Star Trek: SNW Stars Navia & Gooding Discuss Season 2 Ortegas, Uhura

As we await the return of Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman & Jenny Lumet‘s Star Trek: Strange New Worlds for its highly-anticipated second season (including a crossover with Mike McMahan‘s “Lower Decks,” but more on that in a minute), stars Celia Rose Gooding (Nyota Uhura) & Melissa Navia (Erica Ortegas) are offering some insight into what viewers can expect from their characters in Season 2. In the case of Navia’s Ortegas, it’s about giving fans more of Ortegas’ backstory; for Gooding, it’s about how Uhura learns from her first-season experiences and continues to grow during the second. Here’s a look at what the two had to share during a comprehensive interview with Collider in support of the release of the first season on Blu-ray & DVD on March 21st:

The Fans Wanted More of Ortegas’ Backstory… And They’re Going to Get It: “We’re going to get to see more of Ortegas, which is, I was so happy that we got to show that as a sneak peek of Season 2 with something great happening for her, and then also something being snatched away. But we get to see a lot more of what has made her this very competent pilot, why she is so competent and why her crew is loyal to her, and why she’s loyal to them. And we’ve said this before, this is such a fantastic ensemble show, but it’s very difficult in 10 episodes to showcase every character and go into their backstory and what makes them tick,” Navia shared. “And I think what was really done—many, many things were done really well in Season 1—but for Ortegas, we saw relatively less of her than the other characters, but we still saw enough and so much that people wanted to see more. And I think what speaks better to a character and to writing is when people are like, ‘I want more. Tell me what makes her tick.’ And so we’re going to see that in Season 2, and… we’re going to see what makes her such an integral part of the crew and why she loves to do what she does.”

Uhura Will “Bloom and Grow and Learn” From Her Season 1 Experiences: “Uhura went through a lot in Season 1. We saw her lose someone incredibly important to her. We saw her make a lot of big life decisions, and I think in Season 2, we just see the consequences of those decisions and of those experiences that she had,” Gooding shared. “We’re not going to pretend like Season 1 didn’t happen, and well, we’re just going to continue to watch her bloom and grow and learn more about the experiences that mold her and shape her into the iconic character we know and love.”

Jack Quaid on Star Trek: Lower Decks/Strange New Worlds Crossover

Jack Quaid previously shared some details on what fans can expect from the upcoming Lower Decks/Strange New Worlds “Star Trek” universe crossover with EW, including that Quaid’s Boimler & Tawny Newsome‘s Mariner will be appearing in physical form, and Jonathan Frakes is directing the episode. In addition, Quaid opens up about his bromance with Ethan Peck (Spock) and what it was like donning a Starfleet uniform. In addition, Quaid dropped a teaser about the third season of Lower Decks that includes some Deep Space Nine talk.

Quaid & Ethan Peck: “Spoimler”? “It was great. That cast was awesome. Ethan Peck and I have a bromance for the ages. We call it Spoimler: Spock and Boimler. It’s amazing, but that whole cast is so friendly and welcoming and cool. We just had a ball, and we got to be directed by Jonathan Frakes. So what could be better?”

Quaid on Getting to Wear a Starfleet Uniform: “[Boimler] holds such a special place in my heart. He’s one of my favorite characters I’ve ever played, but to be able to fully inhabit him, put on the uniform, make my hair purple, all that stuff, that was such a good time.” But as much of an honor as it was? The uniforms have a high “sweaty” factor. “I figured it would be sweaty ’cause I tend to sweat a lot, but my God, that thing is not breathable. It looked really good, but there were those first few fittings where I had the purple hair, I had the uniform on, it just blew my mind. The coolest part was I was able to study the show and look at how the artist animated Boimler and how he moved, and I was able to put a little bit of that in there,” Quaid added.

“Deep Space Nine” Factors Into “Lower Decks” in Many Ways: “We actually get to see the station, we get to walk the promenade, and you get to see some familiar faces. I’m just so excited that fans get to see that, cause we started the tease in one of the early seasons where a ship was docked at ‘Deep Space Nine.’ It was in a flashback, and fans freaked out about that, but I think it’s gonna make a lot of ‘Deep Space Nine’ fans very, very happy.”