On Thursday, the third season of Star Trek: Discovery wraps up with “That Hope Is You, Part 2.” This has been a complex season with a lot of different storylines going on. Looking at the season so far and the preview trailer for the finale—and taking some screen caps to get an even closer look, some of which you can see below—we are ready to make predictions. Some are more likely than others, but it’s a finale so let’s go for broke and see what sticks.
Gray will become a real character
Season three introduced us to two new characters: Adira (a human with a Trill symbiont), and Gray (Adira’s boyfriend, the Trill’s previous host, now deceased). Ever since Adira successfully joined with the Tal symbiont, they have been able to (on again off again) see and communicate with Gray, which is not how Trill joining usually goes. No one else can see Gray, making for some awkward moments with Stamets (who considers Adira his child). It’s been confirmed that Ian Alexander will be returning in season four as Gray, but existing solely as a sort of ghost only visible to Adira doesn’t make for a sustainable storyline. One solution would be for Gray to find a way to exist in the real world—and the season finale trailer may hint at a solution. We see Gray as a Vulcan, showing that the holodeck on the KSF Khi’eth might recognize him as a unique individual and manifest him as a hologram character, visible to others. Perhaps there can be a way to keep this hologram version of Gray going even after the holodeck is turned off (which we can also see in the trailer), either via a mobile emitter or through some kind of technology we haven’t seen yet… it might even explain why Adira is seeing him in the first place.
The Sphere Data will become Zora
Even before the season started, we were talking about Zora the AI from the Short Treks episode “Calypso” finding her way into season three, and we’ve seen hints of the Sphere Data evolving into Zora throughout the season. The latest was in episode 312, when the Sphere Data took over the DOT-23 robots and spoke to Tilly using Zora’s voice. The final piece of this arc will be for the Sphere Data to reintegrate with the ship and choose a name, becoming a new character on the show.
Federation HQ will be abandoned
Season three started off with the search for Federation HQ, which was found hidden inside a shield. Together the leadership of what remains of Starfleet and the Federation have been hiding out and putting out fires for the handful of planets still within reach. Episode 312 featured Osyraa finding the secret hideout and sneaking inside that shield barrier with the USS Discovery, and the trailer for 313 shows her attacking the HQ and blasting her way out, vowing to obliterate the Federation. Osryaa also mocked Admiral Vance for the isolation and artifice they have created for themselves. For the Federation to return to glory, perhaps they need to literally come out of their protective bubble and rejoin the galaxy… and maybe start eating some real apples.
Kovich’s role revealed
Since he was introduced this season, the mysterious Kovich, played by David Cronenberg, has fascinated us. Early on we theorized that he appears to be involved with or heading up Starfleet Intelligence or maybe Section 31. That is still a very strong contender based on his follow-up appearance. Our backup theory was that Kovich was the President of the Federation, and in episode 312 Osyraa pointedly asked why she was negotiating with Vance and not with the President, hinting at a possible POTUFP appearance in the finale. If you look VERY closely at the finale preview, you can spot Kovich through the window of Federation HQ along with Vance, so we think we will be getting some answers about this character, who is already confirmed to return in season 4.
Vulcans (and more) to the rescue
It’s no surprise that the finale trailer shows a big battle with The Emerald Chain raging at Federation HQ, and at one point you can hear Admiral Vance say, “The Federation is done for.” But all season long, the crew of the USS Discovery have been making friends with former members of the Federation. In episode 312 Michael sent a mayday message to her mother, who is living on Ni’Var (formerly Vulcan) and is a member of the Qowat Milat (and champion of lost causes). That means there’s a good chance the Vulcans and Romulans of Vulcan will come riding to the rescue, like the Klingons and Kelpiens did in the season two finale battle with Control. Also, in his recent TrekMovie interview, Doug Jones hinted that we will see President T’Rina again. It wouldn’t be surprising if they brought along some former friends from Earth or Trill, who we also met this season.
Aurellio will kill Osryaa
Episode 312 introduced the Emerald Chain scientist Aurellio, played by Kenneth Mitchell. This character had a strong bond with Osryaa and she even suggested he could be the ambassador for the Chain following an armistice. However, Aurellio appeared to be just focused on his work in science, believing he was doing good for the galaxy and unaware of Oaryaa and the Chain’s atrocities. His eyes were opened a bit by Paul Stamets, and his reaction to seeing Osyraa kill Ryn was clear. Someone has to take her down in the finale, and we can think of no one more fitting than Aurellio.
