The Big Picture

Tilly’s character arc on
Star Trek: Discovery
showcases her growth and mentorship of the show’s young queer characters.
Wiseman expresses gratitude for the LGBTQ+ representation on the show and emphasizes the importance of inclusivity.
Wiseman also breaks down tackling classic
Star Trek
concepts in the latest episode and reveals what she’s taking away from
Discovery
as the series ends.

As Star Trek: Discovery heads into its final episodes, it’s getting harder and harder to say goodbye to these characters, especially those that have been here from the beginning. One such character I’m particularly not ready to let go of yet is the endlessly empathetic and delightful Sylvia Tilly, played by human ray of sunshine, Mary Wiseman. From Burnham’s shy and awkward roommate to the bright and bubbly engineer turned Starfleet Academy instructor of Season 5, Tilly’s had such a lovely arc across Discovery’s run.

Ahead of this week’s episode, “Whistlespeak,” I sat down with Wiseman to discuss Tilly and Michael’s (Sonequa Martin-Green) classic Star Trek away mission, Tilly’s current status as “that one teacher” that every queer student imprints on, and her growth from the first season to the final season. We also spoke about how Discovery is a place for everyone, both on screen and on set, as well as the show’s impact on the queer community and what she’s taking away from her experience on the series as it comes to an end. And, of course, I had to ask if there’s any chance we’ll see Tilly again on the upcoming Starfleet Academy series.

Star Trek: Discovery
Taking place almost a decade before Captain Kirk’s Enterprise, the USS Discovery charts a course to uncover new worlds and life forms.Release Date September 24, 2017 Main Genre Sci-Fi Seasons 5

In the latest episode of Star Trek: Discovery, the season’s treasure hunt leads Michael and Tilly to a pre-warp planet with terrible dust storms. While both searching for the clue and attempting to save the civilization there, the duo must maintain the prime directive and compete in an ancient sacrificial ritual. Ultimately, Michael makes the decision to break the prime directive, both to save the innocent people on the planet as well as to save Tilly. When asked what she first thought when she realized she’d get to tackle such a classic Star Trek dilemma, Wiseman admitted she “was super excited.” She continued, saying:

“I was super excited to go on an away mission in sort of the traditional sense, just get to dress up as like a different kind of alien. That felt very cool. I thought the episode was really well written. And
Chris Byrne,
who directed it, is a whole lot of fun and very very strong visual storyteller. So I thought there were some very cool dynamics stacked up in its favor.
So, yeah, I was psyched. And then I was thinking about this when I was watching the episode, and I was like, wow, yeah, they broke the Prime Directive, why is that okay? And I’m like, well, these people would have been eviscerated without breaking it anyway. It’s not just about Tilly, it’s kind of about their future. They have to know about this technology in order to keep functioning. And those questions are really fun, and I thought that was really beautiful.”

‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Is a Place Where “Everybody Is Home,” Says Mary Wiseman
Image via Paramount+

Before they venture down to the planet, during Burnham’s pre-mission research, we learn that this planet has “at least” three recognized genders. Once they arrive, a young person named Rava who uses they/them pronouns — much like Discovery’s young ensign Adira — takes a liking to Tilly and Burnham, inspired by their “faith” to compete alongside them in a sacred ritual. In a television landscape that is increasingly pulling back on queer representation, it’s heartening to see Discovery continue to normalize the mere existence of queer people.

As Wiseman and I are both members of the queer community, I asked what it means to her to be on a show that so fearlessly keeps pushing that envelope in favor of LGBTQ+ representation. “Oh my gosh, I’m so grateful for it,” she said. “It’s one of the greatest things about our show, honestly, and it feels like family, you know?” Not only does Discovery have multiple queer characters, but many of the actors working on the series are part of the community as well. Wiseman went on to speak about how being surrounded by such company makes a huge difference on set. She said:

“And I’ve been in other projects where no one is queer, and you could sometimes feel like you can’t be yourself. And in this family there is…yeah,

everybody is home. And everybody is welcome
. And it’s just a really beautiful thing.
You don’t feel isolated, or weird, or like you can’t say things, or you know, that you’re perceived one way and that you have to, like, come out. Everything feels just prime for any actor who might enter the set. I’m just really grateful that our show is the way that it is,
because it was really lovely for me, and I think it’s really great for the audience to see characters like that.
”

Wiseman also spoke about the ripple effect Discovery has had, sharing a story from behind the scenes of this episode. “The actor who played Rava [June Laporte] said watching Blu [del Barrio] on Star Trek was part of what made them kind of wanna come out,” she said. “So you can see that impact kind of cascading down, and now they’re on the show and who knows who they’ll impact. It’s really beautiful.”

