Gray Tal was a 32nd century transgender male joined Trill living aboard a generational starship with his Human partner Adira. Gray was an orphan. (DIS: "Forget Me Not", "Anomaly (DIS)") He was joined to the Tal symbiont before being killed in an attack on his ship while Tal was transferred to Adira. After Adira properly bonded to Tal, Gray appeared to them as a separate entity that only Adira could see. (DIS: "Forget Me Not") After Gray's continued existence was revealed to the crew of the USS Discovery, he was resurrected thanks to the efforts of Doctor Hugh Culber via an unjoining from Tal and a transfer of his consciousness into the body of a golem. (DIS: "Choose to Live")
Early life[]
In Gray's youth, he hated a mole he had on his right hand, but eventually came to terms with it, considering he had "bigger things to think about" while transitioning. (DIS: "Anomaly (DIS)")
Gray shared with Zora that he had chosen his name, not for any specific meaning, but just because he liked it. (DIS: "Stormy Weather")
Adira comforts Gray just before Gray's joining in Surgery Bay 12
Adira once made a quilt of special memories they shared with Gray as a gift, including a time they broke the replicator causing it to repeatedly produce apples, and a time they played "imaginary chess." (DIS: "Forget Me Not")
In the 3180s, Gray was joined to the Trill symbiont Tal. (DIS: "Forget Me Not") Soon after, Gray took up the cello, influenced by his past host Kasha Tal. (DIS: "Scavengers") Gray displayed a number of other musical instruments (including a sarangi, an esraj, a dulcimer, and a tamburica with a bow) on the walls of his quarters. (DIS: "Forget Me Not")
Gray's collection of musical instruments
Not long after joining, in 3188, an asteroid collided with the ship Gray and Adira were on, fatally injuring Gray. The Tal symbiont survived and was implanted into Adira. Since Adira was Human, they briefly lost all their memories of their life before joining, including those of Gray. Once Adira regained their memories in 3189 and, in addition, those from the Tal symbiont, Gray began to appear to them as a seemingly independent entity with whom they could interact. (DIS: "Forget Me Not")
Appearing to Adira[]
Gray later appeared to Adira aboard the USS Discovery while Adira was working in engineering, and later in the mess hall, indicating that Adira needed to make more friends on the ship. When Lieutenant Commander Paul Stamets commented that it looked like Adira was talking to themself, Adira opened up to him about the unexpected way they were still able to interact with Gray's "soul," prompting Stamets to show his support, and Gray to note: "I like this guy." (DIS: "Scavengers")
After not having appeared to Adira for days, Gray returned during Philippa Georgiou's memorial service, apologizing to Adira and noting his regret that he could no longer interact with the world. Gray later offered suggestions to Adira while they tried to repair Discovery's shields. (DIS: "Su'Kal")
Visible as a holographic Vulcan in Su'Kal's environment
When Adira travelled to the dilithium planet, the holographic environment aboard the KSF Khi'eth detected the presence of Gray and made him visible to Saru and Hugh Culber, albeit in the form of a Vulcan. While there, he took advantage of his non-corporeal form to scout into the high-radiation area of the ship beyond the holographic environment and reported that the ship was disintegrating. As Su'Kal prepared to deactivate the holographic environment, Gray was distraught that he would lose his visible form, saying that both he and the Tal symbiont were "stuck." At this, Dr. Culber promised that the crew would find a way to allow him to manifest visibly on an ongoing basis. (DIS: "That Hope Is You, Part 2")
Reincorporation[]
Preparing Gray's new synthetic body
Culber's research led him to the work of 24th century cyberneticist Dr. Altan Soong, whose Soong Method could allow Gray to reincorporate into a synthetic golem. (DIS: "Anomaly (DIS)") When the synth body was complete, Trill Guardian Xi performed an atypical zhian'tara, unjoining Gray from the Tal symbiont and transfering him to the new body. Though it took time for Gray to recover from the procedure, he eventually woke up, guided back with Adira by his side. (DIS: "Choose to Live")
Gray later encouraged Adira to go on a Starfleet cadet training exercise. (DIS: "All Is Possible")
When Zora became overwhelmed, Gray played a game with her to help Zora deal with her struggles. The two bonded and Gray had Zora warn Captain Michael Burnham when she sensed something on the outer hull. Gray then helped Zora deal with her distress over the situation and the loss of Ensign Cortez and explained the issue to the crew. (DIS: "Stormy Weather")
Gray later decided to leave Discovery and train as a Guardian on the Trill homeworld. Despite the hardships that would come, Gray and Adira committed themselves to maintaining their romantic relationship long distance. Adira took some time off to help Gray get acclimated. (DIS: "...But to Connect") When Adira returned before the mission to meet Species 10-C, they told Burnham that Gray was doing well and enjoying his Guardian training and they both believed that Gray was where he needed to be. (DIS: "The Galactic Barrier")
| The hosts of Tal |
|---|
| Kasha • Jovar • Madela • Cara • Senna • Gray • Adira |
Appendices[]
Appearances[]
Background information[]
Gray Tal was portrayed by Ian Alexander.
The post-mortem interactions between Grey and Adira are very similar to how the Rite of Emergence was portrayed in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Field of Fire".
Gray was stated in initial promotional materials to be transgender like his actor, but it was not addressed on screen in Season 3. [1] It was eventually confirmed in Season 4 episode "Anomaly (DIS)" when Gray mentions his transition.
In an interview with Michelle Paradise, she stated that Gray's storyline will be followed up in season 4 and "That storyline is incredibly important to us." [2] She expanded on that in a separate interview stating "Representation matters. It matters to see a version of yourself on screen. It matters there are non-binary and transgender characters. It matters that there is a Black woman in the captain's chair. It matters that there is a gay couple on our show. We will continue to do that for the show, and the world we live in, but also, to honor the Star Trek legacy. And to be super clear, we will pay that moment off in Season 4. Gray will be seen. That promise will be paid off." [3]
External link[]
- Gray Tal at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works