Star Trek: Discovery's Alex Kurtzman Breaks Down That Surprising Cameo

[Warning: This post contains spoilers from the Season 1 finale of Star Trek: Discovery, "Will You Take My Hand?" Read at your own risk.]

Star Trek: Discovery capped off a high-octane inaugural season with a hopeful ending that saw the Klingon War come to an end and Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) officially granted the rank of Commander. As the crew headed out for their next adventure, they were then interrupted by a distress call from a familiar face: Captain Pike of the USS Enterprise.

With the series taking place just a decade before Star Trek: The Original Series, questions about how Discovery would tie into original cannon have been at the forefront of the franchise's most dedicated fans. Now that the USS Enterprise -- which also boasts Spock as the ship's Science Officer -- has been brought into the mix, the series is gearing up to finally explain why the famed Vulcan has never mentioned his adoptive sister Burnham during his adventures with Kirk and the rest of the TOS crew.

Although you will definitely get an answer in Season 2, executive producer Alex Kurtzman says it probably won't be in the way that you're expecting. "I knew we were gonna get that answer in Season 2 which, by the way, doesn't mean you're gonna see Spock in Season 2," he tells TV Guide. "It just means you're gonna get an answer. There will be a lot of surprises in terms of what you see on Enterprise. And yes, we are staying totally consistent with canon."

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As the wait for Spock rages on, the show will continue to address another major aspect of Star Trek canon: the Federation's tumultuous relationship with the Klingons. Sunday's finale saw the deadly war come to an end and while both sides have agreed to peace for the time being, it doesn't mean the Klingons are no longer a threat to Starfleet.

"Just because the Klingons have agreed to end the war doesn't mean they want to," Kurtzman explains. After all, the Klingons were forced to agree to peace after being faced with the destruction of their home planet, courtesy of Admiral Cornwell (Jayne Brook) and Starfleet. But with encouragement from Tyler (Shazad Latif) and Burnham (who handed over the device powerful enough to destroy Qo'noS), L'Rell (Mary Chieffo) was able to convince the proud warriors to back down while also stepping up as their new leader.

As she attempts to use T'Kuvma's teachings to unite the race under a shared code of honor, infighting will continue to be an issue -- especially with those who aren't too keen on having a woman in charge. "Despite the fact that L'Rell is made the leader of the Klingons at the end, I would venture to say there's probably gonna be attempts to dethrone her," Kurtzman teased.

Thwarting those attempts will be just one her concerns. Given the fact that Kol was corrupted by power, L'Rell will need to take his mistakes into account and attempt to be a different sort of leader for the Klingons. Fortunately, it looks like she's already on the right track. "I think through her experiences, particularly her mutual respect that she found with Cornwell and then what she begins to see from Burnham, [she realizes] that there is more to these humans than she's been led to believe," saysMary Chieffo, who plays the new Klingon head.

Keeping those experiences in mind, L'Rell's most important task will be finding a way to co-exist with the humans while instilling a new sense of pride and honor. After everything that's happened so far, however, that will be easier said than done.

(Full disclosure: TV Guide is owned by CBS.)