Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 premieres with “Hegemony, Part II” and “Wedding Bell Blues”

Review: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 Episodes 1 and 2

It’s been nearly two years since we’ve seen the crew of the USS Enterprise, and quite the wait. Fans of live-action Star Trek haven’t had much to enjoy in those two years besides the farewell season of Star Trek: Discovery, so we’re hoping Paramount+ brings the goods with the third season of this excellent series — which we recently learned will end with a truncated fifth season.

Let’s dive into the first two episodes.

“Hegemony, Part II” Review: Less Strange, Still New

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds wraps up the Gorn threat before setting out for more strange new adventures. Does the season premiere deliver on this show’s promise of wacky, unusual, and thought-provoking bizarre new voyages?

“Hegemony, Part II” is one of Strange New Worlds’ more serious episodes – the kind of episode we’ve noted as being the weakest link in this show’s otherwise remarkable genre-bending flexibility. Strange New Worlds is at its best when it’s pushing the tried-and-true sci-fi genre into unexpected directions. This premiere, however, continues the serious, drama-filled season two finale, so don’t expect any charming SNW tone shifts here.

So, what do we get in this episode? In the explosive pre-credits sequence, Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) is in a tremendously serious command situation. The Gorn have engaged the Enterprise after whisking away Starfleet away team members and colonists. The Gorn then create a demarcation line that prevents the Enterprise from pursuing a Gorn destroyer, lest all-out war begins. 

Thanks to some quick thinking by Pike’s bridge crew, the Enterprise injects the Gorn ship with a torpedo casing that will function as a beacon, allowing Pike to find this particular Gorn ship and its hostages again. Once that beacon is in place, Pike follows his superior’s orders and brings the Enterprise back to Federation space. 

Don’t worry, this retreat is short-lived, as Admiral Robert April (Adrian Holmes) soon grants Pike permission to unofficially go back to Gorn space and rescue the captives. The admiral is persuaded by Pike’s argument that the Gorn senses the Federation’s unwillingness to commit to a full-scale conflict, and appeasement is not the answer. The unofficial nature of this mission is just the warm-up stretches exercised by this show before it tries to bend over backwards to make sure the reptilian species isn’t really known by the time Captain Kirk’s memorable fight happens with a Gorn captain in “Arena.”

We’ll give credit where credit is due: We appreciated Strange New Worlds’ portrayal of the Gorn threat and the dynamics at play on the interstellar stage. The situation between the Federation and the Gorn is a strikingly familiar situation if you pay attention to certain real-life conflicts in today’s world, such as the relationship between the United States and Russia. April is weary of committing the Federation to a full-scale war, even though the Gorn will just continue to encroach upon others’ territory because they know they can get away with it. Kudos to this episode’s writers for injecting some of Star Trek’s famous commentary-masked-as-science fiction element into “Hegemony, Part II”.

Returning to enemy space, the Enterprise’s crew tracks their Gorn ship to a binary star system. On the way there, our protagonists realize a remarkable pattern: the Gorn are apparently slaves to electromagnetic emissions, like solar flares, thanks to their “evolved nature.” One kind of flare makes them more active and aggressive, and a different kind of flare causes them to hibernate. Increased local solar activity suggests more widespread Gorn activity soon, which poses a problem for not only our heroes, but Star Trek canon. Remember, when Captain Kirk encounters the Gorn in The Original Series, the reptilian race is largely unknown.

Hidden from the Gorn in plain sight thanks to a cobbled-together faux-cloaking device created by Montgomery Scott (Martin Quinn), the Enterprise isn’t attacked by Gorn, but nevertheless is soon in a precarious situation. A massive Gorn fleet starts heading right to Federation space, but Pike can’t alert his superiors immediately (of course) due to nearby solar activity and Gorn interference signals.

The solution to this problem is actually pretty clever, and visually fascinating. Thanks to the young Scott, who is slowly growing into his own miracle-working self thanks to guidance from Pelia (Carol Kane), the Enterprise positions itself in between the two local stars and attracts the duo’s energies so that the ship essentially becomes a miniature solar flare – one that will hopefully make the Gorn calm down and retreat to their homeworld for a long hibernation. This is indeed what happens, and in a throwaway line that harkens forward to The Original Series, Pike wonders if the Gorn are now just going to be someone else’s problem down the road.

This main plot is just one of three storylines in “Hegemony, Part II”. Down in sickbay, Spock (Ethan Peck) and Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) must work together to save Captain Marie Batel (Melanie Scrofano), who has been infested with soon-to-be-hatched Gorn. At first, Nurse Chapel tries putting the good captain in cryo-stasis so they can figure out a proper solution, but Batel’s body rejects the stasis serum. Suddenly, Pike’s love interest is on a short clock until Gorn younglings explode from her body and wreak all kinds of havoc. 

