Before Ryn was re-captured by Osyraa, he managed to tell his dark secret to First Officer Tilly (Mary Wiseman) on the Discovery. It seems that the emotionally wounded Ryn could bond more closely with the nervous Tilly than with the other members of the crew. The short moments they had together inflamed Averbach-Katz’s imagination. He pictured a future where he and Tilly might dare to foster a romance. When asked what might happen if Ryn had survived, the actor was sure to bring up his idea right away, responding:
“Man, if [Ryn] stuck around, the only arc I wanted for him was a Ryn/Tilly Love story. So maybe a bunch of Andorians could have rejoined the Federation so they could make our wedding.”
In the mythology of “Star Trek,” the blue-skinned Andorians were one of the four founding species of the Federations (along with humans, Vulcans, and Tellarites). The third season of “Discovery” (the one Ryn appears in) takes place in the very distant 32nd century after the Federation was forced to go underground after a galaxy-wide cataclysm wiped out every single one of its starships. As such, the Andorians were no longer members of the moribund organization and had fallen in with the Orions to help them run the Emerald Chain.
Hence, Averbach-Katz’s mention of Andorians rejoining the Federation.
Tilly, meanwhile, hadn’t had any romantic partners on “Discovery” at that point, other than a passing mention that she’s into musicians and soldiers. Ryn wasn’t a soldier, but he displayed battle acumen during his uprising. Also, Tilly has grown up a lot since the early days of the show, and could easily find herself attracted to Ryn.
But this is all academic; in the end, Ryn was executed. So it goes.
