Summary
- Commander Rayner and La'an share tragic pasts, becoming valuable assets for Starfleet.
- Both survivors use their experiences to help fight against Breen and Gorn threats.
- Mentors play a crucial role in helping them heal and grow beyond their traumatic pasts.
Commander Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie), the new Kellerun First Officer on Star Trek: Discovery, finally opens up about his tragic past in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 7, "Erigah", and it draws surprising parallels to the history of USS Enterprise Security Officer Lt. La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Commander Rayner's practical perspective stands in contrast to Captain Michael Burnham's (Sonequa Martin-Green) steadfast idealism, making Burnham and Rayner one of the best Captain and First Officer pairs in Star Trek: Discovery and its ever-changing command lineup. Rayner was quiet about personal details, however, until Discovery's plot demanded it.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds spun off from Star Trek: Discovery season 2, following the adventures of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and the USS Enterprise crew, and included both familiar characters like Lt. Spock (Ethan Peck) and brand-new characters with familiar names, like Lt. La'an Noonien-Singh. La'an is, in fact, a descendant of the infamous Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban), but La'an's connection to Star Trek's infamous dictator is just one thing that influences Lt. Noonien-Singh's character. La'an's personal history is both more compelling and more tragic than being related to Khan, with details doled out carefully throughout Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' first 2 seasons.
Commander Rayner's Breen Backstory Matches La'an Noonien-Singh Surviving The Gorn
Rayner and La'an Provide Valuable Intel for Starfleet's Survival
Star Trek: Discovery's Commander Rayner and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Lt. La'an Noonien-Singh are both their families' sole survivors of devastation wracked by enemies Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets know almost nothing about. While Federation representatives weigh options for handling the imminent Breen threat in Discovery season 5, episode 7, "Erigah", Commander Rayner tells Captain Michael Burnham that the Breen gutted the Kellerun homeworld to use as an outpost, killing Rayner's entire family in the process. Similarly, La'an reveals to Captain Pike that the Gorn used the entire complement of the SS Puget Sound as either food or breeding sacks, with La'an alone surviving as a warning from the Gorn.
La'an was captured by the Gorn again in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ' season 2 finale, "Hegemony."
The Federation has an advantage in facing these violent and otherwise mysterious alien species because Rayner and La'an know how the Breen and the Gorn, respectively, operate, despite being traumatized by the horrors they experienced. Rayner knows well that Kellerun was devastated under the leadership of Breen Primarch Tahal, and even provides specific details to legitimize the Federation's bluff to stall the Breen forces demanding L'ak (Elias Toufexis). La'an's expertise helps the Enterprise survive a Gorn encounter in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 1, episode 4, "Memento Mori", and shapes the plan to rescue Gorn attack survivors in Strange New Worlds season 1, episode 9, "All Those Who Wander".
The Kellerun didn't have it easy in their first appearance, either. In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 2, episode 13, "Armageddon Game", the Kellerun home world was already ravaged by Harvesters, biological weapons used in the war against the T'Lani.
How Traumatic Backstories Shaped Rayner in Star Trek: Discovery and La'an in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Starfleet Mentors Help La'an and Rayner Overcome Their Tragic Pasts
Commander Rayner in Star Trek: Discovery and Lt. La'an Noonien-Singh in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds were severely impacted by the trauma they experienced as survivors of deadly alien massacres, and that pain manifests in very similar ways for both of them. Rayner and La'an appear standoffish and brusque, building intentional emotional walls between themselves and anyone who might want to get close to them. Both have a strong respect for rules and regulations, because rules keep people safe, and also trust in their own judgment over anyone else's, regardless of whether Breen or Gorn are involved or not, thanks to their own heightened sensitivity to danger.
Fortunately, both La'an Noonien-Singh and Rayner have Starfleet mentors who take a personal interest in helping them heal the damage from their pasts. Commander Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn) sees a mirror of her own difficult past in La'an's struggles to relate to the world. Michael Burnham went from Starfleet's first mutineer to Discovery's captain thanks to second chances, so Burnham extends the dismissed Captain Rayner an offer to be Discovery's First Officer. Through the support of others and new chances to help, both Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' La'an Noonien-Singh and Star Trek: Discovery's Rayner have opportunities to grow beyond their traumatic pasts and truly thrive instead of just surviving.
