10 Tiny Star Trek Details You Might Have Missed The First Time

4. The Star Dispatch - Terra Firma, Part 1

Star Trek Discovery
CBS

Star Trek: Discovery's third season served as the second soft reboot of the show, with the arrival of the Enterprise and Captain Pike serving as the first. The ship was flung far into the future and, though it was actually not a huge plot point, the consequences of time travel would return to play a part. Specifically, time travel began to have serious adverse effects on Philipa Georgiou.

The Sphere Data (just go with it) sends them to a planet where they meet Carl, a nice man who is sitting beside a wooden door. There is no clue at that point that Carl is anything more than he appears. Or is there?

He is reading a newspaper, a very specific newspaper, one that had been seen once before in Star Trek. It was seen by Spock, via his tricorder, in The City On The Edge Of Forever. The Star Dispatch foretold the death of Edith Keeler. While the big reveal comes in the next episode, the name of the paper was an enormous hint that kindly old Carl...

Was the Guardian Of Forever.

The visual reveal in Terra Firm Part 2 was chilling, even if one had managed to spot the spoiler in the first part.

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Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"