A change in leadership
Early on in season three, the big question about who will lead the USS Discovery in the 32nd century was settled with Saru as captain and Michael as his first officer. After insubordination and hesitation in her commitment to Starfleet, Michael was replaced by Tilly as “acting” first officer. Throughout the season we’ve seen Saru go through some growing pains, earning him some critiques from Admiral Vance. Tilly has also had mixed success. And as she exited the show via the Guardian of Forever, Emperor Georgiou reminded Michael that she is destined for leadership. For the last few episodes, Michael has shown a new commitment to Starfleet and the Federation, especially in 312 when she got Stamets off the ship to stop Osyraa from controlling the spore drive, even though that may have doomed Saru, Hugh, and Adira. All of this adds up to the possibility of a change for the captain’s chair and/or the position of first officer.
The crew will not be reunited
In episode 311, Saru, Adira, and Hugh were left behind in the Verubin Nebula on the Kelpien ship to deal with Su’Kal, who was revealed as the source of The Burn. This storyline wasn’t picked back up in episode 312, but the preview (and clip shown on The Ready Room) reveal we will be back in the finale. The preview shows the group on the KSF Khi’eth huddled together in what appears to be a shut down holodeck as the ship is falling apart. With so much going on, there may not be enough time to resolve both this and the Discovery/Federation storylines and reunite the crew. Bringing everyone back together could be left for season four, which would also fit into the above point on who will have command of the USS Discovery. It would also make for some major drama between Stamets and Burnham in the future.
Lt. Ina will die
Who is Lt. Ina? Exactly! Episode 312 featured Tilly and the bridge crew held hostage by the Emerald Chain, and among the group of familiar faces was the not-so-familiar Lt. Ina, introduced in episode 311. After the gang broke out, First Officer Tilly told the group they will fight their way to the bridge, ominously adding that if anyone falls along the way they will be left behind. To raise the stakes in the season finale, sacrifices will be made, so this relatively new character seems like an easy choice, and Ina can be seen in the 313 trailer with Tilly, Owo, and a DOT-23 in a corridor battle. But don’t shed a tear for Ina actress Avaah Blackwell; she has portrayed a number of characters in makeup before (including the Osnullus bridge officer), so she could return in season four.
Book will die
If they really want to amp up the stakes and sacrifice, maybe someone more familiar will meet their fate in the finale. The most likely candidate is Cleveland “Book” Booker, introduced as the main new character for season three. Book’s arc for the season began with him as an independent courier on a mission to save the tranceworms of his homeworld, and by the penultimate episode, he was fully committed to Michael and the mission of the USS Discovery. Giving his life for that mission would be the ultimate end to this mission, and he can be seen in the trailer fighting to take back the ship. This also opens up the door for another major character and actor to be introduced for season four, following the tradition of Jason Isaacs as Lorca in season one and Anson Mount as Pike in season two. If killing Book is a bit much, they could also find other ways to finish his season arc where he still makes a sacrifice and leaves the show. Either way, those emotional “I love you”s in the last episode felt a little ominous.
Riker will save the day… Again
Jonathan Frakes as William T. Riker came in to save the day in the season finales of both Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Lower Decks, so why not make it a hat trick? Sure it’s the wrong century and it wouldn’t make any sense, but hey it’s Star Trek: Discovery. When has that kind of stuff stopped them before? Okay, we don’t really think this is going to happen, but wouldn’t it be awesome?
What’s your prediction?
You on board for any of our predictions? Do you have any of your own? Let us know in the comments below.
New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery premiere on Thursdays on CBS All Access in the U.S. and on CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada, where it’s also available to stream on Crave. Episodes are available on Fridays internationally on Netflix.
Keep up with all the news and reviews from the new Star Trek Universe on TV at TrekMovie.com.
My prediction is that the POTUFP will be the Doctor’s backup from “Living Witness”…
It’s a very cool idea, but I don’t see it happening.
I’m still thinking it could be a Klingon in order to close the circle with the first and second seasons.
