Star Trek: Discovery is back for it’s final season later this week — and we had the opportunity to speak to the show’s cast and creative team ahead of the show’s sign-off.

And we’ve saved the starship Discovery’s captain for last, as TrekCore and a grouping of other outlets spoke series star series lead Sonequa Martin-Green (Michael Burnham) about her expanded behind-the-scenes role, her character’s evolution, and more.

Q: What are some of your proudest moments from your time on Discovery?

SONEQUA MARTIN-GREEN: In front of the camera, I’m proud of how bold we were, that we did things that no other Trek had done. We were serialized to a degree that no other Trek has been; we went to a future beyond where any Trek has gone; we made television history with diversity like never before — and then being that first black female lead, and then first black female captain. So I hope that boldness is part of our legacy.

Even behind the scenes, being able to be a producer on the show, and then an executive producer for Season 5. That evolution sort of had a butterfly effect — it wasn’t just between “action” and “cut.”

Q: Tell us some more about your producer role — what was your involvement behind the scenes?

MARTIN-GREEN: From the very beginning, I took my leadership role on Discovery very, very seriously. I knew that as Number 1 on the call sheet, it was going to be up to me, majorly, to establish the culture – and the way I describe my culture? “The only star is the story. We’re a family.”

That’s exactly what we became – and everyone agreed, because these are the most gorgeous people. We definitely had lightning in a bottle. But I was always producorial, in the way that I approached the work, and in the way that I approached my position on the show.

So when it was time to put it in writing and make it even more real, the network was lovely about it. They were like, “Obviously. You already are, so let’s go!” [Laughs] It was fantastic, and took all of one business day for us to make it happen.

So I was involved from the very beginning: I was a bridge between the cast, the crew, and production. I was able to sit in in post-production as well, and watch that process happen. I was able to have conversations with people as we were shooting, to make decisions, to facilitate connections and relationships, making people feel safe and feel heard… and making sure that all the T’s were crossed and all the I’s were dotted.

It was a lot of work, but I thank the good Lord for it.

Q: Saru gets a new opportunity in Season 5 — how does that affect Captain Burnham?

MARTIN-GREEN: I love what we see in the beginning of the season, when it’s time for Saru to fulfill his purpose and reach his own destiny. As he exits the ship, it’s time for Burnham to rise as never before, because her guide, her shepherd, her voice of reason, her big brother, is gone — and now it’s time for her to do those things, and be those things for someone else.

It’s almost as if his exit signals her stepping into a mentor role, to become the one who reaches out to someone else to pull their true selves forward.

Q: How do you feel about Burnham’s evolution over the course of the series?

MARTIN-GREEN: Character evolution itself has been a cornerstone and tenet of the Star Trek: Discovery story, and I hope that’s part of the legacy we leave to the franchise; that we were able to tell a story where you got to see people become who they were meant to be. You got to see Burnham – and everybody else – go from fear to faith, from pain to purpose, from fighting for absolution to giving absolution to someone. Season 5 itself encapsulates Burnham’s evolution, and you’ll see that contrast right in front of your face.

It was a particular journey for Burnham to have a dichotomy between these two cultures, Vulcanism and Humanity. It was a big conflict in the beginning, and I love that we found a sort of stasis for her, and I appreciate the writers for that. I feel like all of our characters found this balance, and we did it together – our journeys were running parallel while also intersecting in different ways.

Physically, though, we see this liberation happening with Burnham over the course of the series. There’s this rigidity in the beginning that mimics the logic and the rationality, but there’s a fluidity that comes over the course of the series – and that mimics her liberation, finding herself, and realizing she’s just as dutiful as she thought she was… but now it’s an internal drive but not an external drive.

You see this woman become the type of leader that she is: an inside-out leader, a leader who’s on the ground, but who leads with grace and who digs the gold out of everyone around her. I’m blessed beyond measure, and I thank God – not just for the character, the people, and the story, but for how fulfilling it was as an artist.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.