Star Trek: Discovery exits the 23rd Century not with a whimper, but with an explosive concussion of canon connections, and the final three episodes of the season sets Discovery onto a course largely beyond the farthest reaches of the Star Trek canon – provided plenty of references to the previous Star Trek canon.
What will the future hold? Nobody knows. But to tide us over until Season 3, let’s take a look at the canon connections in “Through the Valley of Shadows” and the two-part “Such Sweet Sorrow” conclusion.
Boreth
THROUGH THE VALLEY OF SHADOWS — Through previously seen from orbit earlier this season in “Point of Light,” this episode returns us to the Klingon monastery planet Boreth. While the monastery’s other function as a secret location of time crystals has never previously been discussed on Star Trek, Ash Tyler describes how the monastery is set up as a temple to Kahless (as seen in TNG: “Rightful Heir”).
Further, when Pike beams down to the surface to enter the monastery, the climate of Boreth – snowy and windy – also lines up with the establishing shot in “Rightful Heir.”
Klingon D-7 Class
THROUGH THE VALLEY OF SHADOWS — After seeing the famous Klingon battleship in hologram form in “Point of Light,” we get a glimpse of the actual D-7 Klingon battlecruiser in this episode in an establishing short in orbit of Boreth. In “Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2”, we finally get to see them in action.
Pike’s Bleaky, Beepy Future
THROUGH THE VALLEY OF SHADOWS — In the TOS episode “The Menagerie,” Commodore Mendez tells Captain Kirk and Mister Spock about the accident that confined Captain Pike to a life support unit. “Inspection tour of a cadet vessel. Old Class J starship. One of the baffle plates ruptured,” he says. “He went in bringing out all those kids that were still alive.”
In Pike’s flash forward after touching the time crystal, he sees this event, where he does indeed save the life of at least one cadet before succumbing to radiation poisoning. In the most horrific part of his vision, Pike also sees his disabled body confined to a life support chair.
Docking Corridors
SUCH SWEET SORROW — In the episode cold open, the Discovery pulls alongside the Enterprise and deploys a number of automatic docking corridors to link the two ships together to allow for the evacuation of the Discovery. Similar corridors have been seen on starbases, including in The Next Generation episodes “11001001,” and “Remember Me.”
Auto-Destruct
SUCH SWEET SORROW — Captain Pike and Commander Saru set the Discovery’s auto-destruct system by using two handprints for authorization purposes. A similar method was used by Captain Picard and Commander Riker in The Next Generation episode “11001001.”
USS Enterprise
SUCH SWEET SORROW — Following the brief glimpse we get of Spock’s quarters in “Brother,” we get a more complete view of the USS Enterprise to include the bridge, corridors, turbolift, and briefing room in the finale two-parter. There are a number of differences from how the Enterprise was depicted in previous Star Trek, but also many similarities.
A few standout highlights include the captain’s chair, the bridge chairs that are of the same style as on the bridge in The Original Series, the red grilles in the corridors, handles in the turbolift, the Enterprise dedication plaque indicating that it is “Starship Class,” and a three-way monitor in the briefing room.
Sarek is a Terrible Dad
SUCH SWEET SORROW — In their final goodbye, Burnham tells Sarek to take care of Spock. He responds by saying, “I will always be here for my son. Even as I keep my distance… as he has asked.” The two continue not speaking, as is indicated by Spock by the time we reach “Journey to Babel.”
Biobed
SUCH SWEET SORROW, PART 2 — After Stamets is injured and arrives in sickbay, Doctor Pollard orders him placed on a biobed. Though we have seen biobeds in most sickbay scenes since the start of Discovery, this is the first time they have been named as such.
Solid Phaser Beams
SUCH SWEET SORROW, PART 2 — Until now, Discovery’s phaser beams have been burst fire. In this episode, the Enterprise has the solid beam fire phaser weapons that we have seen on most Starfleet ships in the Star Trek canon.
Klingons Arrive!
SUCH SWEET SORROW, PART 2 — Chancellor L’Rell and Ash Tyler arrive on the Klingon Cleave Ship, and we get our first look at a standard Klingon bridge (previously the only bridge we have seen on a Klingon ship has been the Ship of the Dead.)
The layout and aesthetic of the Klingon Cleave Ship bridge hew pretty closely to previous Klingon ships we have seen in canon. And as the Chancellor orders her ships into battle, she also gives us Discovery’s first call out (in Klingon no less, as first heard in DS9: “The Way of the Warrior,”) of the Klingon war chant – today is a good day to die!
Find Kirk
SUCH SWEET SORROW, PART 2 — Before leading Discovery through the wormhole to the 32nd century, Burnham tells Spock that there is “a whole galaxy of people out there who will reach for you. You have to let them. Find that person who seems farthest from you, and reach for them. Reach for them. Let them guide you.”
Spock follows her advice, and ultimately finds the person that Burnham is pushing him towards in Captains James T. Kirk (and also arguably Dr. McCoy.)
Wormhole Effect
SUCH SWEET SORROW, PART 2 — After Discovery has entered the wormhole, the crew experience the same distortion effects as the crew of the refit USS Enterprise upon accidentally falling into a wormhole in Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
Starfleet Command
SUCH SWEET SORROW, PART 2 — The senior staff of the Enterprise are debriefed at Starfleet Command following the disappearance of the Discovery. We get an establishing shot of Starfleet Headquarters, which has a similar layout and location to the one seen in Star Trek: Enterprise.
Regulation 157, Section 3
SUCH SWEET SORROW, PART 2 — Spock references Starfleet Regulation 157 Section 3, which requires Starfleet officers to take any and all action to refrain from participating in historical events as a justification for why the crew of the Enterprise and Ash Tyler should be ordered never to speak of Discovery or its crew again.
In the 24th century, agents of the Department of Temporal Investigations will quote the same regulation to Captain Benjamin Sisko following the Defiant’s trip back in time to the 23rd century (DS9: “Trials and Tribble-ations.”)
Drydock
SUCH SWEET SORROW, PART 2 — Following the battle with Control, the Enterprise requires extensive repairs to return to normal operations. We see a shot of the ship in drydock, which has many similar features to previous drydocks seen in episodes such as Enterprise’s “Broken Bow” and Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
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With Discovery kicked over 900 years in the future, the events of the Star Trek franchise to date are centuries in the past — how will the show connect the ancient history of the Archer, Kirk, and Picard eras in Season 3?
We’ll have to wait and see, but we have no doubt that we’ll be hearing about some of our favorite events, characters, and races when Star Trek: Discovery returns next year.