10 Biggest Unanswered Questions Star Trek: Discovery’s Ending Left Behind

The ending of Star Trek: Discovery left several questions unanswered. Star Trek: Discovery season 5 continued Star Trek: The Next Generation season 6, episode 20, "The Chase", as Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the crew of the USS Discovery searched for the technology used by the Progenitors to create life. Opposing Burnham and the Discovery on this journey were criminal duo Moll (Eve Harlow) and L'ak (Elias Toufexis), who sought the Progenitors' technology to give the Breen in exchange for ending the Erigah, or blood debt, on L'ak's head. Burnham ultimately earned stewardship of the Progenitors' tech, but few other characters received such satisfactory resolutions.

Complicating matters is the fact that the writers of Star Trek: Discovery didn't know that Discovery season 5 would be the series' last until after production was completed. Discovery's final episode, "Life, Itself," would have to do double duty as both the season 5 finale and the series finale of Star Trek: Discovery. The ultimate fates of Admiral Michael Burnham, Cleveland Booker (David Ajala), and Lt. Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) were told in an added epilogue that wrapped Star Trek: Discovery as a series, but the loose ends intended as seeds for Star Trek: Discovery season 6 would have to remain unresolved, instead of being tied off neatly for the series finale. Here are the biggest questions Star Trek: Discovery left behind.

10 What Happens To Moll, And What Was Kovich’s Plan For Her?

Kovich's Plan For Ex-Courier Moll Is Teased But Never Revealed

After Captain Burnham and Moll exit the Progenitors' Infinity Tunnel, Moll is apprehended by Federation security and kept in custody while recovering from injuries sustained by trying to activate the Progenitors' technology. As she recovers, Moll and Book share a kind of reconciliation that at least pays lip service to their connection via Cleveland Booker IV, who was Moll's father and Book's mentor. It's revealed that Dr. Kovich (David Cronenberg) has a plan for Moll, but the exact details of Kovich's plan remain under wraps.

Kovich's identity as Star Trek: Enterprise's Agent Daniels (Matt Winston), as well as the fact that Moll's courier skills are cited as "useful" to Kovich, should be taken into account when speculating on what Moll's special assignment could be. Moll knows how to negotiate aggressively -- she did command the Breen forces for a little while, there -- and has few moral qualms about getting her hands dirty. It's possible Kovich's plan for Moll is related to the Temporal Wars, or even Section 31, but Star Trek: Discovery leaves that question open-ended.

9 What Happens To L’ak’s Body?

L'ak's Body Might Be In Federation Custody

After a botched escape plan results in L'ak's accidental death in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 7, "Erigah", Moll's game plan quickly changes from trading the Progenitors' technology to using it herself. L'ak's body is taken to the Breen Dreadnought, where traditional respects are paid to L'ak as the Breen Scion, but as soon as the Breen have their hands on the Progenitors' portal, Moll stows L'ak's body in a personal transporter buffer, hoping to revive L'ak with the Progenitors' technology. Inside the portal, Captain Burnham confirms that L'ak can't actually be resurrected, and Moll transports L'ak's body back into her pattern buffer.

At the end of Star Trek: Discovery's series finale, L'ak's body is never addressed. The next time we see Moll, she's already in Federation custody, and Moll's courier gear is nowhere in sight. It's likely that Moll might want to keep L'ak's body as a memento, and might request to keep her pattern buffer, if the Federation allows it. Because L'ak was Breen royalty, returning L'ak's body to the Breen could be an act of good faith on behalf of the Federation, but the Dreadnought that L'ak's faction were aboard is at the galactic barrier, thanks to Commander Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie)'s quick thinking.

8 What Happens When The Breen Come Back?

The Breen Still Know About The Progenitors' Technology

Rather than destroy the Breen Dreadnought outright, Commander Rayner used the USS Discovery's TNG-style saucer separation ability to catch the Breen in the USS Discovery's spore drive, sending the Dreadnought all the way to the galactic barrier. It's a great moment highlighting the change in Rayner's character, but what happens when the Breen finally return from their decades-long voyage?

