It’s been a protracted look ahead to the return of Unusual New Worlds: virtually two entire years because the cliffhanger of season two’s ending. All of it resumes in subsequent week’s season three premiere, selecting up the place we left off with the Enterprise crew. And whereas it was fairly a spot to go away them, we’ll forgive you if you happen to’re hazy on the main points. Right here are some things to recollect from the finale, and issues to know concerning the subsequent season, as we get able to return to the world of Star Trek.
The Grip of the Gorn
Season two of Unusual New Worlds led to a dire scenario. With the impartial colony Parnassus Beta invaded by the Gorn—destroying the Federation starship USS Caguya and leaving its remaining crew, and the civilian inhabitants, to be preyed upon by the Gorn on the floor—the Enterprise discovered itself making an attempt to mount a rescue mission towards all odds.
It was a rescue mission that didn’t go solely effectively. Though the Enterprise managed to efficiently get a rescue group right down to the floor to find survivors—and destroy a Gorn jammer blocking transporter alerts on the planet—simply three crewmembers made it again to Enterprise, leaving a number of of its personal crew (together with La’an, Sam Kirk, and Dr. M’Benga), and the survivors of the colony and the Caguya to be beamed aboard the Gorn flagship now orbiting the planet.
If that wasn’t unhealthy sufficient, whereas being pummeled by the newly arrived Gorn fleet, Starfleet gave Enterprise the order to retreat relatively than try to rescue their captured allies, leaving them to a grim destiny. And if that wasn’t sufficient, one of many trio to make it again to the Enterprise, alongside Pike and a well-recognized younger face (extra on that in a bit), Marie Batel—Pike’s romantic associate and the captain of the Caguya—was found to have been contaminated with Gorn eggs. Which isn’t solely a seemingly deadly situation, it might imply that the Enterprise now has a possible Gorn infestation aboard.
We do at the least know somewhat about how a few of that is going to play out. Again at New York Comedian Con final 12 months, Paramount launched a clip that confirmed the battered Enterprise having its cake and consuming it with Starfleet’s retreat order. Unable to go toe-to-toe with the Gorn ships, the clip sees the Enterprise tag the Gorn flagship containing their captured crewmates with a dummy torpedo, letting them warp away to recuperate earlier than, presumably, monitoring them down at a later time.
One different essential factor to recollect about season two’s finale other than all that is that it additionally marked the primary time that Unusual New World had tried to point out the Gorn as something apart from primitive, aggressive monsters. Throughout an encounter aboard the stays of the Caguya, Spock and Nurse Chapel got here throughout an grownup Gorn, in the end killing it—however each really feel a pang of sympathy watching the alien being succumb to its wounds. It’s a tiny step, however an essential one to convey extra nuance to Unusual New Worlds‘ visions of the species… and produce us slowly in direction of the still-hostile, however distanced, relationship between the Federation and the Gorn by the point of the unique Star Trek.
Starcrossed Chapel
Earlier than we get to that aforementioned acquainted face, let’s deal with the massive Chapelephant within the room. Christine departed the Enterprise between the occasions of the finale and its predecessor episode, the musical “Subspace Rhapsody” after being accepted right into a analysis fellowship with the scientist Roger Korby. This not solely pulled Chapel away from Enterprise, it additionally introduced an finish to her temporary romantic relationship with Spock, which had solely simply begun to flourish within the wake of the collapse of his betrothal to T’Pring.
Or at the least, seemingly. Though Christine occurred to be reunited with Spock and the Enterprise below unlucky circumstances—she was aboard the Caguya being transported to her fellowship whereas it stopped at Parnassus Beta—and can stick round for a bit, we all know that she each has to go and full her fellowship with Korby in some unspecified time in the future this season (Cillian O’Sullivan has been forged because the character in a recurring function) and that, finally, she is going to fall in love with him and turn into engaged to be married.
Trek nerds up on their lore know that Chapel’s return to the Enterprise comes at the least just a few years after this time interval, when she rejoins Starfleet after her fiancé’s disappearance, however within the meantime, possibly the sparks between Chapel and Spock aren’t absolutely extinguished. Our first trailer for season three did embrace an intriguing shot of Spock and Christine sharing a mattress collectively, in any case.
Beam Up, Scotty…
Again to the Gorn scenario. The opposite profitable escapee of the incident on Parnassus Beta alongside Pike and Batel was none apart from a younger Lieutenant Montgomery Scott (performed by Martin Quinn), who had efficiently hidden himself on the planet after his personal analysis vessel had been attacked by the Gorn. Now aboard the Enterprise, in season three it appears to be like like Scotty goes to be formally built-in into the Engineering group, organising his eventual rise by means of the ranks to turn into the ship’s Chief Engineer. He’s not there but, although, as we all know that Carol Kane’s Commander Pelia is remaining in command of the division for at the least a few of this season.
… And Kirk, Too?
Paul Wesley’s younger Kirk will return seemingly at the least just a few instances this season, discovering extra methods to conveniently be aboard the ship he’s destined to take over in just a few years’s time. After we final noticed him within the musical episode, he had been introduced aboard Enterprise to start a command coaching program, getting ready the present lieutenant for his future ascent to captaincy. That’s a theme that can return this season, if the newest trailer for the present is something to go by, hinting that there’ll truly be an emergency in some unspecified time in the future this season that can see Kirk, at the least briefly, command the Enterprise.
Simply why Kirk goes to maintain crossing paths with the crew he’ll finally lead stays to be seen, however we all know from trailers he’s in at the least just a few episodes: one which places the crew in its personal retro riff on a ’60s esque sci-fi present within the vein of the unique Trek, and one other the place there’s a retro vibe of a distinct kind with a murder-mystery twist. However we additionally know from those self same trailers that Kirk will get a drink within the Enterprise lounge with Scotty, so he’s slowly however absolutely assembly a great bunch of his future crew.
The Starting of the Finish
Though it’s exhausting to say simply how a lot it will affect the narrative of this upcoming season—manufacturing on season 4 has been underway for some time now after it was confirmed in April final 12 months—we’re heading into season three figuring out that Unusual New Worlds now has an finish level.
It was introduced simply final month that the present will conclude with a truncated fifth season, which means numerous the issues we’ve touched upon right here in regard to the Enterprise‘s future timeline, from the arrival of acquainted crew to issues like Pike’s eventual destiny, at the moment are most likely going to be arrange much more so over the course of this and the remaining two seasons past it. Simply as we’re able to ponder one five-year mission coming to an finish, probably the most well-known one in all all has to start in some unspecified time in the future!
Star Trek: Unusual New Worlds returns to Paramount+ subsequent week, on July 17.
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