Captain Michael Burnham’s treasure hunt in Star Trek: Discovery season 5 will be opposed by new villains who will challenge her in different ways.

Summary
- Star Trek: Discovery season 5 will feature three new villains, Moll, L’ak, and Captain Rayner, who will challenge Captain Burnham and the USS Discovery.
- Sonequa Martin-Green praises the performances of the new actors and promises that their story is unique and culminating.
- Michelle Paradise highlights the challenges posed by Elias and Eve’s characters and describes Callum as wonderful.
Star Trek: Discovery‘s lead actor, Sonequa Martin-Green, and showrunner Michelle Paradise promise season 5’s new villains will “pose quite the challenge” for Captain Michael Burnham and the USS Discovery. The long-awaited Star Trek: Discovery season 5 premieres April 2024 on Paramount+, and it will be the final season of the flagship Star Trek on Paramount+ series. Burnham’s ultimate adventure is a hunt for a great hidden treasure, said to be an ancient power kept dormant for centuries. Also seeking the treasure are three new antagonists Discovery season 5 introduces: Moll (Eve Harlow), L’ak (Elias Toufexis), and Captain Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie).
TrekBrasilis was on hand at CCXP in Brazil for Sonequa Martin-Green and Michelle Paradise’s appearance promoting Star Trek: Discovery season 5 at Paramount+’s panel. As reported by TrekMovie, Martin-Green and Paradise teased Discovery season 5’s new characters, Moll, L’ak, and Captain Rayner, and how they factor into the story. Read their quotes below:
Sonequa Martin-Green: These guys are brilliant, so you can definitely expect to see some amazing performances from the three of them. They came into the family, we welcomed them with open arms, and they took off running with us as if they had always been there. And you will love what happens with them. I feel like their story is unique. It’s unique to the show. What happens with all the characters, actually, is quite culminating. I think you will love Callum. I think you’ll love Eve and I think you will love Elias, for sure.
Michelle Paradise: Yeah, they’re really wonderful actors, wonderful characters. I think it’s going to be really fun to see how Burnham responds to these new characters. Elias and Eve pose quite the challenge in terms of the storyline and what their characters are going to do this season. And Callum, he’s wonderful.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 – Everything We Know
Star Trek: Discovery season 5 is the final season of Paramount+’s flagship series, and here’s everything we know about Captain Burnham’s last voyages.
What We Know About Star Trek: Discovery Season 5’s New Aliens & Captain
Captain Rayner, Moll, and L’ak oppose Burnham in different ways.
Star Trek: Discovery season 5’s search for “the greatest treasure in the known galaxy” naturally brings other interested parties throughout the galaxy to join the hunt for their own reasons. Moll and L’ak are former couriers, previously the profession of Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) and Captain Burnham. Here are the official character descriptions for Moll and L’ak:
L’ak is a former courier turned outlaw, who is tough, impulsive and fiercely protective of his beloved partner, Moll. So long as he knows she’s safe, he doesn’t care about collateral damage or its consequences – a perspective that makes him very dangerous at times and will put him on the opposite side of Captain Burnham and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery when they come into conflict.
Moll is a former courier turned outlaw, who is highly intelligent and dangerous, with an impressive strategic mind and a sharp wit. She goes into every situation with a clear plan and stays focused and clear-headed on her goal, even when things go awry. She’s not intimidated by Captain Burnham or the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery, and will face down anyone who stands in her way in order to get what she wants.
It’s not clear yet what race L’ak is, although Moll appears human. Star Trek: Discovery‘s other new face, Captain Rayner, is a Starfleet Officer who nonetheless will butt heads with Captain Burnham. Curiously, judging from his pointed ears, Rayner could be Vulcan or Romulan or a hybrid who hails from their unified home world, NiVar. Here’s the character description of Captain Rayner:
Rayner is a gruff, smart Starfleet Captain who holds a clear line between commander and crew – he leads, they follow. Rayner’s all about the mission, whatever it may be, and he doesn’t do niceties along the way; his feeling is, you get the job done and apologize later. He has a storied track record of wartime success, but in times of peace he struggles. Collaboration is not his strong suit. That said, if it serves the greater good he’s willing to learn … but it won’t be easy.