Star Trek: Return in “Discovery” Season 5 – this is what you need to know about the Trill

Warning, spoilers follow to the latest “Star Trek: Discovery” episode (Episode 3 “Jinaal”). So if you haven’t seen it yet, read on with caution!

• In the third episode of “Star Trek: Discovery” Season 5, the USS Discovery’s treasure hunt takes the crew around Michael and Co. to the planet Trill.
• “Star Trek” fans already know the species and the home planet of the Trill from “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and earlier “Discovery” episodes. This is what you need to know!

As part of her treasure hunt, the USS Discovery has to go to Trill to get another clue for her treasure map. The map eventually leads to technology that can create life. Trill features Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), Adira (Blu del Barrio), Book (David Ajala) and Dr. Culber (Wilson Cruz) comes into contact with the Trill.

Fans of the “Star Trek” universe already know the Trill from other series. The Trill Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell) plays an important role, especially in “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”. We’ll tell you everything you need to know about the Trill!

This is how it works with the Trill and the symbiotes

The Trill are a humanoid species that come from the Trill homeworld. Although the protagonists we got to know from Trill are united with a symbiote, only a small number are intended to receive a Trill symbiote.

The symbiotes are a worm-like species on Trill that evolve in the underground caves of Mak’ala. There they are a liquid and are called by so-called Guardians maintained and supervised. When the symbiote is ready, it is united with a host.

Not only Trill can absorb symbiotes, but also humans, as Adira proved in “Star Trek: Discovery”. Nevertheless, a union between Trill host and Trill symbiont is easier than a union with another host.

Once the host and symbiont are united, there is only a small window of time in which the two can be separated again. After that, both depend on each other to survive. However, since the symbionts grow significantly older than the hosts, the symbionts are often taken over by another host after the host dies.

The symbiotes carry memories and learned skills of the former hosts, so that the new hosts can access them and, in a sense, communicate with the “ghosts” of the old hosts.

How does it work that Jinaal takes over Dr. Culber taking over?

Jinaal is a former Trill innkeeper who has information about the treasure map that Burnham and Co. want to complete. Because Jinaal was once united with a Trill symbiont, his memories were able to persist in other hosts. Jinaal died 800 years ago.

The old lady that Burnham and Co. meet carries the symbiote that has Jinaal’s thoughts. Jinaal could simply give her access to the information, but he would like to provide it himself. So he has to find a body that he can take over.

Through another Trill ritual, Jinaal’s spirit can be isolated from the symbiote’s other former hosts and directed to Dr. Culber’s body will be transferred. For a limited time, Jinaal has control over Dr. Culber’s body before he becomes part of the symbiote again.

The next episode awaits us on April 18, 2024 on Paramount+ in the streaming program. This is the final season of the series, but after the last “Discovery” episode, there are all sorts of other “Star Trek” new releases waiting for us!