It’s been a season of big ideas so far with mixed results. But as we hit the Bon Jovi marker and get half way there, the season seems to hit a high note just by dialling it all down a touch with a story that could be boiled down to a simple puzzle.
Roger Korby joins the crew again, leaning on them to help lead an expedition to some ancient and mysterious artefacts. Suspiciously similar to the final discovery he’d make as a human in the original series, he’s found what’s possibly a fountain of youth – a scientific idea telegraphed in it’s fantasy with it’s ritualistic sacrifice, or ‘blood magic’ – a sample of your blood – to enter. Once inside the expanded landing party realise they’re not the first to find this ancient building as previous treasure hunters have died trying to unlock is secrets. And soon enough, they’re trapped to repeat the same fate….
Writers: Onitra Johnson & Davy Perez
Director:Andi Armaganian
There’s a nice mix of adventure and horror throughout the episode that kind of starts with a sense of Indiana Jones in Space as Korby leads them to uncover an ancient alien temple that you can enter with ‘blood magic’, filled with death, mystery and a puzzle to solve in order to esacape. It quiockly splits into the A and B story from there – the B story following new recruit Gamble on his first away mission who, when La’an tells him not to touch anything, he touches a thing; a small globe that blows up in his face like a flashbomb and blows out his eyes.
After Gamble’s on the ship, the rest of the away team end up trapped, their local guide disintegrated when trying to leave, and follow an open door which see’s them conveniently paired up in three different rooms. The pairings themselves were quite nicely done. Before entering the temple everyone is conveniently coupled up – Korby and Chapel, Spock and La’an, Uhura and Beto filming his documentary – but following on from La’an shutting down Chapel’s attempt to pull everyone into an episode of Gilmore Girls before the mission, everyone gets isolated in mostly different pairings.
Spock and Korby being put together is part of the fun. Both of them are over their previous Chapel drama and just act as the opposite end of science, logic versus belief, which comes across nicely. The puzzle isn’t a new sci fi idea, nor is the solution. And the escape was a clear nod to one of the best Indiana Jones films. But the atmosphere and more Stargate Escape Room vibe worked well for how simple and straight forward it was.
Breaking that up is Gamble. On board the Enterprise under M’Benga’s care and gone completely loopy as he swaps between scared ensign and possessed demon. The flashbomb wasn’t just a flashbomb, it was a prison and while the crew on the ground figure that out, on the ship we follow M’Benga’s attempts to save Gamble before realising he was never there to save. Which again works with it just being simple, condensed horror themes to balance out the quiet sciences on the ground.
Another bonus is that after forgetting the ticking clock that it Batel, she’s back for he medicine just in time to see the possessed Gamble and the alien presence trigger something deep in the Gorn DNA she’s been Tuxived with which is just a reminder for us all that this was a horrible idea destined to go wrong and signposting to the future.
There were one or two oddities. Scotty keeping the ‘demon’ alien in the transport buffer which seems a bit weird even if it fits M’Benga’s medical ideas and Scotty’s own future innovation, but we can let that slide as they gave a hint to some future plot points. Gamble’s opening monologue also gave the game away that he wasn’t surviving this one for anyone who’s seen TV before. But on the whole, it was a fairly enjoyable episode that stood alone, didn’t overdo any of it’s ideas and let everyone show off their stuff for an episode.
Highlights
- Red Alert automatically hitting as soon as Gamble walked through the security forcefield and escaping the brig. Finally, someone realised that's a good idea!
- La'an's 'don't be that woman' line felt oddly connected with Ortega mocking Chapel's life decisions in season one, just with less patience.
- Pelia playing up to the camera's during Beto's documentary seemed very... Pelia.
All Connected...
While a throwaway line, the idea that Scotty would trap something in the transporter’s pattern buffer was an interesting one. In TNG episode Realm of Fear, it’s noted that patterns can be stored for 90 seconds before beginning to degrade. Though Scotty would survive for over eighty years by storing his pattern in a diagnostic loop.
Though any tech in the Star Trek world changes, and previously there was even hint of storing Klingons n the transporter out of spite.
