Mary Chieffo, who plays the Klingon warrior L’Rell in Star Trek: Discovery, has shared an intriguing image from the CBS All Access show’s highly anticipated second series.
After her twist-filled journey in Star Trek: Discovery season 1, L’Rell is now chancellor of the Klingon high council. This new role, it would seem, grants her access to a team of stylists.
How else could you explain this sudden shift in L’Rell’s look, which Chieffo shared on Twitter with a rather apt caption…
New Chancellor, who dis? pic.twitter.com/4kRiZDM1Zw
— Mary Chieffo (@marythechief) October 21, 2018
“New Chancellor, who dis?” indeed. This really is a complete overhaul for L’Rell, in visual terms, since she had a hairless head and wore battle armour throughout the previous season.
One upside of this makeover is the fact that it brings Discovery‘s Klingons closer into line with the canon of content that existed in the Star Trek universe before Discovery came along. The prequel show’s vastly unique Klingon designs received some flack from fans of the old faithful styles, last time around, and perhaps this redesign is an attempt to please that subsection of the fandom.
Whatever the motivations behind this shift are, we look forward to seeing how L’Rell gets on in this new role. Chieffo’s performance in season 1 was one of the best in the show, and this status quo shift should provide her with loads of new material going forward.
Star Trek: Discovery season 2 will debut on CBS All Access, for American viewers, on January 17th 2019. Here in the UK, the season premiere will arrive on Netflix on January 18th.
We’ll keep you posted as we hear more.