‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Season 2 Premiere Easter Eggs and References

Star Trek: Discovery returned tonight with the first episode of its second season, and it’s brought plenty of Easter eggs with it.

“Brother” saw Discovery make contact with the USS Enterprise, and Capt. Christopher Pike comes aboard as Discovery‘s new commanding officer. There was also a lot of talk about the Enterprise‘s missing science officer, Michael Burnham’s foster brother, Mr. Spock.

With that level of Star Trek history baked into the episode’s plot, it should come as no surprise that it had several significant Star Trek Easter eggs and references.

We’re going to break down some of the biggest references from tonight’s episode, but be warned, there will be spoilers.

Keep reading to see the Star Trek Easter eggs and references in the Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 premiere episode, “Brother.”

What did you think of tonight’s episode of Star Trek: Discovery? Did you catch all of these Easter eggs? Let us know in the comments!

New Starfleet Uniforms

The most obvious Easter egg of the episode is the debut of Discovery‘s take on the Star Trek: The Original Series-era Starfleet uniforms. Capt. Pike, Lt. Connelly, and Lt. Nhan arrive on Discovery wearing bright gold, blue, and red uniforms, respectively. These are a contrast from the uniformly blue Starfleet uniforms seen in Discovery so far.

Pike has a line in which he refers to these as the “new uniforms,” suggesting that Pike’s crew have been given the latest in Starfleet fashion and that the new uniforms haven’t been distributed to all Starfleet officers yet.

This reinforces an explanation for the different uniforms given in the Star Trek: Discovery novel Desperate Hours by David Mack. The novel implied that the crew of the Enterprise were among the first to receive the new uniforms because the Constitution Class vessels were top of the line ships and the pride of Starfleet.

Alice in Wonderland

Burnham reads Alice in Wonderland during the episode. This calls back to the show’s first season when she took the book aboard Discovery and told Tilly that her mother used to read it to her and Spock.

Spock’s mother reading Alice in Wonderland to him was first established in the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode “Once Upon a Planet.”

Red Shirt

Another nod to the new uniforms comes when Pike tells Nahn to get her “red shirt into an EV suit.” The use of the “red shirt” phrase seems like a nod to how fans refer to the red-shirted Starfleet operations officers who have a reputation for dying on away missions.

This is just speculative extrapolation, but Pike’s line may imply that “red shirt” is jargon used by Starfleet officers to refer to operations officers. Mostly though, it just seems like a little nod to fans.

Baby Tribble

When talking about Stamets’ decision to leave Discovery, Ensign Tilly tells Cmdr. Burnham that if she asks her any more questions she’s going to “start crying like a baby tribble in the kill zone.”

Tribbles are the small, fluffy aliens first introduced in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode “The Trouble with Tribbles.” Capt. Lorca had one on his desk in the Star Trek: Discovery Season One episode “Context is for Kings.”

Caitian

Lt. Connolly mentions that his roommate at Starfleet Academy was part Caitian. This is a reference to the felinoid alien race native to the planet Cait in the Star Trek universe.

Caitians were introduced into Star Trek canon in Star Trek: The Animated Series. Lt. M’Ress was a Caitian operations officer who served under Capt. Kirk during the final two years of his five-year mission aboard Enterprise. Live-action Caitians appeared in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and Star Trek Into Darkness.

The Cage

While examining Discovery‘s ready room, Capt. Pike finds a fortune from a fortune cookie on the ground. The fortune reads, “Not every cage is a prison, not every loss eternal.”

The fortune is a reference back to Capt. Lorca, who claimed his family made their money producing fortune cookies back in the days when money was still used on Earth. He kept a bowl of fortune cookies on his standing desk in Discovery‘s ready room.

The fortune itself is a reference to “The Cage,” the original pilot episode of Star Trek. The episode featured Jeffrey Hunter playing Capt. Pike of the Enterprise and Leonard Nimoy as his science officer, Mr. Spock. Though a second pilot was shot with Hunter’s Pike replaced with William Shatner’s Capt. Kirk, “The Cage” is still part of Star Trek canon.

“The Cage” finds a weary Capt. Pike considering retiring from Starfleet. Before he can make a decision, he’s captured and caged by the psychically gifted Talosians. They offer him a fantasy life of his choosing if he remains their captive.

The events of “The Cage” take place 11 years before Star Trek: The Original Series.

The Five-Year Mission

A discussion between Capt. Pike and Cmdr. Burnham reveals that the Enterprise was on a five-year mission during the Federation-Klingon War and other events that took place in Star Trek: Discovery‘s first season.

The premise of Star Trek: The Original Series was following Capt. Kirk and the Enterprise crew on their five-year mission to explore deep space. Non-canon sources have suggested that Capt. Pike took the Enterprise on two such five-year mission. This is the first canon confirmation that he took the ship on at least one five-year mission.

Logic

While discussing Spock with Cmdr. Burnham, Capt. Pike says that Spock has a way of letting you know that “logic was the beginning of the picture and not the end.”

This is a reference to the line “Logic is the beginning, not the end, of Wisdom,” which Spock speaks in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

Spock’s Quarters

At the end of the episode, Burnham goes aboard the Enterprise to visit Spock’s quarters, hoping to find some clue as to why he left the ship.

The entire set is meant to resemble Spock’s quarters from Star Trek: The Original Series with specific nods such as the 3D chess set, a game Spock was known to play.