Burnham & Tilly’s Star Trek: Discovery Away Mission Is A Brilliant Season 1 Callback

WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery, season 5, episode 6, "Whistlespeak".

Summary Captain Burnham and Lt. Tilly face the challenging Race of the Mother Compeer on pre-warp planet Halem'no.

Running the race together builds trust between Burnham and Tilly, mirroring their bond from season 1.

Lt. Tilly abandons her dream of becoming a Starfleet captain to pursue a new path as a Starfleet Academy instructor.

There's a brilliant callback to Star Trek: Discovery season 1 in the away mission to pre-warp planet Halem'no in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 6, "Whistlespeak", written by Kenneth Lin and Brandon Schultz, and directed by Chris Byrne. Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) selects Lieutenant Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) to join her in retrieving the next clue in Star Trek: Discovery season 5's race for the Progenitors' technology, which is hidden in one of Halem'no's faulty weather towers. The only catch is that the people of Halem'no consider the towers to be sacred temples, and entry is only permitted after winning a harrowing race.

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Few Halem'nites actually finish The Race of the Mother Compeer because completing the race relies on stamina and constitution more than speed, but Captain Burnham and Sylvia Tilly, with their Starfleet training, are up to the task. The race is a difficult undertaking that recreates a Halem'no legend in which the Mother Compeer traversed Halem'no's arid deserts to procure water for her children. To better replicate the Mother Compeer's environmental and physical conditions, contestants ingest a cube that induces dehydration and are then expected to complete the course without a single drop of water. Many Halem'nites give in to temptation, but Tilly doesn't.

Related Star Trek: Discovery's Mary Wiseman On Tilly's Season 5 Arc & Burnham Friendship Screen Rant interviews Mary Wiseman about Star Trek: Discovery season 5, Tilly's friendship with Burnham, and her thoughts on the series ending.

Burnham & Tilly’s Away Mission Is A Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 Callback

Burnham & Tilly Bonded Over Running Together

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The sight of Captain Michael Burnham and Lieutenant Sylvia Tilly running the Race of the Mother Compeer together in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 6, "Whistlespeak", calls back to when Specialist Burnham helps Cadet Tilly prepare for Starfleet's Command Training program in Star Trek: Discovery season 1. When Burnham and Tilly first meet as roommates in Star Trek: Discovery season 1, episode 3, "Context is For Kings", Tilly is a nervous cadet determined to become a Starfleet Captain someday. Having been through Starfleet's Command Training Program, Michael recognizes Tilly needs an advantage to be selected, and she becomes Tilly's personal trainer in Star Trek: Discovery season 1, episode 6, "Lethe".

Running together also builds trust between Michael Burnham and Sylvia Tilly.

Burnham and Tilly's races through the USS Discovery corridors wearing "DISCO"-branded athletic gear throughout Star Trek: Discovery season 1 are part of Tilly's physical endurance training. But running together also builds trust between Michael Burnham and Sylvia Tilly, who become one of Star Trek: Discovery's best friendships. Burnham's mentorship also helps Tilly's confidence, which, in turn, results in Commander Saru (Doug Jones) providing the command-level recommendation Tilly needs to apply to Starfleet's Command Training Program. In Star Trek: Discovery season 1, episode 15, "Will You Take My Hand?", Sylvia Tilly becomes the youngest person accepted for the Command Training Program, but Tilly never completes the course.

Why Tilly Abandoned Her Captain Dream To Become A Starfleet Academy Teacher Instead

Lt. Tilly Gets A Fresh Start in Star Trek: Discovery's 32nd Century

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Lt. Sylvia Tilly abandons her dream of becoming a Starfleet captain and chooses to be a Starfleet Academy instructor after Tilly realizes pursuing command isn't really what she wants for herself. Being named Captain Saru's Number One in Star Trek: Discovery season 3 helped Ensign Tilly determine that becoming a Starfleet Captain was actually just a way to prove to Tilly's overly critical mother, Federation diplomat Siobhan Tilly (Mimi Kuzyk), that Sylvia was truly capable of succeeding in Starfleet. Without the need to justify a Starfleet career with prestigious goals, Tilly leaves the pressure of attaining Siobhan's approval 900 years in the past, and drops the Command Training Program.

Sylvia Tilly's mother, Siobhan, appears in Star Trek: Short Treks season 1, episode 1, "Runaway", when Sylvia speaks with Siobhan via hologram.

A whole galaxy of possibilities is available in the future of the 32nd century, but one of Lieutenant Tilly's away missions training Starfleet Academy cadets marks a huge turning point for her. Despite -- or perhaps because of -- the disaster that befalls the cadets' shuttle in Star Trek: Discovery season 4, episode 3, "All Is Possible", Tilly teaches cadets to cooperate in deadly circumstances, and decides to become a Starfleet Academy instructor. Teaching at the Academy is the perfect path for Tilly, but her physical endurance training with Michael Burnham still pays off in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, when Tilly completes and wins the Race of the Mother Compeer.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.