Working together is a bit awkward for Spock and Chapel, who have a will-they-or-won’t-they relationship going on, made even more awkward because Chapel is set to go study with Roger Korby, far away from the Enterprise. It’s an emotionally distressing time for Spock, and it’s all he can do to keep his emotions in check as the pair science a solution for Captain Batel. This solution includes injecting the DNA of Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn), which will help Batel’s immune system. 

Ultimately, Spock has the bright idea to not remove the aggressive Gorn infestation from Batel’s body, but instead feed them so they are appeased, and can then be dissolved. Una’s blood will then help Batel fight the aftereffects that are sure to happen thanks to Gorn being dissolved into her bloodstream. It’s a creative solution that presents an issue for Captain Batel moving forward. Technically, augmenting a person with Illyrian blood is illegal, but the mission is off the books anyway, so no one needs to know, right? How will Batel reconcile this drastic change to her body, and will this secret stay safe for long?

“Ah… weapons from a crap pile.”

“Strangely, it’s a step in the right direction.” – Ortegas and Noonien-Singh upon finding in the Gorn digestive chamber a weapon they can use.

Finally, “Hegemony, Part II” shows what the Gorn hostages experience while they are on the Gorn destroyer. La’an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) isn’t terribly happy to be there due to her childhood trauma involving the Gorn, but a steady hand from Doctor M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) helps the security chief lead the away team’s escape. 

Playing a vital role in their flight is Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia), who, despite getting critically injured, manages to utilize her prime piloting skills to whisk the away team from the Gorn ship using a Gorn fighter. With the team are the transporter codes needed to beam the colonists off the destroyer; Noonien-Singh obtained those codes by interfacing with an unprotected Gorn terminal and apparently using what she knew from her previous Gorn experience. How and why exactly La’an can access Gorn information, like transporter codes, isn’t exactly clear, and this episode doesn’t really bother offering an explanation. The Gorn don’t seem to practice cybersecurity very well, do they?

Clearly, this episode leans into a more serious, drama-filled tone as it concludes the Gorn threat from season two. As it is, “Hegemony, Part II” offers compelling sci-fi action and engaging character moments that will likely play across future episodes. Just a few beats we expect to come into play later include:

• Pike’s increased attachment to Batel, and how that might weigh on the man as he keeps his ill-fated destiny in mind.
  
• Batel’s infusion of Illyrian blood, which she’ll have to try to hide, lest her illegal augmentation be discovered.
  
• Spock losing Chapel, a person he cares deeply about, to the nurse’s upcoming mentorship with Roger Korby. To Chapel’s credit, she seems confident in her choice to pursue this professional opportunity versus staying with Spock.
  
• Scotty continuing to grow into his own under Pelia’s tutelage, whether he likes it or not. Pelia has thus far been one of this show’s weakest new characters, but having her mentor the future engineering legend would be a great use of her presence on the Enterprise.
  

While the season three premiere of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds might not reach the unexpected genre-bending heights that make the show truly shine, it still delivers a solid Star Trek experience.

Stray Thoughts:

• Pike asserts it’s “time to play a game of chicken” as the Enterprise sets to ramming the Gorn ship. But that’s not how chicken is played; someone playing chicken doesn’t intend to ram their target, only to not be the first one to move aside.
  
• Having the Enterprise ram the Gorn ship is a beautiful shot, but prompts some questions. If the Starfleet crew knows how to match their shield harmonics to the Gorn’s shield harmonics, couldn’t the Enterprise’s weapons or transporters be matched to just pass through the Gorn shields?
  
• Is that a Kelpien in one of the digestive pods on the Gorn destroyer?
  
• Why would the Gorn leave some of their fighters unguarded? And how convenient for the trapped away team that they found the unguarded vessels.
  
• Call it morbid curiosity, but what exactly did Chapel and Spock feed the unhatched Gorn babies in Batel’s body?
  
• Why, why, why do Sam Kirk (Dan Jeannotte) and Erica Ortegas, who have guns, charge the Gorn who lands behind La’an? It’s such a common trope in cinema, and unnecessarily puts the heroes at risk to artificially create drama. In this case, such reckless action leads to Ortegas getting critically injured.
  
• We wish this episode at least hinted why Ortegas is literally the only person who can fly a Gorn vessel, even though she has as much inexperience as the rest of the away team with Gorn technology. Yes, Erica is a great pilot, but that Gorn technology looks wildly different than anything else we’ve seen.
  
• This is nitpicky, but the Enterprise sure was fast beaming out several hundred colonists just a few seconds after getting the transporter codes from La’an.
  
