No, Will Riker won’t appear in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, but Jonathan Frakes has been behind the camera as a director since Discovery season 1.
Summary
- Jonathan Frakes has been a vital part of Star Trek: Discovery since season 1’s finale.
- Frakes transitioned to directing after playing Commander Will Riker, contributing to multiple Star Trek series and films, showcasing his talents behind the camera.
- Riker won’t appear in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, but Frakes is directing Discovery’s penultimate episode, which is the first half of the series’ two-part finale.
Jonathan Frakes still plays a significant part in Star Trek: Discovery even though Captain William Riker does not make an appearance in Discovery season 5. Frakes first joined the Star Trek family as Commander Riker in 1987 when Star Trek: The Next Generation premiered. As the First Officer on the USS Enterprise-D under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), Riker went on to become, in Picard’s words: “the finest officer with whom I have ever served.” Despite numerous offers of promotion to his own command, Riker chose to serve as Picard’s First Officer for fifteen years.
After playing Cmmander Riker for two and a half years on TNG, Jonathan Frakes decided to give directing a try. Frakes directed the excellent season 3 episode “The Offspring,” which focused on Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) and his attempt to create an android daughter. Frakes really took to directing, and went on to helm seven more episodes of TNG, as well as the feature films Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek: Insurrection. Frakes has also directed episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Discovery, and Star Trek: Picard, as well as the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds crossover episode.
Star Trek: Discovery season 5, which will be the show’s final season, premieres on Thursday, April 4, 2024, on Paramount+.
Jonathan Frakes stars as Captain Will Riker in the Star Trek universe, but he has also become one of Trek’s most beloved and prolific directors.
Star Trek: Discovery Breaks A Jonathan Frakes Riker Record
Jonathan Frakes’ Riker has appeared in every concluded Star Trek series so far.
Since the end of Star Trek: The Next Generation, WillRiker has made an appearance in every concluded Star Trek series, but that streak will end with Star Trek: Discovery. In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3, episode 9, “Defiant,” Commander Riker pays a visit to space station Deep Space Nine. It’s not long before Riker reveals himself to be Thomas Riker, a transporter clone created in TNG’s “Second Chances,” rather than William Riker. Thomas has joined the rebel group known as the Maquis and has been tasked with stealing the USS Defiant.
Jonathan Frakes appears briefly as Riker in Star Trek: Voyager season 2, episode 18, “Death Wish,” when Q (John de Lancie) makes him appear as a witness at a trial for another member of the Q Continuum. In the controversial series finale of Star Trek: Enterprise, Commander Riker and Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) revisit the last mission of the Enterprise NX-01 on the holodeck. Captain Riker pops up in two episodes of Star Trek: Picard season 1, before making a more substantial return in Picard season 3, which sees the main TNG crew members reunite on the rebuilt USS Enterprise-D.
Jonathan Frakes also provides the voice for Captain Riker in three episodes of Star Trek: Lower Decks, as well as three episodes of Star Trek: Very Short Treks .
Jonathan Frakes Is Part Of Star Trek: Discovery – But Not As Riker
Frakes has directed at least one episode in every season of Discovery.
Although Star Trek: Discovery initially takes place long before Will Riker was even born, Jonathan Frakes has been a part of Discovery since the show’s first season. He directed Discovery’s shocking season 1 finale, “Despite Yourself,” which concluded Discovery season 1’s brutal Klingon War storyline. According to Discovery star Sonequa Martin-Green, not only is Frakes one of the cast’s favorite directors, but he also “took [them] under his wing” when Discovery began receiving early hate from Trek fans. After directing one episode in Discovery season 1, Frakes returned for more episodes in later seasons.
Even with his roles in front of and behind the camera in Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Lower Decks , and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Jonathan Frakes considered Star Trek: Discovery his “home” show.
With the introduction of Anson’s Mount’s Captain Christopher Pike and Ethan Peck’s Spock, Star Trek: Discovery season 2 took the show in a new (and more well-received) direction. Frakes directed two of the season’s best episodes in Discovery season 2, episode 2, “New Eden,” and episode 9, “Project Daedalus.” At the end of Discovery season 2, the titular ship flew over 900 years into the future, removing any constraints the show had to existing Star Trek canon. Jonathan Frakes remained very much a part of Discovery, directing three episodes in season 3 and one in season 4.
Star Trek: Discovery season 5’s intergalactic treasure hunt has all the cinematic thrills we’ve come to expect, but suffers from big pacing issues.
Jonathan Frakes Is Directing Part 1 Of Star Trek: Discovery’s Series Finale
Frakes remains one of Discovery’s biggest supporters.
The upcoming Star Trek: Discovery season 5 will be the show’s last, and Jonathan Frakes returned one last time to helm the show’s penultimate episode. When Frakes was directing Discovery season 5, episode 9, “Lagrange Point,” which is part one of a two-part finale, he didn’t know that season 5 would be Discovery’s final season. Not much has been revealed about the storyline of Discovery season 5, but the trailers that have been released so far highlight the fun and fast-paced action sequences, as well as the camaraderie of the characters.
Star Trek: Discovery season 5 will find Captain Michael Burnham and her crew searching for a mysterious and powerful artifact in a plot that Frakes likens to Indiana Jones. Discovery has faced its fair share of ups and downs throughout its four seasons so far, but modern Star Trek would not be where it is without Captain Burnham and her crew. When Star Trek: Discovery premiered in 2017, it ushered in a new era for the franchise, providing the setup for Strange New Worlds and proving that Star Trek still has many stories left to tell.
