logo
STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS Season Premiere Recap: (S03E01) Hegemony, Part II

STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS Season Premiere Recap: (S03E01) Hegemony, Part II

The crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise has unfinished business with the Gorn. The Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 premiere episode, 'Hegemony, Part II,' has a teleplay written by Davy Perez from a story by Henry Alonso Myers and Perez and directed by Chris Fisher.
RELATED: Read our recap of the previous Star Trek: Strange New Worlds episode, 'Hegemony'
Near Parnassus Beta, the Enterprise is at red alert. It's being attacked by Gorn fighters. The bridge crew looks to Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) for orders. Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) notes that Admiral April (Adrian Holmes) has ordered retreat. But Pike says they weren't given a timetable. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Photo Credit: Marni Grossman/Paramount+
Pike asks for ideas. Spock (Ethan Peck) suggests diversionary tactics. Jenna Mitchell (Rong Fu) suggests venting the nacelles to make a cloud. Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn) suggests jamming Gorn communications, preventing coordination. Pike accepts this final idea. Uhura modulates the deflector array to emit a spectrum in order to confuse the Gorn. To beam aboard the Gorn vessel and save the rest of the crew, they'll need to hack transporter codes. But there's no time. Una suggests they retreat and rescue.
But how do they track the specific Gorn vessel carrying their crew? Spock posits using a rare element that they could track. Mitchell suggests tagging the Gorn ship with a dud torpedo containing the element. However, they must penetrate the Gorn's defensive systems in order to achieve this. Uhura points out that energy shields function via harmonics. By finding the correct frequency, they can ram the ship. Thus, the Enterprise rams the Gorn ship. Pike orders the torpedoes to be fired. Then the ship warps away. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, 'Hegemony, Part II'
The Enterprise arrives at the rendezvous. April beams aboard to debrief. In sick bay, Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) prepares a Gorn-impregnated Marie Batel (Melanie Scrofano) to be cryogenically frozen. Batel reiterates that if it comes down to her or the crew, Chapel should take her out. Chapel assures her that stasis will prevent this. Batel is sedated, with the promise of waking up Gorn-free.
But soon, alarms sound. Batel's body rejects the serum. Chapel contacts the bridge. She says Batel is allergic to cryo-serum and cannot be put in stasis. Chapel laments the absence of Joseph M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun). Spock volunteers to assist with Batel. In the Observation Lounge, April informs Pike that the Federation fleet has standby orders. April says the Gorn are outside Federation jurisdiction. They can't afford to send ships in while still recovering from the Klingon war.
RELATED: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: 5 Books for Gorn Expertise
Pike says the Hegemony will continue to encroach on Federation territory if they aren't stopped. April says he heard about the landing party. He asks after Batel. April says Pike's official orders are to monitor the demarcation line for encroachment. However, unofficially, April tells Pike to punch back and prove they aren't prey. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
In engineering, Pelia (Carol Kane) asks Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott (Martin Quinn) about his device. Scotty explains: it tricks the Gorn into thinking a ship is theirs. But Scotty doesn't exactly understand how it works. Pelia chides him for not writing it down. Pike enters and asks how soon it can be working. Pelia assures him that it'll be running before they cross the Hegemony line. Escape From the Sac
Aboard the Gorn ship, bodies are held inside glowing sacs. La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) is having flashbacks to her brother's death. She awakens and fights her way free. She surveys the sacs and sees crew members inside them. After calming herself, she starts by freeing M'Benga. He frees Sam Kirk (Dan Jeannotte). Meanwhile, La'an frees Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia). Part of Ortegas' right hand and arm has been digested. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Ortegas begins panicking. La'an calms her before M'Benga issues treatment. He assures her they can fix it on the Enterprise . Inside other sacs, people have been fully digested. They ponder freeing the others trapped in sacs. La'an continues to struggle with flashbacks. However, M'Benga brings her back.
