Now that fans know the true identity of Lt. Ash Tyler of the starship Discovery, there’s a new question: could we see another version of him running around in multiverse. Tyler actor Shazad Latif has spoken, and it seems like we’ve seen all the versions of him that we’re going to see.
Spoilers for Star Trek: Discovery season 1, episodes 10 and 11.
Speaking to Inverse in a telephone interview ahead of the debut of episode 11, “The Wolf Inside,” Latif directly addressed the idea of additional versions of the character(s) he’s been playing on Discovery. We’ve seen Ash Tyler, Voq from the Prime Universe (who becomes Ash Tyler) and now Mirror Voq. These are three different versions of the same person, but is there a fourth? Could a human Ash Tyler exist in the Prime or maybe Mirror Universe?
“I wish I wish!” Latif told Inverse. “But, no I don’t think there’s another Tyler running around.”
At this point, there are technically only two versions of Tyler that we’ve seen on screen: Voq (who is disugised) and Mirror Voq, the leader of the Rebellion in the Mirror Universe who goes by the name “The Fire Wolf.”
Three faces of Shazad Latif on 'Star Trek': Mirror Voq, Voq, and Tyler
But was there ever a “real” Tyler? In episode 6, “Lethe,” Captain Lorca grills Tyler about where he grew up, indicating he seems to have researched Tyler’s personal history on Earth. But, because Lorca is shifty — and possibly from the Mirror Universe — it’s unclear if we’re supposed to believe that any of this background check was remotely legit. Still, Tyler managed to fool all the other people on board Discovery, too. He genuinely seems to have a human personality, complete with intimate knowledge of Starfleet.
All of this suggests that maybe there was a real Ash Tyler at some point and the Klingons harvested his personality. Interestingly, the Klingons do have the technology to do this. In the very first original series episode of Star Trek ever, “Errand of Mercy,” Kor talks about the use of a device called a “Mind-Sifter,” capable of extracting thoughts from prisoners. The Mind-Sifter hasn’t been seen in Trek canon since “Errand of Mercy,” but maybe the Klingons in Discovery used a Mind-Sifter on the “real” Tyler, got his memories, and then used those to program Voq.
This would all suggest that any real version of Tyler is now dead in the Prime Universe. Which, if Latif’s comments are to be taken at face value, means we really have seen all the versions of Tyler/Voq that we’re ever going to see.
Star Trek: Discovery airs its remaining four episodes of its first season over the next four Sundays. Each episode will air on Sunday night at 8:30 pm eastern time on CBS All-Access.
