Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Star Trek: Discovery episode "Whistlespeak." Be warned if you haven't yet watched with a Paramount+ subscription.
Searching for the Progenitors' technology is challenging, but who would've thought it'd ever become a literal footrace to get the next clue? Tilly and Michael were tasked with a grueling run while facing excessive thirst in the latest Star Trek: Discovery and all I could wonder was if filming it was as miserable for the actual actors as the characters themselves. Fortunately, Mary Wiseman confirmed to CinemaBlend that it wasn't as bad as it looked, and her answer made me realize how much I'll miss this cast when the show is over.
I had the pleasure of speaking to Mary Wiseman for Star Trek: Discovery's "Whistlespeak," and while I didn't attempt to get more answers out of her potentially returning as Tilly for Starfleet Academy, we did get the scoop about how real the experience of running through the forest while dying of thirst was. Fortunately, Wiseman assured me it wasn't as miserable as it looked and broke down what was and wasn't staged:
I mean, we're definitely running, but we stayed hydrated. I don't think any of us are that method that we wouldn’t hydrate ourselves. It would be pretty punishing. But the running is real. Yeah, you [run] just because it's hard to fake the breath of it. Stuff like that helps. Red makeup helps. They really, really crusted over our lips, so we look really messed up and dehydrated. That helps a lot.
Props to the Star Trek: Discovery makeup team, because I was more fooled than I should have been, and thought Sonequa Martin-Green and Mary Wiseman were at least somewhat dehydrated and possibly desperate for water at the end of the shoot. It's obviously comforting to hear they're just good actors instead, and presumably weren't in any danger of fainting or something like that.
The stakes were high as the Discovery crew needed to find the rest of the clues to that device, but it was all fun for the BTS crew, according to Mary Wiseman. The actress had heavy screentime with Sonequa Martin-Green, and as they often do on the set of the show, they were having a blast and made up their own scenario to help pass the time while filming in a Canadian park:
Yeah, 100% It was actually so freaking fun. It's funny that you say that because we had this like whole joke thing going on. Like, ‘Ok, if we got stuck here and we had to live here and like, caveman rules.’ I'm a big fan of Alone and so I'm like, ‘Ok, if we were stranded here, how would we survive,’ and we were like picking out places we could live like little caves. We were like, ‘What's our diet?’ We're like, ‘First day, we gotta make tools. Also, figure out how to make a fire.’ That was like our ongoing joke for the entire time. Like, how do we survive in this gorgeous Canadian Park right now? So, yeah, we had a good time.
During production, no one knew Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 would be the final season, so readers can understand the silliness that occurred on set. The cast and crew were informed after production wrapped, and some like Doug Jones were on cruise for fans when it happened. Had they known at the time, who knows if Mary Wiseman and Sonequa Martin-Green would've been coming up with survival ideas in the midst of filming?
"Whistlespeak" set up some high stakes in which Tilly's life is saved by Michael being her often inspiring self in helping a pre-warp civilization understand ancient advanced tech on their planet. While the adventure did slow the rampant action Star Trek: Discovery has showcased since Season 5's beginning, at least this pre-warp civilization will no longer use unnecessary human sacrifice to get rain.
Hearing about the fun Mary Wiseman and Sonequa Martin-Green had on set made my day but also bummed me out a bit. Obviously, Star Trek: Discovery is finished, and we have no guarantees that these two will work together again. With that said, there seemed to be a hint in this episode that they could link up in the Starfleet Academy show, which would be a great treat. if not there, hopefully, there's some unannounced upcoming Star Trek show that can reunite these two!
Until that gets announced, enjoy the rest of Star Trek: Discovery, which streams new episodes on Paramount+ on Thursdays. I can't wait to see where the rest of the season goes and just how involved the Breen may get as we inch closer to the finale.
