'Star Trek Discovery' Season 3 Episode 11 reveals who caused the Burn while the crew's lives are in grave danger
Since the beginning of Season 3, the Discovery crew along with the audience have been trying to piece together the mystery of the Burn. The third installment began 937 years in the future, with Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin) trying to fathom what has happened in the past few centuries. Her companion, Book (David Ajala), explains: "The Burn was the day the galaxy took a hard left. Dilithium, most of it just went boom…The Federation couldn’t say what happened or if it would happen again… they tried to hang on..but after a while, they just weren’t around anymore."
The Burn culminated in the destruction of thousands of starships and killed everyone aboard. Even the starbases and outposts suffered severe damage. Due to the lack of warp-capable starships and means of long-range communications, the Federation broke apart. Dilithium is at the heart of every warp-capable ship. Apparently, the Burn created a scarcity of dilithium and everyone was worried about using it. Hence, traveling in a post-Burn world is even more dangerous. However, dilithium is the only way ships can travel and that explains why Book was so eager to find it. The question that everyone has been trying to puzzle out is, WHY did the Burn happen and what prompted it?
And we can get a brief answer in the latest thrilling episode of 'Star Trek: Discovery'. Burnham, Saru and Culber venture into the Verubin Nebula, to investigate the causes of the Burn as well rescue the stranded Kelpian on the planet, leaving Tilly in charge of Discovery. It's a dangerous mission for the three of them, as they will be exposed to radiation, and they only have limited time.
The planet is full of Dilithium, and that's reason enough for them to realize that they have found the source of the Burn. They make shocking revelations about the cataclysmic event, as they meet Dr Isis's son, the child, Su-Kal, who just might be the reason behind the Burn. Yet, they realize he was just a child when the Burn occurred, so what could have happened to trigger him? Saru and Culber stay behind, while Burnham returns to Book, only to discover that Discovery is under threat and is in grave danger.
'Star Trek: Discovery' airs on CBS All Access on Thursdays.