The final season of Star Trek: Discovery brought almost every crew member's life to a fulfilling conclusion. Because the team behind Discovery didn't know about the cancellation before season five actually concluded, some weren't quite as neatly tied up as others. But for Doug Jones, who played the remarkable Saru, he was satisfied with how his character's story concluded.
In an interview with TV Insider, Jones revealed that he felt so good about how season five had wrapped up before the coda that he wasn't sure where things were going to go from there. Saru had gone from being a Kelpien terrified of death to a Federation ambassador who then married the president of Ni'Var, TRina. Things concluded nicely for him, but that wasn't the first time Jones felt that the conclusion was perfect.
"It’s funny, every season that we’ve had on Star Trek: Discovery has come to a conclusion of its own that makes you think, is that the end of the series? I felt that many times. Are we coming back? So at the end of [Season] 5, it felt like, oh, and Saru’s storyline did come to a lovely closure with his love interest with T’Rina. He has this new position that’s very diplomatic, it’s very suited to him as he travels about the galaxy on behalf of smaller planets with the Federation. It’s just a great fit, and I think he’s got his happily ever after. So I felt pretty good at the end of Season 5 and [a sense of] I don’t know where we go from here."Doug Jones
The ending of season five before the coda did seem to wrap up the series with Saru getting his happily ever after and Captain Burnham [Sonequa Martin-Green] and Book finding their way back to one another. Dr. Culber found meaning and purpose when he was able to help Book save Burnham, and Tilly knew where she was supposed to be. There were other crew members who didn't get as much resolution, but overall, "Life, Itself," though meant to originally just be a season finale, could have been a series finale on its own without the additional footage.
Even though I really liked the flashforward to Admiral Burnham's last time in the captain's seat of Discovery, I would have been just as happy without it. Either way, she'd found peace and happiness, and that was what mattered the most. Like Captain Janeway before her, there was no doubt she would go on to greater things.
On top of that, had the series been renewed for a sixth season, with Saru off the ship, we would have seen less of him as we did in the few episodes of season five after he became an ambassador. And he was one of the core characters of the series. So, although many fans were disappointed that the series came to an end, it left on a high note. And with Starfleet Academy coming, we know we'll see more of the Discovery crew in the future. And who knows? We could possibly see a Discovery movie down the road. Never say never when it comes to Star Trek.