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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (SNW) Season 3

Season 1Season 2Season 3

Hegemony IIWedding Bell BluesShuttle to Kenfori

 

Hegemony II

Synopsis

"Hegemony II"

Instead of withdrawing immediately, Captain Pike and his bridge crew investigate options to tag the particular Gorn destroyer on which part of the landing party and the colonists are being held captive, with the option to save them later. They come up with a plan to match the shield frequency of the Gorn ship and fire a wolkite beacon in a photon torpedo casing at the enemy, which wouldn't raise suspicion. After arriving at the rendezvous point with the fleet, Admiral April tells Pike that there will be no official action against the Gorn while these are still outside Federation space. But unofficially, he approves of a mission to rescue the prisoners. Using the EM transponder that Montgomery Scott devised to hide himself from the Gorn, the Enterprise follows the signal of the beacon and approaches a binary system. Meanwhile in sickbay, Chapel and Spock evaluate options to remove the Gorn hatchling from Captain Batel. But all simulated scenarios lead to her death. They come up with an illegal treatment that involves Illyrian DNA donated by Una, which raises the chance of survival after the surgery to 14%. The Enterprise locates the ship with the wolkite beacon. But the Gorn destroyer appears to vanish in a heavily irradiated zone where Pike suspects their homeworld is located. Just as he plans to follow the trail, countless small Gorn ships emerge, heading straight for the Federation. Pike sees no other choice to turn around and follow them, to warn the fleet once the Enterprise is in communication range again. But then he remembers what Uhura and Una found out about the Gorn activity, which appears to be governed by stellar events. Although their behavior is not yet completely decoded, a stellar flare could cause them to go into hibernation. Pike consults Pelia and Scotty. The two can imagine that the ship may trigger a stellar flare, although they advise against it. So the Enterprise approaches the midpoint between the two stars, deactivates the cloaking and creates a flare. This is the desired signal for the Gorn to hibernate. In the meantime, the away team consisting of La'an, M'Benga, George Kirk and Ortegas has escaped from their cocoons. They activate a Gorn interface and acquire the transport codes, which would allow the Enterprise to beam the colonists out. Pursued by the Gorn, they make it to one of the small ships, but Ortegas gets wounded. Although she hardly stays conscious, she insists on piloting the ship, while La'an transfers the codes to the Enterprise. Hundreds of colonists are saved this way just as all Gorn ships vanish into hibernation. The landing party can be beamed aboard as well. Ortegas is in critical condition but alive. In sickbay, Spock is not content with the low odds for Batel to survive. Just as the surgery is about to commence, he suggests to Chapel to feed the Gorn inside her body, so it would stay inside, and then let it be absorbed, with the Illyrian DNA fighting the infection. This procedure eventually saves Batel's life.

Commentary

Almost two years ago, season 2 ended with a cliffhanger that had vibes of "The Best of Both Worlds", the arguably most famous episode of the whole franchise. The second part continues in this vein. The situation is dire, the enemy is superior and our crew is running out of options. The broad strokes of the story and some details are similar as in the classic TNG episode. The efforts to remove Batel from the clutches of the Gorn while the rest of the crew attempts to stop an invasion, the idea to put the Gorn to sleep eventually, it all comes across as familiar - and probably not by mere chance.

I appreciate that the crisis is not resolved the easy way, like with one single stroke of genius. For almost 50 minutes, the crew works hard to survive and to leave no one behind, and everyone contributes a bit to the solution. This is a big improvement over how a similar story would have been done for Discovery. But I also think the story involves too many twists and too convoluted scientific and technical concepts. Especially the pattern "We have options A and B... so let's go with C" repeats just too often. This was different "The Best of Both Worlds II", which was thrilling because it took time to show how decisions came about and how plans were being executed. In "Hegemony II", the situation changes once every one or two minutes, which is exciting in its own right, but rather because so much is going on, not everything of which may make sense. We are simply given no time to reflect on it. I admit I stopped and replayed a couple of scenes, trying to grasp what has just happened, and not chiefly due to the language barrier.

"Hegemony II" showcases the crew's humanity under pressure, as they are confronted with a fearsome enemy. The writing hits the right tone. Our characters are frightened but maintain professionalism, without badly timed conflicts or inappropriate humor. That said, the episode plays it safe. Everybody survives against astronomical odds. And although the resolution of simply placing the Gorn into hibernation evokes the classic TNG episode, it is just as well a convenient excuse not to have to care about them any longer (and to be able to switch to a humorous tone again). Some fans will probably label this as "aligning with canon". To me, the outcome of the explicitly classified mission is a bit like another Lex Spock - if we just don't talk about the Gorn any longer (and don't tell Kirk!), everything will be fine.

