The following analysis has spoilers (and potential spoilers) for Discovery season three.

The third season of Star Trek: Discovery features new characters, some of whom were introduced in the premiere just a few days ago. The biggest new addition is David Ajala, as Cleveland Book Booker, who will be a sort of guide for the crew in the 32nd century.

Book is a courier who has teamed up with Michael Burnham to assist her as she seeks to find the USS Discovery. Book has his own ship, which will play a part in season three, and he has already shown himself to be a bit mysterious. One of Books peculiarities is his companion, a large Maine Coon cat, named Grudge, who we also met in the season premiere.

David Ajala as Book, with Grudge

There is nothing new about pets in Star Trek: Spock had IChaya the sehlat, Picard had Livingston the fish, Archer had Porthos the dog, and of course, Data had a pet cat named Spot. But we think there is something extra special about Grudge

We first took note of Grudge on Star Trek Day in early September. CBS went out of their way to highlight this new and furry member of the cast with a special behind-the-scenes video about Grudge as part of the Discovery panel. They also launched social media accounts for the cat on Instagram (@grudgecat) and Twitter (@Grudge_Cat).

Working with Grudge (actually the two cats that play Grudge) was a topic of David Ajalas interview this week on The Ready Room, the official Star Trek aftershow hosted by Wil Wheaton. Initially CBS released 10 character images for Discovery season three, then they sent out four more just for Grudge. Earlier in the week during the invite-only virtual premiere, Grudge was one of the members of the cast interviewed at the virtual after party.

Grudge interviewed by Bobak Ferdowsi during CBSs Discovery virtual premiere

Certainly, CBS wants to promote the show and they may dream that Grudge could become as meme-worthy as Baby Yoda, but could it be they also want us to pay more attention to this cat?

Domesticated cats have always been mysterious, going back to early history in many cultures around the world. Cats were especially revered by the ancient Egyptians who made it a capital crime to kill one, and some Egyptian gods were depicted as cats. The ancient Egyptians saw cats as protectors, and some nobles were entombed with mummified cats.

We have also seen many examples of special cats in more modern popular fiction. In the film Men in Black, Orion the cat was revealed to be the protector of an entire galaxy, which was the main focus of the film. Over in the MCU, Goose the cat from Captain Marvel turned out to be a very powerful alien, responsible for Nick Furys famous eyepatch.

And we have seen something like this before on Star Trek. In the TOS episode Assignment Earth, Gary Sevens companion Isis appeared to be a regular black cat, but could actually communicate with him telepathically and was able to transform into a human woman.

Isis in cat and human form in TOS Assignment Earth

We believe that all this attention on Grudge is another example of a cat that is more than just a cat.

One thing for sure, Grudge is big for a cat. When we first meet Grudge on Books ship, Michael notes the cats size, and Book explains this away by saying the cat has a thyroid condition. Things may be bad in the 32nd century after The Burn, but are thyroid conditions still a problem for a guy with a spaceship that uses controls based on programmable matter? When asked why the name Grudge, Book says, Shes heavy and all mine.

But maybe Grudge is even bigger than we realize? Later, Books rival courier Cosmo confronts him at gunpoint and threatens to roast Grudge to feed her to the starving. Cosmo add, Shell feed a whole planet. Maybe this was just an insult about the cats size, or maybe he really meant it: Books first response to this taunt was Keep her name out of your mouth, indicating he has a very personal bond with Grudge.

Cosmo threatens Grudge

Book then declares, She is a queen! Sure, that could be affectionate rhetoric, but it seems possible that Book is quite serious and Grudge is literally a queen, a higher-level life form, and a leader of others for real.

Im just a cat or am I?

Taking this further, its possible that the cat we see is only one manifestation of Grudge. The simplest Star Trek possibility would be that Grudge is some kind of shapeshifter. In addition to Isis, we have seen many different kinds of shapeshifters, most prominently Odo and The Founders from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, although they needed to return to a liquid state regularly, or at least they did back in the 24th century. But there are many others including Chameloids (like Martia from Star Trek VI) and Vendorians (from Star Trek: The Animated Series and Lower Decks). And there could be many more kinds of shapeshifters we just havent seen yet on Star Trek.

TrekMovie first talked about this shapeshifter possibility for Grudge on our All Access Star Trek podcast. But the day after that podcast episode went out, Grudge (who follows TrekMovie on Twitter) seemed to pour cold milk on the idea, proclaiming she was no shapeshifter.

Of course, this could be misdirection as fans start speculating on the shapeshifter theory weeks ahead of a big reveal. Remember in season one the people behind Discovery invented a fake actor in order to keep the Voq=Tyler secret. (BTW, TrekMovie called that theory exactly three years ago today.)

But even if Grudge isnt a typical shapeshifter, there could still be something more going on. Grudge could simply be a being that looks like a cat, but has greater intelligence and abilities. In episode one, we saw that Book had a special connection with other forms of life, including both plants and animals. He was able to communicate with the trance worm as well as summon a healing plant for Michael after shed been shot.

Book bonds with trance worm

On Books ship, Michael talks to Book about his connection to various forms of life and his personal mission. She notes after the Federation fell there is no one to enforce the Endangered Species Act, except you. Immediately after that, the camera cuts to Book who then glances over to Grudge, then cuts to Grudge, whos paying attention to the conversation. This could be telling. Book may be protecting Grudge from his family, who he describes as killers and poachers. Perhaps Grudge is the last (or one of the last) of her kind. We have seen this before in the first Star Trek episode to air (The Man Trap), when Robert Crater protected the shapeshifting M-113 creature, said to be the last of her kind.

Grudge watches as Michael and Book talk about his mission to protect life

Its also possible that Grudge could be a type of technological lifeform. Star Trek: Picard has explored the advancements in sentient AI. Who is to say how advanced they could be eight centuries later? Imagine what is possible by combining extremely advanced AI with programmable matter.

Michael checks out the programmable matter controls on Books ship

With just one episode, we dont have enough evidence to come to a final conclusion, but we do believe there is something special about Grudge. She is more than just a cat. And we believe Book when he says she is a queen.

Grudge on her throne

New episodes ofStar Trek: Discoverypremiere on Thursdays onCBS All Accessin the U.S. andonCTV Sci-Fi Channelin Canada, where its also available to stream onCrave. Episodes will be available on Fridays internationally on Netflix.

Keep up with all the news and reviews from the new Star Trek Universe on TV at TrekMovie.com.

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'Star Trek: Discovery' Theory: There Is Something About Grudge - TrekMovie