Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Premiere Synopsis Reveals Next Generation Era Connection

Paramount has revealed the synopsis for the Star Trek: Discovery Season 5's premiere episode, which will debut at SXSW. The Discovery episode's synopsis reveals a link to the Star Trek: The Next Generation era. According to the Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 premiere synopsis, revealed via the premiere's listing on the SXSW website, the first episode of Discovery's final seasons sees Captain Burnham and the Discovery crew on a mission to retrieve an artifact from a derelict Romulan vessel that is 800 years old. With Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 occurring in the 32nd century of Star Trek's timeline, 800 years prior would be the 24th century, the time of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager.

The Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 premiere synopsis reads, "Captain Burnham and the U.S.S. Discovery are sent to retrieve a mysterious 800-year-old Romulan vessel; until the artifact hidden inside is stolen, leading to an epic chase. Meanwhile, Saru is offered the position of a lifetime, and Tilly's efforts to help pull her into a tangled web of secrecy."

What is the artifact in Star Trek: Discovery Season 5?

I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise that the Discovery crew is chasing an ancient artifact in a Star Trek: Discovery season previously compared to Indiana Jones. The artifact on the 800-year-old Romulan vessel is likely what the Discovery crew is racing to retrieve before new characters L'ak and Moll can get their hands on it.

According to a WGA listing, the Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 premiere episode's title is "Red Directive." Given that it is a Romulan ship we're dealing with and that the destruction of Romulus occurred in the late 24th century, could this artifact have ties to red matter from 2009's Star Trek movie? It's possible, but then again, we've been mistaken in pursuing that line of thinking before when dealing with Star Trek: Discovery Season 2's "Red Angel" mystery. (What is with Star Trek: Discovery's fixation on the color red?) If the artifact isn't related to red matter, one has to wonder if there's a deeper connection between Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 and a past Star Trek story from the TNG era. Otherwise, why specifically center the episode on a vessel from that era of Star Trek history? Or perhaps we're thinking about it too hard.

What is Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Cast and Synopsis

According to Star Trek: Discovery Season 5's official synopsis, the season "finds Captain Burnham and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery uncovering a mystery that will send them on an epic adventure across the galaxy to find an ancient power whose very existence has been deliberately hidden for centuries. But there are others on the hunt as well… dangerous foes who are desperate to claim the prize for themselves and will stop at nothing to get it."

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5's cast includes Sonequa Martin-Green (Captain Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Saru), Anthony Rapp (Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), David Ajala (Cleveland "Book" Booker), Blu del Barrio (Adira) and Callum Keith Rennie (Rayner). Star Trek: Discovery Season 5's recurring guest stars include Elias Toufexis (L'ak) and Eve Harlow (Moll).

CBS Studios produces Star Trek: Discovery in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment. Alex Kurtzman, Michelle Paradise, Heather Kadin, Aaron Baiers, Olatunde Osunsanmi, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Rod Roddenberry, and Trevor Roth are executive producers. Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise are co-showrunners.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 premieres on Paramount+ in April. Star Trek: Discovery's first four seasons are streaming on Paramount+ now.