Promoted to full-fledged Ensign at the end of last season, Star Trek: Discovery’s Sylvia Tilly quickly became a fan favorite after her introduction early in the year — and as the character moves forward in her Starfleet career, we asked actress Mary Wiseman how her outer-space counterpart grows as we move to Season 2.
“There’s a lot of Tilly,” she laughed. “It’s going to be fun!”
After spending a year as the young cadet who found herself occasionally overstepping her bounds or speaking out of turn — including dropping the first “F bomb” in Trek history — the character found a bit of unexpected ferocity when Tilly was forced to playact as the evil ‘Captain Killy’ of the Terran Empire.
I wanted to know what it was like to shift between the two versions of the character.
“[Playing ‘Captain Killy’] was fun and something different, but it was important that it showed that Tilly had a lot more going on,” Wiseman told me. “She has a commanding side that could be tough and no-nonsense and while she doesn’t exercise it as much, maybe we’ll get to see more.”
After finding the confidence to ask Saru to recommend her for Starfleet’s Command Training Program late in the season, will Tilly’s newfound backbone resurface in the upcoming season?
“I think so,” she acknowledged. “It’s a part of her, and her maturation. We’re going to have to see how she rounds out her personality; she will have to develop more skills to be a captain.”
It won’t be an easy period of growth, though, as the actor described some challenges the young ensign will need to work through as the Discovery story continues.
“She’s going to come up against a bunch of stuff in herself [and] have some personal challenges that will be isolating and be painful for her, but also will, ultimately, make her grow,” Wiseman said. “Tilly’s a very supportive and empathetic character, but I think in this season she comes more into her own – and has a little bit [more] of her own life.”
With the arrival of the USS Enterprise — a canon connection that continues into Season 2 — how will Tilly fit into this brush with Trek history?
“She’s on the ship,” she laughed, not letting slip any story secrets. “She’s going to have a role in all that!”
Wiseman’s bubbly mood permeated the conversation, which led well into a discussion about how Discovery will lighten up a bit in its second year, following 15 episodes of mutiny, war with the Klingons, and a detour into the evil Mirror Universe.
“There’s going to be more buoyancy [next season],” she said, referencing comments made by executive producer Alex Kurtzman during Friday’s panel at Comic Con. “There are moments of lightness because we’re in a time of peace — and Tilly definitely responds to that. It allows for moments of self-reflection, which can be painful but common.”
As for “the power of math” which Tilly notably cheered in the Season 2 trailer?
“There will be more discovery, because you can do that when you’re not in a time of war and we’re able to employ science which she loves,” Wiseman finished with a thoroughly Tilly-esque smile. “It’ll be cool!”
Mary Wiseman will be joining the rest of her Star Trek: Discovery castmates next week for a first visit to the Las Vegas Star Trek convention.
Watch for more Discovery news over the next two weeks as we continue our post-Comic Con interview series, and ramp up our STLV coverage!