To conclude our analysis of the last six episodes of Season One I thought it would be a good idea to finish the timeline of the major and minor events. This post concludes the story of Discovery and sets up what to expect on in Season Two. As before, the dates of each event were either mentioned in an episode or are approximately indicated based on character statements and plausibility. Enjoy.
Timeline
Unknown Date, picking up immediately at the end of ‘Into the Forest I Go’ – ‘Despite Yourself’: The crew of the Discovery finds themselves in a mirror universe, similar to the one we were first introduced to in the famed “Mirror, Mirror” episode in the second season of TOS. This universe exists on the brutal rule of the Terran Empire – barbaric, xenophobic humans who use terror and brutality to oppress other beings who dare to challenge their power. Opposing the Terrans is a rebel alliance of Klingons, Tellarites, and Andorians. We later learn that in this universe Tilly is the Captain of the Discovery, Lorca is a wanted man and considered a traitor to the Empire, and Burnham is the Captain of the Shenzhou. She is presumed dead having gone missing on a mission to capture the traitor, Lorca.
Captain Lorca informs the crew their first priority must be to survive. Which means they must adopt the appearance of belonging to this universe. He also comes up with a plan in which he and Burnham take on the roles of their “mirror” counterparts in order to gain access to information that “supposedly” would allow them the chance to get back to their own universe.
Unknown Date – ‘The Wolf Inside’: Discovery remains trapped in the Mirror universe with Michael, Lorca, and Tyler still on the I.S.S. Shenzhou. They continue their masquerade in an effort to acquire information on the Federation starship U.S.S. Defiant so as to find a way back to the Prime universe. Michael receives orders from the Emperor to completely annihilate a rebel base camp housing the leader of the Resistance – a Klingon known only as Firewolf. Instead, in an effort to spare the rebels, Michael defies the order – saying she and Tyler will infiltrate the camp to see if she can uncover information on any other rebel bases first. At the camp, she finds an allegiance of various species – Andorians, Tellarites, Vulcans, and Klingons. Firewolf is revealed to be the mirror version of Voq. She offers to spares them in exchange for useless information. A mirror version of Sarek who mind melds with Michael to verify the truthfulness of her intentions. However, her plan is almost sabotaged by Tyler when he attacks Mirror Voq as his true identity as Prime Voq comes to the forefront.
Back on the Shenzhou, Michael confronts Tyler and learns of his true Klingon identity and the murder of Dr. Culber. His attempt to kill her is thwarted and sentenced to death. His execution is to be transported into open space. However, unbeknownst to anyone else on the Shenzhou, Michael has hidden the U.S.S. Defiant data in Tyler’s phaser holster. She beams him into space, but just then, the Discovery beams Tyler aboard where they are able to access the data and throw him in the brig.
Michael believes her plan to save the Resistance has succeeded when another Terran ship arrives and decimates the planet. The Emperor has arrived to carry out the mission and is revealed to be the mirror version of Michael’s mentor and former captain, Phillippa Georgiou.
Unknown Date – ‘Vaulting Ambition’: We find ourselves still in the Mirror Universe with ever increasing danger. Michael Burnham and Captain Lorca are summoned to the Emperor’s Palace ship, the I.S.S. Charon, to confront the Terran Emperor, a ruthless Mirror version of Captain Philippa Georgiou. She sentences Lorca to suffer unending pain for the remainder of his life in the Agonizer for the failed coup attempt he led. To celebrate his capture the Emperor invites Michael to dine with her on fresh Kelpian soup. It’s at this dinner that Mirror Georgiou reveals she had uncovered Mirror Burnham’s betrayal and sentences her to death for treason. To save herself and salvage her mission, Michael confesses her true identity as an agent of the Federation. She proves her claims by showing the Emperor the Prime Georgiou’s delta pin that Michael had retrieved from Kol. Mirror Georgiou agrees to spare Michael’s life and the Discovery crew if she will share the schematics for their spore propulsion drive. Georgiou also provides Michael with information about her Doppelgänger and Lorca that convinces Michael that the man she has been serving with actually is the treasonous conspirator of the Mirror universe. Simultaneously with this revelation, Lorca escapes the agonizer booth and reconfirms his identity as Mirror Lorca.
Stamets, whose consciousness is trapped within the mycelial network, must find a way to reconnect with his physical body in hopes it will save himself. Culber reappears to Stamets to inform him of his fate, but also to let him know that nothing truly dies. He tells him Mirror Stamets is not to be trusted and is responsible for an infection that is destroying the mycelial network and, ultimately, all life throughout the multiverse.
Back on the Discovery in sickbay, Lt. Ash Tyler is at war within himself as two consciousness – Tyler and Voq – violently battle for control of his body. Saru seeks L’Rell’s help to resolve the matter. He transports Tyler into L’Rell’s cell and tells her she will have to deal with him whether she wants to or not. L’Rell consents and performs a procedure on Tyler that supposedly has terminated Voq’s consciousness.
