Complications arise in Batel’s treatment following the Gorn incident and things are beginning to get messy. With a plan in motion to Tuxiv their way out of the situation, M’Benga takes Pike on a road trip to a banished world on an off book mission to find a cure. But as the Enterprise waits, they realise they’re not alone….
Writers: Onitra Johnson & Bill Wolkoff
Director: Dan Liu
So far Strange New Worlds has been at it’s best when delving into the darker parts of it’s characters and their passionately kind chief medical officer has a past that’s just too fascinating not to enjoy. Last season we found out that M’Benga had a bit of a split career during the Klingon War. He ended it as a field doctor, but started in black ops missions. So bringing him along for a dangerous mission is always a nice move to remind us that under the smile he’s a stone cold killer, and here we get to see the fallout of his blatant murder of a defecting Klingon warlord.
Though it plays on the stylised episode of the week, SNW is still a show that focuses on character arcs. Here we have three right away. One is Batel’s ongoing Gorn problem. They essentially melted the Gorn inside her, and now it’s taken hold which has in turn put Pike in a more emotionally compromised state where he’s more than happy to just throw out galactical law for the chance of something that’ll save her. That thing is a chimera plant (or, Tuvix Flower), a rare thing that just happens to be found on a disputed planet in the middle of a no fly zone and of course, time is ticking so it’s a now or never scenario.
Not letting anyone else be responsible, Pike heads out himself to get the flower, taking M’benga with him as he’s a special ops ghost and the only one who knows what he’s looking for. What they don’t know is that Klingons are following them; led by the daughter of the man he slaughtered in combat and she’s not best pleased as she wanted to kill him first. It’s an honour thing. Oh, they also dont know that this highly dangerous flower is kinda reasonable for turning what was left on the planet into zombies turning the entire mission into a Day of the Living Dead In Space.
Pike and M’Benga don’t get a massive amount of screen time together. But it was nice to see them hint more about their past friendship again and work together fairly well. It was also nice to have Pike naturally stand by and not be the hero knowing fightings not his strong suit, and even if it was M’Benga is – let us repeat – a stone cold killer. For the most part, despite the zombie movie dressing, it’s all about M’Benga’s life choices. During the war he butchered Klingons relentlessly, after the war he finally killed the general responsible for an unjust genocide and now that general’s daughter is leading an away mission to kill him back.
It was nice to see some of the TNG-level honour play here, especially with the Klingon tradition of mental gymnastics to honour your way back into society. The down side was that the balance between that and the not-zombies kind of left both feeling a little rushed with everything tied up neatly from M’Benga’s strap match to him and Pike just swiftly dismissing his admission of murdering a high profile political figure.
Through the whole thing we learn M’Benga’s plan to save Batel is also a little messed up. With days to live, M’Benga’s not going to cure her. He’s going to Tuvix her into one big happy hybrid. On board the ship, Spock plays mind meld with her and goes a little batshit as he sucks up the inherent Gorn rage buried in her now so that’s going to be fun.. but it highlighted what this episode was here for; background.
Under the chaos on the ground as well as the tension of the Enterprise hanging around in orbit trying not to get the Klingons attention, everything was just setting something up. Even the B plot, all about Erika Ortegas lashing out and looking for a scrap, was just laying groundwork for whats to come later on which let some of the episode down a bit for me.
Another thing chipping away at me is Batel. She seems to be there for Pike’s own saviour complex as he tries to fight against the inevitable – a nice mirror for his own future – but it leaves her all too often sidelined as a character. Not knowing her motivation to willing go through with the treatment makes sense. We’re supposed to be introduced through Pike figuring it out and follow his shock and surprise. But it would be nice to have something form her perspective for a change as it all being about Pike hasn’t really given us much depth to care about her side of things.
Overall it felt a little middle of the road after a relatively strong first week as it suffered form being a transitional episode in the character journey without giving us enough time to focus on any one thing. That said, even I the sequel to Under the Cloak of War wasn’t as strong an episode, it gave more M’Benga, and that’s never a bad thing as he’s fast becoming one of the more interesting characters on the show.
Highlights
- Loved the quick shot of the Mokai Klingon ship from Discovery in action. A strangely unique design.
- M'Benga being married four/three and a half times was a weirdly fun little addition to the background.
- We need hardass Una to balance out Pike. More of that!
All Connected...
