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Star Trek: Discovery – 5 Huge Questions Season 4 Needs to Answer

With season three wrapping on CBS All Access' Star Trek: Discovery and the crew's settled into their home in the 32nd century, it's a brave new galaxy to explore. We have a new captain and I have questions about the ship's place within the realm and beyond. Without further adieu, let's start, shall we?

What About Star Trek's Federation?

With the source of the Burn found and resolved along with the lone major source of dilithium to exploit, does this mean Starfleet holds all the cards for warp travel? The galaxy within the alpha quadrant Discovery found at the beginning of season three plunged into near anarchy with piracy rampant from the Emerald Chain. Led by Osyraa who ruled with an iron fist, Discovery ultimately overcame her tyranny after her hijacking of the ship. Now that the Federation is in "sole" control of available dilithium, it leads me to my next question

What About Everybody Else?

What we don't know is what happened with how other warp-capable races have largely been coping with the burn. Season four will likely follow up beyond the likes of Ni'Var with the Vulcans and Romulans. We have no idea about how those like the Klingons, Cardassians, or Ferengi are thriving if at all. We get a vague mention of how the Klingons were part still. We don't even know if the Romulans are truly unified with the Vulcans and there wasn't some separate sect off brooding and conspiring elsewhere. Discovery literally left us with little-to-no information on the member planets that stayed the Burn other than the fact Ni'Var left at some point during the crisis. Star Trek: Picard introduced us to Borg transitioning without implants, are they even still around by this time?

Who's the First Officer of Discovery?

We know that Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) finally agreed at Admiral Charles Vance's (Oded Fehr) insistence to become the new commanding officer of Discovery, but who did she choose to serve as her first officer? Is it Ensign Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman), who was given provisional status by then Captain Saru (Doug Jones)? Is it Saru's to claim once he comes back to acclimating Su'Kal to "civilization?" If It's Tilly, would she have leapfrogged ranks to commander? Does Saru get demoted? It's all very confusing.

Have Stamets and Burnham Reached a Point of No Return?

In most Star Trek series, undermining a commanding officer to the point where trust is irreparable is generally grounds for dismissal or a straight transfer, but Discovery is sort of in a unique position. Yes, the crews of the previous series typically learn to have short memories of each other when it comes to working together, but it's not so much the case with the CBS All Access series. Some may argue the "emotional" aspect has become much more liability and the series is unapologetic about it. Whether if it's Saru or Stamets (Anthony Rapp), emotions clearly clouded judgment in certain key situations. In earlier's case, the recent mission involving other Kelpians. The case of the latter, his inability to trust his Burnham after she shot him into the Federation bubble so they can recover him to keep him out of Osyraa's hands and using him for the spore drive. He pleaded with her not to rescue him and instead find their way back to his partner and the away team before it's too late. The closing celebratory scene indicates he's far from over it despite his reunion with Culber (Wilson Cruz).

Will The Game of Musical Chairs for Captain Finally End?

With Burnham being the main focus since season one as the first officer, it was only a matter of time before Martin-Green joined her franchise predecessors from William Shatner to Scott Bakula on the captain's chair. One can argue it kept things exciting to see how a certain crew member would lead. After all, the series literally saw Georgiou, Lorca, Pike, Saru, Tilly, and now Burnham in charge. Considering Burnham's put her doubts about Starfleet behind, it only makes sense we see the next chapter of her journey to show us how far she's grown as a leader. Season three of Star Trek: Discovery is available to stream on CBS All Access. Let's fly!

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