Turns out Star Trek: Discovery will have a much stronger connection to The Original Series than we ever imagined. Lead character Sonequa Martin-Green’s Commander Michael Burnham is part of the Spock family.

The writers' room has confirmed Burnham will be Spock’s adopted sister, being raised by Spock’s father Sarek (James Frain). Obviously, this is a character we have never actually heard of up until this point, and the writers teased they plan to explain “consistent with canon” why Spock’s human, adopted sister never came up in casual conversation during the TOS era. Knowing this, it makes a lot more sense why Sarek shows up in the series, and — who knows — it could mean a young Spock might pop up, too.

Giving Burnham such a tight connection to someone from The Original Series is an interesting move, as it initially seemed like a lot of this crew would be “new” characters, because after a while it gets a little silly when everyone is connected (See: The Star Wars Dilemma). But hey! We’ll give it a shot, and if the connection to Spock’s family actually brings some meaningful drama (being raised by a half-Vulcan family has got to be interesting, right?) it could definitely be worth it.

Star Trek: Discovery premieres September 24 on CBS.

What do you think of the decision? Glad Spock has landed another sibling?