'Star Trek: Discovery' Hints at Time Travel

The Star Trek: Discovery episode "Saints of Imperfect" just left the door open for some major time travel possibilities.

In the episode, the USS Discovery, under the command of Capt. Christopher Pike continues its search for Spock. They believe they're hot on his trail when they come within visual range of Spock's ship. It turns out it isn't Spock piloting the ship but Phillipa Georgiou, the former Terran Emperor and current agent of Section 31.

It seems Section 31 it after Spock as well after reports that Spock killed several people at Starbase 5 after spending some time in the station's psychiatric ward. Georgiou reports to Leland aboard their Section 31 ship. Leland sends Ash Tyler aboard Discovery as a liaison.

Discovery then embarks on a mission into the mycelial network to rescue Ensign Sylvia Tilly. Things get dangerous as Discovery is nearly sucked into the mycelial network. Tyler uses his combadge to contact the Section 31 ship camouflaged nearby. With Section 31's aid, the rescue is a success.

Pike and Leland are both called before Adm. Katrina Cornwell, who scolds them for their territorial behavior and Leland for attempting to spy on Discovery. She wants them both on the Spock case and needs them to work together.

She brings them some new information in that regard. One of the seven bursts that Discovery was tracking, and which are somehow connected to Spock, left behind tachyon particles. As Leland is quick to point out, that could indicate time travel.

As Pike points out, there are plenty of other, more mundane technologies and phenomena that can leave behind tachyon particles, such as transporters. Still, this opens Discovery up to a lot of possibilities. We can't help but be reminded of a previous theory we wrote about involving Spock's connection to the Kelvin Timeline.

Could the mysterious Red Angel from Spock and Burnham's visions be a harbinger from the future? A temporal agent? Or something else? Starfleet and Section 31 will likely need to find Spock in order to determine that, and they'll need to work together to do so.

What do you think of the possible introduction of time travel into Star Trek: Discovery's second season? Who do you think the Red Angel is? What do you think the red bursts mean? Let us know all of your Star Trek theories in the comments!

New Star Trek: Discovery episodes become available to stream Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS All Access.