Warning! The Following Contains SPOILERS From Star Trek: Khan Episode 5, "Imagination's Limits."
Ceti Alpha VI has finally exploded in the latest installment of Star Trek: Khan. Trekkies knew that fate was coming, but it is still heartbreaking to see the beginning of the end for Khan Noonien Singh (Naveen Andrews), his people, and Marla McGivers (Wrenn Schmidt) start to unfold in the must-listen audio drama. Most fans already know that the podcast is set between the events of Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
Certainly, many are listening to the program, so they can hear what happens next to the story’s tragic hero, Khan, as he and the Augments try to tame the wilds of their savage, so-called paradise. And before the podcast dropped back in September, Khan was completely portrayed as a super-human villain in the 1967 TOS episode “Space Seed.”
"Space Seed" is a fan-favorite installment of Gene Roddenberry's science fiction franchise that features one of the Trek universe's most dangerous bad guys. However, if you ask Khan voice actress Wrenn Schmidt, who portrays Khan's beloved wife, Marla, the leader of the Augments isn’t even the most interesting character in “Space Seed.” Schmidt explained in a brand-new interview via StarTrek.com:
"[Marla] was the most fascinating part of the whole episode. Khan is also really intriguing — the character and [Ricardo Montalban] — in the episode and later, The Wrath of Khan, he's so charismatic. But really, I was like, '[Madlyn Rhue] is doing a magic trick,' because she somehow is embodying her intelligence and also her fascination with him — and how mesmerized she is by him."
"But also, she doesn't seem like this flimsy stereotype of 'Oh, I'm just falling head over heels for you.' It felt like there was so much more going on," Schmidt continues. "And then, reading the first script, I loved how Kirsten [Beyer] and the writing team wrote her."
In "Space Seed," Marla shows glimpses of compassion for the crew of the USS Enterprise as they're threatened with suffocation if they don't join Khan and his crew of superior beings. Marla even steps in when Joaquin — who dies shortly after being exiled to Ceti Alpha V — slaps Lt. Uhura.
And as Trekkies already know, Marla betrays Khan by saving Captain Kirk from sickbay's medical decompression chamber. Later, when she is faced with being court-martialed, or being exiled with the Augments, Marla chooses to go with Khan and her people — and he is happy with his future wife's decision.
Have you listened to the audio drama yet? What do you think of exploring Khan and Marla’s time on Ceti Alpha V between “Space Seed” and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan? Share your thoughts and comments with us on the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages.
Live long and prosper, Trekkies!