When Star Trek: Discovery ends in season 5, don't expect Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the USS Discovery to time travel back to their original era, because Discovery can never return to the 23rd century. After two back-to-back seasons of Discovery saving the galaxy, season 5 sets a more adventurous tone as Burnham and her starship hunt for "the greatest treasure in the known galaxy." This will ultimately conclude Star Trek: Discovery, but the series is very likely to remain at the farthest future point of the Star Trek timeline.
Star Trek: Discovery seasons 1 and 2 were originally prequels set a decade before the events of Star Trek: The Original Series. Burnham's origin was inextricably tied to the 23rd-century Vulcan Ambassador Sarek (James Frain), who raised the orphaned Michael on Vulcan alongside his son, Spock (Ethan Peck). Discovery season 2 also reintroduced Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and Number One (Rebecca Romijn) into Star Trek canon. Pike, Spock, and Number One proved so popular that they received their own spinoff that fans clamored for – Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – after Discovery left the 23rd century for the 32nd century, which is a one-way trip with no going back.
