Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Lower Decks, season 5, episode 4 – “A Farewell To Farms”Mary Chieffo, who played Star Trek: Discoverythe best Klingon is back Star Trek: Lower Decks. In its fifth and final season on Paramount+ Star Trek: Lower Decks gives the USS Cerritos a new mission: to investigate a series of interdimensional rifts that lead to Star Trek timelines. Lieutenant Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) and Lieutenant Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) scanned one such fissure in Klingon space that led to Mariner visiting his old friend, Ma’ah (Jon Curry). on the Klingon home planet of Q’onoS.
Star Trek: Discovery The first season controversially rebooted the Klingons as the series’ main antagonists. Even stranger in design and behavior, the Klingons declared war on the United Federation of Planets. The Klingon War of 2256-2257 became a bloody conflict that defined Star Trek: Discovery 1st season, with ramifications carried over to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. However, the revamped Klingons were widely hated by fansand Star Trek has since distanced himself DiscoveryThe rebooted warriors of Qo’noS.
Star Trek: Discovery’s Mary Chieffo Voices a New Klingon in Below Decks
Introducing K’Elarra
Mary Chieffo played L’Rell in Star Trek: Discovery, and she’s back as a new Klingon named K’Elarra in Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 4, “A Farewell To Farms.” K’Elarra appears at a Klingon bar when Ma’ah and her brother, Malor (Sam Witwer), show up. K’Elarra makes romantic overtures to Ma’ah, a former Klingon captain who has returned in disgrace to his farm on Qo’noS. When Mariner and Boimler arrive, K‘Elarra is outraged that Ma’ah has human friends in Starfleet.
Mary Chieffo’s distinctive voice is unmistakable as K’Elarra, and she seems to have much more fun playing with Ma’ah in her brief scene in Star Trek: Lower Decks than Mary portraying L’Rell in Star Trek: Discovery. Certainly, being able to voice a Klingon is much easier than using L’Rell’s comprehensive and painful Klingon prosthetics. As K’Elarra, Chieffo finally plays a more traditional Klingon of what she did in Star Trek: Discovery, cementing Mary as the most prominent female actress to play Klingons in modern cinema Star Trek.
What happened to L’Rell in Star Trek: Discovery
L’Rell was last seen in Star Trek: Discovery season two
Star Trek: Discovery the first season told a slow story about L’Rell rising to become Chancellor of the Klingon Empire. L’Rell was introduced as a follower of T’Kuvma (Chris Obi), the self-styled Klingon Messiah. Left for dead along with her lover, Voq (Shazad Latif), L’Rell cunningly gained a position of power and influence among the Klingons. L’Rell eventually allied with Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) to save Qo’noS from a hydrogen bomb that could have destroyed the planet. L’Rell ended the war by becoming Chancellor.
In Star Trek: Discovery Season 2, L’Rell fended off threats to his power as Chancellor among the Klingons. L’Rell and Ash Tyler hid their son, Tenavik (Kenneth Mitchell) in Borethwhere Tenavik grew up and became a monk who showed Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) his tragic fate thanks to a Klingon time crystal. L’Rell’s last appearance was leading the Klingons to defeat Section 31’s genocidal AI, Control, while the USS Discovery permanently jumped to the 32nd century at the end of Star Trek: Discovery 2nd season.
Why L’Rell & Discovery’s Klingons Disappeared From Star Trek
Discovery’s Klingons May Not Be Seen Again
Star Trek: Discovery moving to the 32nd century in season 3 not only opened up a new era of Star Trek explore, but also allowed Discovery permanently distance yourself from your Klingons. Discovery suffered numerous complaints from fans about how its Klingons violated canon in seasons 1 and 2. The unpopular Klingons were removed from the Star Trek and have not been seen since the end of Discovery 2nd season.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 2nd season even retold Star Trek: DiscoveryKlingon War for the Klingon Starfleet to fight resembled popular versions of Star Trek: The Next Generationwas. Mary Chieffo explained that Star Trek: DiscoveryThe Klingons were a different sect of the warrior race, and the Klingons were multicultural. Even though Star Trek: DiscoveryThe Klingons don’t return, Mary Chieffo remains a popular Star Trek actor which is welcomed back as a traditional, classic Klingon in Star Trek: Lower Decks.