Starship Nomadic, Northern Ireland STARSHIP NOMADICA NORTHERN IRELAND STAR TREK FAN GROUP
ST · SEASON 11×03

The Brightest Star

NOMADIC PICK · GREAT DISCUSSION EPISODESaru's origin story.
FIRST SHOWN (US)
6 December 2018
ON
CBS All Access
STARDATE
None given
DIRECTED BY
Douglas Aarniokoski
CONNECTS TO
Discovery

WRITTEN BYWritten by Bo Yeon Kim & Erika Lippoldt

IN BRIEF

SPOILER-FREE

On his home planet Kaminar, a young Saru questions the traditions that rule his people's lives and dares to wonder what lies among the stars.

SYNOPSIS

SPOILERS
Red alert: the full plot, ending included. Haven't watched yet?REVEAL SYNOPSISHIDE SYNOPSIS

On the pre-warp world of Kaminar, young Saru lives with his father Aradar and his sister Siranna. The Kelpiens accept that the mysterious Ba'ul will periodically take some of their people in a ritual harvest said to preserve the Great Balance. Saru longs to know what lies beyond his village. When a piece of Ba'ul technology falls during a harvest, he is told to get rid of it but secretly keeps it, adapts it and uses it to send a message into space. His father defends tradition, but the device receives a one-word reply. Saru slips away at night, saying goodbye to Siranna, and meets a shuttle carrying Lt Philippa Georgiou of the USS Shenzhou. She warns him that if he leaves he can never return. Saru accepts, setting out to become the first Kelpien in Starfleet.

DID YOU KNOW?

  1. 01The Kelpien language was created by Marc Okrand, who also devised the Klingon language for the films.
  2. 02It was produced alongside Discovery's “The Sound of Thunder”, with location work at Scarborough Bluffs Park in Toronto.
  3. 03A prequel to Discovery that explores Saru's past. Michelle Yeoh appears as a younger Georgiou, still a lieutenant aboard the USS Shenzhou.
SOURCES WE CHECKED