I’m still stunned at the gruesome death of Captain Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) inStar Trek: Discoveryseason 1. An international star best known to American audiences for her roles in the James Bond filmTomorrow Never DiesandCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Michelle Yeoh joiningStar Trek: Discoverywas a casting coup. Before winning her Best Actress Academy Award forEverything Everywhere All At Once, Yeoh appeared as Captain Georgiou of the USS Shenzhou inStar Trek: Discovery’s first two episodes. Michelle’s billing as a Special Guest Star was a clue about Georgiou’s fate, andwhat a grisly fate it was.
Captain Georgiou faced crises from beyond and within the USS Shenzhou inStar Trek: Discovery’s premiere episodes, “The Vulcan Hello” and “Battle at the Binary Stars.” When Georgiou’s First Officer,Commander Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), realized the resurgent Klingons meant to start a war with the United Federation of Planets,Michael betrayed her captain and committed mutinyto prevent hostilities. But the Klingons did attack, destroying the Starfleet armada that arrived at the binary stars, and crippling the Shenzhou. Georgiou and Burnham decided to take the fight to the Klingons, which ended in tragedy.
What Happened To Captain Georgiou In Star Trek: Discovery Is Terrible
Few Star Trek characters met a worse fate
Even now, 7 years afterStar Trek: Discoverypremiered, I still find Captain Georgiou’s sudden death shocking. Commander Burnham and Captain Georgiou beamed aboard the flagship of T’Kuvma (Chris Obi), the self-styled Klingon Messiah. While Burnham was battling Voq (Shazad Latif), Georgiou went toe-to-toe with T’Kuvma. Michelle Yeoh is a famed martial artist, and I expected a cool display of her fighting prowess against the Klingon. Instead,T’Kuvma easily overpowered Georgiou and fatally stabbed herthrough her torso with his bat’leth.Burnham then killed T’Kuvma- by shooting the Klingon Messiah in the back.
Captain Georgiou deserved better.
Captain Georgiou’s ignoble death was tragic, but what happened to her corpse is horrific. Burnham couldn’t reach Georguou’s body in time to beam back to the Shenzhou, so Phillipa’s corpse was left on T’Kuvma’s ship. A few episodes later,Star Trek: Discoveryrevealed that the Klingons who were left aboard T’Kuvma’s derelict flagship were so desperate for food, thatthey ate Captain Georgiou’s corpse.That has to be the first instance of aStar TrekCaptainbeing the victim of cannibalism, and it’s still grotesque to think about. Simply put, Captain Georgiou deserved better.
Star Trek: Discovery Was Always More Interested In Mirror Universe Emperor Georgiou
Emperor Georgiou returns in Star Trek: Section 31
Killing off Captain Georgiou was always part ofStar Trek: Discovery’s plan because of theseason 1 twist of introducing her Mirror Universe counterpart, Emperor Philippa Georgiou. In the ruthless alternate reality, Georgiou rose to become the despotic ruler of the Terran Empire, and Michael Burnham was her treasonous adopted daughter. Mirror Burnham also betrayed Georgiou, joining her lover,Captain Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs), in a coup attempt. But Emperor Georgiou survived and fled toStar Trek’s Prime timelineto become strange bedfellows with Commander Burnham.
In another instance of cannibalism, Emperor Georgiou ate Kelpiens like Saru (Doug Jones), finding them a delicacy.
In truth,Star Trek: Discoverywas always more interested in Emperor Georgiou, and, apparently, so was Michelle Yeoh. There’s no doubt playing the Mirror Universe’s tyrant who gradually learns she has a heart was more fun for Yeoh than Georgiou’s straight-laced Starfleet Captain counterpart. I also find Emperor Georgiou a more fascinating character, and I’m excited to see her return to headlineStar Trek: Section 31. But whenever I rewatch the beginning ofStar Trek: Discovery, I’m dumbstruck all over again byhow terrible a death Captain Georgiou received.
