Movies News Talk
Dominic Keating of Star Trek: Enterprise responds sincerely to the ending shocker, saying, "That pissed me off." The series finale of Discovery, "Life, Itself," saw the enigmatic Doctor Kovich (David Cronenberg) tell Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) his actual identity: Daniels, the time agent Matt Winston portrayed on Star Trek: Enterprise. When Dominic Keating saw the series conclusion of Star Trek: Discovery, the Kovich-is-Daniels bombshell fell flat.
About their new podcast, The D-Con Chamber—which will soon feature Star Trek: Discovery's Sonequa Martin-Green as a guest—Kyle Hadyniak of TrekNews.net spoke with Dominic Keating and Connor Trinneer. Keating did not hold back when describing Doctor Kovich's come out as Agent Daniels from Star Trek: Enterprise as "a slap in the face." Dominic then discussed his "resentment" about the Temporal War plot of Enterprise. View the TrekNews.net video (Keating's remarks at the 31:00 mark) below after reading his quote.
Doctor Kovich turned discovered to be Agent Daniels from Star Trek: Enterprise creatively addressed the riddles about the mystery man of Star Trek: Discovery. Kovich became quite fascinated with the time-traveling USS Discovery crew since his entrance in season 3 of Star Trek: Discovery. Temporal Wars and the perilous consequences of temporal and interdimensional travel were Kovich's areas of experience. Kovich had a strange obsession with relics, like writing with a pen and paper, even while he kept almost all he knew top secret. Kovich's turning out Daniels pays off his mystery and nicely ties Star Trek: Discovery to its immediate predecessor, Star Trek: Enterprise.
Dominic Keating's lack of seeing the Kowicz surprise as it was meant—a bow toward the significance of Star Trek: Enterprise to the franchise—is frustrating. Kovich's actual identity is that of a figure from Enterprise, who has been accompanying Captain Burnham and the USS Discovery on missions ever since starting season 3. Keating's response, though, seems connected to his deeper "resentment" about how underused Lt. Malcolm Reed, on Enterprise, was. If anything, Kovich turning out as Daniels makes the 22nd century of Star Trek: Enterprise vitally crucial to the 32nd century of Star Trek: Discovery and unites the two opposite poles of Star Trek's thousand-year saga.
Dominican Keating: That annoyed me; I have to admit. Simply said, only the last portion. [Kowicz] turns out to be f—ing Daniels. I mean, truly? That came out as a slap in the face. I will be straight forward with you. He was a really kind man, the actor [Matt Winston] who came on to perform the timeline person. He was a darling and a quite excellent performer.
To be honest, though, it sort of irritates me since they bring him back two or three times a season for truly excellent episodes. And I would learn the "Yes, sir, no, three bags full, sir." lines. All right. Really, I was surfing. Still, there was resentment there; I have to be [honest]. I wasn't as grudful than some. I felt they underused us. And Christ knows, I have seen Enterprise twice, and if I could grasp that chronological narrative, I still find no clue what the f— was doing. But at the conclusion of Discovery, their referencing of Daniels seemed like, "Whatever." (laugh) You have there. I'm speaking honestly here. I would have much preferred the baseball.
One of the Easter eggs in Doctor Kovich's office in the series finale of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the baseball Dominic Keating mentions belongs to Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks). New Star Trek and its touching shoutouts to Scott Bakula are helping Enterprise gain some long overdue respect.
Although Dominic Keating's opinions on the disclosure make sense, the Temporal War arc of Star Trek: Enterprise was eventually one of the show's best assets. The arc let the show examine the effects of time travel and the perils of altering the chronology. Among the fascinating fresh characters the Temporal War brought were Agent Daniels, who was instrumental in the events of the last season. Though it is a convoluted and sometimes perplexing narrative, the Temporal War plotline reminds us of the continuous themes of responsibility and the need of safeguarding the chronology.
Though Dominic Keating finds it surprising and apparently underappreciated, Star Trek: Discovery's ending twist is an interesting homage to the tradition of Star Trek: Enterprise. The disclosure of Kovich's actual identity ties the two shows in a relevant manner and highlights the Temporal War arc of Star Trek: Enterprise's importance inside the greater Star Trek universe. The arc served to determine the future of the series, investigated the effects of time travel, and presented a lot of engaging individuals.
The disclosure of Kovich's actual identity reminds us of the ongoing power of the Star Trek universe and its capacity to link its several series in relevant ways. The Star Trek series is evidence of the continuing strength of imagination and frontier adventure. Though divisive for some, the last episode of Star Trek: Discovery reminds us of the franchise's dedication to narrative and its capacity to unexpectedly bring back known people. Weaving in elements from earlier episodes to create a richer and more broader universe, the show keeps building on the legacy of the brand.