9 Ups & 1 Down From Star Trek: Discovery 5.8 — Labyrinths

11. UP — Head Librarian

SILENCE! The library is open! And there's nothing basic about head of Eternal Gallery and Archive, Hy'Rell. Apart from reading, one thing is fundamental: if you don't follow instructions then, "the Archive is not responsible for any damage, dismemberment or death that may result". In Labyrinths, Hy'Rell is serving high fashion, high principles, and hilarious one-liners ("I'll do you the courtesy to suggest that you rephrase your request"). And is that… Mama Ruhn?

The kind of cheerful serene composure that emanates from head of the flying library Hy'Rell is typically off-putting unless it is absolutely sincere and/or delivered through the gritted teeth that mask a storm beneath the oasis. Hy'Rell isn't hiding anything in her outward niceties and caring nature. She is just the inverse of the Badlands — calm on the surface, badass to the core. Hy'Rell's interactions with Booker were genuinely heart-warming: "How fun to have a book visit me in the library for a change." Then, in her dealings with Primarch Ruhn, her "May you gain knowledge elsewhere!" might just be the best thing anyone's ever said!

The exact identity of Hy'Rell's species has equally been the subject of debate since the sneak peek scene for Labyrinths. The shapely fore-head (and lengthy locks of white hair) of the head of the Archive would tend to suggest that she is an Efrosian, a species that first appeared in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and then again in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (in the form of the Federation President). That's the conclusion we've settled on at TrekCulture in any case, as did the wonderful Jörg Hillebrand on Twitter. Other suggestions included the as yet unknown species of character Arctus Baran from the Star Trek: The Next Generation two-parter Gambit, and my personal favourite, that of over-thinking-man Kurros from Star Trek: Voyager's Think Tank.