I wrote in the review of the first part that I don't like the comedic new Scotty, who does not feel like a credible interpretation of James Doohan's character. Well, at least he is not as over the top any more in "Hegemony II" once he is given a useful task. But as he is talking with Pelia, it strikes me that we have two quirky people with strange accents as representatives of engineering in this series. I find this somewhat offensive because it is not what engineers are like in real life, or should be like in Trek. I miss the days when we were aptly represented by Geordi. The idea that Scotty could bring about miracles when under pressure instead of understanding what he is doing adds insult to injury. Sure, this is a bit like he used to be in TOS as well. But in a series that redefines all legacy characters anyway, we don't need such a perpetuation of detrimental stereotypes.

There is a lot of action in "Hegemony II". Aside from everyone being agitated most of the time, not so much is going on on the emotional side. Yet, we have that brief moment at the end of the episode when Pike is reunited with Marie, which unexpectedly almost brought a tear to my eye. This part of the story is so well written and played. In contrast, Spock behaves like a teenager in unrequited love and remains an embarrassment, as much as I like Ethan Peck. I haven't watched the next episode yet, but the trailer looks like I will have to write more on the topic.

Annotations

Rating: 6

 

Wedding Bell Blues

Synopsis

"Wedding Bell Blues"

Stardate 2251.7: The Enterprise has been at Starbase 1 for repairs for three months. The crew is looking forward to the centennial celebration of the founding of the Federation. When Beto Ortegas comes to visit his sister, who has physically recovered from her injuries, Uhura catches his eye. Spock is happy that Christine Chapel will return from her research assignment. But when she is beamed aboard, it turns out she is in love with her supervisor Dr. Korby, much to Spock's chagrin. A bartender offers him a special drink, upon which everything is different. He is now going to marry Christine, and everyone is looking forward to the big wedding ceremony. Only Dr. Korby is not on board with it. Spock notices that he sabotages the wedding. When Korby tells him that reality has changed, Spock has to admit that this is true. But no one else seems to be aware of it. The two conclude that the wedding planner is responsible for the illusion. But when they confront the guy with their suspicion, he threatens to kill them if they don't play along. So Spock grudgingly attends the ceremony to the pleasure of the crew and many guests. Only Korby speaks up, upon which the wedding planner turns him into a dog - which no one seems to be bothered about. Christine finally notices too that something is wrong. The wedding planner is furious and threatens to kill everyone. But then his father appears, an energy lifeform, and reprimands his son for his behavior. The wedding planner frees all attendees from the illusion. After a brief period of confusion, everyone celebrates the foundation of the Federation. Only Erica Ortegas leaves the party early. It looks like she is suffering from PTSD.

Commentary

When I watched the preview clip of "Wedding Bell Blues" featuring Spock's awkward encounter with Dr. Korby, I expected just another story poking fun at the iconic character, hazing or humiliating him. In other words, business as usual. SNW already had many such instances, with whole episodes on the topic such as "Spock Amok" and "Charades" being only the tip of the iceberg. I had no idea how far they would go this time.

My expected reaction before watching the episode was to weigh in on the re-imagined Dr. Korby but give the rest of the story a chance. I didn't anticipate that Korby would be one of the smaller problems, and that I would actually sort of like him.

"Wedding Bell Blues" starts with an overall nice wrap-up of the events of "Hegemony I/II". The Enterprise is being repaired. Pike and the now recovered Captain Batel are making plans for a possible common future. Erica Ortegas tries to cope with the aftereffects of her Gorn experience with her younger brother Beto as a sparring partner. Spock practices dancing with La'an. Oh well, and after checking his wardrobe and his hair, he welcomes back Christine on the ship, only to be notified that she is now in love with Dr. Korby. She could have told him in advance, but she is a bitch for the sake of the surprise. Anyway, although Spock behaves like a school nerd whose girlfriend ditches him for the quarterback, this is still one of the more pleasant twists of the episode, and in line with how the series generally deals with Spock. The same goes for the scene in the crew lounge where Korby and Chapel report on their romantic research mission, which Spock endures with a good deal of masochism. I actually think it is very funny for a moment when Spock appears and the new ensign is still eager to hear about the couple's common adventure, whereupon everyone who knows about Spock and Chapel suddenly claims to be uninterested.

It would have been somewhat irritating but overall okay if the episode had continued with that tone and with that theme, if only it had continued with a story and not with a fever dream.

