Star Trek: Discovery turned viewer distress into joy by killing off fan-fave Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz) only to bring him back with a shocking resurrection in season 2. Audienecs first fell in love with him in season 1, episode 4, "The Butcher’s Knife Cares Not for the Lamb’s Cry." His ability to gently wield a medical tricorder while respectfully telling off a superior officer had them immediately intrigued. Over time, they learned that Hugh cares with his whole heart even when it hurts. He’s not afraid to speak his mind – whether to challenge an order or express his emotions with vulnerability. By association, Paul comes off as less cold and judgmental when basking in the love of his husband.
Hugh started using more of his counseling skills as the USS Discovery crew encountered increasingly traumatic situations. From Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) to Keyla Detmer (Emily Coutts), he was a reliable shoulder to cry on for anyone lucky enough to know him. Some fans argued that he spent so much time playing a supportive role for others that he didn’t get to carry his own storylines. But all that changed at the end of season 1.
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Hugh Culber’s Unexpected Death
Star Trek: Discovery tackles serious topics with the same high level of energy as the franchise's reboot movies. It wasn’t afraid to drop a mutineer into a sea of rule-abiding Starfleet officers. It puts the USS Discovery crew at the center of various moral dilemmas to test their character. Even knowing this, however, didn’t prepare fans for the murder of Hugh at the hands of Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif) – let alone his resurrection later on. Hugh's was the first major character death on the show since Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) met a tragic end in the series premiere.
In season 1, episode 10, “Despite Yourself,” Hugh discovered the ugly truth about Ash just in time for the other man to snap his neck. The Klingon warrior lying dormant within Ash had taken over to conceal his presence, only to be exposed anyway in the following episode. Meanwhile, the lucidity stolen from Paul during his work with the mycelial network came back just in time for him to discover his husband’s dead body. That was the heartbreaking end to Hugh’s story…or so fans thought.
The Resurrection of Hugh Culber
Paul’s personal goal in Discovery season 1 revolved around the spore drive. He helped create and maintain it, and cultivated the space mushrooms needed to use it. Here’s where things get wacky in the way only a Star Trek TV show can achieve. While cradling Hugh’s dying body, the spore dust lingering on Paul pulled the other man into the mycelial network, rather than letting him pass on. It was a classic case of sci-fi science, but at least it meant Hugh could come back.
That's exactly what he did in season 2, episode 5, “Saints of Imperfection.” An away-mission turned retrieval attempt reunited Culber with his loved ones, and finally put him back in the land of the corporeal. He had been fighting off jahSepp – the multidimensional fungus of the mycelial network – after they identified him as a monster for killing their kind in confused self-defense. Now, it was time to pick his life back up and trying to make it fit him again. It went about as well as one would expect.
Hugh Culber and Resurrection Trauma
His rough time that only got worse as Hugh struggled with the aftermath of his own trauma. It turns out that fictional counselors are just as bad as real-life ones when it comes to taking care of their own mental health. At the same time, the USS Discovery had found a way to move on from Hugh's death by the time his resurrection threw a wrench in their process. Tracy Pollard (Raven Dauda) had taken over as the ship’s primary physician. Paul was trudging along without his better half. Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) had even graduated from cadet to ensign in the command division.
Like Star Trek characters of old, Hugh found himself dealing with problems that offered no easy solutions. He struggled to find his place among people who felt like they’d outgrown him. To make matters worse, Hugh often found himself struggling to believe he’d actually made it back, reliving the trauma of his death and of being lost in the mycelial network. His romantic love for Paul and familial love for the crew eventually helped anchor him to reality. But it wasn’t until he made peace with Ash that he finally started to heal.
What Impact Did Hugh Culber’s Death Have on the Crew?
Hugh’s untimely “death” and subsequent resurrection shifted the dynamics of the USS Discovery crew. While he was lost to them, the crew no longer had someone to help them process their emotions in difficult situations. This forced them to learn how to tend to their own mental health. When Hugh came back, they re-adjusted around his presence, even through some awkward stumbling blocks.
Then, Star Trek: Discovery decided to test their new-found skills with the Red Angel storyline. In it, the United Federation of Planets was almost destroyed because of AI tech gone bad (a Star Trek classic). And somehow, that wasn’t even the wildest thing to happen in season 2, which featured time-travel shenanigans and the reveal that Michael's mother was alive. Through it all, Hugh continued questioning his place on the ship. He even came close to trading in his white uniform for the classic blue of the USS Enterprise. But instead, he stuck around and ended up flying into the future along with his crew.
Hugh isn’t the first Star Trek character to experience the highs and lows of resurrection. Like Spock’s triumphant return in The Search for Spock, though, he needed time to get back into the swing of things. By the time Hugh found himself co-parenting a teenage Adira (Blu del Barrio), he’d left his post-resurrection blues behind. Something about becoming even more a family man got him out of his head and back into reality.
So, of course, Discovery had to give him something else to stress about. This time it’s a combination of lingering effects from coming back to life, and his season 5 Trill transformation. Now, Hugh Culber is trying to find the line between his logical mind and his increasingly spiritual heart. What does it mean? Is he overthinking it? Is he not thinking about it enough? Paul and Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) encourage him to lean into this newfound feeling after he talks about the peace it gives him. But this is Star Trek: Discovery. So, that path of thinking is just as likely to lead him somewhere wonderful as it is to somewhere unfortunate. Only future episodes can say for sure.
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