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 […]
Related
Boldly Go One Step Closer: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85nfSzEho68In season four of the Paramount+ Original Series, the crew of the USS Enterprise – led by Captain Christopher Pike – embark on a series of thrilling and emotional adventures across the stars. As they journey to strange new worlds, they will battle inner demons and external threats, encounter colorful new characters, reunite with familiar faces and confront terrifying aliens. Through it all, they strive to embrace a bright, hopeful future.The series returns to Paramount+ in the UK and Europe as part of it's (near) global release on Thursday July 23, and runs ten weeks through Thursday, September 24th.Members can join the weekly episode discussion threads at our Contionuing Mission Facebook Group. Starbase Europa will remain spoiler free for anyone who likes to wait! Continuing Mission Episode Discussion Starbase Europa Fleet Group More Strane New Worlds trending_flat Strange New Worlds […]
New Cast Welcomes Aboard for Season 5 of Strange New Worlds
As the media hype is starting to ramp up for Academy's debut, Strange New Worlds is adding the finishing touches and along with cast such as Anson Mount saying goodbye to their Enterprise, we have some new names announced to have joined for the final season. Acting as a prequel to the original series, Strange New Worlds has helped to expand legacy characters having brought over Ethan Peck's younger and less refined version of Spock, the first career steps of Nyota Uhura, a completely revamped Christine Chapel and smaller parts – such as Dr M'BEnga, Samuel Kirk and T'Pring among others – being revived for the new era. Since then we've also spent some time with a young Jim Kirk, even seeing his first time in command last season, and Scotty's joined the lower decks of Engineering. As the show […]
All You Need Is Love; New Life and New Civilisations. Strange New Worlds S3E9 Review
Following from Through the Lens of Time, Dr Korby is following the trail of the Vezda all the way to Skygowan; a world that worships the evil aliens found buried in a hidden temple. But the Vezda Scotty captured in the transporter buffer after possessing Ensign Gamble survived, escaped and is now fully reconstructed leading the planet and about to unleash hell throughout the galaxy. And of course, it's up to the Enterprise to find out how, why and chase down the demon to save the day. Writers:Dana Horgan & Davy Perez Director:Marja Vrvilo There's something quite nice about the idea of this episode. Strange New Worlds has leaned on retelling the 23rd century era for a lot of it's main hooks, whether that be revisiting the Gorn, Vulcan romance or going to the length of an alternate history […]
Girls Gorn Wild; Terrarium. Strange New Worlds S3E9 Review
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 McElroyDirector: 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 […]
Highly Illogical; Four And A Half Vulcans. Strange New Worlds S3E8 Review
When a local planet is in trouble, it's Enterprise to the rescue. Or usually would be, but it's a pre-warp civilisation and the no contact rule applies. But there's a loophole. The planet Tezarr runs on an energy system gifted by Vulcan explorers way before the Federation existed and now it's breaking down. Starfleet can't help, but Vulcan's barged their way onto the planet before those rules were made. They just need a few Vulcans to help... Writers: Dana Horgon & Henry Alonzo Myers Director: Jordan Canning One of the earliest released details for Season 3 was 'The Vulcan Episode' that would introduce the crew to Vulcan Logic the hard way. The set up for all of this is a little shaky. The pre-warp Tezzar planet has high levels of tech outside warp drive and with no Vulcans on […]
War. What is is good for?; What Is Starfleet?. Strange New Worlds S3E7 Review
Since the second episode of the season, Beto Ortegas has teased his documentary on Starfleet as a bit of an excuse to cosy up to Uhura and had previously invited himself onto an away mission where his camera's came in relatively handy. Having permission to film the inner workings of a top secret mission, Beto follows Pike and the crew through a questionable and dangerous adventure as he asks, What Is Starfleet? Writers: Kathryn Lyn & Alan B McElroy Director: Sharon Lewis Strange New Worlds hasn't been shy in playing around with different formats with mixed results. From fantasy adventures with the crew in different roles, to classic warfare drama's to modern(ish) day time travel and even a musical. There's been a lot of classic formats used and this time it's all from Beto's perspective through his camera feeds […]
