Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Jess Bush Dishes on Chapel's Bold Journey in Season 2

In an interview with CBR, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Jess Bush details Chapel's evolving role on the Enterprise and Spock dynamic in Season 2.

Of all the familiar legacy characters in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Christine Chapel has been the most expanded upon beyond her usual role in the Enterprise's sickbay. Played by Jess Bush, Strange New Worlds Season 2 has placed Chapel in the middle of hard-hitting action sequences and deepened her relationship with the ship's Chief Science Officer, Spock. In the Season 2 episode "Charades," this dynamic takes a surprising turn when Spock is temporarily transformed into a full human and begins a romance with Chapel after months of tension following the dissolution of his engagement to his fiancée T'Pring.

In an exclusive interview with CBR, Strange New Worlds star Jess Bush talked about taking point as Chapel in her mission to restore Spock's mixed heritage, explained the deep connection between Chapel and Spock, and reflected on playing such an iconic role within the enduring Star Trek franchise.

CBR: I love the opening montage to this episode as Chapel hangs out with the rest of the crew. How was it getting to work with the rest of the cast?

Jess Bush: It was awesome! This episode, I got to have some time with Celia [Rose Gooding] and Melissa [Navia], and that was really fun. I was looking forward to that happening in Season 1 and Season 2, so to finally get that was very satisfying and fun because they're my gal pals. [laughs] It's a bit of a different dynamic.

With this episode, you've got Jordan Canning behind the camera. How was it having her as the director?

I love Jordan! Jordan is fabulous, and I can't wait to work with her again. She's a fantastic comedy director. She's very easy to work with, and [I] felt supported, safe, and excited to collaborate with her. It was great!

We see the lengths Chapel will go to save Spock. How was it showing that side of the character in this episode?

It was extremely vulnerable for Chapel. She's really challenged in this episode to confront how she feels, be public about it, and take action to stand by that. That was very difficult for her, I think. I loved going through that stretching and challenging of how she normally behaves. It was wonderfully challenging.

Chapel articulates why she's in love with Spock in Star Trek: The Original Series. What do you think makes Spock attractive to Chapel?

I think it's because she knows exactly where she stands with him. He's extremely honest, dependable, shows up, and I think that makes her feel safe in a way that a lot of people don't. Perhaps Chapel's been burned in the past, so she finds safety in being casual, but what she really wants is the other thing. The way that Spock touches on it for her, I think that's rare in people. I think their connection is very pure and they complement each other's deeper needs in a very special way.

I was just speaking with Ethan Peck about changing up his performance as the fully human Spock. How was it sharing scenes with him in this new dynamic?

It was so fun and so surprising to feel the difference in our chemistry. I think that he absolutely nailed it, and it was so endearing. There's this beautiful sort of naïveté about him in this episode. It was a lot of fun to feel that chemistry together.

Two seasons in, has all the Star Trek tech lingo gotten easier to deliver? I feel like it always has to be delivered really fast.

Yeah, I think it's a skill you learn and a muscle you practice. I get less daunted by it, but also, there are some phrases that... I'm doing an American accent in the show, and there are just some phrases that are impossible for me to get my Australian mouth around. There's been a couple of times where I've been like, "Gosh darn it, how do I wrap my mouth around it?!" [laughs] But we get there. It's a challenge.

Strange New Worlds Season 2 has been taking bigger swings creatively, and the scene here that's going to get everyone talking is Spock and Chapel finally being honest and romantic with each other. Walk me through that scene.

Any scene with intimacy is always very mechanical when it comes down to the reality of it. But I think, in a story sense, it was just such a relief for both of us to finally not be like, "Will they, won't they? Oh, they shouldn't, they can't!" We didn't have to do that. It feels like the culmination of a season and a half of complications to finally give in to the physical desire. It was very satisfying in that sense.

I find the romance between Spock and Chapel to be tragic. We know that it doesn't end well for him and T'Pring or Chapel in The Original Series. How is it playing a love story where you already know the ending?

Well, I think that's part of our job to not think about that. You can't be thinking about that when you're living in a moment before that. All you can do is be present in the moment and leave the rest to the writers and encounter it as it comes along.

So many of your scenes are with Babs Olusanmokun. I feel M'Benga is one of the few people that Chapel can lower her defenses around. How has it been working with Babs and building that rapport?

It's so great. I love working with Babs. On and off-screen, he has this very grounded, warm, supportive nature. It's been so delightful to build this connection with him as a character -- this deep bond between a man and a woman that is almost familial. They've been through a lot together in the story, and it's a very unique and special bond, I think. I love working with Babs. He's a fantastic actor.