WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 3, “Jinaal”.
Star Trek: Discovery‘s return to Trill is a sad reminder that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s Dax symbiont is long dead in the 32nd century. In Discovery season 5, episode 3, “Jinaal”, Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) meets Kalzara Blix (Claire Coulter), a Trill host who can help Discovery with its hunt for the Progenitors’ treasure. To unlock the next clue to their quest, Burnham and her away team have to speak to the symbiont’s original host, Jinaal Bix, who uses the zhian’tara ritual to inhabit the body of Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz) to test the worthiness of Burnham and Book (David Ajala).
Jinaal Bix was one of six scientists, including Romulan scientist Dr. Vellek (Michael Copeman) who spent years researching the Progenitors and their technology following the revelations in Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s “The Chase”. Jinaal chose to become a Trill host, so that the Bix symbiont would retain the information about the Progenitors, and the whereabouts of the clue on Trill. 800 years later, and the Bix symbiont is barely holding on to life, having spent centuries awaiting a “worthy seeker“, a fact that reminds viewers that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s Dax will be long dead in Star Trek: Discovery‘s 32nd century.
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The Progenitors were one of Captain Picard’s most profound discoveries in Star Trek: The Next Generation, now Burnham resumes the chase in Discovery.
Star Trek: Discovery Reminds Us Dax Is Long Dead In The 32nd Century
While briefing Burnham on their findings in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 3, Ensign Adira Tal (Blu del Barrio) explains that “it would be unusual” but not uncommon for a Trill symbiont to live for 800 years. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine established that Trills could live beyond 550 years, which does mean that the Dax symbiont could have made it to its 800th birthday. However, the symbiont was already 350 years old when Lt. Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell) became the eighth Dax host.
This means that even if Dax had made it to the ripe old age of 800, they would have done so in the year 2818, almost 400 years before Burnham and the USS Discovery arrived in the 32nd century. When Lt. Jadzia Dax was killed off, Ensign Ezri Dax (Nicole de Boer) became the symbiont’s unwilling and unprepared new host. However, despite Star Trek: Discovery‘s return visits to Trill, no updates on what Ezri did after the end of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, or who her successors were, have ever been revealed.
How DS9’s Dax Symbiont Compares To Discovery’s Bix Symbiont
It’s unknown if Star Trek: Discovery‘s Bix symbiont lived longer than Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s symbiont. Bix was definitely younger than Dax during the 24th century, as Jinaal is confirmed to be the first of the symbiont’s hosts. Each year on Trill, 500 symbionts become available for joining, so Jinaal must have chosen to become a Host at some point prior to the Bix symbiont becoming available. Jinaal, Vellek and the other five scientists worked together for years to find the Progenitors’ technology, so he could have joined with Bix many years after the ending of DS9.
Unlike Jadzia Dax, who chose to become a Host from an early age, Jinaal Bix chose to become a Host to preserve the secrets of the Progenitors. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine revealed that becoming a Host was an honor not bestowed on every Trill. Star Trek: Discovery‘s Jinaal reveals that his passion and desire to become a Host was driven by a stronger obligation to preserve the secrets of the Progenitors. With Bix’s message finally imparted, the symbiont can now sleep, joining Dax in the Trill afterlife.
Star Trek: Discovery streams Thursdays on Paramount+
Star Trek: Discovery
Star Trek: Discovery is an entry in the legendary Sci-Fi franchise, set ten years before the original Star Trek series events. The show centers around Commander Michael Burnham, assigned to the USS Discovery, where the crew attempts to prevent a Klingon war while traveling through the vast reaches of space.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.
