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Star Trek: Discovery

Star Trek: Discovery is an entry in the legendary Sci-Fi franchise, set ten years before the original Star Trek series events. The show centers around Commander Michael Burnham, assigned to the USS Discovery, where the crew attempts to prevent a Klingon war while traveling through the vast reaches of space.

The last dream of Ambassador Spock (Leonard Nimoy) was fulfilled in Star Trek: Discovery season 3. Spock's history was retconned by Star Trek: Discovery, which revealed Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) was adopted by Spock's parents, Ambassador Sarek (James Frain) and Amanda Grayson (Mia Kirshner). Michael, who was older, was raised alongside Spock, but they had a falling out for years until Burnham reconciled with Spock (Ethan Peck), who was now a Lieutenant aboard the USS Enterprise, in Discovery season 2.

In Star Trek: The Next Generation, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) traveled to Romulus to find Ambassador Spock, who the United Federation of Planets feared had defected. In truth, Spock was working undercover on a secret mission to bring about the unification of the Vulcan and Romulan people. The Romulans were an offshoot of the Vulcan race who separated thousands of years ago and traveled to the Beta Quadrant to establish the Romulan Star Empire. After TNG, Spock's mission of Romulan and Vulcan unification remained unfulfilled when he attempted to use Red Matter to stop the Romulan sun from going supernova. Spock was pulled into a temporal rift and emerged back in the 23rd century but in the alternate Kelvin reality of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movies, which is where Spock remained until his death.

Discovery’s Ni’Var Fulfilled Spock’s Last Star Trek Dream

Spock Burnham Discovery season 3

In Star Trek: Discovery season 3, Commander Michael Burnham led the USS Discovery on a one-way time jump to the 32nd century where she found Spock's last dream was indeed fulfilled. Burnham arrived in a distant future where the Federation was broken because of The Burn, which eradicated warp travel for over a century. But Michael also learned the planet Vulcan is now a very different world from the one where Sarek raised her. In the 32nd century, Vulcan has been renamed Ni'Var and is home to the reunited Vulcan and Romulan people, as well as the Qowat Milat, a sect of Romulan warrior nuns that Michael's mother, Dr. Gabrielle Burnham (Sonja Sohn), now belongs to.

Ni'Var is what Spock dreamed of for the Vulcans and Romulans. Both pointy-eared cousin races live on the former Vulcan in relative peace and unity. In fact, Ni'Var's separation from the Federation strengthened the bond between the Vulcan and Romulan people. Led by President T'Rina (Tara Rosling), Ni'Var was initially reluctant to rejoin the Federation, but it finally happened in Star Trek: Discovery season 4 after Captain Burnham and the USS Discovery solved the mystery of The Burn. In a way, Spock's sister, Michael Burnham, completed his dream by facilitating the reunited Vulcans and Romulans' return to the Federation.

Why Vulcan & Romulan Unification Was So Important To Spock

Spock TOS Romulan Commander

Ambassador Spock's quest for Vulcan and Romulan unification in Star Trek: The Next Generation seemed to be the result of his new career path after leaving Starfleet. Spock followed in Sarek's footsteps as a diplomat and was successful in facilitating peace between the Federation and the Klingon Empire in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Spock's secret work on Romulus in TNG appeared to further the Vulcan's interest in galactic peace, but there are actually deeper reasons for Spock's desire to see Vulcans and Romulans reunited.

Two major incidents in Star Trek: The Original Series brought about Spock's desire to see Vulcan and Romulan unification. In the TOS classic "Balance of Terror," Spock and the rest of Starfleet learned that Romulans resembled Vulcans and were their distant cousins. Spock dealt with xenophobia from this discovery. In the TOS season 3 episode, "The Enterprise Incident," Spock seduced a Romulan Commander (Joanne Linville) as part of a gambit to steal a cloaking device. Yet Spock appeared to care for the Romulan Commander and felt badly for betraying her in order to complete his mission. Spock's interactions with Romulans in TOS were the likely foundation for his desire to see Vulcans and Romulans unified. Sadly, Spock would not live to see his dream come true in Star Trek: Discovery season 3.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 premieres in 2024 on Paramount+.