Between Adira and Rava, Tilly has begun to collect quite a little following of baby gay mentees. And as any queer person will tell you, there’s always that one teacher who leaves a lasting impact as someone that you look up to and want to impress. When asked what makes Tilly such a good mentor, Wiseman said, “I think she really pays attention to what younger people are expressing about how they’re feeling. Tilly’s quite empathic and can pick up on more subtle emotional messaging,” she explained.

“There’s something about her — like when she meets Rava, she’s immediately clued in. Like, there’s something going on here with this kid’s self-confidence and desire to be something, to be seen in a certain way, and she sort of just immediately starts supporting them.” Having once been that bright-eyed kid herself, Tilly knows exactly what it’s like to want to be seen and to want to impress those around you. “And that’s part of what makes a great teacher,” said Wiseman. “And dude, I’ve met celebrities, but the people in my life who I think about all the time who have made like the biggest impact on my own brain and my own sense of self are the really great teachers I’ve had throughout my life. It’s no small thing, and I’m really grateful to be able to portray that, how generous it is, and how important it is.”

With all this talk of teachers, I had to take a chance and ask if audiences could hope to see Tilly again on new Starfleet Academy series. However, as most details about the series are still heavily under wraps, Wiseman was quick to brush past any kind of conformation, with a “No, I don’t know.” Given the year it’s set in, it’s believed that Starfleet Academy will be a Discovery spin-off, but it looks like we’ll have to wait a bit longer to know if any of the cast will be returning.

Tilly Has Found Her Voice in ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Season 5

Having spoken with Callum Keith Rennie earlier this season, who said some lovely words about working with Wiseman, I had to bring up that excellent scene from Episode 3 in which Tilly sort of puts Rayner in his place after he was so dismissive of Discovery’s lower ranking officers. It’s a really gratifying scene for Tilly and the audience as she says what’s on everyone’s mind. When asked about the growth it took for her to get to that point, Wiseman said, “Tilly, when we first meet her, is such — she’s so vulnerable and so insecure, and something like that would absolutely have made her wilt.”

“And through the course of time and the experiences that she’s had and kind of finding herself as a teacher, as somebody who shapes and supports developing minds, I think she’s just really found her voice and really found her center,” she explained. “So I think particularly when she feels that Rayner is being dismissive to people who are really important to her, and to people whom he should value and show respect to I think it just…it pushes a button, you know? And no, I don’t think she would have done that in the first season, but I think that was always inside of her.”

As someone who finds Tilly extremely relatable, it’s been so lovely to see her grow over the course of Discovery’s five seasons, and I told Wiseman as much. “That’s nice! Thank you so much,” she said. “Also, I should say that Callum Keith Rennie is amazing. Let me just pay him that compliment back. He’s wicked.”

As Discovery comes to an end, I’ve been asking the cast what they’re taking away from the series. Naturally, Wiseman gave a really lovely answer about gratitude and generosity, as well as leadership in a nod to series star Martin-Green. She said:

“The ultimate thing that I’m taking away from Star Trek is, I mean, a lot of gratitude. I think I’ve learned a lot about how to be a person, both in my workplace and in the world, with a little bit of a public persona, and how to try to be open to other people, but also really hold space for myself. And so, I think I will take those things forward with me, and I’ve learned a lot of really important lessons and I think I’ve learned a lot from the people that I’ve worked with.
I’ve learned so much about generosity and leadership and how you get to shape the room you’re in by how you act.
I’ll take those lessons with me for the rest of my days.”

Finally, as we were wrapping up I asked Wiseman if she had a favorite episode from this season. After thinking on it for a moment she said, “I gotta say Whistlespeak,” with a laugh.

New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery arrive on Paramount+ every Thursday. You can watch the first four seasons as well as the first six episodes of Season 5 on the streamer right now.

Watch on Paramount+