Synopsis: Captain Pike is forced to make a choice about his destiny.
This episode can be seen as another illustration of Jame’s Hillman’s acorn theory, the concept that just as acorns have everything inside them to become an oak tree, we all have an inner daimon that has all the information we need to achieve our destiny.
In “Through the Valley of Shadows” another signal appears which leads Discovery to the planet Boreth, the location of a sacred Klingon monastery. Here, where time is fluid, the monks guard time crystals, and Discovery’s crew needs one of them in order to send the sphere archive data into the future. Captain Christopher Pike goes into the monastery seeking a crystal. He is told by the monk Tenavik that to touch a crystal is to have his potential destiny revealed. Pike touches the crystal and sees a future in which he is to be severely injured and disfigured by radiation. Tenavik warns Pike that if he takes the crystal he will seal his fate and this will be his destiny. Pike retrieves the crystal and returns to Discovery.
In this episode, Boreth, where all time is fluid, allows Pike to see his potential destiny. Pike sees a horrific future and is told that if he takes the crystal that is needed for the Discovery crew to complete their mission, then his fate is sealed and what he sees will occur. Pike tells Tenavik that he is a Starfleet officer, which means he has sworn an oath to act with compassion, love and to sacrifice himself if necessary. Pike takes the crystal. This can be compared to an individual who is in touch with their own inner daimon, that knows what one needs to do to fulfill their unique place in the universe.
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