Chris Connor reviews the season three finale of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds…
Strange New Worlds Season three has proven another hit for Paramount, continuing the journey of Captain Pike and the Enterprise crew. The question ahead of its finale for fans would be whether it could stick the landing and tie up loose threads while plotting a course for the fourth and fifth seasons. The answer is a resounding yes, as ‘New Life and New Civilizations’ rounds off many of the plots from across the season in a cohesive fashion, giving most of the ensemble a moment or two in the spotlight.
The episode acts as a sequel to the mid season episode ‘Through The Lens of Time’ and sees the return of the Vezda from that episode. It is another gripping episode that sees a race against time for the Enterprise crew to try and prevent the rest of the Vezda from returning and reaping chaos. This comes as Batel prepares to return to normality, but how is she connected to all of this?
Batel and Pike’s relationship is at the core of this episode, and Anson Mount given more of the spotlight than at other points in this series. The events of this episode likely to have ramifications for him for the show’s final two seasons.
We also finally get answers to some of the lingering questions fans might have had across the season in what is an action-packed, emotional and character-driven finale. The ensemble shines throughout, as so often is the case in this particular Trek series. There isn’t a weak link in sight with some nice nods again to The Original Series and where these characters will ultimately end up.
This episode really wraps things up in fine fashion, encapsulating all that fans have come to love about Strange New Worlds. It manages to pack an emotional punch while being full of the action required for a finale. It’s not the explosions and dogfights that stand out, however, it’s the character interactions and how they have developed over the course of the show. Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers continue to craft an entry that sits at the upper echelons of the Star Trek canon.
Chris Connor