Hmm… An offspring of Worf? Michael Dorn could play one relative of him again… ;-)
Why not the primary doctor ? I mean he is a hologram no reason for him not to be alive anymore…
I always had the hope that the doctor was the captain of the Voyager that was show with all the 32nd century federation ships as well.
Hey. I posted a simular idea yesterday…
Sorry, I did not see that – well, consider my post support for your idea. ;)
It could be Guinan. I hope not, but I would expect them to do nonsense like this to promote the new season of Picard.
I think a lot of this will, indeed, happen. But if Burnham becomes captain, that will be ridiculous.
Regaining her status as first officer seems like the natural outcome.
Saru hasn’t failed, but he did need to step out of the captain’s role for a time. That’s part of teamwork. If he manages to solve the situation with Su’Kal and the dilithium, he will be a hero.
Pretty cool reasoning and guesses here. Thanks! Some thoughts: I’m fully on board with some sort of change in Disco’s leadership and with Zora achieving greater sentience. One mystery that wasn’t mentioned was “queen” Grudge. Is there more to her than meets the eye? Maybe Book survives thanks to her and takes on the recurring role of liaison to the Chain? It seems that something involving his “empathic” powers should occur (the Gormagander?). Not reuniting the crew is probable because of the likelihood of Saru escorting Su’Kal to Kaminar. I like your thinking about Starfleet hq because it fits with the episode’s title. No longer cowering with a fortress mentality, Starfleet and the Federation will really be back “outside.” We’ll all know by this time next week.
When he mentioned Grudge being a queen, I keep wondering if she’s the same species as the doctor on Lower Decks, like maybe able to pose as a regular cat or something.
Fair enough, other than we’re never allowed to forget she’s around, unlike “Number One” in Picard.
I can get behind many of these.
On one hand I would be pretty unhappy if Book is “fridged” or leaves to fulfil his vocation elsewhere.
It’s tiresome when writers feel that they have to make characters grow through tragic or failed romantic relationships. We’ve already had Burnham go through that with Tyler.
On the other hand, at the beginning of the season, showrunner Michelle Paradise referred to Book in the past tense, saying something along the line that he WAS the first partner that really fit with her.
That past tense verb was a big flag for me then and it still is. It really made me less willing to invest in Book as a seasonal guest star.
Honestly I don’t want to watch season 4. Season 3 has been a trainwreck with some good parts here and there. I don’t care about Discovery anymore.
I will stick around for Strange New Worlds because of Captain Pike and that’s it.
Prodigy and all the other stuff can go by the wayside.
Sounds good…see ya!
I like all of your theories! This has been the best season so far, and even the (totally unnecessary) trip to the alternate universe was well done. Can’t wait for the finale and for next season!
Great job CBS!
Forgot to hold the sarcasm flag? ;-)
Pike is the President just remember he was on talos
The Talosians wouldn’t be able to make him immortal. They wouldn’t even be able to repair his radiation damage. All they could do was give him the illusion of being out of the chair.
Could Picard still be around and be the President??
Only with regular lube and oil changes. Properly maintained, android bodies can last a while.
Soong specifically said that he didn’t make Picard immortal, and Picard was very clear that he had no desire to live forever.
At the very end with Federation HQ in ruins, the Emerald Chain ambushing any rescuers, and an even more catastrophic burn happening…………….
Commander Michael Burnham will wake up on the USS Shenzhou on Stardate 1207.3 before they detect a damaged interstellar relay in deep space and discover an unidentified object. She will realize what she experienced these last three seasons was just a dream.
[Hey!! CBS did it with Dallas concerning Bobby’s “death”]
I’m really hoping we get to see Voyager-J in proper action!
I’m not sure if they were really hinting that the president will show up last week. They may have just been explaining why Vance was in charge of negotiations instead of the civilian government, since some people get annoyed when Trek conflates Starfleet and the Federation.
Michael Burnham will become captain, President of the United Federation of Planets and new Guardian of Forever, all at the same time. A drop of her blood will counteract The Burn, then the Milky Way will shift its shape from a spiral galaxy to a massive portrait of Burnham.
1000% correct. This show is so hilariously bad.
