History Recap / StarTrekDiscoveryS1E15WillYouTakeMyHand

--> '''Tyler:''' ''[to Burnham]'' Isik[[labelnote:*]]Penny[[/labelnote]] for your thoughts?

* CreativeClosingCredits: For the season finale, the closing credits feature the theme song from ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries''.

* FacialDialogue: Burnham and Sarek share an EyeTake at TheReveal that the distress call received by ''Discovery'' is none other than the USS ''Enterprise'', with the implication that Spock is aboard.

* RankUp: Tilly and Stamets are respectively promoted to Ensign and Lieutenant-Commander at the end of the episode. Burnham also gets her former commission of Commander reinstated.

The ''Discovery'' goes on its secret mission to Qo'nos but Burnham, Tilly and Tyler discover that their mission isn't to map the planet for a future military strike but to cause a natural disaster that will make the planet uninhabitable.

!!Tropes:
* AMillionIsAStatistic: By Georgiou's [[InsaneTrollLogic warped logic]], genocide is justifiable because a decent number of Klingons will be able to escape their dying world -- and unlike in the Mirror Universe, [[SinkTheLifeboats Terran ships won't be firing on the evacuation shuttles]], further increasing the chance of survival.
* AmusingAlien: Ash says that Klingons find humans who can speak their language to be amusing sideshows, like "dogs that can waterski".

* BiTheWay: Georgiou engages the services of both a female and a male prostitute, all in the name of gathering information, of course.

** As she did in the first episode, Michael threatens to commit mutiny... but that's where the parallels end. In her first episode, she's willing to compromise Starfleet ideals to save her friends from Klingons, in large part because she doesn't trust Klingons. In this episode, she adheres to Starfleet ideals in order to save Klingons from her friends, and puts her trust in a Klingon to help her. In the first episode she's willing to start a war, while in this last episode she's trying to end one. And while in the first episode she had to go against the entire crew of the ''Shenzhou'', in this episode the crew of ''Discovery'' unites behind her.
** The Georgious have darkly contrasting scenes in both the pilot and the season finale involving water and weapons. In "The Vulcan Hello", the prime Georgiou fired a phaser into an underground resevoir of water to save an alien race from extinction due to a catastrophic natural disaster; here, the mirror Georgiou attempted to use a presumably water-generating weapon to manufacture a catastrophic natural disaster on an alien homeworld.

* CallBack: Michael tells Ash she sees him in his eyes, only him and not Voq.

* DramaticGunCock: When an Orion arms merchant tells the landing party to move along, Georgiou has Tilly point a blaster up the Orion's nose.

--> '''Tyler:''' ''(to Burnham)'' [[labelnote:Isik]]Penny[[/labelnote]] for your thoughts?

* InternalReveal: Tilly learns that "Captain" Georgiou is, in fact, the Terran Emperor. The intimidated Tilly quickly does an awkward Terran salute, only to be told that she shouldn't do it by Burnham.
* ItIsDehumanizing: How Mirror Georgiou refers to Tyler.
* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: Since the Discovery is lacking in Agonizers, Georgiou has to settle for beating up L'Rell in her cell when she wants information. TortureAlwaysWorks is utterly averted since L'Rell shows no signs of breaking and Michael provides an alternative source for intel with the far more cooperative Tyler.

* NeverTrustATrailer: The trailer shows Qo'nos being destroyed. In the episode proper, the scene is an animation played on the bridge as the Discovery crew tries to find out what effects the bomb would have.

* PragmaticVillainy: Georgiou [[KnowWhenToFoldThem doesn't press the issue]] once Burnham informs her the original deal is off the table, and that Starfleet will let her walk only ''if'' she doesn't destroy Qo'nos. It also helps that she's not willing to kill Burnham, who still reminds her of Mirror!Burnham.
* PutOnABus: Tyler leaves ''Discovery'' and accompanies L'Rell to facilitate Klingon-Federation relations.
* PoisonousFriend: The Emperor claims that she is destroying Qo'nos and ending the war for Michael, to set her free from her guilt and pain. Michael immediately states she doesn't buy it and Georgiou promptly agrees, but notes it was "worth a try".

