Summary
- Captain Burnham leads USS Discovery on a final mission, setting up a meeting between Zora and Craft in Star Trek: Short Treks.
- New Captain Leto Burnham follows in his mother's footsteps, seeking meaning in his mission while inheriting his father's confidence.
- Michael and Book have a happy ending on Sanctuary 4, where they have rebuilt and found a new home with their World Tree.
The ending of Star Trek: Discovery introduces the show's next generation in the form of a brand-new Captain Burnham. Written by Kyle Jarrow & Michelle Paradise, and directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi, the Star Trek: Discovery finale, "Life, Itself" ends with an epilogue set decades after Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) made the decision to leave the Progenitors' technology undiscovered. The epilogue opens with Admiral Burnham living in relative peace and quiet on Sanctuary 4 with Cleveland Booker (David Ajala). However, Admiral Burnham has one final mission to do before Discovery ends for good.
The Star Trek: Discovery finale's epilogue reveals that Admiral Burnham is tasked with piloting the USS Discovery on one last mission. Discovery's final mission sets up the eventual meeting between Zora (Annabelle Wallis) and Craft (Aldis Hodge) in Star Trek: Short Treks, season 1, episode 2, "Calypso". Escorting Michael on her way to the USS Discovery is Starfleet's newest captain, Captain Leto Burnham (Sawandi Wilson), fresh from his recent promotion and bound for Crepuscula, after a quick detour to Sanctuary 4.
Star Trek: Discovery’s New Captain Burnham Explained
Captain Leto Burnham is the son of Burnham and Book, and is following in his mother's footsteps, albeit without the early career mutineering. Leto and Michael Burnham's heart-to-heart in the shuttle reveals how much he's inherited from his mother, as he too appears to seek meaning in the mission. The new Captain Burnham is anxious about finding the right words to inspire his crew, and Michael has some words of advice for her son:
"...at the end of the day, every member of your crew has to find their own sense of meaning. [...] In time, you and your crew will become family..."
Leto is named for Book's nephew, who was killed when Kwejian was destroyed by Species 10-C's Dark Matter Anomaly in Star Trek: Discovery season 4. As well as the name Leto, Discovery's new Captain Burnham has also inherited his confidence and swagger from Book. Book's parting words to his son to "get that swagger on in outer space" sets Leto up as the perfect combination of his mother and father's best qualities, proving that the future of Starfleet is in safe hands.
Star Trek: Discovery’s Epilogue Gives Michael & Book A Happy Ending
Michael and Book finally reunited at the wedding of Ambassador Saru (Doug Jones) and President T'Rina (Tara Rosling) before they headed off on a Red Directive mission for Dr. Kovich (David Cronenberg). Decades later, and the couple may have slowed down, but Michael and Book's happy ending remains intact as they live out a quiet semi-retirement on Sanctuary 4. Book makes Michael coffee every morning, while she tends to the fences around the house to keep out the local wildlife.
Having lost his home in season 4, Book finally finds it again in the Star Trek: Discovery finale...
It's also revealed that Star Trek: Discovery did resurrect Book's dead planet, Kwejian, via the World Tree cuttings he received from the Eternal Gallery and Archive in season 5, episode 8. Book planted the cuttings some time after he and Michael settled on Sanctuary 4, where they've now grown into an impressive World Tree. As the Kwejian believed that they were all connected by the roots of the World Tree, this effectively makes Sanctuary 4 the new Kwejian. Having lost his home in season 4, Book finally finds it again in the Star Trek: Discovery finale with Michael, Leto, and their World Tree.