So if you don’t like something, you assign a ridiculous numerical value to it in a misguided attempt to draw attention to yourself? LOL
How about focusing on using a real percentage rating (0 to 100) instead of insulting everyone’s intelligence here? Using 1000% as a rating is moronic.
That really sounds like a plot of a Futurma episode.
One of the ships that could show up to help Starfleet could be The Enterprise. Long shot I know, but I can dream can’t I.
As they saved the first Enterprise for the season 1 finale, I can totally see it happening for this season’s finale!
Prediction #12 — the same five malcontents here who complain about the show every week will whine like little babies about the finale. ;-) LOL
I’m on the fence between a B+ and an A- for this season with the final episode to go.
But I am getting impatient with folks who seem to autopilot into “doesn’t make sense” without seeing an episode at least a few times to catch what they missed on first pass and waiting to see how the things are resolved. (That is, needing watching episodes several times before the next one came out is a feature and not a bug, and what we did when we watched the 90s series when they were first broadcast.)
Granted the track record on wrapping things up on Discovery previous seasons and Picard has given people good cause to doubt, but sincerely so many of the so-called “holes” called out by people on this board this season were actually addressed either in the same episode or the one following.
Good points!
So if someone has a genuine opinion you disagree with, they should just shut up. Got it.
How about focusing on the article content instead of attacking other viewers?
You just confirmed that my prediction is spot-on. Thanks!
It’s all been a holodeck simulation….
On the holodeck of the NX-01 where Archer contemplates what will happen in the coming millennium if he signs the Starfleet Charter. As he says “Computer, end program”, he suddenly comes face to face with Riker and Troi who had been running that same program in their time line. And in a “Parallels” turn of events, as the program shuts down he and every other captain in the history Starfleet stand crammed together on the same holodeck, all confused as to how they got there. Then the end credits roll.
This is all a nightmare.
It’s 2021 and I’m not feeling it. Wake me up when Star Trek can stand on its own legs again. Burnham might be captain or not. Whatever happens that’s just nice. Book and Osyraa should die.
Riker showing up does not make any sense. That would be over the top if Riker did show up like he has superpowers or something.
Don’t forget the power of holodwcks. He could appear as hologram with a big copy and paste holographic fleet…
So all this is a simulation?
The fleet which will come to rescue in the final episode could indeed be a holographic fleet. Remains the question if that holopgraphic fleet is a visual simulation for distraction or consists of real hologramms running holographic ships.
Beside the holo-doc or his back-up, there is one character which could be alive at that era: Daniels.
I’m rewatching the entirety of Enterprise now and still in season one and really love Daniels (even if Archer didn’t lol) and would still love to see him pop up in the 32nd century. Not holding my breath, but man….
I’m watching DS9 on Netflix. I did watch Enterprise already so yeah.
What episode are you on? Deep Space Nine is perfect.
I actually just finished watching the first season finale, Shockwave, yesterday. And where Daniels appeared again when Archer jumped to the 31st century. So I had him on my mind reading that comment. I seen the show a bunch of times, but I never watched it from beginning to end as I’m doing now. The closest I got was rewatching all of season 3 dealing with the Xindi.
Enterprise definitely had some stinkers first season, but it’s amazing how much I enjoy it now; especially when compared to first seasons of DIS and PIC. I just love it’s purely a season of exploration (which DIS and PIC especially completely lacked). Funny how I use to just take that for granted when it originally aired. And I feel every season after the last gets even better. That’s literally how I rate the ENT seasons: 4,3,2,1.
But I agree the show still doesn’t remotely stack up to DS9. Maybe if it ran for 7 seasons, who knows, but DS9 is still just amazing. I’m happy you are finally checking it out. You’re in for a treat.
Which episode are you on?
Season 3 ENT showed how to plot a story arc for a whole season with some stand alones episodes in between, unlike this season, where it feels like a 3 parter extended to 13 episodes.
Even though I am enjoying season 3 of DIS, it’s not nearly as good as ENT season 3 and the way that season was done. And I didn’t love the Xindi either but they were way more interesting than the baddies on DIS this season and gave them a more satisfying arc.
There’s always Guinan.
Or Q
If we get the last one and it’s Riker to the rescue yet again, it will make this season TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!!! Don’t care how they do! He’s an advanced hologram, in an 800 year old Synth body, ended up in the Nexus, WHATEVER, just make it happen Discovery!!!!
