The Tragedy of Philippa Georgiou and San's Love Story

Long before she became Her Most Imperial Majesty, Mother of the Fatherland, Overlord of Vulcan, Dominus of Qo'noS, Regina Andor, Philippa Georgiou Augustus Iaponius Centaurius, Philippa was forced to endure a two year trial that pitted 18 youths from every corner of the Empire to determine who was "the purest expression of the Terran identity" and ultimately lead the Terran Empire.

Despite being forbidden, Philippa forged a deep friendship with another contestant, San, who together took on their proctor and other kids. Bonded, they vowed, "We are two, but one. Forever." At the dining table surrounded by her family, she tells them the contest isn't over. Only her and San remain, with one task remaining. No ties to the old life are permitted.

Upon eliminating her family, Philippa discovers that San was unable to fulfill his final act. As a result, she is deemed Emperor of the Terran Empire and San must spend the rest of his life in servitude to her.

Speaking to StarTrek.com, Academy Award-winning Michelle Yeoh recalls that isn't the first time her childhood friend/love is mentioned, "The name San came up twice, I think, when we were doing . The most poignant time was when she was stepping into the portal and saying goodbye to Michael Burnham. And that was when Philippa Georgiou tells Michael there was someone in her past that was very, very important to her, San. And she wished she had shared that with Michael."

"Emperor Georgiou is a very lonely character," explains Yeoh. "To stay at the top, you trust no one. You have no friends because everyone is trying to knock you off your throne and take over. Even her own daughter. So when she was on Discovery, that was when she first began to learn about friendship, love, humanity, sharing, and caring, which brought her very much to her own past at 15. They were the elite, these selected children, and only one could be emperor."

"She had this bond with another 15-year-old, San. It was like their first love. The two of them bonded right away and they formed a team and said, 'We are two, but one,' and together they will be able to overcome all the different obstacles. And they did. But the rule was there can only be one emperor and only one standing at the top. It was what they had to do and it was a choice. That was the most difficult thing. They both chose something very completely different."

James Hiroyuki Liao tells StarTrek.com, "In this tyrannical society, you have that moment between San and Georgiou when they're younger, where I think it was genuine and honest. They're contemplating, 'Should we run? Should we? This is insane. We'll just run as far as we could. And you know what? If we can't outrun them and they get us, and in the end, they behead us. But at least we lived life honestly.'"

Providing context, Liao shares, "For San, I'll just say this, something that I definitely used and worked on for the role. I thought the only way to play it is not through hatred. I think he still dreamt at night, even as we get to the current events of the Section 31 film, I think he still dreams about that moment. That instead of continuing on with the contest, he wishes that Georgiou would've ran away with him."

When Philippa Georgiou realizes San is still alive, she pleads with him not to activate the Godsend and offers him a second chance at redemption as she was offered by not only Michael Burnham and the Discovery crew, but also her new allies in Section 31. The moment mirrors the swap, from back on the Terran planet, when 15-year-old San pleads for mercy with Philippa.

Reflecting on their relationship, Yeoh reveals how Georgiou has been living her life defensively believing every action is a means to defend herself, "That's always been the way she has been living her life and her existence has been about that. It got to a point, especially when San killed himself, because he did not want to be part of that, that it was like, 'How can you do that to me? You're the only one in this whole place that I have love feelings for. And I'm not allowed to show it, but I have them and I understand I have them.' And she's almost like, 'You are betraying me by killing yourself and doing all that.'"

"When she found out it was San, she wanted to save him because she has been saved," continues Yeoh. "She has been given a second chance. She believed, at that point, in second chances. She believes. Honestly, she did and even at the risk of her own life. With Star Trek: Section 31, she has come almost to her full circle where she understands and she feels, 'What is humanity? What needs to be done?' It's not just about you and what you want. That is about not just the people that you love, but in general. There are so many people or the whole planet, the universe, that needs your help or needs you to do the right thing."

"When you see San and her, that fight is high intensity emotion where she is like, 'I don't want to fight you, because we were there together at the beginning and I don't want to see you end up like me. Why did you change? Because you were the one who had humanity, you couldn't kill your family. And that was the worst. You didn't kill them, but they were still all killed. So at the end of the day, she's trying to tell him, 'There is no good tyrant. It doesn't work like that. So you can't destroy everything and expect to everybody else to listen to you.' That's like starting it all back from square one. In that way, it was how these two who loved each other so much, how can they [come together]. But San had been living with that hell and hatred for so long, it was almost like role reversal. Someone who was so kind and wanting to do the right thing flipped to the other side. And she was desperately, desperately trying to persuade him to come back to her and it was hard. I mean, when we were filming that particular scene, it was hard for that kind of emotion to how he had to die and that was the only way to move forward."

Liao echoes Yeoh's sentiment while also praising her performance, "The way that Michelle played her, it was brilliant. It's so much an instinct to never show vulnerability, empathy as a Terran. And it's a surface veneer at this point because too many things have happened in the events of Discovery. All her experiences with Michael Burnham and all those things, and there's no way because she is a human being still inside. There's no way that she's not affected by all of that. And that will hit you hard because it's like every time you got to face and look at what you did. But the way she played it was so beautiful because obviously it affects her that way."

"What else are you supposed to do if you're just destined to always be looked at as evil and bad," ponders Liao. "And there is absolutely no redemption? There has to be. I'm not speaking for her, but I think she took away so much life, but in this moment, she was willing to give up her life to save billions of lives. And I think that counts for something. That tells you, that no matter where she came from and the circumstances that she was under and the choices that she made, the human being was still inside."

"And the tragedy is that for San," Liao continues. "It was a constant struggle and a battle within himself, something that I was playing. San, in the back of my mind, knows who he's dealing with. He has to steal himself into thinking, 'Okay, if I'm committing to this and I'm going to reshape the world the way I see fit, I'm going to be the omniscient and kind dictator.' And the only way to do that is I've got to get past her. And at the same time though, he's fighting with how much he loves her. He wants to absolutely kill her, but he also is fighting the fact that this is the woman that he loves. And that's what I tried to play as much as possible. That is as angry as I was, I was equally torn. And so that in the end, when the blow comes, I'm okay with it because it had to be this way. And maybe I see in her that maybe she has changed, and maybe today she would come with me instead of making [her past choice]. Maybe she will save the world. Then she is that girl who I fell in love with. So I was okay with it."