When you end a season on a cliffhanger and then wait so long to release the next season that the season after that one starts production, it becomes hard to hide whether or not certain characters make it through the resolution of said cliffhanger alive and mostly well. And when you release a trailer that includes new scenes with all of the key characters who were left in limbo in that cliffhanger? Well, you pretty much destroy any true stakes within that season premiere. But you know what? Despite knowing that La’an, Ortegas, and Batel weren’t going to die ( Doctor M’Benga appears on The Original Series and Sam Kirk, as Star Trek fans know, already has his future set in stone, unlike the other three characters), I was surprised at how much dramatic tension this episode managed to craft – especially considering that the episode’s C-plot was the one involving our stranded crewmen.
There’s something truly special about Strange New Worlds. No matter the size and complexity of the story – and this one was definitely complex – it still manages to balance each plot line, provide each of our central characters with key moments to shine, and allow the inevitably positive resolution* to come about without making it seem like too much of a deus ex machina. Was it a bit too perfect that Spock managed to come up with a cure for Batel mere moments before he and Chapel attempted a risky procedure almost certain to kill her? Sure – and even though she’s “not out of the woods yet,” we know she’s going to be physically okay (mentally, well, I think everyone is going to need some therapy after this one – especially the always recalcitrant La’an). Was it a bit too on the nose that Pike managed to get the team to stop the dangerous work around Scotty engineered right at the moment it would stop the Gorn as well as right before it would destroy the ship? 100%, but I’m not going to complain about it. As for Ortegas somehow being physically able to fly that ship despite having had her abdomen flayed, you know what? She’s Erica Ortegas, so I’m going to assume she can fly any ship no matter what the situation.
*In my season two finale review, I stated that I wouldn’t be surprised if someone like Ortegas (or, you know, at least some colonists) died as a result of being captured by the Gorn. Of course, I should have realized that while Strange New Worlds is the best Trek since Deep Space Nine, it is, in fact not Deep Space Nine. It’s a much lighter series on the whole and while tragedy does strike on occasion – see the death of Hemmer back in season one – it’s a rare event. So, while the death of a named character would have upped the stakes and made the Gorn into true villains, now that they are essentially dispatched for the rest of the series in hibernation, I understand not having anyone die.
What made this episode work as well as it did – despite the lines of magical thinking and action that led to a casualty-free resolution – is that balance of light and darkness. From Pike cracking a joke to Scotty and Pelia when poor Scotty is about to have a coronary at the thought of trying his “turn the ship into a sun” gambit to Pelia, well, doing the same with Scotty (the poor guy is going to have to get a stronger constitution to make it on this ship), the episode never got too bogged down in the danger and pressure of what the characters were going through. Yes, La’an started to have PTSD flashbacks – a really nice touch, and something most episodic series might not have taken the time to call back to – and Sam Kirk was still willing to stick his hands in suspect slimy places with no regard for his safety (seriously, it was nice to see his life science knowledge help save the team, but that man needs to remember where he is and take a moment before acting), but there was just enough levity to each of the three story arcs to temper what could have been a truly intense 45 minutes.
And that’s not an easy thing to pull off. To keep the tension high when your audience almost certainly knows no one is truly in danger, to weave in just enough tension breaking humor – or a touch of romance – to make sure we understand the humanity of the characters who are trying to save not only themselves but countless others. That’s hard, but great work. So sure, I was hoping for a consequence or two to befall our heroes along the way – and maybe they still will (with Ortegas’ injury, Batel’s recovery, and La’an’s PTSD resurgence left more or less fully unresolved at the close of the episode) – but I’m happy to trade that desire for an episode that highlighted the best of our characters, told a full and complete story, and that started off with everyone’s favorite Trek voice over line “And now, the conclusion.” I’m excited to see what this season of Strange New Worlds has in store for us. With the announcement that the series will be ending after a truncated fifth season (a reminder, this is season three, season four is currently shooting, and season five is still a ways away), I’m ready to treasure every episode we have left. Punch it.
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