There’s weird stuff going on in an uncharted region of space, and the Enterprise needs a closer look. To figure out why gravity waves are being especially weird, the crew strip down a shuttle to make it light as possible, and keep the crew levels down to one pilot: Erica Ortegas. But all their caution isn’t enough as a wormhole appears out of nowhere and sucks the the shuttle into a dangerous, far sway hellscape from which there is no escape.
Writers: Alan B McElroy
Director: Andrew Coutts
Erica Ortegas is one of the most under utilised characters in Strange New Worlds. Giving the sarcasm and being the annoying one who argues – a point they hammered home is a family trait earlier this season – she’s often laid out as a star pilot and war hero, but the most focuses stories we’ve seen have had her shouting affirmation that she flies the ship or heroically saves the day (or heroically causes a scuffle, as seen earlier this season). Giving her the A-Plot was a nice change of pace and it’s good to spend time with, and build on, Erica Ortegas.
The set up for everything was fairly cool. A lot of the season so far has felt a little bottled up, so having Ortegas fly into some space oddities (while Spock stayed home not jealous at all) let us see some cool visuals while the wormhole appearing out of nowhere let us whisk her away into isolation, crash landing on one of many planets that gave us a new, if simple, landscape. Though the best part was seeing her survival instinct kick in. The way she’s been presented so far, from the original drops of her combat experience to this season showing off her tinkering with model planes and a space bike in her quarters, it was nicely done to have her written as a soldier lost in an unknown land, chatting away to herself as she improvises any way to stay alive and get home.
Finding out she wasn’t alone felt inevitable. The story itself is one we’ve seen a billion times, both in and out of Star Trek. Most notable with Next Generation’s ‘The Enemy’ that saw Geordie and Romulan officer Bochra have to work together to escape from a dangerous trap. Here, with the Gorn threat in the rear view and Ortegas’ brush with death and PTSD thanks to the scrap with the Gorn early in the season, it made sense for her to find herself stranded with a Gorn. Not just any Gorn, of course, but her equal; another female pilot who’s jkust struggling to survive and surprises Ortegas by reaching out a hand of friendship. Well, a lump of meat more than a hand…
The whole thing gives a humanising touch to the Gorn. La’an hammered home that the Gorn were nothing but monsters, emphasising her belief that they’re evil. And Erica, who’s always had a very black and white focus, has only seen them as wild, murderous killing machines. Early on she see’s another side. The Gorn, clearly stranded before her, takes pity on Ortegas, offering food and help against the planets aggressive animal inhabitants. Offering to share food and shelter, it becomes the classic enemies surviving together moments who in just a few games and a montage realising they’re more alike than they realised.
It’s a nice episode that lets Melissa Navia take on most of the one-sided dialogue and maybe through her own idealism and empathy, quickly becomes protective of her new found friend. Especially once the penny drops that the Gorn’s maybe just showing this side of herself because due to injury and mission failure, she can’t go home without being outcast or killed. It’s also another example of how Strange New Worlds thrives with a simple concept, even if it’s not original, and worked incredibly well with the more intimate and quiet core story. Especially thanks to the use of practical make up for the Gorn over CGI.
Back in the B Plot, the Enterprise has a good old fashioned ticking clock with Uhura arguing for saving Ortegas at all costs, even to the point of lying to Pike by manipulating simulations for a dangerous mission to retrieve their pilot. That involves jamming the Enterprise into the wormhole to stop it collapsing and then of course finding Ortagas just in time with moments to spare before they have to leave. Ortegas managed to turn the planet into a firey beacon, shielding herself and her Gorny pal in a makeshift shelter so the Enterprise can find them. Then La’an pops down to come save Erica, see’s the Gorn and all that goodwill is undone by fear, panic and a phaser rifle. It’s a massive downer of an ending that leaves Ortegas with a positive experience, a new outlook and probably a dodgy conversation ahead that La’an’s own feelings about the Gorn won’t quite let her wrap her head around.
The only down side for me was how it all happened. Just as she was being beamed off, the Metrons revealed themselves ot have been mysterious twinkling lights watching them the whole time. The Metrons were the aliens who organised Kirk and the first on screen Gorn to fight in original series episode The Arena and here they reveal this is their first attempt at experimenting between the two species to see what happens. While it does make sense to let the episode become a direct Arena prequel, it’s also extremely frustrating that – at the point the episode has everything it needs and has told it’s own story – the show again bends itself backwards to tie together with the original series when it doesn’t need to or add any significant depth other than yet another reference.
Episodes like this that just let us focus on a simple plot, expand on character and have some cool – if a tad awkward – science in the background, work just as well on their own. It shows we don’t need to rely on past stories, tying everything together, and just have a good hour of storytelling.
Highlights
- Starfleet rations being kept within the ships machinery seems silly. Surely there's a safer storage locker?
- Having The Gorn understand English was a nice touch to let the plot flow a little freely and let Navia lead the dialogue and story.
