Star Trek: Discovery Series Finale Ending Explained

Star Trek: Discovery's series finale ties into a Star Trek: Short Treks episode.

By Jamie Lovett

Today marks the end of an era for the Star Trek franchise as Star Trek: Discovery, the series that brought Star Trek into the streaming age of television, says goodbye with its series finale episode, "Life, Itself." The creative team behind Star Trek: Discovery didn't know that the show's fifth season would be its last while filming it in Toronto. To ensure the ending suited the momentous occasion, they convened one last time to film the coda scenes that close the series finale. Those scenes are designed, in part, to line Star Trek: Discovery up with what's to come in another installment of the Star Trek franchise set even further into Star Trek's future than the 32nd century, and some viewers unfamiliar with that episode may have been confused about the details. We're here to explain. SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 10, "Live, Itself" – the series finale – follow.

After the mystery of the Progenitors that began with the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Chase" is resolved, and Kovich's true identity is revealed, Star Trek: Discovery jumps decades into its future to its future and finds Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), now an admiral, living in the home she shares with Book (David Ajala), surrounded by forest. Their son, now a Starfleet captain and about to take his first command, soon arrives to pick up Michael and bring her to take Discovery out for its final mission. Upon arriving, the Discovery is being retrofitted to appear as it originally did in the 23rd century, before it received an infusion of 32nd-century technology and its new designation as the USS Discovery 1031-A. She reminisces as she explains to Zora that Discovery is embarking on a Red Directive, which involves waiting alone for someone or something called Craft, and then says her goodbyes.

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(Photo: Paramount+)

Who is Craft in Star Trek?

Craft never appears in Star Trek: Discovery. Rather, Discovery's downgrade and Zora's new mission are meant to set up the the Star Trek: Short Treks episode "Calypso," which occurs 1,000 years into Star Trek: Discovery's future. In that episode, Zora's 1,000 years of solitude are interrupted by the arrival of Craft (Aldis Hodge). Craft is a soldier who abandoned his family to fight in a war. After a decade of fighting, he stole a craft to try to return home but was sent adrift until he ended up on Discovery. After his respite on Discovery – during which his relationship with Zora began to verge on the romantic – Craft takes one of Discovery's shuttles and sets course for home.

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That this meeting between Zora and Craft is a Red Directive means that the events of "Calypso" are not incidental but a matter of great enough importance that Starfleet felt necessary to ensure the event occurs. Why is Craft important? How does Starfleet know about him 1,000 years before "Calypso" when time travel was illegal by the 32nd century? Why did they have to revert Discovery to its original configuration before sending it to wait a millennium for Craft? These are all seemingly answers to be addressed in another place at another time.

All episodes of Star Trek: Discovery are streaming now on Paramount+.

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