The Star Trek: Discovery Season Three finale reminds us how important connection is to sentient beings and brings hope during this difficult time.

Spoilers

” The Hope is You, Part 2,” directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi, features Commander Michael Burnham and the rest of the Discovery bridge crew battling to re-take their ship and find a way to reach Su’Kal. Episode Thirteen is my favorite episode of all of season three—Michael, Saru, Tilly, Book, Adira, and the rest of the U.S.S. The Discovery crew has the best endings to their storylines for this soft reboot. The Starfleet officers from the past have found their homes in the future. Olatunde Osunanmi and the writers created a masterpiece that captures the spirit of “Star Trek” but has created something new that reflects what’s happening in the real world.

 Michael’s perfect storyline ending is her earning the rank of Captain. In “The Hope is You, Part 1”, Michael was violently disconnected from her adopted family and the U.S.S. Discovery. She had to forge a new, more rebellious, and off-the-cuff identity with Book as a courier. When Michael found Saru and the rest of the U.S.S. Discovery crew again, she had to slowly find a way to merge her new way of thinking with her identity as a Starfleet Commander. Finally, Michael has found her place as a leader by thinking differently than most other officers. The Commander takes back the U.S.S. Discovery by leading Book, Tilly, and the rest of the bridge crew.

Burnham uses her knowledge of the U.S.S. Discovery and her experience as a courier to outsmart Osyraa. Admiral Vance trusts Michael enough to listen to her when she asks him to let the captured Discovery leave the forcefield since Stamets is off the starship. Osyraa can’t jump the Discovery to the other side of the galaxy without him. Osyraa uses a torturous neuro lock on Book to get him or Michael to tell her where the dilithium planet is located. With access to all the dilithium, the Emerald Chain would be unstoppable. Osyraa and Zareh tell Michael she has no choice but to either let Book die or give up the Federation’s best chance to re-build. Tilly and the rest of the bridge crew are slowly losing oxygen at one of the lower levels. But the Commander doesn’t believe in ” no-win” situations. Using her knowledge of Discovery, Michael frees Book, instructs Tilly and the rest of the bridge crew to blow up the nacelle to force the ship out of warp. She finds her way to the data core. Michael battles Osyraa to the death and takes back the ship. She restores the oxygen on all floors and beams the rest of the Emerald Chain back to their starship.

Michael proves that out of the box thinking makes her the perfect leader in the Post-Burn Starfleet world. Admiral Vance agrees. He promotes Michael to the rank of Captain, so she can command the U.S.S. Discovery. Her job is to bring all the dilithium to different Federation and Non-Federation planets to help everybody reconnect. The episode ends with all of the Discovery crew in this century’s Starfleet uniform showing they have become fully integrated into this time. Michael even has a new Captain catchphrase, “Let’s fly.” Phillipa’s prediction of her emerging as a leader came true.

Captain Saru finally reconnects with Kaminar. Saru helps Su’Kal face his fear of the outside world. Culber figures out that the Keplien absorbed properties of dilithium when his Mom was pregnant with him. When a young Su’Kal saw his Mom die from radiation poisoning, he screamed in a frequency that caused “the Burn.” Only by leaving the planet can the world be truly safe from another apocalyptic event. The two Kepliens connect because they both have had to leave their homes to find themselves. Saru needed to leave Kaminar to see the beauty of the universe with Starfleet and fully live. When Su’Kal lifts the hologram program, he finally sees Saru’s proper form. They embrace in true Keplien fashion. Saru has spent most of this season trying to reconnect with his roots. Through Su’Kal, he can find out who he is as a Keplien instead of just a Starfleet officer. Saru is taking time off Federation missions to help Su’Kal build a life in Kaminar. I hope we still see Saru in Season Four. Perhaps as an Admiral, since Michael now commands the U.S.S. Discovery. He and Admiral Vance work well together. Saru is good at a strategy when he is not distracted.

The new character’s storylines are wrapped up well. When Adira transports down to the Keplien Federation ship, Trill Grey appears as a Vulcan since the hologram reads his existence. Grey expresses his desire to become corporal again so he can connect with the world. Next season Adira and Stamets can help make that happen. Culber and Stamets, and Adira are reunited as a queer family unit at the end of the episode. Adira now wears one of the new Starfleet uniforms. They are now an official part of the U.S.S. Discovery crew. As part of Michael’s plan, Book uses his empathetic powers to operate the spore drive bringing them back to the toxic nebula to save their friends. Now Stamets can get a break from controlling the spore drive all the time.

” The Hope is You, Part 2″ works so well because the bridge crew’s character development makes their loss of oxygen and going on a suicide mission scary since we have started to care about them. Next season, we will see what adventures Captain Burnham and the Discovery crew go on as they bring dilithium and new planets to the Federation.

I felt uplifted watching this episode. During these divisive times, we need optimistic narratives like Star Trek to remind us of our collective humanity.