• Pike apparently gives in to his late father by attempting to pray for Batel’s recovery. We don’t know much about Pike’s father except that he taught science and comparative religion, and that Pike didn’t like his father at all. These tidbits come from a couple lines of dialogue from Discovery and Strange New Worlds, so we appreciated this small recognition in “Hegemony, Part II” of Pike’s little-known family history.

“Wedding Bell Blues” Review: The Strange is Back

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds puts the “strange” back in its title by featuring a Spock and Chapel rom-com story with a sci-fi twist, and Star Trek fans will likely recognize what kind of alien is behind it all. 

“Wedding Bell Blues” does something we didn’t expect: It jumps forward three months since the ending of the previous episode. Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) has concluded her residency with Dr. Korby and she is on her way back to the Enterprise. The ship, meanwhile, is repaired after its encounter with the Gorn, and the Federation is holding its 100th anniversary at Starbase One. 

Spock (Ethan Peck), thus far unlucky in love, is excited about Nurse Chapel returning to the ship. While the pair have been out of contact for three months, Spock views Chapel’s return as the possible start of a romantic relationship; he even learns how to dance from La’an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong), and gets a gift for Chapel before greeting her in the transporter room. It’s much to his surprise, then, when Chapel arrives on the Enterprise with a date to the anniversary celebration: Dr. Roger Korby (Cillian O’Sullivan) himself.

Spock has good reason to be upset. When he and Chapel last parted, the nurse asserted she needed to be independent and not have any strings attached to anyone. Three months later, she shows up with a date. To her credit, Chapel promises Spock that whenever she understands for herself why she suddenly wants a partner, she’ll let Spock know. We can’t help but feel badly for Spock, and it’s to Ethan Peck’s credit that the Vulcan seems to barely keep a hold on his emotional turmoil. You can just see how his feelings for Chapel are eating the poor guy up inside. 

While their crewmates socialize in the galley, Chapel and Korby relate how they met, and how Korby pulled Chapel’s heartstrings with a touching reference to her late mother and a meaningful bracelet as a gift. The love-stricken Vulcan gets a drink from someone who appears to be the Enterprise’s bartender (Rhys Darby), and the bartender seems to know what ails Spock and what he would really wish for if given the opportunity. And just like that, Spock wakes up the next day next to Nurse Chapel… and they are getting married soon. 

The wedding appears to be on track, with no mention of the Federation’s 100th anniversary in sight. Spock’s crewmates are involved in the ceremony, but it’s Dr. Korby, Chapel’s best man, who acts uncomfortable and suspicious of what’s going on. We even get the sense he is trying to throw wrenches in the wedding, as the flowers and desserts he is responsible for bringing are ruined. Spock realizes Korby’s motivations when he catches Korby in his quarters trying to delete the Vulcan’s wedding vows. Why would the man who is apparently Chapel’s best friend be doing all this? 

The doctor realizes reality has changed somehow. It’s he, not Spock, who is supposed to be involved with Christine, and he even says he loves her, to which Spock lashes out and punches the man. This quick act of violence lifts whatever “brain fog” has befallen the Vulcan – and indeed, the rest of the crew – and makes Spock realize Korby is correct. Reality has changed; the crew is supposed to be celebrating the Federation’s 100th anniversary, not a wedding, and they must somehow identify why this is happening and how to fix it. 

“I told you… cold feet.”

“My feet are perfectly warm, thank you.” – Sam Kirk and Spock as Spock tries to explain the mass delusion happening aboard the Enterprise. 

Even after figuring out strong emotions seemingly break whatever spell is at work, Spock and Korby are unsuccessful at explaining to others, like Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) or Sam Kirk (Dan Jeannotte), that some mysterious forces are at work. It’s only when the pair confront the only entity on the ship not invited to the wedding that they realize who is behind it all, but the being threatens the two men to keep them playing along. One thing Star Trek fans will notice is that the being, who in this case is taking the form of the wedding planner and exhibits excitement and anger much like a child, uses fingersnaps to do what he pleases. Curiouser and curiouser… 

Korby’s attempt to confront the entity during Spock and Chapel’s wedding doesn’t do anything to break the spell. So, Spock’s chance comes at the altar, and it’s through a touching monologue designed to play at Christine’s deep-rooted feelings about Roger –  and the mom she lost years ago – that she is broken from the illusion, something the entity really doesn’t like. We want to praise Ethan Peck again for his portrayal of a stoic Vulcan desperately trying to contain raging emotions. During his monologue, you can see this inner turmoil in the way he tenses his face and keeps his posture ramrod straight while his eyes – the windows to the soul – give away his emotional angst. It’s a touching scene that makes us feel even more pity for the Vulcan. 