- Ortegas' starship models carry on the fine tradition of real world model kids for ease!
All Connected...
While Ortagas is stranded, Pike hammers home that they have a time limit to how long they can search for her as the Enterprise has to meet with the USS Constellation to deliver medical supplies for a time sensitive mission. The Constellation, and it’s name dropped Captain Decker, would both find their end in original series episode The Doomsday Machine that would see Decker lose his ship, then his marbles as he commandeers the Enterprise to fight back.
About the author
Under Pressure: ‘Orders Of Magnitude’, Strange New Worlds S4E08
Boarding as a hero and legend, Admiral Joe Reeger arrives, take command and leaves Pike stranded as he leads the remaining Enterprise crew on an urgent mission. With a visiting (again!) James Kirk picked out as first officer, Reegers mission and motivations come into question and puts Kirk's leadership to task... Writers: Alan B McElroy Director: Sharon Lewis One thing about season four that's been a highlight through some uneven episodes is how it's guiding it's characters form our first contact with them in this series, and how we originally met them sixty years earlier. While it's been more obvious with Spock's pivot towards being closer to his logical side, we've had Chapel make the choice to become a permanent part of the Enterprise and Scotty's move towards being the 'miracle worker'. Even Pike seems to be on the […]
Star Trek Day 2026: Celebrating 60 Years of the Final Frontier!
Sixty years ago the world was introduced to a sci fi series that planted a seed of adventure, imagination and inspiration that would blossom into a juggernaut of media. After launching with the Man Trap on September 8th in the United States, the series would later grow into a pop culture icon spawning 9 Live Action Series, 3 Animated Series, 13 Feature Films & more including Streaming Events, Shorts and a huge amount of offshoot media across games, comics and books. With generations of fans discovering new era's and new adventures for decades, today we celebrate not only that first flight of the USS Enterprise and it's original crew, but an entire franchise that continued to grow, evolve, building a world of adventure, inspiration and hope for a better future! As we celebrate Star Trek at 60, we'd love to hear how […]
Away Team, Assemble! The USS Tesla Set To Beam Down to Epic Comic Con!
Returning to Glasgow this September, the Tesla Crew are once again in action at Fan Frontiers Epic Comic Con in the SEC Hosted by Fan Frontiers, Epic Comic Con has been one of the core places to meet the crew of the Tesla since it’s origins as Acme Comic Con and has become a firm part of the diverse and welcoming fan centric communities hosting everything from Rebel Legions to Ghostbusters! Taking their regular spot once again the Tesla crew will have Star Trek props and collectables on display as the team get ready to share the wonders of the final frontier! With possibly the biggest and most intriguing line ups to date, Epic will be hosting some surprises including Lord of the Rings' hobbit Duo Billy Boyd & Dominic Monaghan, What We Do in the Shadows Star Kayvan Novak, […]
60 Year Mission Celebrations!
This month Star Trek celebrates 60 years since the continuing mission launched and this year we've decided.... one Star Trek Day isn't enough. We're having a whole month of celebration! With plans including virtual meets, Europa chats, competitions and more, we're inviting the whole fleet to jump on board, get involved and join the fun of celebrating sixty years othe final frontier! Virtual Meet Sunday September 6th 8pm Starbase Europa 60 YEAR MISSION Meet the Fleet in Celebration with an evening of catching up, sharing stories, maybe a few bad jokes and general shenanigans! As we open a month of celebrating one of sci fi's most enduring franchises, grab a drink, pull up a chair and have a few laughs to begin the month! Discussion Sunday September 6th All Day Starbase Europa STAR TREK DAY 2026 From dusk 'till dawn, […]
A Fistful of Undercover Operations
Occasionally when exploring the wonders of deep space, our heroes of Trek have been summoned to - or by sheer accident - become another person to fulfil their mission. Whether it's O'Brien mixing with gangsters or Picard becoming a mercenary, Star Trek's filled with episodes where our favourite explorers have to become someone else to save the day.... FACE OF THE ENEMY The Next Generation Season 6 Waking up on the Warbird Khazara, Deanna Troi finds herself in a bit of a pickle. Kidnapped and surgically altered to take the place of a Tal Shiar Commander she finds herself led by her handler, N'Vek, to lead a secret mission after the Commander had been killed. Out of her comfort zone, Troi has to convince the crew she's the real deal despite the ships skipper knowing something's not quite right.... In […]
Warped: ‘Off Hour’, Strange New Worlds S4E06
Towards the end of a long and tiring shift, the command team are more than ready to hand over to the night shift. But no one makes it far from their station as at the moment of handover, the Enterprise gets pulled into a warp slipstream that knocks out the ship and traps them in an escalating and catastrophic acceleration taking the ship well beyond its limts. Writers: Bill Wikoff Director: Dan Liu Strange New Worlds is an interesting creative, narratively speaking. When they swing for the fences in their creative mission, it's very hit or miss. But when they keep things simple and focused on character work, they really shine. And this weeks was one that kept it simple with a tried and tested format that always works nicely; have the ship suffer a critical accident, cut everything […]
