Star Trek Discovery Theory: The Red Angel Is Spock (From The Future)

"New Eden." Concrete details on the Red Angel are still scarce, but its unique connection to Spock is undeniable. With the revelation in "Saints of Imperfection" that entity may have the ability to time travel, the possibilities are almost endless for either a returning character or a new species altogether.

Yet for all its course corrections in season 2 premiere "Brother" before being saved by Captain Pike.

But how could Spock be the very entity that is seemingly tormenting him? And what would be the point? To understand that, let's take a closer look at what we know from Star Trek: Discovery season 2 about the Red Angel.

This Page: The "Spock Is The Red Angel" Theory
Page 2: Why This Makes Sense For Star Trek: Discovery

Time Travel Hints In Star Trek Discovery Season 2

So far, Star Trek: Discovery has largely avoided time travel, with the notable exception of the Section 31's shadowy leader - that they've found tachyon traces at the site of one of the anomalies; tachyons generally signal a handful of phenomena in Star Trek, but the biggest one - the one that Leland mentions by name - is time travel.

Unlike some other science fiction franchises, Star Trek tends to play rather fast and loose with time travel. There's no version of the series that didn't dip its toes in the timey-wimey waters, often resulting in Starfleet officers directly altering history (in both minor and major ways). For an organization so committed to non-interference, the irony of Starfleet's rather lax time travel standards is rather palpable. But this time it's likely not a maverick captain willfully attempting to set right a historical wrong, but perhaps a side effect of what is arguably the most significant event in Star Trek history...

Is Future Spock The Red Angel?

Approximately 130 years after the events of Star Trek: Discovery (revealed in J.J. Abrams 2009 Star Trek reboot), the galaxy was threatened by a supernova that threatened to consume countless planets and civilizations. Spock - at this point the Federation ambassador to Romulus - piloted an experimental ship, the Jellyfish, toward the supernova with the intent of sucking it into a black hole with an ill-defined new substance known as Red Matter. Spock was successful, but not before Romulus was destroyed. Spock would be confronted by a Romulan mining ship, the Narada - commanded by the grief-stricken Nero - and both the Jellyfish and Narada would end up pulled into the black hole, with each being deposited at different points in an alternate reality created by their presence in their relative past. This is the Kelvin timeline, the setting of the Abrams-produced Star Trek films chronicling the adventures of a younger Kirk and Spock aboard the Enterprise.

The combination of three volatile elements - a supernova, a black hole, and the Red Matter - seemingly shuttled the two vessels to the Kelvin timeline about 25 years apart, with Nero arriving first. But what if, instead of simply delivering Spock to this new universe, he took a detour through his own timeline via the extraordinary powers of the Red Matter? Could Spock's sacrifice have been repaid by a trip through time where he was subconsciously allowed to mend failed missions and broken relationships, like with his estranged foster sister? The volatile nature of Spock's trip through the black hole could for the seemingly unintended harm to his younger self, or could even be by design, a way to reunite him with Burnham.

This would solve several problems. Not only would it explain why this dark chapter of Spock's life was never mentioned before, it could also explain the destruction of Romulus, so it's apparently no longer an issue. The fact that this theory would loosely tie Star Trek: Discovery to the Picard series is just the glaze on the Klingon blood pie.

Page 2 of 2: Why Spock As The Red Angel Makes Sense For Discovery

Why Spock As The Red Angel Makes Sense For Star Trek: Discovery

Star Trek: Discovery's first season leaned into the structure of modern genre television that largely developed during the decade that Star Trek was off the air, complete with a "big bad" in the guise of Mirror Universe Gabriel Lorca. And yet even with the grander picture in mind, Lorca was used largely to explore Burnham's soul in her darkest days; the Red Angel will almost certainly have an even stronger connection to her personally.

Indeed, at this point in season 2, there's no indication the Red Angel is a malevolent force, quite the contrary; and while the show is finding continued success in its exploration of largely standalone stories, the overall arc of this season is unquestionably the frayed relationship between Burnham and Spock. This theory connects everything up neatly

On a more pragmatic level, it could also potentially let the show honor the late Leonard Nimoy. Indeed, when Ethan Peck was announced as Spock, he was photographed and warmly Star Trek Beyond ended up featuring a lovely, understated tribute to Nimoy, but it's hard to imagine anyone complaining about Star Trek: Discovery paying their respects as well.

Star Trek: Discovery is in many ways the smallest scale, most personal story in the franchise to date. That doesn't always play to the show's strengths; Burnham, in particular, often gets bogged down in some of the more unfortunate tropes of prequel stories, and the rest of the crew can occasionally feel more like bit players than a true ensemble - though Pike's arrival has helped with that tremendously. But the show is what it is, and Burnham's family strife is still a fundamental part of the story currently being told. Spock has been the green blooded elephant in the room since the series' premise was announced, and the show is finally leaning all the way into exploring the franchise's most famous character. It could be argued the series relies too heavily on the icons of its past, but if Star Trek: Discovery ends up telling an epic Spock story that adds something important to the character and his legacy, it will have solidified its place in the franchise mythos.

Next: Or Is The Red Angel A Star Trek Space God?

Star Trek: Discovery streams Thursdays at 8:30pm on CBS All-Access and the next day internationally on Netflix.