At the end of
Star Trek Discovery's first season, lots of changes had occurred for the crew of the titular vessel, including Commander Saru assuming temporary command and growing from a fearful and uncertain leader to an inspiring and confident paragon of Starfleet ideals. Indeed some of the finest cathartic moments of the later episodes are when Saru rallies his crew and sticks to his principles in a fashion that's worthy of Jean-Luc Picard.
During a
WonderCon panel that teased much about the second season of the show, co-showrunner Aaron Harberts revealed that the next season will explore more of the Kelpian first officer. Many fans hoped that this would mean that we'd get to see the character ascend to the rank of Captain and take command for real (the crew being on their way to Vulcan to pick up their new Captain when the series ends).
Speaking to
ScreenRant about the possibility of Saru gaining that fourth pip, Doug Jones had this to say on the matter:
“I think the character of Saru, I mean he very much wants to be captain. He’s been on that deck for so long in the command track and as the first of his species to have gone through Starfleet Academy and have come out as a high ranking officer on a Starship, he’s the first of his kind to ever even come close to this, so he’s got a lot to prove and he’s got a lot to say. But, me personally, as Doug Jones the fan of Star Trek, I think the dynamic of that character works very well as a first officer; as second fiddle to a captain. And that’s me personally.”
While
The Shape of Water actor enjoys the current dynamic that's not to say he feels the character won't eventually get to the position sometime in the future, as he further teases what's to come for the character next season:
“I think Saru will have the captain’s chair one day. Early on, we’re only about to start filming season 2, there’s still a lot of room ahead of us. So I think, for now, he still has more to learn in the leadership department and the courage department under a captain who’s been there and done that a lot, a seasoned captain.”
Just who this seasoned captain will turn out to be in the second season of
Star Trek: Discovery is still very much a mystery, if you'd liked to read about what we do know of the second season from the
WonderCon panel mentioned at the top of the article, click over to this post
here. Otherwise, we'll have to wait until sometime in 2019 to find out for sure.
What do you think of Jones' comments? Is Saru ready and worthy of command? Who do you think will be Discovery's new commanding officer? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Star Trek: Discovery is available to watch on CBS All Access in the US or on NETFLIX worldwide.