Star Trek: Discovery warps into horror, and may find more than just Spock in new episode

Season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery has been much ado about Spock so far — everyone is looking for him (as usual), and while the search for Spock will continue this week, the crew of the Discovery is also going to be searching for Ensign Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) who disappeared into the mycelial network last week.

It looks like Discovery is jumping its spore drive right into a horror episode, and according to new photos released by CBS, the crew may find another lost friend along the way. 

WARNING: From this point on, there will be spoilers for episode 2.5 of Star Trek: Discovery. If you want to go in cold, you know the drill — go to black alert and jump the heck out of here.

In "Saints of Imperfection," Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Stamets (Anthony Rapp) will be going on the search for Tilly — according to the official synopsis, "Stamets is not at all prepared for what they find in the process." What will Stamets face in the network? We're going to go out on a spore-limb and say that it is his dead partner, Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz). The following new photo not only confirms that Culber is in the episode (in the flesh), but the spores around him (and his appearance) certainly look mycelial. That's not the hot new look right now, by the way. 

It seems that things have been rough for the good doctor since he helped Stamets guide the Discovery back home last season. We knew that Wilson Cruz was returning to the show (he's been a main credits regular for most episodes this season, despite only appearing once in hologram form), but it looks like the "for real, seriously" return of Culber will happen this week. 

While Burnham and Stamets try to save Tilly (and presumably Culber), the search for Spock will continue. Guess who's coming to help? Section 31. Fan-tastic. 

Terran Empress-turned-Section 31 operative Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) is back, and Section 31 has officially taken an interest in Spock. That must mean that the secrets Spock has regarding the seven signals is serious business, and that the breaking of ethics might be needed to deal with it all. Nobody breaks ethics like good ol' Section 31. It's what they do. 

The official synopsis also reveals that Pike isn't happy about them being on his ship, which means that he is aware of the group and what they represent. This is a huge departure from how the group operated in the 24th century — when they were first introduced on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, nobody had a clue who they were. They truly operated in the shadows, and perhaps their activities on this season of Discovery (or the Section 31 spin-off show) will give us a reason as to why that is. 

Let's just hope that new Section 31 recruit Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif) didn't come with her, because we wouldn't be able to take all of the drama. Knowing her (and this show), she did bring him, and he'll pop in right at the end to murder someone we love. 

As usual, the Netflix Instagram page for the international broadcast of the show has posted a trailer with some extended bits not seen in the trailer on CBS All Access. 

This trailer definitely makes the journey into the mycelial network look like the stuff of nightmares. Discovery hasn't really done a "scary" episode yet, but it looks like the time has come. Only having an hour to save your friends from sentient fungus (with Section 31 onboard your ship) sure sounds like a nightmare scenario to us. One day, one night, Kobayashi Maru. 

Star Trek: Discovery returns with "Saints of Imperfection" this Thursday, exclusively on CBS All Access. 

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