TrekMovie had the chance to chat with some of the cast of Star Trek: Discovery at the Star Trek Las Vegas convention, including actor Wilson Cruz. We talked about the mysterious return of his Dr. Hugh Culber, how season two is different and how Cruz was impacted by fan reaction’s to the death of Culber in season one. We have highlights and full video of the interview below.

Discovery will be exploring in season two

Wilson Cruz assessed how the tone of the second season of Star Trek: Discovery will be different by talking about what we will see more of this time around:

We are not in wartime, so I feel the stories are not as dark. I feel there is more humor this season, there is more room for that. There is more exploration of the universe. So, in that way, it is a more forward looking season.

Season two allows time to mourn

Wilson Cruz would not get into details on how his character returns from the dead in the second season and would only vaguely agree that Hugh Culber in some way helps Stamets cope with the loss of Culber. But, Picking up on what Anthony Rapp said in his STLV TrekMovie.com interview, the actor talked about how season two will allow Stamets the time to finally reflect on that loss:

We were at war last season and although it was heartbreaking for him to know that his partner was killed in such a violent and unneccessary way, we had a moment in the mycelial network where we were kind of able to kind of say goodbye in a way. And he had to finish the war. They had to finish the war, so it didn’t give him enough time to mourn. I think it is fair to say, he will have an opportunity to do that, come season two.

Payoff to epic love story is coming

When asked about fan reaction to the death of Culber in season one, Cruz made a pledge about what is coming in season two:

I heard a lot about it. I felt terrible, except for the fact that it was really good storytelling and I knew where the story was going and I knew that was a neccessary part of where we were about to go. So, it was immediate pain for a really great payoff later, I promise.

The actor also added some context to the character’s death:

I have to say – I get emotional thinking about it – I was very moved by the way fans have reacted to me and that character and the way they reacted to his murder. It broke my heart in many ways. But I knew things they did not, which is why it was so important to me to go out and reassure fans, as soon as it happened, to let them know it was the end of a chapter and not the end of a story. We were promising them an epic love story and part of an epic love story is heartbreak. There has to be some of that. Peaks and valleys, all relationships are made up of it.

Watch the full interview with Wilson Cruz

More STLV

We have one more interview from STLV coming up, so stay tuned. Click here to see all of our STLV coverage to date.