Contains spoilers from the end of Season 1…
With his new role as right-hand-man to the potential uniter/leader of the Klingon Empire, I could see Ash becoming a kind of Klingon cultural icon. Along with improvements in the Voq-humanification surgical procedure, maybe large numbers of Klingons (especially those in professions that might cross paths with humans) "transition" to a more human-looking form. With Ash's pleasant face as the template, we end up with lots of tan and beardy hybrids running around…
What I’m taking from this thread is that we’re all expecting to see “this guy” (Ash/Voq) wearing a lot more shimmering gold in Season 2 (and I’m ok with it).
Haha, I am a cruel tyrant, indeed. Now if only someone will buy me an oompa loompa.
@Glenn, oh cruel Glenn, think about this...
What you're saying is, you want poor Voq - who was flayed, had his skeleton/organs remodeled, then reskinned under a cloned human dermis, then had his mind jammed into a tiny corner of his newly-molded brain to make room for all those xeroxed Ash Tyler memories (and then had his heart broken by Michael Burnham, to boot!) - you THEN want this sadly tortured creature to somehow redevelop the ONE physical trait from his original biology which caused him to be a social pariah all throughout his formative years - just so you can link him to an (admittedly awesome) episode of DS9 as you kick back and down a Spore Drive with extra Chanterelle-mushroom-infused gin?! You are one cold fan! LOL
There's a Deep Space Nine episode called "Blood Oath" that features three TOS/DISCO-era Klingons in a blood-feud with another century-old person known as The Albino. It's not clear that The Albino is a Klingon, but I'm holding out hope that The Albino is an aged Ash/Voq.
Get out of my head, @chrissam42!!! Lol I was just last night thinking about how Shazad Latif's dark skin and facial hair resembled the look which makeup artists gave to TOS Klingons. Great minds think alike? :) :) :) hahaha
While the look of that era of Klingons was already explained by the DS9 ep "Trials and Tribble-ations" (as a result of the Klingons' attempt "to bio-engineer enhanced warriors using DNA from genetically-modified human embryos left over from Earth's Eugenics Wars" *), Ash-Voq's interesting medical history and upcoming presence on Qo'noS does seem like it could add to that explanation somehow.
(*per the Memory Alpha wiki)