Star Trek: Discovery has wrapped up its dark, twisty first season with the decidedly hopeful, surprisingly conclusive finale "Will You Take My Hand?" The story of disgraced Starfleet officer Michael Burnham came full circle, and the war with the Klingons came to a surprising end. The final moments of the episode will be hotly discussed for months, as it opens up a world of possibilities for the show's second season.

Here's a recap of the major beats of Star Trek: Discovery's season 1 finale.

The Battle For Starfleet's Soul

Following Admiral Cornwall's desperate move of installing the Mirror Universe Georgiou as the Discovery's new captain, the ship sets out for the Qo'noS, the Klingon home world. Their mission is ostensibly to create a distraction that will pull the Klingon forces away from Earth, but in reality Mirror Georgiou is carrying out Starfleet's true orders - the destruction of Qo'noS. An away team of Georgiou, Burnham, Tyler, and Tilly make their way through an Orion encampment on the planet - which looks like a cross between a Star Wars cantina and a Mad Max swap meet - looking for information on the series of caverns they need to pinpoint in order to carry out their plan. Tilly eventually realizes Georgiou's real plan, at which point the Terran Emperor ditches her new crewmates.

Back on the Discovery, Burnham confronts Admiral Cornwall over the viciousness of the true plan, arguing that Starfleet's ideals don't allow for genocide, even in the face of annihilation. This is a theme Discovery has struggled with over its first season: the viability of Starfleet's high minded ideals in the face of an overwhelming force bent on their destruction. Burnham herself betrayed those ideals before the war even began, but has more than proved herself a proponent of Starfleet's idealistic, empathetic worldview as the season has progressed. Burnham threatens another mutiny, but this time her crew mates are on her side, and eventually Cornwall relents, and Burnham hatches a new plan.

Related: Star Trek: Discovery's Ending SHOCKER Explained

Once she tracks down Georgiou, Burnham convinces her to not destroy the planet, promising Starfleet will still grant her the freedom she was promised - and Starfleet would never stop hunting her if she carried out her plan. Georgiou relents, partially out of self-preservation, but at least a little bit out of affection for Burnham. Georgiou is allowed to escape, though it seems highly unlikely we've seen that last of her.

With Georgiou dealt with, Burnham enacts her new plan - handing over control of the planet-destroying weapon to L'Rell, who plans to use that power to bring order back to the Klingon Empire and re-unite the 24 warring houses. Surprisingly, the part-human, part-Klingon Tyler decides to depart with L'Rell, seemingly in an effort to bring a shred of humanity to the Empire. Once L'Rell proclaims her new power to the Klingons, they pull their ships away from Earth, and the war ends with the Federation's soul bruised, but intact.

The War Is Over

With L'Rell's apparent ascension to Klingon Emperor, the war between the Federation and the Klingons comes to an abrupt end. At a Starfleet ceremony presided over by Admiral Cornwall - in a very futuristic looking version of Paris - the crew of the Discovery are celebrated as war heroes. Tilly is promoted to ensign and enters Starfleet's command training program, Stamets is promoted to Lieutenant Commander, and Saru is awarded with a medal of honor - though not the captain's chair of the Discovery, for some reason.

After sharing a warm moment with her adopted mother, Burnham and Sarek discuss the end of the war, with the Vulcan ambassador expressing his regret over his part in Starfleet's plans for Qo'noS. After articulating his pride in Burnham, he presents her with her Starfleet officer insignia. Her record of mutiny has been expunged, and she rejoins the Discovery's crew as a Commander.

Mirror Georgiou Lives To Fight Another Day

The second biggest surprise of the episode (we'll get to the biggest one shortly) is Mirror Georgiou's survival. Following her brief turn as the Discovery's captain - pretty much the entire crew immediately realized this was not the woman she claimed to be - Georgiou embraced her role as Starfleet's angel of death. And while the promise of freedom was certainly a factor in her decision to abandon the genocidal plot, the real wrinkle is her relationship with Burnham, who bears the face of her Mirror Universe daughter.

Most Mirror Universe characters have been portrayed as two dimensional villains, but Mirror Georgiou seems mildly conflicted, especially when it comes to Burnham. Her escape suggests the show will have an overarching antagonist going forward, a dark shadow of its once beloved captain who will always be around to poke at Burnham and Starfleet's moral compass. It's one of the smarter moves the show has made.

The Enterprise Arrives

With the war finally over, the Discovery departs Earth to begin its new, exploratory mission. The ship must make a quick pit stop at Vulcan, however, to drop off Ambassador Sarek and pick up the new, unnamed captain of the Discovery. The Discovery departs for Vulcan under normal warp speed - the spore drive is seemingly mothballed until Starfleet can figure out how to use it without harming Stamets - but they quickly receive a garbled distress call from another Starfleet ship. Acting Captain Saru asks his communications officer what ship is attempting to contact them, and a familiar Starfleet serial number appears onscreen - NCC-1701. The Discovery drops out of warp and are met by the Federation flagship, the USS Enterprise. As the Discovery crew looks on in awe, the iconic Alexander Courage theme music begins to play, and Discovery ends its first season on a massively exciting cliffhanger.

Beyond the visceral thrill of seeing the classic series Enterprise in all its glory, this opens up huge questions about where Discovery goes from here. At this point, James Kirk and most of the TOS crew are not aboard the Enterprise. Indeed, Discovery confirms that Captain Christopher Pike is still in command of the Enterprise. There is, however, one notable character who should be on the Enterprise: Spock. Discovery has explored Burnham's relationship with her adoptive parents in revealing, rewarding ways, but the show has made sure not to explore her relationship with her adoptive half-human, half-Vulcan brother in any way at all. There's a wave of both excitement and nervousness on Burnham's face when she sees the Enterprise, perhaps hinting at the dynamics of that relationship.

Related: Saru Deserves To Be Captain of the Discovery

There's an open question of how much the Enterprise and its crew can realistically play into Discovery's future. Recasting Captain Pike doesn't seem any more controversial than recasting Sarek or Harry Mudd, but recasting Spock, arguably the most iconic character in Star Trek's history, would be a massive step, and could potentially overshadow anything else the show has planned for its second year (and for myriad reasons, it's highly unlikely Zachary Quinto would reprise the role on the small screen). It's a huge gambit, but with the war over and Discovery inching ever closer to the events of TOS, it could be exciting to see it attempt to weave itself into the tapestry of Star Trek's sprawling continuity, something the show mostly disregarded during the first season.

Despite its flirtation with humanity's darker instincts and its thematic missteps, Discovery's finale suggests it wants to not only embrace the hopeful, idealistic spirit of the franchise, but that it may have larger ambitions than the first season suggested. The war is over, the Enterprise is here, and the future of Discovery has never felt more uncertain or exciting.

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