In his trademark suit and tie, an anomaly among the primary-color uniforms of the 32nd century, Dr. Kovich always seemed like a man out of time. Played by legendary director David Cronenberg, who, like “Star Trek: Discovery,” hails from Toronto, Starfleet's greatest enigma has been an unknowable presence at Starfleet Headquarters since the Disco team landed in the distant future.
Now, thanks to a big reveal in the series finale. “Life itself”In fact, we now know where we've seen him before and that he's had an important role to play in the history (and future) of Star Trek. Read on for Kovich's story, but be warned: major spoilers ahead. (See our Star Trek Streaming Guide to know how to watch almost all the series in Paramount Plus (except Star Trek: Prodigy, which is on Netflix).
Who is Dr. Kovich?
This has always been a mystery, but it seems that's how he likes it.
Kovich has been present at the Federation headquarters since The USS Discovery jumped into the 32nd century in season 3, but his exact role in the chain of command has never been clear. So while Admiral Vance is head of Starfleet and President Rillak takes responsibility for the Federation as a whole, Kovich appears to be pursuing his own agenda, albeit with the kind of sky-high security clearance that allows him to issue top-secret Red Directives. from your own Infinite Room.
Whatever his actual job description, Kovich's broad skill set includes medicine, artificial intelligenceinterrogations and a variety of consulting functions, including assisting in the resurrection Starfleet Academyand discover how to communicate with the existential threat of Species 10-C.
What's with the suit and tie?
The look may have been out of fashion in the Alpha Quadrant for centuries, but Kovich has always been a big proponent of 20th and 21st century formal wear. The end of “Discovery” revealed, however, that his interest in nostalgia goes far beyond fashion.
His office is filled with artifacts from Starfleet's past, including a bottle of wine from Jean-Luc Picard's vineyardGeordi La Forge's VISOR and a baseball that (we assume) is the one Captain Sisko had on his desk in the Deep space nine ready room.
Kovich is also known to take notes in a 21st century notebook and has previously expressed interest in the history of the Terran Empire of the Mirror Universe.
But who really is Kovich?
During the series finale, Kovich tells Captain Burnham, in typically cryptic fashion, that “I have lived many years and many lives.” It's all the invitation he needs to ask her openly, “Kovich is a code name, right? Who are you really?”
“My real name is kind of the Red Directive itself,” he admits, before the big reveal: “Agent Daniels, USS Enterprise… and other places. Nice to meet you.”
Why is Agent Daniels important in 'Star Trek'?
Daniels was a major character in “Star Trek: Enterprise“, where he was played by Matt Winston.
Daniels, a temporal agent from the 31st century, worked undercover as a crewman on Captain Jonathan Archer's Enterprise, about a century before Kirk and Spock's famous five-year mission.
Daniels was a soldier in the so-called Temporal Cold War, protecting the timeline from sinister forces seeking to alter history. But, seeing that everything time travel has been made illegal in the 32nd century, we assume that Kovich/Daniels prefers to keep the events of his past, present and future life on a need-to-know basis.
Related: Kirk vs Picard: Who is the best Star Trek captain?
All episodes of 'Star Trek: Discovery' are now available to stream on Paramount Plus. To find out where you can watch all the other Trek shows and movies, visit our Star Trek Streaming Guide.
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