Oh and he’s either on the Voyager J, Titan E or the Enterprise X, even better!
As my name is Ina, I hope she doesn’t die!
I am thinking they are going to kill off Tilly. SADLY!
Somebody at CBS will go, “Actually, the writing is terrible. And everyone’s crying all the time! Let’s cancel this for the sake of our reputations and preserve the legacy of a great franchise!” And….scene! I know. Not happening. A man can dream.
The crying, yes. My lord. And it’s *always* a woman. Offensive!
Wasn’t Stamets crying in this episode?
I know it’s a little out of context in this series but I would love to see Voyager’s Holographic Doctor be introduced for at least 1 season of Discovery.
Happy New Year everyone!
Semi-joking/semi-serious speculation: Grudge is actually the Federation President in disguise. She’ll turn out to be a Changeling, or the “programmable matter” thing has been used to disguise her as a cat (possibly for her own protection).
This season has been a solid B+ so far. Yeah, I’m not happy with all the outcomes (origin of the Burn, Emerald Chain far too pivotal) but it’s been a good season so far. I’d like them to go on a real deep space / intergalactic mission next season, not just another mystery to be solved. Not a big fan of story arcs but the episodes stood on their own most of the time this season.
DSC will never be my favourite Trek show but it deserves to be treated with a lot more respect that some are will to pay here. It’s the show that brought Trek back from the dead and despite my many quibbles, I’m very grateful for that…
Nonetheless SNW and PROD are the shows I’m looking forward to the most…
…. and the DOT-7s use their sphere data to open a wormhole to go back in time and erase all references to their existence in the first place so that they don’t further pollute and rewrite Star Trek canon any further…
Keeping Discovery in the far flung future keeps them from rewriting canon more versus going back to where they were and just contradicting 23rd century canon left and right. You should be happy the show is where it’s at if you don’t like it. It’s much easier to avoid now.
Edit: Oh I see what you mean now, erase that the entire show ever existed. Well, that’s probably not going to happen. ;)
Prediction:
Discovery and Burham were captured by control upon arriving on the 32sd century and everything we saw never happened. Of course, this might happen on the first episode of season 4 – You are my hope part 3.
I predict that there will be crying…
I am both Q and Android Picard make an appearance and save the day (just kidding). I would like to see the gangesters from A Piece of the Action demand a say at the table or a Gorn – Thollian attack causes the Andorians and Orions team up with the Federation as a end season 3 and begin season 4.
We still don’t know how Osyraa knows so much about Discovery and its crew. Somehow Federation communication channels have been compromised. The corruption is more widespread than we thought and season will be rooting them out like Hydra.
Some predictions:
Osyraa dies; the Federation and the Emerald Chain merge; Aurellio becomes President of the “Emerald Federation” (they even specifically floated the possibility of having a “respected scientist” take the job during negotiations); the explanation for the Burn points to a potential new threat from outside of the galaxy; the season appears to end happily–until the final scene shows David Cronenberg’s character doing something mysterious and/or sinister that won’t be explained until Season 4.
Kovich being the President is certainly a cool theory, and I would be exited if it turns out to be true!
However:
What if it turns out that there is in fact no President, and Admiral Vance kept it secret that he is in fact the highest ranking Federation official who is left…
Why should he? The Burn was a long time ago, they could have easily elected a president by now, or just decide the highest ranking Admiral is president in personal union. People outside of the Federation wouldn’t care and the people in Federation HQ would know anyway who holds the power.
As for Lt Ina, I’m pretty sure she’s just standing in for Lt Nilson when the actor was unexpectedly unavailable for the last two episodes. She’d be doing all of the stuff originally written for Nilson.
Most of these predictions line up with my own. They feel rather safe. Not in a bad way. Just… safe. I don’t think Book will die, nor do I think Aurellio will kill Osyrra. Other than that, same here.
Book dies aboard star fleet hq when it blows up.
It will not be Riker, it will be Admiral Wesley Crusher with an Enterprise-D Replica
I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit…
My prediction is that DIS is actually in the JUPITER ASCENDING-verse. Watched the film the other day and the style of DIS is so close with its visual style, the separated ship hulls and David Ajala.