Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
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But for Pike and the rest of theEnterprise,this proves to be a distinction without a difference.
Whether youretechnicallyat war with your enemy doesnt matter when youre getting blown to smithereens.
The episode opens just outside Federation space with a Captains Log entry from a different captain than usual.
Its Batel, whos traveled to Parnassus Beta to help a colony modeled after a 20th-century midwestern town.
For Batel, that happens midphone call after Pike reaches out to check up on her.
But when the ship reaches the colony, that warning becomes virtually academic.
The Gorn have struck first.
It works (with some help from Ortegass piloting skills), but trouble awaits them on the surface.
Whats more, theyve got hungry Gorn younglings to deal with, which means its time to hide.
Its Lieutenant Montgomery Scott (Martin Quinn)!
The face is new, but the personality, accent, and resourcefulness are unmistakable.
Having survived a previous Gorn attack, Scotty has no plans of falling prey to them now.
(Hence the trap.)
Hes also able to point Pike to a few survivors.
But the trouble isnt limited to the surface of Parnassus Beta.
TheEnterprisehas problems, too.
Meanwhile, Uhura shares what shehopesisnt a crazy plan with Pelia.
All theyll need to do is put some rockets on a chunk of theCayugaand send it down.
No human can do this, Spock says of the near-impossible task.
So he volunteers to do it himself.
Back on the surface, Scotty has a so-crazy-it-might-just-work plan of his own.
But doing this willalsorequire an act of stupid bravery: retrieving a crucial gear from the downed shuttle.
As they set out, we learn that Chapel somehowhassurvived, though her continued survival seems doubtful.
On the surface, theres good news and bad.
The bad news: The youngling doesnt attack because Batel has been implanted with Gorn eggs.
Batel, like Hemmer (R.I.P.)
Then, in a bit of fortuitous timing, the space junk takes out the beacon.
Then the transporting commences.
Starfleet orders theEnterpriseto leave the area, which would require Pike to abandon his people.
And for once, our decisive captain seemingly doesnt know what to do.
How will it all work out?Willit all work out?
Those questions will have to wait.
Hit It!
Even the divisiveAlien 3gets a nod when the Gorn youngling refuses to attack the implanted Batel.
The name The Gorn Hegemony doesnt mince words, does it?
The small-town model is an interesting idea.
Chances are you havent seen Martin Quinn before.
Hes fun here, and it looks like well be seeing more of him.
Hes also, unlike previous Scottys, actually Scottish.
Therell be time later.
Clearly the Spock-Chapel story is not over, despite its turn for the worse.
Everyone rises to the occasion of a particularly tense episode, but Anson Mount has to be the MVP.
Instead of barking orders, Pike turns inspiringly calm and focused.
And hes not above giving Chapel a big hug when he learns shes alive.
That makes his frozen moment at the end all the more unsettling.
One of my best students, who sadly received some of my worst grades.
Just a reminder that Carol Kane has been a fun addition this season.
This episode was written by Henry Alonso Myers, the series showrunner with Akiva Goldsman.
He has six writing credits, but this is his first solo credit.
Its directed by Maja Vrvilo, who also helmed season ones Children of the Comet.
