Life, Itself (episode)

Real world article

(written from a production point of view)

Trapped inside a mysterious alien portal that defies familiar rules of time, space, and gravity, Captain Burnham must fight Moll – and the environment itself – in order to locate the Progenitors' technology and secure it for the Federation. Meanwhile, Booker puts himself in harm’s way to help Burnham survive and Rayner leads the USS Discovery in an epic winner-takes-all battle against Breen forces. (Series finale)

Summary[]

Teaser[]

Act One[]

Act Two[]

Act Three[]

Act Four[]

Memorable quotes[]

"The crew of Discovery is family to us both, Admiral. We must try… and we have other options."

- Saru, trying to convince Vance to let him and Nhan attempt to get Tahal to turn her fleet around

"There are tens of thousands of frequencies. How could you possibly know that?"
"I know, I'm a doctor, not a physicist, but this'll work. I can't explain it. I just feel it. Trust me, please."

- Booker and Culber, attempting to get a tractor lock on the Progenitor's portal

"Look into my eyes and tell me if you see even the slightest glimmer of doubt."

- Saru, bluffing Tahal

"You're one of the Progenitors!"
"I've been waiting for you."

- Burnham, meeting a Progenitor

"You didn't build this?"
"We theorize that whoever created this created us. But perhaps it goes even further back. A cycle of creators and creations countless times over. This place predates them all."

- Burnham and a Progenitor, revealing to Burnham that they did not create the portal

"If I may, sir, Kovich is a code name, isn't it? Who are you, really?"
"My real name is a bit of a Red Directive in and of itself."
"Well, I'm familiar with those now too. Captain Michael Burnham, USS Discovery."
"Agent Daniels, USS Enterprise… and other places. Nice to meet you."

- Burnham, getting Kovich to reveal his true identity

"It has been a hell of a journey."
"Indeed it has. The Federation has so many wonderful possibilites ahead because of you and your crew."
"Because of all of us."

- Burnham and Zora, in the 33rd century

"All right. Are you ready, Zora?"
"I am."
"Last time, then. Let's fly."

- Burnham and Zora, taking Discovery out on a Red Directive mission in deep space, last lines of the series

Background information[]

Title[]

By 1 January 2024, this episode's title had been revealed by the Writers Guild of America West. [1]^(X) [2]
The title was officially confirmed on 20 March 2024. [3]

Story and script[]

Sets and props[]

The design of the set where Burnham meets with the Progenitor was influenced by MC Escher. [4]

Special effects[]

The effects used to create the fire planet were so intense that someone called emergency services to report a fire. [5]

Cast and characters[]

Sonequa Martin-Green (Michael Burnham) is the only actor to appear in every episode of the series.
Executive producer and co-showrunner Michelle Paradise has a voice-over cameo role in this episode as the Starfleet officer who informs Admiral Burnham about the shuttle arriving to pick her up.

Continuity[]

Kovich identifies himself as Agent Daniels of the USS Enterprise "and other places". This is a reference to the mysterious time traveler and temporal agent from the 31st century, Daniels, who appeared in Star Trek: Enterprise.
Among the items on display in Kovich's office are a bottle of Chateau Picard, Geordi La Forge's original VISOR, Benjamin Sisko's baseball, and Kathryn Janeway's microscope, implying that Kovich also has a connection to the events of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager.
The final scene in which the USS Discovery is returned to its original configuration and sent into deep space on a Red Directive mission to wait for "Craft" is a reference to Star Trek: Short Treks's "Calypso", in which Discovery and Zora, after being abandoned for nearly a thousand years, are found by Craft.
This episode's opening sequence features visual elements from previous seasons' opening sequences.

Production[]

The additional sixteen-minute epilogue was added to the episode after Paramount decided not to renew Discovery for another season. It was filmed in late April 2023, five months after production wrapped on the episode. [6]

Reception[]

An advance screening of this episode took place on 29 May 2024, at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills at 9:30 pm. [7]
This episode made the list of Nielsen’s Top 10 ‘Most Watched’ streaming shows from 27 May 2024-2 June 2024. [8]

Links and references[]

Starring[]

With

Tig Notaro as Jett Reno

and

David Ajala as Cleveland Booker

Guest starring[]

Previous episode:
"Lagrange Point"

Star Trek: Discovery
Season 5

Next episode:
Final episode in series