Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 3.1-3.3: Gorn, Spock & Chapel, and The Walking Dead

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is back for its third season.  I watched its first three episodes tonight, and I'd say it's better than ever.  The series has really found its footing.  Or better, it already had its footing, but really took off in all kinds of gratifying ways in this third season.

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

Episode 3.1 was really the second part of the fierce battle with the Gorn that began in the final episode of the second season.  The battle scenes were sharp, and it was good writing to find that the price that Ortegas paid to beat the Gorn is she's not quite the same.  That bore fruit in episode 3.3 and has yet to be resolved. (As I side note, it was also good to see Uhura's new hair.)

Episode 3.2 was my favorite of these first three episodes of this new season.  Readers of my reviews of the first two seasons will know I've been a big fan of Spock and Chapel, and it was fun seeing them waking up in bed together, even if it was the result of someone on the Q level (figuratively not literally) having the ability to change almost everyone's reality.  But why couldn't the two have really been together?  Well, once again, we see the stern taskmaster that a prequel is always subject to: it's governed by what happened in the earlier broadcast series that told the story of a later time.  To which I say to the writers: figure out a way to make Spock and Chapel a real reality.  Hey, Star Trek is science fiction, that shouldn't be so hard to make happen.  (In the meantime, there's a hint of something happening between Spock and La'an.)

Episode 3.3 could well have titled, Star Trek meets The Walking Dead.  Right, it had zombies. But it also had another true love story, Pike and Batel, and was a good piece of biological science fiction, in which moss played a role as well as the Klingons.  Biology means that M'Benga also played an important role. He's been one of my favorite characters from the get-go of Strange New Worlds.

Good to see everyone back in such good form, and TOS's Scotty doing so well.  And I'll be back soon with another review of this fine new season.

See also Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 2.1: Nurse Chapel ... 2.2: Racism and Sexism in the Courtroom ... 2.3: Time Travel and Alternate Universes ... 2.5: Chapel and Spock ... 2.6: Jimmy Kirk ... 2.7: Pike, Spock, and Boimler ... 2.8: Ethically Wrenching ... 2.9: The Operetta ... 2.10: Young Scotty and Five Other Great Things about This Season 2 Finale

And see also Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 1.1-1.2: Great Characters, Actors, Stories ... 1.3: "Instead of terraforming planets, we modify ourselves ..." ... 1.4: The Gorn and the Wub ... 1.5 Going to the Chapel ... 1.6: Two Stories ... 1.7: The Kiss ... 1.8: Ends of the Continuum ... 1.9: Momentous! ... 1.10: Everything!

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