Related
Under Pressure: ‘Orders Of Magnitude’, Strange New Worlds S4E08
Boarding as a hero and legend, Admiral Joe Reeger arrives, take command and leaves Pike stranded as he leads the remaining Enterprise crew on an urgent mission. With a visiting (again!) James Kirk picked out as first officer, Reegers mission and motivations come into question and puts Kirk's leadership to task... Writers: Alan B McElroy Director: Sharon Lewis One thing about season four that's been a highlight through some uneven episodes is how it's guiding it's characters form our first contact with them in this series, and how we originally met them sixty years earlier. While it's been more obvious with Spock's pivot towards being closer to his logical side, we've had Chapel make the choice to become a permanent part of the Enterprise and Scotty's move towards being the 'miracle worker'. Even Pike seems to be on the […]
Warped: ‘Off Hour’, Strange New Worlds S4E06
Towards the end of a long and tiring shift, the command team are more than ready to hand over to the night shift. But no one makes it far from their station as at the moment of handover, the Enterprise gets pulled into a warp slipstream that knocks out the ship and traps them in an escalating and catastrophic acceleration taking the ship well beyond its limts. Writers: Bill Wikoff Director: Dan Liu Strange New Worlds is an interesting creative, narratively speaking. When they swing for the fences in their creative mission, it's very hit or miss. But when they keep things simple and focused on character work, they really shine. And this weeks was one that kept it simple with a tried and tested format that always works nicely; have the ship suffer a critical accident, cut everything […]
It’s Not Easy Being Green Blooded: ‘Level Five Transporter Accident’, Strange New Worlds S4E05
Spock's going through a bit of a personal crisis and Scotty's become madly competitive with an old Academy rival. These two separate threads collide in the weirdest way when Spock finds himself as the only person who can control the ship as Scotty's transporter antics turn everyone into puppets... Writers: Henry Alonso Myers & Dana HorganDirector: Jordan Canning Spock's not quite feeling himself and he hasn't quite been himself since the Griffin Incident. And things are getting worse. Leaning heavily towards logic over his exploration of his human side, and in the wake of La'an deciding their relationship had reached it's 'natural conclusion', he's spiraling. Well, as much as a Vulcan would allow themselves to. Desperately trying to balance himself, he's leaning into logic and reaching out to his scorned ex-fiancee for help in re-establishing his Vulcan side.While thats happening, Scotty's on a […]
1701 Shades of Grey: ‘A Case of Chiaroscuro’, Strange New Worlds S4E04
It's been a stressful few months for the Enterprise crew and they want, well, demand, shore leave. Choosing a tech-free planet with natural psychedelics in the atmosphere, the command crew take a shuttle down, take in all the wonders the world provides. And then it all goes a bit wonky... Writers: Skylar Ojeda & Dana Horgan Director: Meera Menon Aside from orbiting a star who's radiation gives an altered perspective of light, Mat'aar XII is a world occupied by Klingon overlords. Having taken control of the population, and implemented strict monitoring and restrictions on movement, the Klingon's rule with fear, torture and by creating division. Like any good occupiers, they've given cushy jobs to some locals including their top Lieutenant, Navatte, a local who proudly wears her silver Klingon armband and interrogates anyone who oppose the Empire. Or so […]
Dude, Where’s Your Shuttle? Human Best Friend; Strange New Worlds S4E03
It's been a stressful few months for the Enterprise crew and they want, well, demand, shore leave. Choosing a tech-free planet with natural psychedelics in the atmosphere, the command crew take a shuttle down, take in all the wonders the world provides. And then it all goes a bit wonky... Writers: Kathryn LynDirector: Yana Gorskaya Engineers and pilots hate each other. It's the rules. Scotty and Ortegas have been following those rules to the letter, with the bickering pair opening with a dual monologue highlighting how irritating they are to each other between Scotty setting up alerts and alarms to keep the engines in check, and Ortegas duct tapping over the console to get rid of them so she can push the limits freely.While they're constantly irritating each other, the rest of the Alpha shift command team are exhausted. Months […]
Some Scary Ship! The Griffin Incident; Strange New Worlds S4E02
Returning from a conference for future leaders of Starfleet, Spock and La'an (with Kirk hitching a ride) find a long-lost ship adrift. The USS Griffin's disappearance nine years prior had never been explained, becoming a bit of folklore within the fleet. Stum,bling upon it by chance, the trio board the ship hoping to find an answer to the mystery only to get more than they bargained for... Writers: Robbie Thompson Director: Axelle Carolyn I'll preface this now by pointing out I love creepy sci fi settings.. The isolation of being trapped on a derelict ship with no escape and no one to call for help has always been something I've enjoyed from the obvious Event Horizon, even to old classics like The Thing. So I was excited for this one by the trailer alone and can't say I was disappointed! […]
