The USS Discovery’s saucer separation inStar Trek: Discovery’s series finale made Captain Michael Burnham’s (Sonequa Martin-Green) starship even cooler. I was an early adopter ofStar Trek: Discovery,and one reason why is that I was dazzled by the show’s production values, especially the stunning USS Discovery itself.Star Trek: Discovery’s eponymous Crossfield Class starshipis a sleek and roomy science vessel that also housed the show’s greatest (and most controversial) innovation: the displacement-activated spore hub drive.
Star Trek: Discoveryseason 5 was a sequel to theStar Trek: The Next Generationepisode, “The Chase.“Discoveryfollowed up onTNG’s reveal that a race dubbed the Progenitors seeded the galaxy with humanoid life. Captain Burnham and the USS Discovery’s interstellar hunt for theclues to the Progenitors' treasuretook Michael into an interdimensional space where the ancient technology was hidden. Meanwhile, the USS Discovery led by Commander Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) was outmatched by a Breen dreadnought, with even more Breen on the way. But Discovery beat the Breen bytaking a page fromStar Trek: The Next Generation’s playbook.
USS Discovery’s Saucer Separation Made Captain Burnham’s Ship Even Cooler
One last TNG tribute by Discovery season 5
I loved that theUSS Discovery did a saucer separationinStar Trek: Discoveryseason 5’s finale. It was a perfect respectful, final ode toStar Trek: The Next Generation, which introduced the USS Enterprise-D’s ability to split its saucer and stardrive sections. Even better, Disco’s saucer separation was the key to overcoming the might of the Breen. With the Breen dreadnought caught between Discovery’s saucer and stardrive sections, Commander Rayner ordering a spore drive jump instantly sent the Breen to the Galactic Barrier.It was as ifStar Trek: DiscoveryandStar Trek: The Next Generationteamed up, and I adore that symbolism.
Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Finale Ending & Shocking Epilogue Explained
Star Trek: Discovery comes to an end with season 5’s finale wrapping up the Progenitors treasure hunt and an epilogue concluding the entire series.
The USS Discovery’s saucer separation was a fantastic surprise because it was never previously established that Discovery could be split in two. Even better was that Discovery’s saucer separation was used tactically to achieve victory. OnStar Trek: The Next Generation, theUSS Enterprise-D’s saucer separationwas usually a defensive or emergency measure to safeguard the population in the saucer section. ButDiscovery used saucer separation for offense.It’s the coolest saucer separation inStar Trek, and only the USS Discovery could have done it.
Why Didn’t USS Discovery Do A Saucer Separation Before?
There was no need to separate Discovery’s saucer
It’s possible the USS Discovery wasn’t originally designed to separate its saucer from its stardrive section. Although the USS Enterprise inStar Trek: The Original Serieswas purportedly able to execute a saucer separation, it never happened due to budget issues, the limited special effects of the 1960s, and lack of story purpose. If Captain James T. Kirk’s (William Shatner) Enterprise could have separated its saucer,maybe the USS Discovery could have too.But it wasn’t necessary inStar Trek: Discovery’s first two seasons for Disco to separate its saucer.
Star Trek Beyondsaw the USS Enterprise execute an emergency saucer separation in the alternate Kelvin timeline.
It’s hard to see how a saucer separation would have benefited the USS Discovery inStar Trek: Discoveryseason 1’s Klingon War or the multi-ship battle against Control thatendedStar Trek: Discoveryseason 2. It’s alsopossible that saucer separation is a new featurethat came with the USS Discovery’s refit with 32nd-century programmable matter technology inStar Trek: Discoveryseason 3. Between saucer separation and its spore drive, there isn’t another ship in Star Trek that boasts the level of cool factor as Captain Michael Burnham’s USS Discovery.
