It’s not exactly news that there are some changes are coming to ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ when the show returns for its second season. That was apparent even before the Comic Con trailer debuted the season’s new uniforms, and even before the change in showrunners was announced. No, fans could read these particular tea leaves even before the first season drew to a close. After all, in addition to completing or advancing any number of story arcs that ran throughout the year, the season ended with the USS Discovery en route to Vulcan to pick up her new captain. This is among the biggest changes a ‘Star Trek’ series can undertake, so much so that it’s effectively unprecedented in the franchise’s history.
We still don’t know who that captain will be, but we do know that the big chair on the Discovery’s bridge will be filled (at least for a time) by Captain Christopher Pike, on loan from the Enterprise. The introduction of any new character onto a show will naturally shake up its dynamic, let alone a character as central as ‘Star Trek’ captains typically are. Speaking to StarTrek.com, ‘Discovery’ star Sonequa Martin-Green offered some insight into just what sort of impact Pike’s arrival will have on the Discovery crew and Michael Burnham in particular:
“In that big way that a captain affects a ship and a crew. A crew is almost defined by the essence of the captain. We went through the wringer with Lorca, and so there’s a little bit of PTSD there. There’s a little bit of distrust there because of what we’ve gone through and because we had someone who manipulated us and sought to kill us for his own gain. And so, Pike being the deeply rooted good guy he is, he is going to have an effect on us. He’s soothing in that way. He’s comforting in that way. And hopefully you will see us sort of galvanize because of that.”
Of course, in addition to impacting the characters, the addition of a new cast member also has ramifications behind the scenes. Though we don’t yet know how long Pike will be sticking around, we do know that he’ll be played by Anson Mount. in the course of the interview, Martin-Green noted that she has loved working with Mount, and had this to say when asked about their chemistry as actors (which the interview thought was apparent even during a panel):
“I just think he’s awesome, and he’s such an amazing actor. I feel like we really lose ourselves in the story together, which is amazing. And chemistry is something that… It’s hard to know as an actor when you’re in the middle of it. It’s hard to say, “Do we have chemistry?” I can feel what I feel, but other people are the ones to tell you if there’s chemistry there. And so, we were very delighted to hear that people see chemistry between us, and I think that it’s a great relationship because he’s a great guy and we love having him.”
Be sure to check back with ScienceFiction.com for more on the second season of ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ and other upcoming ‘Star Trek’ projects as it becomes available.
‘Star Trek: Discovery’ will feature returning stars Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Mary Wiseman, and Anthony Rapp alongside newcomers Anson Mount and Tig Notaro. Though no premiere date for the second season has been announced yet, we know that it will begin airing on CBS All Access in January 2019.