RELATED: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – You're Invited to the Captain's Table
Sam notes that there are evacuation piles below the sacs: whatever the ship can't process. From one of these, he pulls a weapon out. La'an says she wants to rescue all of the surviving colonists. Even if they have to shoot their way out.
Aboard the Enterprise , Scotty continues to work on the 'cloaking' device. Pelia rushes towards him in a panic. Panicking as well, Scotty makes several adjustments to the device. It's working! Pike calls for an update. Scotty realizes Pelia was feigning panic. Scotty is bitter about Pelia's tactic. But Pelia says she knows Scotty and knew the strategy would prove successful. However, it's clear that Scotty is still struggling with the loss of the U.S.S. Stardiver . Across the Demarcation Line
The Enterprise approaches the demarcation line. Pike orders them to activate Scotty's device. Realizing it's a modified EM pulse emitter, Uhura says it makes sense. The Gorn's evolution has moved beyond using optical data. They use 'biometrics, heat and EM signatures.'
Gorn Hunter ships approach the Enterprise . Thanks to the device, they harmlessly pass. The ships return to an uncharted binary system with unique stellar activity. The radiation in the system will prevent the use of all but impulse power, and eventually, will prove too much for the shields. Nevertheless, Pike orders them there.
RELATED: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Pays Homage to Alien Franchise
Spock and Chapel determine that Batel's body and the Gorn hatchlings are relying on each other. But all of their simulations result in 100 percent fatality. Spock suggests using an Orion street drug for treatment. Then he apologizes for how things went before Chapel left. She accepts his apology. Spock says the thought of losing her left him untethered.
Chapel says things have gotten complicated, and she's 'not good at complicated.' She says she's still going to spend three months studying under Korby. They can check in on her return. The simulation once again finds 100 percent fatality. Spock observes Batel's human DNA can't handle it. Chapel proposes using Una's Illyrian blood. Although against regulation, it could save Batel's life. Chapel begins the simulation.
Meanwhile, the away team plans to escape with the Gorn transporter codes. This will require stealing a Gorn ship. Ortegas is sure she can fly it. But before they can begin, the sound of snarling Gorn reaches them.
RELATED: Star Trek : Worst First Contacts The Radiation Zone
On the Enterprise , Una and Uhura have gone over all their Gorn intel. In the observation lounge, they share conclusions with Pike. They have determined there is a relationship between coronal mass ejections and the Gorn. Pike says they already know that it can set off a frenzy. But Gorn inactivity follows certain stellar activity as well. Hibernation is triggered by unique solar phenomena. The team has identified this phenomenon. They have also identified the stellar activity that precedes frenzies. And a long cycle of Gorn activity is about to begin.
Mitchell informs them they'll soon be dropping out of warp. Uhura leaves. Una approaches Pike. She tells him she trusts Spock and Chapel with her blood. And because the mission is off-the-record, there's nothing to report. She urges Pike to be hopeful.
RELATED: Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week: Number One
Elsewhere, the simulation gives Batel her highest chance of survival yet: 86 percent. Chapel says they should continue.
Soon, the Enterprise arrives at the edge of the radiation zone. Mitchell refuses to leave her station until they get everyone back. Sensors locate the Gorn ship. But the ship is deep in the radiation zone. On the viewscreen, the ship seems poised to travel directly into one of the stars. It turns off the power and seemingly vanishes. Pike orders power to the shields. They're following the ship into the radiation zone. In medical, Batel is coding. Something has accelerated the Gorn's growth. Spock says a 14 percent chance of survival is better than certain death. Quarantine Mode
The radiation complicates the pursuit. The gravity wells of the stars do most of the work. Because of the bending light, which prevents seeing what happens after they pass through. Pike wonders if this is the Gorn homeworld. Myriad Gorn ships appear. They head towards Starfleet. Uhura sends a warning but can't confirm receipt. Una suggests dropping a long-range comm buoy. They must stop the invasion. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
