Star Trek Discovery’s Sonequa Martin-Green Reflects on Final Season

Streaming now on Paramount Plus is the final season of the fan-favorite, ground-breaking show Star Trek Discovery. I had the chance to hear from Captain Michael Burnham herself, Sonequa Martin-Green, about what this show means to her and what she wants others to take away from it.  

Star Trek Discovery Star Sonequa Martin-Green Reflects on Final Season

Sonequa Martin-Green made Star Trek history both by becoming the first Black woman to lead a Star Trek series and having her character, Michael Burnham, become the Captain of the series' main starship. The show has meant a lot to so many fans not only for its incredible storytelling but also how it has embraced and expanded the diversity and inclusion that Star Trek is known for. From the moment she stepped on stage, it was clear that Martin-Green loves the universe and the fans as much as they do her. 

The impact of playing a groundbreaking character in the Star Trek Universe:

Sonequa: Being Captain Michael Burnham, being on this show, making television history, sort of taking the baton from Avery Brooks and Levar Burton […] [that] impact is changing as I get older. But something that I've realized recently is that God used Star Trek Discovery and the character of Michael Burnham, who became Captain Michael Burnham, to teach me about my own value, to teach me about my own intrinsic, divinely given value. Because when I first started on Discovery, I was having a parallel experience with my goal, where I felt that I needed to fight for my worth.

On the cultural significance of Burnham's hairstyle:

Sonequa: From the very beginning, I knew my hair had to be natural, like 1,000%, I refuse for it to be anything else. And the original showrunners were completely on board, they wanted that as well. We factored it into those first three episodes, the very first one, it's straight, but it's Vulcan, it's inspired by the Vulcan bowl that we're all accustomed to. Then we transitioned into the short ‘fro, and then into the braids. I remember [when] Alex Kurtzman [became our showrunner], he was really fascinated by [her having braids] And I thought, yes, 1,000%. There's such a rich history there, so much historical and cultural context there. So I said absolutely.

Olatunde Osunsanmi, directed the episode where I sat down in the captain's chair for the first time. We did this big elaborate style with the braids because we wanted to just drive it home and he did this really slow shot that goes all the way around the chair because he wanted to get the hair as well. We all understood, this is a big moment, this is the moment that you know television history is made. So it was always with the understanding of being authentic to the black experience and to all of that history and culture as well. It was very much infused and also was very much authentic to Burnham as well.

Empathy is key:

Sonequa: I think that, you know, we had lightning in a bottle with this group of people and that empathy was circular. We passed it around constantly like a life giving fire. This is also one of the reasons why I'm so blessed and honored to play this character, because we black women, we're taught that we don't get to fail. If you fail, that's it, you know, so it's that working twice as hard to get half as far thing. So being able to be someone well rounded, and someone who had a past marked with moral failures, being able to go from that to the captain, was everything to me as a black woman. It's not just that I was a black woman, it's not just that I was the captain, it's also because of the journey that I took to get there.

This future afforded me and for people to be able to see a black woman do that. So I think that was the only way that would be authentic to that journey, is if that woman becomes someone who leads with empathy. That woman who understands that people deserve second chances and then more second chances. Because oftentimes it's the loss that gets you closer to who you're supposed to be and where you're supposed to be.

It's the losses right… that really challenge you and force you to grow. Being able to show that…it's like, oh my goodness, young girls, oh my goodness, young boys, you actually can get closer to where you're meant to be if you fail. Allow that to inspire you just as much as your victories.

About Star Trek Discovery Season 5

The fifth and final season of Star Trek: Discovery finds Captain Burnham and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery uncovering a mystery that will send them on an epic adventure across the galaxy to find an ancient power whose very existence has been deliberately hidden for centuries. But there are others on the hunt as well … dangerous foes who are desperate to claim the prize for themselves and will stop at nothing to get it. 

Star Trek Discovery “Whistlespeak”

I also had the opportunity to screen the newest episode of Star Trek Discover, “Whistlespeak.” No spoilers here but the crew of the Discovery is in for an endurance challenge as they race to find another clue. But when lives are at stake, will Captain Burnham break the Prime Directive? You will have to tune in to find out!

Star Trek Discovery is available to stream on Paramount+.

*this interview has been edited for clarity and length*