After the U.S.S. Discovery crash lands on a strange planet, the crew finds themselves racing against time to repair their ship. Meanwhile, Saru and Tilly embark on a perilous first-contact mission in hopes of finding Burnham.

Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham)
Doug Jones (Commander Saru)
Anthony Rapp (Lt. Cmdr. Paul Stamets)
Mary Wiseman (Ensign Sylvia Tilly)
Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber)
Rachael Ancheril (Commander Nhan)

Michelle Yeoh (Philippa Georgiou)

Tig Notaro (Commander Jett Reno)
Jake Weber (Zareh)

Emily Coutts (Lt. Keyla Detmer)
Patrick Kwok-Choon (Lt. Gen Rhys)
Oyin Oladejo (Lt. Joann Owosekun)
Ronnie Rowe Jr. (Lt. Ronald Bryce)
Sara Mitich (Lt. Nilsson)
Wole Daramola (Red Eyes [Heavy])
Raven Dauda (Dr. Tracy Pollard)
Kevan Karse (Lookout)
Jonathan Koensgen (Kal)
Lindsay Owen Pierre (Os'ir the Bartender)
Sanjay Pavone (Ensign Hazmat)
David Benjamin Tomlinson (Lt. Linus)

• The small colony on the planet Discovery crashed on consisted of Coridanites. Coridan was a dilithium rich planet, mentioned in several episodes of various series throughout the years. It was to be admitted into the Federation in the classic TOS episode "Journey to Babel", and was first seen in the Enterprise episode "Shadows of P'Jem".
  
• 72 out of 88 crew members made it alive through the rift. Discovery arrived one year after Burnham.
  
• As in the premiere episode, outdoor scenes on the planet were filmed on location in Iceland.
  
• Rachael Ancheril (Commander Nhan) is promoted to the main cast.
  
• Michelle Yeoh (Philippa Georgiou) is credited as a special guest star in the opening credits.
  
• David Ajala (Book) does not appear in this episode, and is not credited.