Our short lived Klingon baddie Bytha, daughter of Dak’Rah was chasing honour to restore her house from Discommendation due to her fathers defection to the Federation following the war. The same punishment was handed to Worf in the Next Generation making him an exile and dismantling the Mogh family lands and titles. Unlike Bytha, Worf’s honour was restored upon joining the House of Martok.
About the author
Mark Mitchell; 1969-2026
It's with great sadness we report that our Director of Operations, Mark Mitchell, has sadly passed away suddenly earlier this week. Mark was one of our longest serving members and a huge part of what helped shape what SFCQ2 is today. Having served in leadership as a CO, throughout fleet support and originating the role of Director of Administration, Mark's unyielding dedication to the club and his multiple contributions over the decades undoubtedly make him worthy of his Legend handle. From writing the entire base for our modern Academy to being vital in the fleet restructure, to offering support and advice to countless members to support leadership and direction, Mark's efforts serve, and will likely continue to serve, as the backbone of everything that makes Q2 with his primary goal always being to offer the best of everything and push […]
Gamma Quarter 2403 Promotions & Citations
Throughout it’s entire existence SFC has grown, evolved and thrived due tot he commitment and passion of our officers and crew. Keen members can make a huge difference within their unit or the fleet as a whole, and we like to ensure members are rewarded and recognised for all they bring to the organisation. Starting this quarter, we're opening every new period within the fleet celebrating those who have made an impact and engaged in being a positive influence in their unit or in Q2 overall. The most obvious form of rewards comes from our naval-based rank structure. Utilising the same base rank structure seen on screen, SFC takes members through their journey as a Starfleet officer by giving members a chance to rise throughout the ranks from Ensign to Captain. Having had an active and exciting year, Lt Commander […]
A Fistful of ‘Spirk’
We've been spoiled with Spock in the past few years with Discovery introducing a younger iteration of the character long before he became the refined man of logic that made him famous, and continued that story through Strange New Worlds and his time under Captain Pike's command. As Strange New Worlds continues, giving more history to the original series line up and the early meetings of Spock and Kirk as it makes way for the beginning of the Kirk era, we thought we'd look back at some moments that made the partnership one of the most popular combinations in science fiction. JOURNEY TO BABEL TOS Season 2 Spock's got a bit of an issue with sharing. Secret brother who was shunned. Secret sister who's fate was classified. And despite trusting the Enterprise crew with his life, it was clearly only […]
Site & Service Updates July 2026
It's been a strange year as we adapt to then changing landscape of the Star Trek franchise with recent corporate shenanigans in the media industry, as well as adjusting to and anticipating new regulation sin our home base of the UK which has taken up more brain power than we'd expected!Still, despite distractions, we've been working away in the background with a revised Admin schedule to ensure at the very least every Sunday we can check off some items on the to do list and keep everyone updated on the changes whether minor, major or a bit pointless! On Screen Additions After being placed on the low priority list for a while, the On Screen Mission Log section has begun taking shape. Previously the On Screen section had it's own section per show since the launch of Discovery, however with […]
New Unit Application Guide
Account Academy Database Fleet Updates Calendar Latest Entries Explore Database Index Starfleet Academy Help & Support ⯇ DATABASE INDEX ACCOUNT HUB NEw Unit Application Guide Clarification This section is both for information and for making formal applications for creating or importing a new unit into SFCQ2. Applications can also be made directly to Fleet Administration. All applications are considered for review. × JOIN THE CAPTAINS TABLE Every Star Trek fans dreams of being the captain of their own Starship. Although running an SFC Quadrant 2 Unit is (probably) easier than commanding a starship, both roles require commitment and dedication.Unit’s are, and always will be, the core of SFC. It is within them that members can indulge in their shared interests for Star Trek and science fiction while enjoying the company of fellow fans and like minded people. At their best, […]
[Q2&A] Membership Handbook: Revised & Updated for 2026
With over fifty years (and counting) of history, joining SFC can sometimes be a whirlwind and while we're always focused on a more casual experience, tit can sometimes be overwhelming knowing where to start. While we offer our Academy as an induction tour of Quadrant 2's organisation and structure, and are always open to expanding more information in the Fleet Database, our Officers Pack gives you a one stop resource to highlight our core policies, membership information and more; The Membership Handbook/ Membership within Q2 is fairly laid back. But since it's inception - both overall as Starfleet Command as well as the administrative split for Quadrant 2 - out handbook has outlined who we are, how we operate and as a resource for members to be able to understand what membership entails from our core mission statement, to our […]
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