10 Most Messed Up Deaths In Star Trek: Discovery

No, not that Gene! Like Commander Reno, you'd probably "already forgotten" (at least) the name of the ensign — "My name's Gene, actually" — assigned the horrendous task of "cleaning up aisle five," i.e. what was left of Leland in the spore cube. Job's a job's a job, but hopefully "Ensign Hazmat" didn't strand himself in the far future just for brains-and-guts-in-bucket duty!

Leland was hardly the most reputable of individuals even before Control got its nanites in him, but he didn't deserve to end up as sludge on the end of a shovel! Along with 'Clean Gene,' he did also make it to the 32nd century, technically speaking. That's still an achievement, right?

In reality, Leland had been dead for a while before the former-Emperor melted him down for parts with magnetisation. A higher-up in Section 31, Leland was 'assimilated' by Control, itself co-opted by the AI from the 28th century. Control needed "a face and a body" to better enact its nefarious plans. Leland's micro-machine takeover looked pretty painful, too — first stabbed in the eye, then strapped upright to a table and stabbed in the back of the neck. To quote Georgiou from later, in anticipation of Leland/Control's final demise: "And I'd like to hear you scream now."