In medical, Batel's condition worsens. Engaging quarantine mode, Spock and Chapel prepare for surgery. They inject Batel with the experimental serum. On the bridge, Uhura informs Pike that the Gorn are jamming their signal. The Gorn will reach the Federation before their warning does. Pike considers shooting. Una says the ship can't hold up against an armada.
RELATED: Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week: Chief Engineer Pelia
Pike summons Pelia. He recalls Una and Uhura's conclusion about the cycle that would put the Gorn to sleep. They must create a stellar flare. Pelia and Scotty arrive on the bridge. The latter informs Pike that creating a flare is impossible. Pike says they'll become the flare themselves. Scotty analyzes this strategy. Pelia says it's possible. By modifying deflector shields, they can magnetize the hull and gather stellar material. It's terrible odds, but Pike says they'll 'turn it off before [they] blow up.'
In medical, Chapel prepares to make an incision. But Spock stops her. He suggests they're looking at it from the wrong perspective. He proposes they treat the Gorn instead of Batel, feeding them and causing reabsorption. Chapel agrees. Ship Jacking Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Aboard the Gorn vessel, the away team heads towards the shuttles. La'an locates an interface. This leads to more flashbacks to her brother's death. M'Benga brings her back down. La'an gets the information that they need to save the colonists. They're interrupted by the approach of many Gorn soldiers. A firefight commences. La'an orders them to get to the ship. A Gorn lifts Ortegas, but La'an kills it.
On the Enterprise , Una says shutting down the EM device will cause the Gorn to attack them. Pike says this is desirable. They begin pulling solar energy to the ship. Meanwhile, the away team continues to flee. They arrive at the ship they plan to steal. Ortegas is injured and in pain, but demands she be put in the pilot seat.
RELATED: Star Trek War Journal: 8 Trek Episodes About War
Ortegas takes off. Other Gorn fighters pursue them. Ortegas' blood spills onto the ship's controls. Meanwhile, beta particles and gamma rays cover the Enterprise . The Gorn fighters are on an intercept course. Uhura receives the signal from La'an. She sends the transport codes and tells them to beam the Parnassians out.
The Enterprise 's hull integrity approaches critical failure. The Gorn ships vanish. Pike orders the deflector shields turned off. The Gorn have gone home. La'an and the others are heading back to the Enterprise . Our crew rescues the Parnassians. But have they just pushed the problem to someone else? She Flies the Ship
After losing so much blood, Ortegas collapses on the ship's controls. The rest of the away team surrounds her. 'I fly the ship,' Ortegas declares. Then, the away team is beamed back to the Enterprise .
In medical, Spock and Chapel have completed Batel's procedure. Chapel kisses Spock and thanks him for his assistance. Spock says, 'You're welcome,' and begins to walk away. But before he does so, he turns back to look at Chapel once more. Pike arrives to check on Batel. Spock is gone.
RELATED: Read our Star Trek: Strange New Worlds recaps
Una reports Ortegas is critical but stable. Pike orders a course for Earth. In medical, he approaches Batel. She remains unconscious. Pike tells his late father that he wins. He sits beside Batel and begins to pray. Batel awakens.
A tearful Pike relates what's happened. He tells her he really doesn't want to lose her. Batel says she's still there. The Enterprise leaves the binary star system.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds streams on Paramount+ on Thursdays.
Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week: ERICA ORTEGAS Avery Kaplan (she/her) is the author of several books and the Features Editor at Comics Beat. With her spouse Ollie Kaplan, Avery co-authored the middle school textbook on intersectionality Double Challenge: Being LGBTQ and a Minority. She was honored to serve as a judge for the 2021 - 2024 Cartoonist Studio Prize Awards and the 2021 Prism Awards. She lives in the mountains of Southern California with her partner and a pile of cats, and her favorite place to visit is the cemetery. You can also find her writing on Comics Bookcase, the Gutter Review, Shelfdust, the Mary Sue, StarTrek.com, in the Comics Courier and in many issues of PanelxPanel, and in the margins of the books in her personal library.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

