Star Trek: Discovery star Wilson Cruz is much happier with the improved Hugh Culber in season 3. Discovery blasted onto CBS All Access back in 2017 as the first of the new Star Trek shows, introducing an entirely new ship and crew years before the events of The Original Series. It soon proved to be a hit for CBS and quickly received a second season, which further expanded its connections to previous canon by introducing characters like Captain Pike (Anson Mount) and Spock (Ethan Peck). Discovery was renewed for a third season in February 2019, and though post-production efforts were slowed by the coronavirus pandemic, CBS All Access announced yesterday Discovery season 3 will premiere in October of this year.
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Discovery broke ground for the Star Trek franchise with the introductions of Culber and Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp), the property’s first gay couple. While Rapp was a main cast member from the beginning, Cruz was merely a recurring player for the first season. Culber was killed within that season, much to the disappointment of both fans and Cruz, who was open in his disappointment with how his arc progressed. However, Discovery soon sought to rectify this by resurrecting Culber’s consciousness in a new body. The Culber that returned wasn’t quite the one who died, but that ended up being a positive thing.
During the Star Trek Universe Comic-Con@Home panel, Cruz spoke about the Culber of season 3, and it’s very clear things have continued to change for the better. “I love the new Culber,” Cruz enthused. “He’s more three-dimensional in my head.” Cruz delved into how the resurrected Culber’s decisions at the end of season 2 will impact his season 3 story, explaining, “because he made this choice, he knows that he’s different, he knows that he’s looking at his work different, he knows that he feels different about his place in the world, and what his purpose is, and so the relationship [with Stamets] is different too. It’s more on an equal footing, I think.”
Cruz also shared that he’s “excited about the new responsibility that I take on in terms of my work and mental health.” The Culber of season 2 was already a major improvement on what came before, and it’s also a good sign that Cruz continues to feel positively about where the character is going. With Discovery season 3 taking the crew far into the future, it truly feels like this is a new slate for certain characters and relationships to grow in new ways. Clearly, Culber will be among those continuing to progress.
It is gratifying to see Discovery continue to put more effort into how they handle their LGBTQ characters, especially since the Star Trek franchise as a whole doesn’t have very many. Some Star Trek fans had a hard time accepting Discovery‘s action-heavy story, but things seem to be improving as season 3 approaches. Of course, it could prove differently once the season actually arrives, but fans are certainly eager to see what will happen. It sounds like they can count Cruz among their ranks as well.
Star Trek: Discovery season 3 will premiere on CBS All Access on October 15.
Source: Star Trek Universe Comic-Con@Home
