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Real world article
(written from a Production point of view)

On the planet Kaminar, the young Kelpien Saru lives a simple and restricted life with his family but is eager to explore the universe far beyond. His ingenuity and his desire to learn more lead him to a future he never expected.

Summary

On the planet Kaminar, a young Saru and his sister farm seaweed.

The Kelpien race performs ritual self-sacrifice to maintain a sort of balance. However, Saru does not wish to participate in this ritual. He runs afoul of his father.

Saru also discovers an advanced piece of technology. He utilizes it to contact people from other worlds. He decides it is his fate to live among the stars, rather than among his people, doomed to die for reasons with which he disagrees.

He and his sister go far from their community, and after he bids farewell to her, Saru meets a representative of the world towards which he had reached; Lieutenant Philippa Georgiou of the USS Shenzhou. She tells him she had to get special permission by Starfleet to come here at all, and if he leaves now he can never return. Saru decides his place is no longer on Kaminar, and they leave in a shuttlecraft.

Memorable quotes

"Look down every now and then. There's beauty there as well."

- Siranna, to Saru

"My place is no longer here"

- Saru, to Georgiou accepting her proposal to leave

"I saw hope, in the stars. It was stronger than fear. And I went towards it."

- Saru, final monologue

Background information

The Brightest Star teaser

Teaser image for "The Brightest Star"

  • The episode's title, synopsis, and airdate were announced on 20 September 2018. [1]
  • In an interview, writers Bo Yeon Kim and Erika Lippoldt stated the events of the episode take place "about a decade" before the flashback in "Battle at the Binary Stars", sometime in the 2230s. [2]
  • On the topic of the Kelpien's prey-nature, Doug Jones said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter: "When talking about it in season one, I pictured it more like cattle being herded, more of a farming situation that my people went along with,... I looked at the ['Brightest Star'] script and saw it was more ritualistic. That was a bit of a surprise, but a good one that makes more sense. We're sentient beings; we're smart, we're imaginative and emotional beings that can connect and have families. So it wouldn't make sense that we would act like cattle. We accept the ritualistic religious aspect that there’s a great balance to be had, and we're a part of that." [3]

Links and references

Starring

and

Co-starring

References

Ba'ul; Ba'ul ship; beacon; birds; death; Great Balance; Harvest; hope (emotion); Kaminar; Kelp; Kelpien; Kelpien language; night-blooming flower; pre-warp civilization; pack; priest; ritual sacrifice; Shenzhou, USS; Shenzhou 03; Starfleet; stars; Vaharai; Watchful Eye; wing

External links


Previous episode:
"Calypso"
Star Trek: Short Treks
Season 1
Next episode:
"The Escape Artist"
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