We returned to the Klingon Empire in last week’s “Point of Light,” an episode with three distinct stories: L’Rell and Tyler’s attempts to consolidate power on Qo’noS, Amanda’s arrival on the Discovery looking for help in her search for Spock, and Tilly’s grappling with her visions of a dead classmate.
The Klingon story was by far the most canon heavy, with multiple references to Klingon lore from the previous shows. Let’s dive in!
Command Training Program Half-Marathon
Tilly begins the episode near the end of the Command Training Program (CTP) Half-Marathon. Though the CTP is new to ‘Star Trek,’ the use of marathons as a training tool for Starfleet personnel is not.
While at Starfleet Academy, Jean-Luc Picard was the first freshman to win the Starfleet Academy Marathon.
Klingon D-7 Battle Cruiser
In their opening scene, L’Rell and Tyler unveil the Klingon Empire’s newest ship design – the D-7 Battle Cruiser. The ship is a product of the engineering of the unified Klingon Empire, and returns to a design aesthetic not seen since the Empire was last united in the mid-22nd century.
House of Mogh
One of the members of the Klingon High Council is wearing the emblem of the House of Mogh. Though it is not named in the episode – and it may have a different name at this point in the timeline – the House of Mogh would later include the most famous Klingon of all: Worf.
Hair Today, Gagh Tomorrow
In Burnham’s call with Tyler she notes that “the Klingons are growing their hair again.” In this episode, we see many Klingons have regrown their hair in the postwar period.
Luscious locks and beards are in fashion in the Klingon Empire once again!
Kahless and Lukara
L’Rell tells Tyler that the love shared between her and Voq was like that of Kahless and Lukara. Lukara was first mentioned in the Deep Space Nine episode “Looking for par’Mach in All the Wrong Places” as Kahless’s romantic partner — and Jadzia took on her role in the epic Klingon love story during “You Are Cordially Invited.”
Shi’Kahr
Amanda reminds Burnham of a time when she was a child, shortly after Logic Extremists attacked the Vulcan Learning Center and nearly killed her, that she had attempted to escape Vulcan to Earth. Amanda says that Spock told Sarek and Amanda, due to a vision from the Red Angel, where Burnham could be found on the outskirts of the Vulcan capital city Shi’Kahr.
The city was first named in The Animated Series episode “Yesteryear,” and was later seen in the remastered edition of “Amok Time.”
Let the Pink Blood Flow
In the fight between L’Rell, Tyler, and Kol-Sha and his men, Klingon blood is shown to be pink, a call back to “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country” when Klingon blood is also seen being pinkish-purple in color.
Section 31
Though we knew Section 31 would have a part to play in “Star Trek: Discovery” in the cut scene from “Will You Take My Hand?” that first debuted at WonderCon, “Point of Light” marks the first appearance in “Trek” television since “Star Trek: Enterprise” — though it appeared in the Kelvin Timeline film “Star Trek Into Darkness” in 2013.
Boreth
The child of L’Rell and Voq is sent to the Klingon monastery world of Boreth to be raised in secret away from the heart of the Klingon Empire. Boreth is the planet where Kahless is believed to return, and first appeared in the “Next Generation” episode “Rightful Heir.”
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We’ll be back next week with a dive into the Trek connections in “An Obol for Charon,” the next episode of Star Trek: Discovery!