Star Trek: Discovery Gives Its Newest Characters a Tragic Backstory
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Discovery Season 3, Episode 4, "Forget Me Not," now streaming on CBS All Access.
Star Trek: Discovery has used its new season to roll out a bevy of new and mysterious characters, including Adira (Blu Del Barrio) and Gray (Ian Alexander), the first canonically non-binary and trans characters in franchise history, respectively. Along with this landmark moment, their story unlocks even more intrigue with a heartbreaking climax and a mysterious ending.
"Forget Me Not" takes a deep-dive into Adira's past as they try to unlock memories from a year ago to assist the titular vessel with finding the remnants of the Federation. To do so, they go to the planet Trill and enter a state of communion, hoping to access those prior events.
Click the button below to start this article in quick view. Start nowIt turns out Adira and Gray were romantic partners. The two found solace in each other as orphans, taking residence on a Generation ship that was searching for Starfleet. Gray, a Trill himself, joined with the Tal symbiont. Although Adira was nervous this would change their boyfriend, Gray is committed to their relationship more than ever.
The couple seems at peace, with Adira having even hand-sewn a quilt with squares that tell the story of their time together. However, that all comes crashing down, along with several beams of the ship. Gray is impaled with a piece of shrapnel, and things are not looking good for his survival, putting his new symbiont at risk as well. Adira volunteers to accept its transfer, and they cradle their boyfriend as he dies in their arms.
Up until this point, Adira's only memories came when they woke up in an escape pod after Gray's death a year ago. Walking through these memories sends them on a key path to integration. Adira meets Tal's other hosts, including Gray, as they are officially welcomed into "the circle" and all its experiences therein.
While it seems like Gray is gone, the ending of "Forget Me Not" tells the opposite. As Adira now takes up the cello, like their partner did, Gray appears next to them, carrying on a conversation. After the communion, Adira can now see their boyfriend, though apparently nobody else can. Neither person knows why or how this could be occurring, but for now, they won't question this blessing.
Adira and Gray's story continues Discovery's highlight of LGBTQ+ couples; although, their tale ends in a much darker way than Paul Stamets and Hugh Culber's. However, Gray's new appearance could mean a happy ending after all. He could just be an apparition, or he could represent new knowledge the two share as hosts to a symbiont. He could also be somewhere in the ethos of space and time, waiting to be fully realized once more, just like Hugh last season.
Streaming on CBS All Access,Star Trek: Discovery stars Sonequa Martin-Green as Commander Michael Burnham, Doug Jones as Commander Saru, Anthony Rapp as Lt. Commander Paul Stamets, Mary Wiseman as Ensign Sylvia Tilly, Wilson Cruz as Dr. Hugh Culber, David Ajala as Cleveland "Book" Booker, Blu del Barrio as Adira, Ian Alexander as Gray, Tig Notaro as Chief Engineer Reno and Michelle Yeoh as Philippa Georgiou. New episodes of Season 3 air on Thursdays.
Source: www.cbr.com