We’ve known since day one of Strange New Worlds that the story of Captain Christopher Pike was a tragedy. So, much of what he does within his personal life is shaped by that knowledge – from how he chooses to mentor his crew to his relationship with Marie. And while very few people know about the fixed point in Pike’s future, Marie Batel was one of them. And she was perfectly happy to stand by his side (and him by her’s) as he marched forward toward that moment when his entire life would change. Which is what makes this twist in their romance – and the story of Captain Batel’s recovery from her encounter with the Gorn all the way back in the season two finale – even more tragic. Because instead of Chris becoming disabled due to a training accident, pushing Marie into the role of caregiver and changing their lives forever, Chris has to be the one to say a final goodbye* to Marie as she nobly sacrifices herself – and her dreams for her life in Starfleet and by Chris’ side – to ultimately save the galaxy. Heady stuff.
*As much as I selfishly wish we could get more time with the always excellent Melanie Scrofano as Batel – especially because, on a show that seems to relish in throwing romance into every story, her chemistry with Anson Mount’s Pike was always perfection – I do hope the series doesn’t opt to bring her back in some form. A dream sequence? I’ll allow it, although I think the extended look at what the Pike-Batel household could be was more than enough to show us their shared dreams and wants for the future. But this was a fitting and complete ending for a rich, layered recurring character on a series that is often hit-or-miss when it comes to creating complex characters. It’s time to let her memory rest and move forward.
When Star Trek is at its best, it grapples with the nature of humanity. The good, the bad, and the ugly (which remains a rare foray of Trek storytelling, but often some of its absolute best). And for all its background storytelling about alien cultures and wars between good and evil, the heart of this episode was the nature of sacrifice. The gift of Pike and Batel’s joint hallucination, wherein they could live out their fantasy of what a life between them could be, is the balm that allows Marie to make her choice and accept her fate. And, for a man like Pike, who has his own fated Sword of Damocles hanging over his head in everything he does (for all we hear about it, it remains impressive that Pike doesn’t just assume he’s immortal in the present and go off and do crazy things), surrendering to fate still remains something hard for him to process. And that’s such an interesting, so very human reaction from our Captain. He knows he is touched by fate – accepts it, leans into it, lets it guide his actions both macro and micro, yet when the love of his life realizes that she, too, has a role she must play despite her wants, well, that’s a bridge too far in the moment. Yes, he comes around. Yes, he’s devastated. But watching that minor struggle was so interesting.
And speaking of the humanity of characters, if I have one complaint about the episode it’s the use of Ensign Gamble. Not the character and certainly not the actor. But in how he was deployed both earlier in the season and in the finale. In order to make this “betrayal” or heel turn truly work, we needed to really understand Gamble and M’Benga’s relationship and just why the doctor was so close to the nurse. As I wrote back in our last encounter with these villains, the series failed to lay that groundwork well enough to make M’Benga’s actions make much sense. Sure, he clearly liked the kid, but we needed several more scenes with them to flesh out that relationship. Especially if key points of the season finale were going to hinge on that friendship. And really, so much of M’Benga’s character this season has felt like plug-and-play character building. What do we know about him? He was a vicious solider back in the Klingon war. He loved his daughter who he lost to a devastating disease (something that was such a key plot point back in season one and seems to have been more or less forgotten at this point). And he’s a damn good doctor and generally lovely guy to have around. But, beyond that, the writers just keep cycling back to the same beats with him (similarly to how they appear reticent to give Erica Ortegas more to do – the penultimate episode of this season not withstanding – or even Una, who didn’t have all that much to do this season after getting some great arcs in season two). It’s both puzzling and frustrating. All we really needed was a scene of Gamble and M’Benga talking, outside of Sick Bay, about something. A chance to see who they were to each other as colleagues and people, to ground that relationship to make both Gamble’s death and M’Benga’s desire to avenge it make sense.
It’s also interesting that the writers skimped on building that relationship – which was necessary for the finale – while they spent so much time this season seeding the ground for the relationships between Kirk and his future crew members. And sure, we need to see that (although it’s a bit strange that Kirk’s ship always seems to be close to the Enterprise right when they need a hand), but you need to think toward the immediate storytelling payoff before indulging in something that will pay off two seasons down the line. This isn’t a complaint – I enjoy watching these nascent bonds form (and I’ll say it again – Martin Quinn’s Scotty was the MVP add of the season). But it worries me when the writing staff spends more time making sure Spock and Kirk become friends than exploring why Gamble was so important to M’Benga.
But, you know what? On the whole, I was happy with this finale. The emotional heft of the end to the relationship between Batel and Pike carried the episode through some of its more rickety story beats (although – a few weeks after the Tardis made an appearance – I could have sworn Pelia referenced traveling through time with a Doctor, which is the kind of Easter Egg I enjoy seeing). The loss of Scrofano as a part of the series will be felt moving on, both as Pike grapples with how to confront his fated future without Batel at his side and because Scrofano was always one of the actors you knew you could count on to deliver a great performance each and every time. And on a series that tends to tease loss (lest we forget, there are only a few characters who don’t appear in The Original Series, so only a few who can generate true stakes when placed in harm’s way), watching the story follow through with effectively killing off a beloved character was a sign that perhaps there’s some steel still behind a series that has leaned more toward the absurd than emotionally stirring stories of late.
Season three of Strange New Worlds was definitely uneven. And knowing that we only have a handful of episodes left with this crew together, every episode counts. But I’m happy that the final one-two punch remembered that characters are the key to telling great Trek stories. Hopefully season four (which is in post-production) will lean more into character-driven storytelling and less into flash when it arrives (presumably next year). Because this is a heck of a cast and a heck of a set of characters. They deserve the chance to really grow as they move on to their futures.
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