Star Trek: Discovery: Spock Appears In "Unification III"

Today, CBS All Access released the seventh episode of Star Trek: Discovery's third season, titled "Unification III." As the name implies, it follows up on plots and themes established in the classic Star Trek: The Next Generation two-parter, "Unification I" and "Unification II." The two-parter was special in part because it celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Star Trek franchise. To honor that anniversary, Leonard Nimoy guest-starred in the episodes, reprising his famous role as Spock. "Unification III" directly references the events of that previous two-parter, with the episode even showing Leonard Nimoy's Spock on screen. SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery Season Three, Episode Seven, "Unification III" follow.

In "Unification III," Michael Burnham must go to Vulcan to try to convince the government there to release data that could help her pinpoint the source of the Burn. But Vulcan isn't Vulcan anymore. It was renamed Nevarr sometime after the Romulans resettled there. As of the 32nd century, Vulcans and Romulans live together on Nevarr. Spock's dream of reunifying these two alien societies, which were once one, came true sometime after his death.

Burnham researches the work Spock did to bring the Vulcans and Romulans together. As part of that research, she uncovers a clip of Spock speaking. This is the first time that she has ever seen the man Spock because after she left with Discovery to travel into the future.

This episode fulfills the tease that showrunner Alex Kurtzman offered ahead of the season premiere, hinting that Burnham would look into what happened to Spock after she disappeared. "I'm trying to answer your question without spoiling too much," Kurtzman told SFX Magazine. "I'll give you an example. It's safe to say that in the spirit of what I just said, I would look to the past and I would try to understand what happened to the people I love. So Burnham is absolutely going to look to the past and try and understand what happened to Spock.

"We all know what happened to Spock, but everything that we now take for granted, she has no understanding of. So, she will dive into that and she will get to see what became of her brother. And that will actually impact the story for her in a significant way. I've just told you more than I told anybody about that!"

What do you think of Spock's appearance in this week's episode of Star Trek: Discovery? Let us know in the comments section. New Star Trek: Discovery episodes premiere Thursdays on CBS All Access.

Source: comicbook.com