WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery’s series finale, “Life, Itself”
Summary
Recent developments in the wider franchise have led fans to state that five seasons ofStar Trekare the new seven, butStar Trek: Discovery’s finale disproves this notion. TheStar Trek: Discoveryfinale, and its epilogue, brought the adventures of Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) to an end, but this wasn’t the original plan.Discoveryseason 6was in the planning stages before Paramount made the decision to cancel the show. That decision resulted in “Life, Itself”, written by Kyle Jarrow and Michelle Paradise, serving as the series finale, with new scenes added to endDiscovery’s story.
It was recently announced thatStar Trek: Lower Deckswould face the same fate asStar Trek: Discovery, with the upcoming fifth season confirmed to be its last. WhetherLower Deckswill go for a similar approach toDiscovery’s ending and epilogueremains to be seen.In the 1990s,Star Trekshows ran for seven seasons, so the comparison has been made that “five seasons are the new seven” in the new streaming landscape. However, that’s not true, as the decisions made about bothDiscoveryandLower Decksendings bear no similarity to how shows likeStar Trek: The Next Generationended in the 1990s.
Every Star Trek: Discovery Main Character’s Ending Explained
What happened to Captain Michael Burnham & the USS Discovery crew in the Star Trek: Discovery series finale, and where did they end up afterwards?
Why 5 Seasons Is Not The New 7 When It Comes To Star Trek Shows
The Berman-era Star Trek shows canceled themselves.
The popularity of the shows in theStar Trek: The Next Generationera meant that they had the freedom to cancel themselves. So, rather than have an ending forced upon them,the writers ofStar Trek: Deep Space NineandStar Trek: Voyagerwere able to bring the story to an end on their own terms. It was slightly different forTNGas it ended so that Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the USS Enterprise-D crew could lead the next phase ofStar Trekmovies. Regardless, Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga were still able to write a proper ending forTNGas a TV show.
Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga were effectively writing the scripts for “All Good Things…” andStar Trek Generationssimultaneously, later reflecting that theTNGfinale was the better story.
The only exception to this rule in the Rick Berman era isStar Trek: Enterprise, which was canceled at the end of season 4. Rather than giveEnterprisea proper send-off, the finale was written as an ending for the entire Berman era, with Commander William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) observing the last adventure for the Enterprise NX-01. Riker hoped that this would help him make the decision he had to make inStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 7, episode 12, “The Pegasus”.
By jumping ahead in time to explain an old episode ofStar Trekthat everyone had already forgotten about,Star Trek: Discovery’s finale feels a lot like the end ofEnterprise.
Enterprise’s controversial finaleundermined the cast, which felt like an insult given the show’s cancelation. 20 years after “These Are The Voyages…” aired, andlikeEnterprisewith “The Pegasus”, theStar Trek: Discoveryfinale sets up theShort Treksepisode “Calypso”. By jumping ahead in time to explain an old episode ofStar Trekthat everyone had already forgotten about,Star Trek: Discovery’s finale feels a lot like the end ofEnterprise. LikeEnterprise,Discoveryhas been canceled, it hasn’t turned down a future season, proving that five seasons are not the new seven in modernStar Trek.
How Star Trek: Discovery’s Finale Differs From Other Star Trek Shows
Even compared to the modernStar Trekshows, the ending ofStar Trek: Discoveryis quite different. For example,Star Trek: Picardwas only ever commissioned for three seasons, and had a vague thematic arc between seasons 1 and 3. The story of Admiral Picard’s later years was all about reconciling his past mistakes and preparing him for fatherhood.Star Trek: Discoveryhas always had season-long arcs, but lacks an overarching series arc much likeStar Trek: The Next Generation. Which is why Saru’s wedding inDiscoverycould have served as a neat finale, not unlikeTNG’s final poker game.
Leaving the end ofStar Trek: Discoverymore open-ended, withBurnham and Bookbeaming off on a Red Directive mission, could have set up future revivals. BothStar Trek: The Next GenerationandStar Trek: Voyager’s ending lacked finality, allowing shows likeStar Trek: PicardandStar Trek: Prodigyto revisit the characters.By jumping ahead to the far future and abandoning the USS Discovery, there’s a finality to theDiscoveryfinalethat could make it hard to lend dramatic stakes to any comebacks inStar Trek: Starfleet Academyor aDiscoveryreunion movie.
What Does Discovery’s Finale Mean For Lower Decks’ Ending?
As the promotional artwork forStar Trek: Lower Deckshas been riffing onStar Trekmovie posters since season 1, it’s clear that they, likeStar Trek: Discovery, were aiming for at least six seasons. Sadly, that’s not going to be the case, andLower Decksseason 5will be its last. It remains to be seen howLower Deckswill approach the end of the show when the final season starts airing in the Fall. It’s possible that Mike McMahan may opt to do a sentimental epilogue likeDiscovery, or may even just stick with the planned end of season 5, teasing future off-screen adventures for the crew of the USS Cerritos.
…it would make good sense to keep things open-ended, especially if Netflix is in the market for anotherStar Trekanimated series.
Star Trek: Lower Decksis a love-letter to theTNGera, so it feels likely that showrunner Mike McMahan will write an ending that feels of a piece with “All Good Things…”. There’s currently a campaign toSaveLower Decks, so it would make good sense to keep things open-ended, especially if Netflix is in the market for anotherStar Trekanimated series. Whatever happens, the fates of bothLower DecksandStar Trek: Discoveryprove that the television landscape is more competitive than in the 1990s, meaning that while five seasons may not be the new seven in factual terms, it’s still an impressive milestone.
All episodes of Star Trek: Discovery are streaming now on Paramount+.
Star Trek: Discovery
Cast
Star Trek: Discovery is an entry in the legendary Sci-Fi franchise, set ten years before the original Star Trek series events. The show centers around Commander Michael Burnham, assigned to the USS Discovery, where the crew attempts to prevent a Klingon war while traveling through the vast reaches of space.
Star Trek: Lower Decks
“Star Trek: Lower Decks” focuses on the support crew serving on one of Starfleet’s least important ships, the USS Cerritos, in 2380. Ensigns Mariner, Boimler, Rutherford and Tendi must keep up with their duties and their social lives, often while the ship is being rocked by a multitude of sci-fi anomalies. The ship’s bridge crew includes Captain Carol Freeman, Commander Jack Ransom, Lieutenant Shaxs and Doctor T’Ana. This is the second animated spin-off in the franchise after 1973-74’s “Star Trek: The Animated Series,” but has a decidedly more adult tone and humor.