Everything begins to go south the moment when Spock wakes up in the fake reality. Strange things happen all the time on Trek. But it is irksome right from the start because the narrative is totally about Spock's wounded ego now. No matter who or what created the illusion and for what in-universe reason, the obvious real-world purpose is to torment him in an unprecedented way for our amusement. It was also clear right from the start that whatever the resolution is would not satisfy me. A whole episode about a fake scenario specifically created to make Spock's dream come true? Come on! There is simply no conceivable deeper meaning or other takeaway that could justify it. The only positive thing I can say is that Spock endures the farce with admirable composure, also because Ethan Peck always gives his very best to preserve the character's dignity within the boundaries of the script. In every other respect, it is still one step down from last season's cringey "Charades".

I admit it took me a while to recognize that the bartender is Trelane (or his brother or cousin), although the coat and the sideburns should have given it away (which makes no sense anyway, since the original Trelane dressed like that because he had not seen the human development after the early 19th century). I bet many fans were much faster to see what is going on, but perhaps I simply lack the mindset that SNW is a TOS revival show with all the same characters while watching it, although I often complain about that mindset after watching. I also don't care at all for "Grand Unified Theories" that strive to fit together what never belonged together, usually in a fanboyish manner. I am aware that Roddenberry himself suggested that Trelane was a member of the Q Continuum, but after almost four decades in which this was only speculation, I disapprove of declaring it canon. Also, it makes the universe so small if everyone knows or is related to everyone else, which has become an obsession in modern Trek.

There are original stories in the series. There are even weird experiments such as "Those Old Scientists" or "Subspace Rhapsody". Spock mentions the "improbability field" and the singing to Korby when they muse about the cause of the current phenomenon, thereby confirming the canonicity of the musical episode through the fourth wall. Anyway, SNW has shown on several occasions how it can excel when it leaves TOS alone, when it neither mocks the original and its most famous character nor violates canon big time. In contrast, in episodes like "Wedding Bell Blues" as a new prime example, they are just remaking TOS (pretending it is a prequel), with redefined characters (pretending they are still the same), with Spock as a punching ball or butt of the joke (pretending that they honor the legacy).

When Trelane's daddy (Q if you will) appears and reprimands his boy, it is the predictable low point of the episode and perhaps of the whole series.

There are a few things I like about "Wedding Bell Blues". As already mentioned, it skillfully wraps up the exciting Gorn double feature. And as the annoying Trelane is gone and everyone is back to normal in the end, there are a few nice touches. I think Spock and La'an make an intriguing character duo, considering how in earlier seasons she used to be just as stiff and by the book as Spock. She also seems to have overcome her Gorn trauma, quite unlike Erica Ortegas, who is still at the beginning. I love the Edosian bartender and I can understand well that Pike would hire her! Finally, playing "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham! is a wonderful choice still in the 23rd century. One point for the Edosian and the song!

Annotations

Rating: 1

 

Shuttle to Kenfori

Synopsis

"Shuttle to Kenfori"

Stardate 2449.1: Captain Batel is ready to take on her new commission, when the destructive Gorn tissue in her body begins to grow again. Spock suggests a treatment with the rare Chimera blossom, which could "move invasive molecules through cell membranes". A place where this flower may be found is a former Federation research facility on a planet named Kenfori. It was raided by the Klingons and had to be abandoned because of the peace treaty. Pike approves of an unofficial mission to Kenfori but insists on going there himself, together with Dr. M'Benga, so he would be responsible for breaking regulations, rather than Spock. The two take a shuttle, cross an asteroid field and run into a Klingon warning beacon that tells them to stay away. But they land regardless. On their way to the research station, M'Benga notes that there are no lifesigns at all, only plants. As they arrive, they quickly find the flowers. Then a Klingon landing party shows up and a brief skirmish ensues. It turns out that, despite the lack of lifesigns, the planet is inhabited. Former Federation staff as well as invading Klingons have mutated to zombies. M'Benga explains the probable reason for the mutation to Pike: a hybridization experiment that went horribly wrong when the lab seals were broken in the course of the Klingon invasion. Pike now recognizes the truth about the treatment of Batel, that the flower will hybridize her cells, rather than remove the Gorn DNA. The Klingons eventually kill the zombies just as they are going to attack Pike and M'Benga. The two are taken prisoners by the last surviving female warrior and proceed to the roof where a Klingon shuttle is to arrive. Pike and M'Benga erect a forcefield to keep the zombies out. The woman reveals that she is Bytha, the daughter of the war criminal Dak'Rah that M'Benga killed. M'Benga admits that he murdered Dak'Rah and did not act in self-defense. She challenges the doctor to a ritual combat to regain her honor that her father took away from the family. M'Benga wins, but spares her life. As the zombies break through the forcefield, Bytha attracts their attention and dies an honorable death. In the meantime, the Enterprise has been hiding from a D7 battlecruiser inside the asteroid field, but due to Erica Ortegas going too fast, the Klingons are able to detect the ship. This leaves no other option but Erica's plan to warp into the lower atmosphere to beam out Pike and M'Benga, which Una deemed reckless. Una relieves Ortegas of active duty for two weeks for the insubordination. Pike grudgingly accepts Marie's treatment but is miffed that he wasn't asked in advance.