With his fun ruined, the entity is just about to murder the entire assembled party when another energy being, shown only as a whirlpool of colors in space, comes on the scene to reign in the other man. The voice behind this arrival is instantly familiar: John de Lancie, who is, once again, reprising his fan-favorite role from “classic” Star Trek and Star Trek: Picard. It’s soon clear that Q is there to take who he says is his misbehaving 8,000-year-old child away from Starbase One and stop causing trouble, which he does, but not before the spell covering everyone is broken. Before the child goes, Spock asks why the powerful being targeted Korby, and it’s apparently because the entity found Korby digging in the dirt on “the old homeworld” and thought he was just too perfect and smart – just “annoying.” Spock, in his own way, seems to agree. 

“Alright, everybody. That was strange. A shared delusion about a wedding is a new one.” – Pike to the surprised wedding guests after the delusion is broken. 

Witnessing such an awkward and unexpected event is momentarily jarring for those assembled, but Pike plays off the weirdness and encourages the party to celebrate the Federation’s founding. Everyone is happy and dancing except for Lieutenant Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia) who we learn is experiencing PTSD-like symptoms following her encounter with the Gorn three months earlier. Nothing more is said about this revelation, so we’ll have to wait until a future episode to address this issue for the poor lieutenant.

Some other love is in the air in this episode. Ortegas’ brother, Beto (Mynor Luken), is on the Enterprise to celebrate the Federation’s anniversary, and he and Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) quickly hit it off. We won’t be surprised if this electric pair becomes an item and make future appearances together. We’re also curious if the documentary about the Federation Beto is looking to do becomes a key part of the season later. 

Meanwhile, Captain Pike and Captain Marie Batel (Melanie Scrofano) have been enjoying the last three months together as Batel recovers from her emergency treatment following that pesky Gorn infection. Batel is looking for a new command, which means the pair will likely be separated soon, again. We get a twinge of sympathy everytime Pike falls deeper and deeper in love with Batel, considering his fate, but we’re holding out hope Strange New Worlds figures out a clever way for Pike to avoid his career-ending accident.

We were happy to see Strange New Worlds delve into less serious subject matter than the previous two episodes – this show is better when it’s trying something new. As director Jordon Canning showed in last season’s rom-com “Charades” (which we interviewed her about), she can skillfully weave hits of drama and comedy, and top it off with some impactful commentary on the human condition. Having emotions be the thing that shatters the young Q’s playground speaks to how powerful emotions are in shaping our reality, the relationships we carry, and how we live our lives. Like the much-better-than-expected “Subspace Rhapsody” from last season, Strange New Worlds shows again how it can cross genre boundaries but still deliver an impactful Star Trek story.   

Stray Thoughts:

• No issue is made of Una continuing her blood infusions to Batel, even though at this point other people, including a new medical staffer on the Enterprise, are aware of the infusions. Are people not worried about the illegality of Una using her blood in this way?
  
• The young Q makes a passing reference to kal-if-fee, the Vulcan death fight memorably seen in The Original Series’ “Amok Time.” In that episode, Kirk and Spock engage in this fight, as T’Pring chooses Kirk as her champion ahead of her upcoming marriage to Spock.
  
• In an effort to explain the widespread delusion people are experiencing, Spock suggests an improbability field, like the one the Enterprise encountered that made them sing in “Subspace Rhapsody.”
  
• Scotty (Martin Quinn), who elsewhere in the franchise famously loves his booze, is not much of a drinker in Strange New Worlds. But we do see him eagerly take to drinking brandy at Spock’s bachelor party. Perhaps this is where the engineer learns to love the sauce?
  
• Why would the wedding planner ask Pike to ask Spock to review the ceremony’s seating arrangement? The planner thus far had not been shy about coming to Spock directly with wedding details. As it is, having Pike be the intermediary only serves as an excuse for Spock and Korby to determine who was the unexpected guest at the wedding.
  
• The wedding bartender, who we have to imagine will be seen again on the Enterprise, appears to be a Triexian, a three-armed species seen only in The Animated Series.
  
• Importantly, neither young Q or Q identify themselves as members of the Q Continuum. The Next Generation is where the Federation first learns of Q.
  
• This is the sixth Star Trek series John de Lancie has appeared in as Q, following The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Picard, and one episode of Lower Decks.

Strange New Worlds stars Anson Mount, Rebecca Romijn, Ethan Peck, Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding, Melissa Navia, Babs Olusanmokun and Martin Quinn, along with guest stars Rhys Darby, Patton Oswalt, Cillian O’Sullivan, Melanie Scrofano and Carol Kane, with special guest star Paul Wesley.

New episodes stream Thursdays on Paramount+.

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