Unknown Date – ‘What’s Past is Prologue’: Lorca frees his rebel followers, who have endured almost two years of torture in Agonizer chambers upon The Emperor’s ship. With Mirror Landry by his side, he finds Mirror Stamets hiding in his lab and forces him to flood several decks of the ship with a biochemical agent, killing most of the Emperor’s forces. Meanwhile, Burnham escapes the Emperor after she orders Michael to put in the brig. Michael manages to communicate with the Discovery, informing Saru of Lorca’s true identity. Saru tells Michael of the catastrophic danger posed by the infection Mirror Stamets has inflicted on the mycelial network. The ship’s power source is a highly concentrated mycelial orb which functions as the supercharged energy source. The concentration is poisoning the network and endangering all life throughout the multiverse. Despite the peril, the Discovery must reach the Emperor’s ship and destroy the mycelial orb.
With Lorca now in command of the Emperor’s ship, Burnham and Mirror Georgiou team up and devise a plan to gain access to the throne room where Lorca is relishing his victory. Burnham appears to accept Lorca’s offer to rule the Terran Empire by his side by bringing him a captured Georgiou. After receiving a signal that the Discovery is in position Georgiou and Burnham defeat Lorca. Georgiou impales Lorca with her sword and pushes him through a trap door leaving his body to fall into the mycelial orb. Saru orders the Discovery crew to fire on the orb and lock onto Burnham’s signature. Before she dematerializes, Burnham grabs an unwilling Mirror Georgiou and beams to the Discovery. Stamets navigates the jump back to the Prime Universe but they discover they have overshot the destination and returned nine months in the future from the point when they left. To their dismay, they learn the Klingons appear to have won the war in their absence.
Unknown Date, approximately nine months from the moment they jumped to the Mirror Universe at the end of ‘Into the Forest I Go’ – ‘The War Within, the War Without’: In the penultimate episode of the season, The U.S.S .Discovery returns to the prime universe nine months from the time they unexpectedly jumped to the Mirror universe. They are forcibly boarded by Federation officers and officials, including Admiral Katrina Cornwell and Ambassador Sarek. The Discovery crew learn the Klingons are winning the war having destroyed over 1/3 of the Federation fleet and taken over 20% of Federation territory. The Discovery’s Mirror counterparts, the ISS Discovery was destroyed by The Klingons soon after it appeared in the prime universe. The Klingons are not united. Instead, Klingon houses are wantonly destroying Federation efforts to demonstrate dominance among the other Klingon dynasties. L’Rell advises Cornwell, now that the Klingons have tasted their blood, they will not stop the destruction until the Federation and its people are annihilated.
Michael Burnham turns to Mirror Georgiou for advice, since the former Terran Emperor has had success against the Klingons in her world. Burnham subsequently reveals Mirror Georgiou’s presence and identity to Sarek and Admiral Cornwell. Desperate to find a way to save the Federation, with Sarek’s knowledge Cornwell places Mirror Georgiou in command of the Discovery under the ruse that she is actually the former Captain of the Shengzhou. Cornwell claimed Georgiou had been presumed dead but actually had been held by the Klingons and was recently rescued in a covert operation. Georgiou is now charged with leading a mission to –Qo’noS – the Klingon home world – where they are to gather intel to destroy key military assets to decisively turn the tide of the war to the Federation’s favor.
Unknown Date – ‘Will You Take My Hand?’: As the newly appointed Captain of the Discovery, Mirror Georgiou is sent on a mission by remaining Starfleet leadership to in this Federation-Klingon war, once and for all. She uses Stamets to jump the ship inside one vast caverns of Qo’noS, the Klingon home world. Once there, Mirror Georgiou assembles an away team – consisting of Michael Burnham, Ash Tyler and Cadet Tilly – to join her to supposedly plant a drone which would map critical military targets for the Federation. Burnham suspects there is more to this mission than the mapping exercise and her suspicions are confirmed when Tilly learns Georgiou actually aims to embed and detonate a powerful bomb that will destroy Qo’noS, effectively crippling the Klingon empire and saving the Federation from annihilation. Outraged that Federation leaders have sanctioned this action, Burnham effectively argues to Admiral Cornwell that the Federation cannot jettison its own moral principles to win the war, even in the face of eradication by the enemy.
After other crew members demonstrate their support for Michael’s line of reasoning, the Admiral acquiesces and accepts a different option. Michael retrieves the bomb detonator from Georgiou and gives it to L’Rell. Burnham and Tyler convince the Klingon that with such a device as leverage, she would be able to convince the feuding houses to unite as one following the teachings of T’Kuvma. The episode ends with Starfleet awarding medals of honor to Discovery officers. Also, we learn that Burnham has received a Presidential pardon and had her official record exsponged, removing any evidence that she was convicted as a mutineer. The final gift for her heroism is being reinstated into Starfleet with the rank of Commander.
Just then,…
On route to the Vulcan Homeworld to pick up their new Captain, Discovery receives a garbled distress message that appears to sent from U.S.S. Enterprise’s Captain, Christopher Pike. As the screen fades to black we see the two starships facing one another in space.
#LLAP
Written by Gary Anderson 2017 © Star Trek: Age of Discovery
