Washburn recalled well the drama of Lieutenant Galway and even was a little bummed out that her character had to die:
“I was the first to die and I was the youngest. As you watch the episode you progressively see the others getting older. Then, of course, Chekov found the cure, but too late for me. I was hoping I could have gotten cured, but that didn’t happen. But it was a very special role and it’s still one of my favorite roles that I’ve done.”
She also recalled the scene wherein she had to die of old age, a tall order for an actor in her 20s. It was very dramatic and tragic, with the young character pondering her wasted potential. She got to look directly at her reflection, seeing how she was supposed to look in 70 or 80 more years and played the scene with a combination of panic and weary acceptance. While Washburn was digging deep, however, William Shatner was giggling:
“William Shatner was a very funny guy and he was just cracking up the whole time because they had him with his grey hair, starting to age. So he was doing all this funny shtick on the stage. It was a really lighthearted, fun set to be on and then we’d try to get right into the moment when we had to shoot it. People remember the scene, so I guess we did a good job of it.”
It seems that lightheartedness on set was vital for Washburn to perform the scene. She was feeling the weight of her character’s drama and everyone’s giggles and jokes allowed her to loosen up.