever existed.
More: Anthony Rapp Teases How Star Trek: Discovery Will Resurrect Culber for Season 2
Star Trek: Discovery season 2 premieres in early 2019 on CBS All Access.
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