David Letterman calls Paramount 'gutless' for canceling Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show'
David Letterman calls Paramount 'gutless' for canceling Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show'

USA Today

time10 minutes ago

  • USA Today

David Letterman calls Paramount 'gutless' for canceling Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show'

David Letterman, who hosted "The Late Show" from 1993 to 2015, joked that his predecessor, Stephen Colbert, is a "martyr" and questioned the motivations for canceling the CBS show. David Letterman is questioning the motivations behind the shock cancellation of his former CBS home, "The Late Show." Speaking with former "Late Night with David Letterman" colleagues Barbara Gaines and Mary Barclay in a July 25 clip from "The Barbara Gaines Show" on Letterman's YouTube channel, the 78-year-old comedian did not hold back. He threw barbs at CBS parent company Paramount Global and David Ellison, who's slated to become CEO after Paramount merges with his Skydance Media in an $8.4 billion deal. "It's all very strange. It's very complicated, but it was a bit of a surprise, wasn't it?" Letterman said. As the 14-minute Zoom conversation continued, he eventually called Paramount pulling the plug on Stephen Colbert's show "pure cowardice" and "gutless." Letterman hosted the show from 1993 until 2015, at which point Colbert took over post-"Colbert Report." After Colbert announced on July 17 that "The Late Show" would be ending in May after more than 30 years, Paramount released a statement that called the move "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night." The media company also maintained: "It is not related in any way to the show's performance, content, or other matters happening at Paramount." While Colbert's show is the top rated at 11:30 p.m. ET/PT, it was losing a reported $40 million a year. David Letterman blasts explanation that 'Late Show' was canceled for financial reasons Letterman speculated that Paramount is capitulating to Ellison, who might not "want any trouble from that guy," referring to Colbert, long known for his political satire and criticism of President Donald Trump. "Not only are we going to get rid of that guy, we're going to get rid of the whole franchise so you don't have to worry about another guy," Letterman said in an impersonation of Paramount executives. "It's gone, buddy!" "I think it's sad, but what this indicates also is (Ellison doesn't) want any trouble along the lines of freedom of the press or free speech or freedom of expression," Letterman surmised. "They don't want to get their hands dirty; they don't want the government going after them." He also cast doubt on the explanation that the "Late Show" cancellation was "purely a financial decision." "I don't think it was money. I think it was all to make sure (Ellison was) solid spending dad's (Larry Ellison's) money," he said. "You're telling me losing this kind of money happened yesterday?" he said. "I bet they were losing this kind of money a month ago. I'll bet they were losing this kind of money six weeks ago, or they have never been losing money. "Take a look at the CBS News. It's still in business, and I'm not certain that that's a profit center," he continued. What Letterman said before: The ex-host's subtle jab at CBS amid Colbert 'Late Show' cancellation 'We've all got to kiss Stephen Colbert's ring' Letterman, who was complimentary of Colbert and the work he's done since taking over Letterman's show, went on to excoriate Paramount's treatment of its star talent. "They did not do the correct thing. They did not handle Stephen Colbert, the face of that network, in the way he deserves to have been handled," he said. Letterman went on to declare that those who decided the fate of "The Late Show" would regret the move. "One day, if not today, the people at CBS who have manipulated and handled this are going to be embarrassed because this is gutless," Letterman said. "Now we've all got to kiss Stephen Colbert's ring now," he added, joking that he's a "martyr" for his firing.

Interstellar Meteors Hit Earth All the Time but Still Elude Astronomers
Interstellar Meteors Hit Earth All the Time but Still Elude Astronomers

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Interstellar Meteors Hit Earth All the Time but Still Elude Astronomers

