Everything can benefit from having Rhys Darby. And boy, did this outing from Strange New Worlds absolutely soar with his addition to the proceedings as Trelane, a trickster character from The Original Series that we now know – thanks to a delightful voice over appearance from John de Lancie – is officially a part of the Q Continuum. But the addition of Trelane to the story was just the cherry on top of a spectacular episode of television that saw the show tackle the complexities of the Chapel-Spock relationship (something I’ve never been particularly warm to, despite loving the work of both Jess Bush and Ethan Peck in their roles), continue the fallout from the encounter with the Gorn for both Batel and Ortegas, and see La’an continue to grow into a more balanced person now that she has finally slayed her own personal demon. Honestly, as I told a friend upon finishing this episode, this show has no right to be this great. Yet it absolutely is.
The Q, and all that comes with them, are an acquired taste in the Star Trek universe. Personally, I’m a huge fan of the characters and how their inclusion into a storyline often forces our heroes to take a step back and really look at how the actions of Starfleet and the Federation impact the universe as a whole*. And I also love a bit of fun – wherein a Q forces someone who is normally stoic and principled to loosen up a bit and get in touch with their emotions (some of the best Picard moments came from sparring with Q – often making our serious captain accept that he needs to listen to his heart as much as his mind). Darby’s take on Trelane, a full-on tantrum throwing child trying to turn the Enterprise crew into his personal dolls (under the guise of letting Spock open his heart up and get what he desires), embraces that second brand of Q mischief. And what a joy it was to watch.
*Part of the reason Q only appeared on Deep Space Nine once was that his brand of mischief wasn’t needed on a series where the majority of its arc was about questioning the role of Starfleet and the Federation in the wider universe. A massive war arc tends to do that pretty naturally.
From a story standpoint, longtime Trek fans likely knew that once Chapel came back from her sabbatical (a nifty plot device, having the three-month fellowship coincide with the Enterprise needing to spend three months docked for repairs) she was going to come back in a relationship with Doctor Roger Korby (a delightful Cillian O’Sullivan). But I suspect most people didn’t expect Korby to turn out to be a genuinely lovely guy who truly cares for Christine. So often when a show wants to put a roadblock between two characters pursuing a romantic relationship, that roadblock is in the form of someone that you can easily hate. Here, I’d love to see Christine with Korby long term – and I suspect Spock no longer sees his future entwined with Christine’s. Some truly exceptional work from both Peck and Bush throughout the episode, as Spock loses, then gains, and then loses his love once more. And seeing how much it genuinely hurts Christine to see that her actions – none intentionally cruel, just a natural part of life – have hurt Spock? Oof.
It was also really lovely to see just how much La’an has changed from season two to the present. Becoming a confidant for Spock was not something I had on my La’an bingo card, but it really makes a ton of sense. Both have fallen for people who they cannot have – although La’an has presumably been able to move beyond her feelings for James Kirk (I guess we’ll see when he returns later this season), and thus can perhaps be a sounding board for her new friend. And La’an, who was famously closed off and unable to form close personal ties to others (save for Una, with whom she has had a longstanding friendship), seems to have finally started to open herself up to those around her following her latest Gorn encounter. Sure, this isn’t something that is going to turn La’an into a chatty Cathy overnight, but just being able to converse with Spock – who is also both very in tune with his emotions and also very unable and unwilling to delve into them like the humans around him – is a huge step in her development. The reasoning given – that she has spent so much of her life on edge, waiting for the next time the Gorn would arrive and attack her, but now that they are in hibernation, she finally can let go – makes absolute sense for both the series and the character. Plus, getting to use Christina Chong’s actual dance training to show off another key skill La’an has in her arsenal was a fun touch. Considering that La’an’s ability to move past her dark past coincides with Ortegas’ own spiral into PTSD, well, perhaps La’an might be able to be of service to our helmsperson down the road.
Because wow. I had been worried Strange New Worlds might sweep what happened to both Ortegas and Batel under the rug, declaring them both to be a-okay and moving forward. But the series is very much not doing that and I really appreciate it. Yes, Batel is mostly healed and out of the woods – which is great, Pike doesn’t need that tragedy hanging over his head – but as their conversation at the top of the episode hinted at, our two captains have a lot to consider moving forward. They have the ticking time bomb of Pike’s impending death – still years away, but never fully out of their minds – and the knowledge that once Marie accepts a posting, it means they will once again be back to sporadic stolen moments together. Do I want Batel to resign her commission and tend the horse farm until Pike returns from his various missions? Absolutely not. But I wonder if a more static posting at Starfleet Command might be in her future. Honestly, if it gets Melanie Scrofano on the series more often, I’m down for it.
As for Ortegas? Yeah, I’m intrigued to see just what is in store for her character in the coming weeks. I’ve been complaining since season one that Ortegas deserves to have a real arc – or at least an episode solely focused on her (“Among the Lotus Eaters” may have given her a story arc, but it wasn’t even the A-plot) – and it’s finally here. The sarcastic, witty best friend (both to Chapel and Uhura), she’s getting her chance to shine and I suspect it’s going to be a doozy of a storyline. Melissa Navia is going to crush this. For a character so defined by her role within her Enterprise family (“I’m Erica Ortegas and I fly the ship” being one of the final things she chose to say as she was on death’s door was something to note), having accomplished the seemingly impossible whilst deathly injured could have been a boon to her. But that’s not how PTSD works. Yes, she helped save her crew and those colonists. But she almost got herself killed. She wasn’t good enough to stop that Gorn before it almost got her – La’an had to save her. And that’s what’s driving her right now. Thankfully, Pike can see something is off with his pilot. I’m not sure she’s going to be receptive to a pep talk at this stage of the game. But she has at least two people in her orbit – La’an and Uhura – who have dealt with their own personal demons and emerged out the other side in one piece. Perhaps they can lend a hand to guide her to a better headspace? Either way, we’re finally getting the Ortegas storyline I’ve been waiting for.
Man, what an absolute gem of an episode. Managing to layer comedy, drama, romance, and deep despair into a single episode is something only the best of the best episodes of Trek can do. While this probably won’t go down in the pantheon as one of the true greats, it’s absolutely going to be in my personal list of best Trek episodes. Rhys Darby does make everything better – but when you have a cast this strong, characters this well-defined, and writing that understands how to use all of those tool to peak impact (Batel’s joke about Pike’s hair products is a clear example of all of those elements coming together seamlessly), you churn out something wonderful.
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