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As Star Trek: Discovery brings back Burnham’s mother Gabrielle, it also brings in the most badass bit of Romulan culture from Star Trek: Picard.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Discovery Season 4, Episode 3, “Choose to Live,” streaming now on Paramount+.
With the United Federation of Planets and Starfleet steadily rebuilding itself in the 32nd century in Star Trek: Discovery, one key ally moving closer to rejoining the interstellar organization is Ni’Var. The renamed Vulcan-Romulan home world saw the two civilization reunify as the Romulans resettled on their ancestral home after their longtime home on Romulus was destroyed. And as Starfleet and Ni’Var embark on a joint mission that affects both as they continue to grow closer together diplomatically, one of the major badass elements from Star Trek: Picard has resurfaced to aid the USS Discovery once again: The Qowat Milat.
The Qowat Milat are a spiritual sect within Romulan society that are trained in theology and combat. Entirely made up of females, the order is effectively a group of warrior nuns who have dedicated their lives to this strict code of honor, opting to battle with melee weapons rather than modern armaments. While the Qowat Milat allow males to train with them on occasion — including Jean-Luc Picard’s young Romulan friend Elnor — they are not fully inducted into the order themselves. Appearing in Picard Season 1, the Qowat Milat reunited Picard with Elnor, with the highly trained warrior providing valuable assistance to Picard and the crew of La Sirena throughout the season.
The Qowat Milat were confirmed to survive into the 32nd century during Star Trek: Discovery Season 3, now operating out of Ni’Var after the Burn which separated the planet and civilization from the Federation for centuries. The most surprising inductee into the far-future iteration of the sect is Gabrielle Burnham, Michael Burnham’s long-lost mother who was presumed dead in the 23rd century but actually stranded in the 32nd century ahead of the Discovery’s eventual arrival. Gabrielle found solace in the Qowat Milat and their tenets as she was welcomed in, and this loyalty is put to the test in Discovery Season 4.
When one of the Qowat Milat evidently goes rogue and begins stealing dilithium shipments from Starfleet vessels, Gabrielle and the Qowat Milat work with Burnham and the Discovery to track the culprit down. With Gabrielle’s mentor as the guilty party, the elder Burnham informs her daughter that she agreed to having the Discovery accompany her on this mission as she felt her own feelings might have compromised her, with Michael not letting her down before the culprit is remanded to Ni’Var custody and Gabrielle returns to the Qowat Milat once more.
With Ni’Var moving closer towards rejoining the Federation and Starfleet, the Qowat Milat may play an even bigger role in Star Trek: Discovery moving forward, especially with Gabrielle Burnham still among their ranks. Despite Gabrielle being a committed member of their sect, she can still effectively work alongside her daughter and Starfleet when they have a common goal. Hopefully, with Ni’Var and the Federation working diligently to find a way to address a devastating gravitational anomaly rampaging across the cosmos, the unified Vulcan-Romulan civilization and Federation alliance is an especially key one in Discovery Season 4 while the series’ ties to Picard remain stronger than ever.
Developed for television by Bryan Fuller and Alex Kurtzman, Star Trek: Discovery Season 4 releases new episodes Thursdays on Paramount+.
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