Discovery actor explains controversial Klingons were an ancient sect of outcasts

Summary

• Star Trek: Discovery's bold remaking of the Klingons sparked controversy but added depth to the warrior race's history and culture.
• Mary Chieffo, who plays L'Rell, delves into the history of the Klingons, including their language and societal structure.
• Chieffo's D-Con Chamber podcast interview reveals the thought process behind creating a unique version of Klingons for Discovery.

Mary Chieffo, who played Chancellor L'Rell, explains why Star Trek: DiscoveryThe controversial Klingons were different from previous iterations of the warrior race. Star Trek: Discovery »The Klingons were disliked in seasons 1 and 2, like the prequel reinvented the design of the Klingons to make them bald, more alien and animalistic, paving the way for the Klingons to war with the United Federation of Planets. By Star Trek: Discovery season 2, L'Rell had become the Klingon Chancellor, and Discovery began to slowly shift the focus of Klingons towards the more popular design of the 24th century.

Mary Chieffo joined Star Trek: Enterpriseby Dominic Keating and Connor Trinner on their new podcast, The D-Con roomfor an in-depth conversation about her career and her role as L'Rell in Star Trek: Discovery. Discussing the methodology she used to create the dialect specific to Star Trek: Discoverythe Klingon versionChieffo looked into the history of the Klingons and L'Rell, which helps explain why DiscoveryKlingons were different. Read his quote and watch The D-Con room video below:

In the way we spoke, [Klingon] language, because we spoke it more than any Klingon in the past, we were also really diving into an intact version of the language. Because at that point, timeline-wise, there was a moment in Enterprise, obviously – the pilot, right? [Where Enterprise met Klingons.]
But since then the idea was that there had been no contact.
Or, however much experience you had on Enterprise, once you had your experience, nothing left until now.

I loved the idea, especially with T'Kuvma, that
they were sort of this ancient sect of Klingon houses, and we were sort of outcasts as well.
For L'Rell, as it's revealed, I love a good exposition line, when I start speaking English, I captured Lorca and I say, “I'm descended from spies.” That's why I know English very well. (laughs) But I loved that House Mo'Kai, which is on my mother's side, was a house of spies, one of the few Klingon houses run by women, and I loved that they are spies because, in a context in many ways, that was how these women could function in this patriarchal Klingon society. Because the Klingon world is still much more partisan than the utopian Federation.

What happened to Star Trek: Discovery's Klingons?

The Klingons are back in Strange New Worlds

The Klingons were never seen again Star Trek: Discovery after season 2. Klingons like L'Rell, Voq/Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif), and T'Kuvma (Chris Obi) were major characters in the early years of Star Trek: Discovery, with historic firsts depicted as L'Rell's ascension as the first female Klingon High Chancellor and Voq becoming the first Klingon surgically altered into a human. However, public reaction to Star Trek: DiscoveryThe Klingons were extremely negative, the series' time jump to the 32nd century literally distanced itself from the controversial Klingons of Star Trek: Discoverythe first two seasons of.

Tenavik (Kenneth Mitchell), the son of L'Rell and Ash Tyler, showed Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) his inevitable tragic future in
Star Trek: Discovery
season 2.

The Klingons of the 23rd century have finally returned Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, set in the years immediately following Star Trek: Discovery season 2. But they were gone Discoverythey are Klingons, and Strange new worlds depicted the race of warriors to resemble their appearance Star Trek: The Next Generationit's the 24th century. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 8, “Under the Cloak of War” retconned the Klingon War so that the Klingons no longer looked like they were before Star Trek: Discovery. In the meantime, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds introduced the song of the Klingons, which did not receive the vitriol that the Klingons did on Star Trek: Discovery.

Source: The D-Con room