Astronomers think small space rocks from beyond our solar system routinely strike Earth—but proving it isn't easy Aliens are visiting our solar system. Not little green men, sadly, but natural alien objects—cosmic bodies such as comets and asteroids born elsewhere in the galaxy that zip by the sun as they drift through the Milky Way. They're not so much visiting as just passing through. Though these objects were speculated to exist for a long time, we didn't know they were out there for sure until October 2017, when astronomers noticed a small body moving through space at exceptionally high speed. Observations over just a few nights showed it was moving far too quickly to be orbiting the sun and thus must have come from some other star. It was our first known interstellar visitor. [Sign up for Today in Science, a free daily newsletter] Eventually designated 1I/'Oumuamua, it was 30 million kilometers from Earth and already outward bound from the solar system when it was discovered, offering scant time for follow-up studies. But then, less than two years later, a second such object was found, also moving far faster than usual. 2I/Borisov turned out to be a comet very similar to those we're familiar with, except for its trajectory, which clearly showed it came from interstellar space. And now a third such alien body is barreling through the solar system: 3I/ATLAS, moving so rapidly its path is barely bent at all by the sun's gravity as it zooms past. In science, one is an anomaly and two might be coincidence, but three is a trend. Clearly, objects like this are passing by on the regular. Roughly speaking, there could be ones 100 meters in size or larger passing through the inner solar system at any time. Given their speed and intrinsic faintness, though, they're difficult to detect. We also know that when it comes to things such as asteroids and comets, nature tends to make many more smaller ones than bigger ones. In our own solar system, for example, only a couple of dozen main-belt asteroids are bigger than 200 km wide, but more than a million are 1 km across or larger. This generalization should hold for interstellar interlopers as well. For every kilometer-scale one that we see, there should be far more that are smaller. In fact, there could be millions of sand-grain-sized alien objects whizzing past us right now. And we already know that they're out there: in 2014 astronomers announced they had found seven grains of cosmic dust brought down to Earth from the Stardust space probe, which was designed to catch material ejected from a comet. Also, embedded in some meteorites that have hit Earth are tiny bits of material, called presolar grains, that are so old they actually formed around other stars. They got here after being blown across the void of space into the collapsing cloud of gas and dust that formed the sun and planets 4.6 billion years ago. Larger material could be ejected from an alien planetary system if it's given a gravitational assist when passing by a planet there, or it could be torn away from its parent star by another star passing closely to that system. So it seems certain interstellar jetsam would occasionally hit our planet. Earth is a small target, but with so many galactic bullets, you'd think some would actually find their way to our planetary bull's-eye. The problem is detecting them. Every day Earth is hit by very roughly 100 tons of locally grown interplanetary debris—material ejected from asteroids and comets native to our solar system—which translates into billions of tiny specks zipping across our sky daily. Detecting the tiny fraction that have an interstellar origin is tough. And the difficulty is not just in the sheer numbers. It's in tracing the trajectories of that small handful across the sky back up into space to calculate their orbits. When an object such as a planet or an asteroid orbits the sun, we say it's gravitationally bound to our star. That orbit in general is an ellipse, an oval shape. These can be defined mathematically, with the key factor being the eccentricity: how much the ellipse deviates form a circle. A perfect circle has an eccentricity of 0, and the higher the eccentricity, the more elliptical the orbit, up to a value of just under 1. An orbit with an eccentricity of 0.99, say, is extremely elongated; you might find that an object dropping down very close to the sun from the outer solar system has an eccentricity that high. It's possible to have an eccentricity higher than 1 as well. That kind of trajectory is called hyperbolic—named after the mathematical curve, not because it's exaggeratedly over-the-top—and an object on this path is not bound to the sun gravitationally. Once it's heading out, it's gone forever. It ain't coming back. This is how we know 'Oumuamua, Borisov and ATLAS are from interstellar space; each has an eccentricity greater than 1—'Oumuamua's is about 1.2 and Borisov's 3.4, which is quite high, but ATLAS has them both beat with an astonishing eccentricity of 6.2. That's extraordinarily high and also indicates it's hauling asteroid (or, more accurately, it's not comet back). Do we see any meteors with eccentricities like these? If the exact path of a meteoroid (the term for the solid bit that burns up in the air and becomes a meteor) through Earth's atmosphere can be determined, that can be backtracked up into space, allowing the object's trajectory, including its eccentricity, to be calculated. This can be done with multiple sky cameras set up in various locations; if a meteor streaks across their field of view, the multiple vantages can allow astronomers to triangulate on the rock and measure its path. There are quite a few such camera networks. It's actually difficult getting good enough data to determine solid orbits for meteoroids, though. Many do have eccentricities very close to 1; these likely come from long-period comets that originate out past Neptune. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory maintains a database of bright fireballs—exceptionally luminous meteors—at the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS). The earliest recorded meteors in the database date back to 1988, so there is a rich hunting ground in the data. Are any of the meteors listed hyperbolic? Unfortunately, no. At least, not unambiguously—there have been false positives but nothing clear-cut. Additionally, a study from 2020 looked at 160,000 measurements by the Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar covering 7.5 years. The researchers found just five potential interstellar meteors. The results aren't quite statistically strong enough to claim detections for sure, but they're very compelling. What we need are more eyes on the sky, more meteor camera networks that can catch as many of these pieces of cosmic ejecta burning up in our atmosphere as possible. It's a numbers game: the more we see, the more likely we'll see some that are not from around here. The science would be, well, stellar: these meteors can tell us a lot about the environments around other stars, the ways they formed and perhaps even the stars they come from. We're getting physical samples from the greater galaxy for free. We should really try to catch them. Hat tip to planetary scientist Michele Bannister for the link to the CNEOS article. Solve the daily Crossword