Dr. Kovich wiped the Federation's records to honor Captain Burnham's decision to abandon the Progenitors' technology, but that only extends as far as the Federation's reach. The Breen at the galactic barrier still know about the Progenitors' technology, so there's no reason to think that the Breen won't try to find the Progenitors' technology again, or declare war on the Federation over it, even though Burnham ordered the Progenitors' technology past the event horizon of a black hole.

7 Who Is In Charge Of The Breen Now?

Breen Politics Affect Federation Resource Allocation Moving Forward

Six Breen Primarchs vied for the right to rule the Imperium in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, after Scion L'ak abandons his birthright to run away with Moll. L'ak's uncle, Primarch Ruhn (Tony Nappo), counts on using L'ak as a bargaining chip to take power for himself, but L'ak's death tosses a wrench into Ruhn's plans. Moll kills Ruhn, leaving Moll seemingly in command of the Breen Dreadnaught, but Moll winds up in Federation custody, and Ruhn's faction didn't want a human calling the shots, anyway.

Primarch Tahal (Patricia Summersett) is on the way to the standoff between Ruhn and the USS Discovery before Ambassador Saru (Doug Jones) talks Tahal down from engaging. Besides Ruhn and Tahal, four other Primarchs could have succeeded in gaining control, but Star Trek: Discovery never reveals how the Breen line of succession resolves, and the answer could make the difference between relative peace or an all-out war between the Federation and the Breen.

6 What Was The USS Discovery’s Next Mission?

Burnham Gets A Message From Kovich At Saru's Wedding

While attending the wedding of Admiral Saru and President T'Rina (Tara Rosling), Captain Burnham gets an alert from Dr. Kovich that another mission is on the horizon. Book agrees to join Burnham for the mission, sight unseen. The scene on the beach at Saru's wedding simply ends with Burnham and Book walking off into the sunset together.

It's a solid emotional beat that shows Michael and Book have reignited their romance, but the nature of the USS Discovery's next mission is still a mystery. Chances are the question of Discovery's next mission would have been answered if Star Trek: Discovery had been renewed for season 6, which might have seen Captain Burnham at the helm of another Red Directive mission from Kovich.

5 Who Was The Last 24th-Century Progenitors Scientist?

One Scientist Team Member's Identity Remains Unknown

Star Trek: Discovery season 5's treasure hunt relies on clues created by a team of 24th-century scientists, who worked together around the time of the Dominion War to preserve the Progenitors' technology for a more peaceful future. The hunt kicks off with a clue from the notes of TNG-era Romulan Dr. Vellek (Michael Copeman), and points to Lyrek, where Captain Burnham and Saru use their cultural knowledge and "Action" Saru's physical prowess to uncover the next clue. Each clue in the chain must be discovered using the values of each scientist who created it, so in the end, the seeker proves that they espouse the values of everyone involved.

Within the Progenitors' portal, Burnham encounters a grave marker near the console that controls the Progenitors' technology, and surmises that the grave belongs to the last scientist in the chain of clue creators. The cause of death isn't immediately apparent, but it's possible that the scientist "chose poorly," echoing Star Trek:Discovery season 5's Indiana Jones homage. The final scientist on the Federation-sponsored team is never named, their species is never revealed, and on top of that, we're left guessing why the scientist's identity remains concealed.

4 How Does Starfleet's New Pathway Drive Work?

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Will Probably Use Pathway Drive Starships

In response to the Burn, Starfleet developed the Pathway Drive as an alternative type of Star Trek warp drive. Exactly what the Pathway Drive is and how it operates remains unknown, but there are a few clues that might explain how Star Trek: Discovery's Pathway Drive works. The Pathway Drive is faster than standard warp, doesn't require the use of dilithium, and creates a green warp effect, as seen in Star Trek: Discovery's series finale, "Life, Itself", when Ambassador Saru and Commander Nhan (Rachael Ancheril) take a Pathway Drive shuttle to negotiate with the Breen.

