Star Trek Discovery Season 3: Everything You Need To Know
Recapping the vital Sphere data you need from seasons 1 and 2.
Star Trek: Discovery is finally here after a full year since the second season ended. In that year, we've had seasons of Star Trek: Short Treks, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Lower Decks and about 87 years worth of real life events to keep us occupied.
Like a lot of ultra-serialized television in this era of streaming, it might feel a little daunting to jump back in. Or, for a first time viewer, jump in at all. While Star Trek is certainly an inclusive universe, it also represents half a century of fictional history, hundreds of characters and cultures, and a litany of speculative technology and technobabble. In other words, it’s a lot to keep track of.
But we’re here to catch you up, from the mutiny on the Shenzhou to the whole Red Angel thing, we're going to give you an overview of the events of Star Trek: Discovery's first two seasons.
Whether you’re a longtime fan in need of a refresher or a Trek-curious new recruit who wouldn’t know a phaser from a Ferengi, here’s our recap of everything you need to know before you watch Star Trek: Discovery season three.
13. The USS Discovery
So… the basics first:
Taking place just before the adventures of Captain Kirk and Spock in the original Star Trek series, Star Trek: Discovery is a loose prequel, set in the mid-23rd century. The series is (appropriately) set aboard the USS Discovery, NCC-1031, a Crossfield-class starship that's the height of technology in its time.
The Discovery is part of a larger fleet of starships known as Starfleet – the paramilitary, peacekeeping, explorational, and humanitarian arm of the United Federation of Planets. The Federation is the utopian society at the heart of the Star Trek Universe, a collection of worlds (including Earth) all working together to build a brighter, happier future, despite occasional interference from alien warriors or even technology run amuck (more on that later).