10 Laziest Star Trek Alien Designs
4. Illyrian
The arrival of Strange New Worlds gave the franchise an opportunity to explore Una Chin-Reilly, the enigmatic first officer of the Enterprise who served under Christopher Pike. While little was known about her when the show began, it was quickly revealed that she was Illyrian.
Illyrians had appeared in Star Trek once before. In the Enterprise episode Damage, guest star Casey Biggs was given a heavier brow, a slicked back wig, and a stolen warp coil for his troubles. The Illyrians of Strange New Worlds, arriving almost one hundred years later, would look quite different.
And by quite different, we mean entirely human. The genetic engineering that Illyrian children undergo is a cultural tradition, though that same procedure would normally bar them from service in Starfleet - leading to Una's trial after she's outed. The shadow of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' looms heavy over Ad Astra Per Aspera, though the trial seeks to brush aside these foolish policies.
Unfortunately, Star Trek is a little hampered by the trial that Dr. Bashir and his parents faced in Deep Space Nine, as well as Dal's status in Prodigy. It seems as though aliens like Illyrians will still face prejudice for some time to come.