Commentary

Heads up: If your tricorder shows no lifesigns, the undead may be just around the corner! The so far only notable live-action Trek episode with something like zombies in it was ENT: "Impulse". Thankfully. Because it is always the same tired formula. There are mindless hordes that will bite and transform you into one of them unless you pulverize them by the hundreds. At least, it keeps the make-up and VFX people busy. The motif has never evolved since it first appeared and is hopelessly monotonous. It is also rather cringey than creepy, turning every zombie movie or TV episode made today into a parody of the genre, rather than something genuinely terrifying. It was a choice that raises eyebrows to add zombies as a threat scenario in "Shuttle to Kenfori", especially since they have no further significance for the story. The time and budget could have been spent on something meaningful.

The zombies aside, the plot is pretty standard. It feels like a checklist of clichés we see every other week. In particular, the omnipresence of asteroid or debris fields in SNW and the idea to hide the ship or shuttle inside are so extremely overused it only makes me yawn.

Yet, there are those two twists in "Shuttle to Kenfori" that are still worth discussing. The first comes when Pike finds out that the treatment with the flower extract would turn Batel into a human-Gorn hybrid. Well, the name "Chimera blossom" could have given it away, but everyone keeps Pike in the dark about it because, uhm - why exactly? When Pike confronts M'Benga and later Marie herself, their answers are inconclusive: "Because of you." But what does that mean? We know that our good captain has a strong moral compass. But we already have three instances of him breaking the rules to help Marie and his people, only in "Hegemony II" and in this episode: He (silently) approved of the illegal treatment with Una's DNA and he agreed to go on two missions off the record, to the Gorn ship back then and to Kenfori now. This realistically isn't the reason. So maybe it is just to keep away the worrisome truth from him. Until he finds it out anyway. I don't claim what people feel about Pike has to make perfect sense, but it doesn't leave me content if I don't get a better rationale.

The other twist is the arguably more interesting one, although it doesn't come as a big surprise. M'Benga and the Klingons - it somehow had to happen. Our doctor's encounter with his nemesis in the season 2 episode "Under the Cloak of War" was one of the most captivating stories of the series so far, and quite possibly the darkest one. Still, the story of M'Benga meeting and eventually stabbing war criminal Dak'Rah didn't leave me totally content for several reasons. One of them was the awkwardly fabricated uncertainty about whether or not it was murder and whether or not Pike knew that M'Benga was lying. M'Benga comes clean in "Shuttle to Kenfori", and it also becomes clear that Pike had no idea that the doctor lied to him - although my impression in "Under the Cloak of War" was that he suspected it. As much as I appreciate that the story is concluded now, his path to redemption is strangely effortless. The captain does not resent him killing someone and then making up a story; he even covers it up once again in the end. There could have been more about it - perhaps if they hadn't been beleaguered by zombies.

When Bytha introduced herself as Dak'Rah's daughter and confronted M'Benga about what he did to her father, I was just going object that Dak'Rah was a pariah among his people, whose honor his daughter realistically wouldn't defend. Fortunately the writers did remember Klingon traditions and did remember their own storyline. It may seem absurd in a human mindset that Bytha, who hated her father for dishonoring her family, would want to kill her enemy's enemy. But from a Klingon perspective, it may make sense, perhaps with the following line of reasoning. Knowingly or not, M'Benga thwarted Bytha's redemption, which may give her the right to challenge him to a combat to take the honor of the kill from him.

Overall, "Shuttle to Kenfori" would rank higher in my view without the zombies and with more original ideas instead of clichés. But even if we leave these problems aside, the three conflicts in the story (the third one being Ortegas's insubordination) could have been dealt with better. Well, at least there are consequences for Ortegas in the end, unlike for M'Benga. I also think the flow of the story is uneven, with cuts to other places occurring too often the very moment something dramatic is going to happen.

Annotations

Rating: 3

 


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