Strange New Worlds – Shuttle to Kenfori Review

I didn’t love this episode. While it offered some key pieces of character development for three of our characters (despite still only being a guest star – or, perhaps a recurring character – Captain Batel is getting a heck of a lot of screen time), the episode felt a bit muddled at times in how it was trying to dish out that very important information. Zombies and Klingons forcing our crew to dish out their secrets to one another meant that the horror of the situations they were encountering tended to overshadow the key bits of personal intel we learned. I also wasn’t too keen that the series returned to the Klingon well of storytelling in a mostly superficial way in order to get both M’Benga and Ortegas to reveal their deep secrets.

Let’s tackle the M’Benga section of the story right out of the gate. Last season, when we got the chance to explore the toll the Klingon War took on Chapel, M’Benga and, to a lesser extent, Ortegas, while the Enterprise was being held away in reserve, it was clear that that there were some some pretty deep scars left on all three of those characters. And when we saw M’Benga confront his Klingon nemesis and kill him – despite there being some debate on whether or not he killed him, I personally thought it was pretty clear that he absolutely did and got away with it (and that Pike would have let him get away with it regardless of having plausible deniability) – I assumed that, like La’an with the Gorn, that moment would be the one that allowed him to move forward, largely unburdened. So, bringing back that plot point, throwing him back in with the Klingons, and having Pike learn that yes, he did in fact murder a Klingon and lie about it, well, I’m not sure it really gave us that much in terms of deepening one of the show’s most complex and compelling characters. Honestly, the revelation that Spock and M’Benga were hiding that the treatment Batel had approved would, in essence, combine her DNA with that of the Gorn, was a much more interesting reveal in terms of the relationship between the captain and his chief medical officer.

After all, of course M’Benga wouldn’t tell Pike about the dangers and impact of the treatment – that choice is completely Marie’s and despite their relationship, Pike doesn’t get a say in it (doubly so, since she and he have the same rank). And while killing a diplomat, lying about it to your captain and Starfleet, and getting away with it is a court martial-worthy offense, having your friend not tell you something that impacts you on a deeply personal level – even though it was the right decision to make – is much more gutting. And that would have been a more interesting thread to pull on. Stick them on the planet, watch Pike excitedly learn they have the MacGuffin plant, and then have him realize, slowly, that this plant could represent something truly horrible for him and Marie. And perhaps then dive into the other times M’Benga has kept secrets that could hurt Pike or the ship (his daughter in the transporter buffer would be a great place to start) and try to work through why that is. It could absolutely lead back to his time in the Klingon War, and how keeping things under wraps was how you stayed alive. But having him confront the daughter of the man he killed, spare her life, and then have her die at the hands of the zombies while she lets them live felt pretty hollow.

You know what didn’t feel hollow? The slow unraveling of Erica Ortegas. The trope of the broken solider who manages to pass a psych consult, who continues to lead with bravado despite a churning feeling inside that something is wrong, and then uses that bravado to almost kill everyone while having it all be mistaken for brilliance isn’t new. But the way it played out here was pretty flawless – thanks in large part to the performance of Melissa Navia. Now, I do want to make clear that I sincerely hope this isn’t the end of the “Ortegas is still a mental mess from the Gorn attack” arc – and I suspect we’ve got a bit more in this arc to go, because the woman who walked out of the dressing down from Una didn’t seem particularly cowed. She seemed angry that she got caught.

From having La’an clock that something wasn’t right when Ortegas was borderline insubordinate in the Senior Staff meeting – something that Una brushed off, despite pointing out that La’an would know a thing or two about having a hard time recovering from dealing with the Gorn (which, you know, might be why you should listen to her, Una) – to having her brilliant show of piloting skill roundly praised by everyone, only for us to learn that she took steps to disobey orders, then lied about it? Masterful writing. Una wanting to assume the best in her pilot, especially with Pike gone, and then having that trust broken isn’t something that should be forgiven easily. Yes, two weeks off work and remedial work with the warrant officer to learn about the chain of command sucks. But that’s not really something that will change the root issue here: Ortegas is acting reckless because she needs to prove she has control over her life and her ship. She lost that control at the hands of the Gorn and she wants to get it back. Only, anyone who has ever felt that way – or seen any piece of media about that type of mental block after trauma – knows it’s not something that gets better after a couple weeks on the bench. I hope for the sake of the character and the series this isn’t something that gets dropped. I genuinely don’t think it will – again, showing us Ortegas walking out of the ready room shaking out her hand and not with her head down indicates that we’re in this for the long haul – but this has been a great mini arc for the character and Navia thus far.

As for our final character within the episode, poor Captain Batel. I don’t blame her for a minute for holding back the truth from Pike – she wasn’t wrong that he wouldn’t be able to emotionally handle the situation and that would only make her choice all the harder. But what a horrific situation to be in. A last ditch effort to save her life will, in essence, combine her with the Gorn? I’ve loved getting to spend this much time with the character – and Melanie Scrofano is such a wonderful actor – but there’s a large part of me that can’t see just how she gets out of this alive. Or, at least, as a person who can continue to live her life as is. Losing her, and knowing he only has a short shelf-life himself, would be such a massive blow to Pike that it’s not something I think he can truly come back from. For a series that can so effortlessly balance comedy and drama, this particular tragedy seems all the more horrible as we march closer and closer to its potential culmination. I, for one, am waiting with bated breath to see if she can get out of this in one piece.