WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Discovery Season 3, Episode 7, "Unification III," now streaming on CBS All Access.
"The union of Vulcan and the Romulan people will not be achieved by politics or by diplomacy, but it will be achieved. The answer has been here before us all along. An inexorable evolution toward a Vulcan philosophy has already begun. Like the first Vulcans, these people are struggling to a new enlightenment. It may take decades, even centuries for them to reach it, but they will reach it."
Those are words said by Ambassador Spock at the end of "Unification II," an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation's fifth season. Decades later in our time -- and centuries in Trek time -- his quote has finally come to fruition. The most recent-episode of Star Trek: Discovery provides a third part to the "Unification" series, showing Spock's end goal being met years after his time.
Airing in 1991, the two-part "Unification" episode sees Jean-Luc Picard confront Spock with accusations that he was defecting to the Romulans. However, the fan-favorite character is actually engaging in a "personal mission of peace" to reunify the Vulcans and Romulans. The two peoples were previously part of the same tribe until philosophical differences led the Romulans to leave Vulcan. After that, the Vulcans became one of the founding members of the Federation, while the Romulans served as a constant thorn in Starfleet's side.
When Picard finds Spock, he has joined an underground movement with the hopes of getting his ideas to the Romulan Senate. Unfortunately, he is captured and used by half-Romulan Sela, who plans to use his guise to undertake a Romulan conquest of Vulcan. Luckily, her plans are foiled thanks to Picard's crew. In the final moments of the episode, Spock gives the quote above, saying that while reunification may not be possible now, he's confident it will happen eventually.
Discovery's newest episode, appropriately titled "Unification III," follows up on that eventuality. By 3189, the Romulans and Vulcans were indeed inspired by Spock's efforts. They reunite on Vulcan, which they formally rename Ni'Var. It's this planet that Michael Burnham returns to, as they have data via their classified project SB-19 that could help solve the mystery of "The Burn" that changed the universe forever.
"The Burn" bore out on Ni'Var as well. SB-19 is a project the planet underwent, building an experimental form of transport for the Federation. Starfleet forces them to carry it out, despite their protests, making them believe they caused the catastrophe. The aftermath has the two peoples of Ni'Var flip-flop their behaviors. While the Romulans are inclined to stick with the Federation, it is the logical Vulcans who are furious, forcing Ni'Var to leave Starfleet.
"Unification III" highlights the reality of Spock's ideals. Romulans and Vulcans live and work side by side. Certain cultural phrases and idioms, like the famous, "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few," have been eliminated in favor of assimilation. Even traditions have a hybrid, as the episode shows the Vulcan philosophical trial "t'kal n'ket" that utilizes the absolute candor of the Romulan warrior nun sect known as the Qowat Milat. There are certainly tensions still there, as seen during a confrontation between tribunal members during the episode's climax. However, the "Unification" epilogue shows how far things have come in the years Discovery has jumped forward.
Streaming on CBS All Access, Star Trek: Discovery stars Sonequa Martin-Green as Commander Michael Burnham, Doug Jones as Commander Saru, Anthony Rapp as Lt. Commander Paul Stamets, Mary Wiseman as Ensign Sylvia Tilly, Wilson Cruz as Dr. Hugh Culber, David Ajala as Cleveland "Book" Booker, Blu del Barrio as Adira, Ian Alexander as Gray, Tig Notaro as Chief Engineer Reno and Michelle Yeoh as Philippa Georgiou. New episodes of Season 3 air on Thursdays.