Two Takes Trek: Don't Use the Z-Word
Two Takes Trek: Don't Use the Z-Word

Geek Girl Authority

timean hour ago

  • Geek Girl Authority

Two Takes Trek: Don't Use the Z-Word

Welcome to Two Takes Trek, a weekly discussion on the newest Star Trek episodes. This week, we take a look at Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 Episode 3, 'Shuttle to Kenfori,' in which, according to Paramount+, 'In order to cure Batel, Pike and M'Benga travel to Klingon space, where M'Benga's past resurfaces on a dangerous planet.' Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, 'Shuttle to Kenfori' Hi, I'm Avery, and I hope to be in Bozeman, Montana, on April 5, 2063. And I'm Diana, and I believe in #JusticeForZora. RELATED: Read our Star Trek: Strange New Worlds recaps Disclaimer: The following discussion contains spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 Episode 3, 'Shuttle to Kenfori.' If you haven't watched it yet, you may want to stop reading here. Photo Credit: Marni Grossman/Paramount+ Big Hits Diana Keng: I love parallel plotlines almost as much as I love a good bookend. The Pike/M'Benga dynamic, playing out alongside the Una/Ortegas one, is an elegant narrative construct, and my Big Hit of the episode. We already knew that Pike (Anson Mount) and M'Benga's (Babs Olusanmokun) friendship goes back a long time. Here, it's reestablished and embellished by their reminiscing at the beginning of the mission. (Three ex-wives and an annulled marriage, M'Benga? Really?) Ultimately, their friendship holds despite hard truths coming to light during their time on Kenfori. The last thing Pike says to M'Benga sums it up: 'You're not a monster, Joseph, just a man. And my friend.' RELATED: 4 Star Trek Romances Conversely, Una (Rebecca Romijn) must respond to Ortegas's (Melissa Navia) very public insubordination and actions, which endangered the ship and its crew. Professionally, both women recognize that mistakes were made. In contrast to Pike and M'Benga, in their final exchange, Una asserts that this can't ever happen again, with Ortegas acknowledging and apologizing. Side by side, these plotlines are a masterclass in Starfleet crew dynamics. Avery Kaplan: I thought this episode had some very good continuity. I like seeing the trauma Ortegas experienced at the hands (claws?) of the Gorn continue to be explored. It was neat to see the little cameo from the R'Ongovian in 'Wedding Bell Blues' pay off. And I'm curious to see where this whole Batel-Gorn thing leads. I do still think it's a little odd that, after the Gorn had such a profound effect on the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, they are essentially not recognized a few years later in Star Trek: The Original Series' 'Arena.' Also, do they start wearing pretty dresses later on? Or wait … is Pretty Dress Gorn a descendant of Gorn-Chimera-Flower-Hybrid Batel (Melanie Scrofano)? Big Whiffs DK: To give in to my superficial side for a moment, what the heck is going on with Una's hair in this episode? Photo Credit: Marni Grossman/Paramount+ But seriously, my Big Whiff here is the eternal irrationality of the Klingon code of honor – no reference to the TNG episode implied – and its utter disregard for timing and context. If I have it straight, Bytha (Christine Horn) must restore family honor by killing her father, Rah (Robert Wisdom). He brought dishonor by defecting to the Federation. But M'Benga beat her to it. Now, she must kill M'Benga to avenge her father – the same one she was going to kill – and regain honorable standing. And the best time to do this is while a horde of ravenous plant-hybrid former humans and Klingons surrounds them? Talk about taking me out of the moment. And when their fight damaged the field generator? #FacePalm RELATED: When Franchises Collide: Star Trek and the Marvel Cinematic Universe AK: As a huge fan of George A. Romero's six Dead movies, I had high hopes for this episode. In Romero's zombie movies, the undead aren't just a horror movie threat; they're a vehicle for exploring social issues (often in an extremely unsubtle manner (complimentary)). Given the strong social commentary in Strange New Worlds Season 1 and Season 2, I had hoped that the tradition of undead thematic exploration would have been included in 'Shuttle to Kenfori.' But while the episode does pick up on M'Benga's plotline from Season 2's 'Under the Cloak of War,' I cannot for the life of me suss out any social commentary in connection with the zombies, which are — unfortunately — essentially reduced to 