In Star Trek: Voyager, the Borg transwarp conduits were green, and the quantum slipstream drive didn't require dilithium. The Pathway Drive might build on these older technologies as a sustainable, faster-than-light engine. As the new standard for Starfleet's starships, the Pathway Drive will undoubtedly be an integral part of rebuilding Starfleet when Star Trek returns to the 32nd century in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.

3 Where Did Fred The Synth Come From?

And Why Does Fred Look Like Lt. Commander Data?

In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 1, "Red Directive", Fred (J. Adam Brown) is a 600-year-old Soong-type synth who bears an uncanny resemblance to Star Trek: The Next Generation's Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner), and works as a fence on the planet Q'Mau. Moll and L'ak contact Fred for help with the Romulan puzzle box from Dr. Vellek's ship, but after Fred decodes the notebook that kicks off Discovery season 5's treasure hunt, Moll and L'ak kill Fred instead of handing over their loot as payment.

Fred's body is brought back to the USS Discovery, where Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) finds a code indicating that Fred's construction is based on designs by Altan Soong (Brent Spiner), the biological son of Data's creator, Noonien Soong (Brent Spiner). Fred's striking resemblance to Data had to be intentional, given that the 25th-century synths in Star Trek: Picard could be indistinguishable from humans, but nothing else is revealed about Fred's origin, so Fred's existence feels like a clue that goes nowhere.

2 How Does Saru And T'Rina's Wedding Affect Ni'Var?

The Vulcan Purists On Ni'Var Don't Like Saru

In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 3, "Jinaal", T'Rina's assistant, Duvin (Victor Andrés Trelles Turgeon), shows himself to be no fan of Saru and T'Rina's union. Duvin tries to manipulate Saru into delaying the engagement announcement, claiming that T'Rina marrying a Kelpien will increase tension with T'Rina's political opponents, the Vulcan Purists. The plot does its job of creating friction between Saru and T'Rina that pushes them to trust each other more, but the implication is that there will still be trouble on Ni'Var.

Saru and T'Rina's wedding is the last segment that takes place in Star Trek: Discovery's series finale before the epilogue jumps decades into the future, so we still don't know how marrying Saru actually affects T'Rina's political career, or if there is any fallout from the Vulcan Purists that Saru and T'Rina have to address publicly.

1 Where Were Detmer And Owosekun?

Asha And Jemison Are Great, But We Need Answers

Fan-favorite characters Lieutenant Commander Keyla Detmer (Emily Coutts) and Lieutenant Commander Joann Owosekun (Oyin Oladejo) were conspicuously absent from the latter half of Star Trek: Discovery season 5. After Detmer and Owosekun were tasked with taking the ISS Enterprise back to Federation HQ in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5, "Mirrors", the helm and ops stations were occupied by Detmer and Owo's apparent replacements, Lt. Commander Asha (Christina Dixon) and Lt. Commander Lorna Jemison (Zahra Bentham).

Emily Coutts and Oyin Oladejo had scheduling conflicts that prevented them from appearing in more episodes of Star Trek: Discovery season 5, but the reason for Lt. Commanders Detmer and Owosekun's absence is left up to the audience to speculate, because Star Trek: Discovery never reveals whether Keyla Detmer and Joann Owosekun return to the USS Discovery. They're not even mentioned again.

Although Star Trek: Discovery season 5 leaves these unanswered questions hanging in the air, there's still a chance that answers are on the horizon. Star Trek promises to continue its adventures in the 32nd century with the upcoming Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, which is likely to include some familiar faces from Star Trek: Discovery. Another way that some remaining questions could be answered is by reviving Star Trek: Short Treks, which told short-form stories about Star Trek characters that didn't fit into longer episodes. Even if the questions are never fully answered, Star Trek: Discovery still went out on a high note.