* TheReveal: Michael admits she's carried the guilt for her parents' deaths because she was the one who convinced them to stay on the colony for a few extra days instead of leaving on vacation which allowed them to be caught in the Klingon attack. This, though, is actually old news to those who have read the prequel novel ''Desperate Hours'', though it does make it official canon.

** Before they can pick up ''Discovery'''s unnamed new captain on Vulcan, the crew is diverted by a Priority One distress call from none other than the U.S.S. ''Enterprise'' and the outro music becomes that of TOS. If ''Discovery'' hadn't been renewed for another season, it would have made for a great PassingTheTorch moment.
** A deleted scene posted on [[https://twitter.com/startrekcbs/status/977685643689017344 the show's Twitter page]] shows Mirror Georgiou being recruited by Leland (Alan van Sprang) of Section 31.
* ShoutOut: The final shot of the ''Discovery'' and the ''Enterprise'' meeting up nose-to-nose is likely a reference to the RealLife [[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Space_Shuttles_Enterprise_and_Discovery_nose-to-nose.jpg "meeting" of the two namesake shuttles in 2012]]. The ships are even positioned the same way as in the photo (''Enterprise'' to the left and ''Discovery'' to the right).

* SoProudOfYou: Sarek admits in his own way that he is proud, because Burnham found the solution that neither he nor Starfleet could. He also asked specifically to be the one to tell Burnham she was pardoned and restored to her previous rank.

* BookEnds: As she did in the first episode, Michael threatens to commit mutiny, only it's to uphold Starfleet's ideals which Starfleet itself is willing to compromise. And this time, far from being alone, she has the crew with her.
** Her actions are also mirror images in the two episodes. In her first episode, she's willing to compromise Starfleet ideals in order to attack the Klingons pre-emptively and save her crew, in large part because she doesn't trust Klingons. In this episode, she refuses to compromise Starfleet ideals in order to ''save'' the Klingons, even if it risks losing the war, and puts her trust in a Klingon to bring peace.

** As the scene zooms in on Federation headquarters in Paris, one of the sound effects of a passing vehicle is that of a flying car from Series/TheJetsons.

* SequelHook: Before they can pick up ''Discovery'''s unnamed new captain on Vulcan, the crew is diverted by a Priority One distress call from none other than the U.S.S. ''Enterprise'' and the outro music becomes that of TOS. If ''Discovery'' hadn't been renewed for another season, it would have made for a great PassingTheTorch moment.

* ContinuityCameo: Creator/ClintHoward appears as the drug-addled Orion Tilly encounters. He is notable for his [[Recap/StarTrekS1E10TheCorbomiteManeuver appearance as Balok]] in the Original Series, less-so as a Ferengi on [[Recap/StarTrekEnterpriseS01E19Acquisition an episode]] of ''Enterprise''.

* TheCameo: Creator/ClintHoward as the Orion who shares his FantasticDrug with Tilly.

* ContinuityCameo: Creator/ClintHoward appears as the drug-addled Orion Tilly encounters. He is notable for his {[Recap/StarTrekS1E10TheCorbomiteManeuver appearance as Balok]] in the Original Series, less-so as a Ferengi on [[Recap/StarTrekEnterpriseS01E19Acquisition an episode]] of ''Enterprise''.

* AMillionIsAStatistic: By Georgiou's [[InsaneTrollLogic warped logic]], genocide is justifiable because a decent number of Klingons will be able to escape their dying world - and [[SinkTheLifeboats Terran ships won't be firing on the evacuation shuttles]], further increasing the chance of survival.

* PutOnABus: Tyler leaves Discovery and accompanies L'Rell to facilitate Klingon/Federation relations.
* PoisonousFriend: The Emperor claims that she is destroying Qo'nos and ending the war for Michael, to set her free from her guilt and pain. Michael immediately states she doesn't buy it and Georgiou cheerfully agrees, but notes it was "worth a try".
* RankUp: Tilly and Stamets are promoted to Ensign and Lieutenant Commander at the end of the episode, respectively. Burnham also gets her former commission of Commander reinstated.

* SequelHook: Before they can pick up ''Discovery's'' unnamed new captain on Vulcan, the crew is diverted by a Priority One distress call from none other than the U.S.S. ''Enterprise'' and the outro music becomes that of TOS. If ''Discovery'' hadn't been renewed for another season, it would have made for a great PassingTheTorch moment.