When Burnham first arrives on the surface and silences the singing plants by holding onto their leaves she mirrors the actions of both Pike and Spock when they first landed on the planet in The Cage (1966).
This episode continues the story from the original Star Trek pilot episode The Cage (1966). Which in later episodes of Star Trek is revealed to take place 13 years before Star Trek is set. Discovery is set 10 years before Star Trek therefore from Captain Pike's perspective, it has been 3 years since the events on Talos IV.
In this episode, the planet Talos IV is featured. This was the setting for the first Star Trek (TOS) pilot, The Cage.
The episode won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Limited Series, Movie or Special.
After Pike raises his eyebrows in surprise at Spock smiling, he looks at Burnham, who raises her eyebrow like Spock from TOS does.