'just a horror movie threat.' In my opinion, it's definitely the Big Whiff of the episode. Photo Credit: Marni Grossman/Paramount+ Episode VIP DK: Sometimes, it's just one scene that steals the show for a character. Here, my VIP vote goes to Marie Batel for her honesty in the episode's closing moments with Pike. When she tells him that he's the reason she didn't share the plan with him, 'because I don't have the space to worry about how my dying affects your feelings,' it's not callousness, it's truth. Her life is hers, and so are her choices. To be fair, when Pike admits he wanted to be in on the decision so that he could support her making it, he's being honest, too. But stupid honest. All feeling, no thought. It's a selfish sentiment, and she calls him on that – 'It wasn't about you!' Batel's said before that she knows she's living on borrowed time. When Spock mindmelds with her to help control the pain, we see the level of horror she's been living with, something harrowing enough that it breaks a Vulcan's control. The fact that she chooses to live despite everything she knows she's risking is inspiring. RELATED: TV Review: Wynonna Earp: Vengeance AK: I have to give Episode VIP to M'Benga. I loved his line deliveries throughout the episode, from his assertion that he never gets caught to his stating, 'I like to think of myself as a work of progress.' Same, M'Benga, same. Photo Credit: Marni Grossman/Paramount+ Best Easter Eggs/Inside Jokes DK: Full disclosure: I've never watched any of Romero's Dead films. So, if I hadn't been checking Trek canon for a previous mention of the planet Kenfori, I would never have realized that Ken Foree starred in 1978's Dawn of the Dead. Well played, writers. And kudos to the many visual references to iconic scenes from Dawn, especially that last shot of Bytha's outstretched hand as the horde chows down on her. AK: Ken Foree as Peter in Dawn of the Dead is one of the best characters in a zombie movie ever, so I'm glad the title paid him homage. On a similar note, I assume the title 'Shuttle to Kenfori' is a play on the title of the 2016 zombie movie Train to Busan. While Romero's Dead movies are (and almost always shall be) my favorite zombie stories, I appreciate the reference to another influential flick of the undead. And yes, I am inclined to assume 'the z-word' is a reference to 2004's Shaun of the Dead. When there's no more room in hell, the dead will be referenced on Star Trek. Elements That Will LLAP DK: M'Benga and Ortegas both have trauma and personal demons to contend with. I hope their healing processes are given the time and space needed. Clearly, the Federation needs some notes on Kenfori before the next ship decides to disregard the Klingon 'Turn Back Or Die' beacon. (As an aside, I'd love to know when Klingons got remote-controlled ornithopter shuttles like the one Bytha summoned to the landing pad.) It'll be tricky for Pike to explain how he knows what happened to the Kenfori scientists without a mission on the books. Finally, if the chimera blossom works to help Batel survive her Gorn parasite, there's probably going to be a discussion about the status and security clearance of human-Gorn hybrids. RELATED: Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week: Erica Ortegas AK: I'm definitely looking forward to the continuation of both M'Benga and Ortegas' plot lines as well. I especially like the way M'Benga has not been defined by a single subplot over all three seasons, but instead has had multiple storylines explored. I want Ortegas to continue to play a bigger role throughout this season and through to the end of the series … but of course, her absence from The Original Series makes me nervous about her possible fate. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds drops new episodes every Thursday on Paramount+. Hit It: Best Quotes From the STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS Season 3 Premiere Diana lives in Vancouver, BC, Canada, where she invests her time and energy in teaching, writing, parenting, and indulging her love of all Trek and a myriad of other fandoms. She is a lifelong fan of smart sci-fi and fantasy media, an upstanding citizen of the United Federation of Planets, and a supporter of AFC Richmond 'til she dies. Her guilty pleasures include female-led procedurals, old-school sitcoms, and Bluey. She teaches, knits, and dreams big. You can also find her writing at The Televixen, Women at Warp, TV Fanatic, and TV Goodness.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store