When the malevolent creatures from an alien prison are poised to escape, only the heroes aboard the starship Enterprise stand in the way. Though it soon becomes clear that one hero in particular must literally stand against them and save the galaxy.
There is a lot I like about this episode... though I'll get to that in a moment, as the episode itself kind of took a while to get to any of that. Instead, I'll start with the shaky setup of the story, which left me feeling like I'd watched every part of a rickety machine being tenuously snapped into position.
The reappearance of Ensign Gamble as a Big Bad approached "somehow, Palpatine returned" levels of convenience. The revelation that everything that's happened to Captain Batel in her dozen appearances were somehow leading to this inexorable destiny felt awkwardly tacked on. The presence of a second starship right when it's needed, basically at the beck and call of its first officer, seemed like a contrivance. The finale didn't feel to me like it had been carefully seeded throughout the season, but rather the best attempt at using all the toys that had been dumped out on the floor along the way.
But, as I have said repeatedly, Strange New Worlds always does right by its characters. So once all that narrative legwork was finale complete, the back half of the episode featured some excellent character moments that to me made the awkwardness worthwhile.
If you were making a list of the prequelly moments that Strange New Worlds had to show us eventually, I'm not sure I would have thought to put "Kirk and Spock's first mindmeld" on it. But seeing that dramatized seemed perfect and obvious. And I'll forgive any mechanics needed to set up the situation, because the requirement for "two people to work exactly as one" was kind of the perfect dramatic thesis for the Kirk/Spock relationship.
Similarly, though I wasn't sold on the idea that Batel's destiny was always this, I did appreciate what the situation meant for her and Pike. It's a double gut-punch for our captain, who not only loses the woman he loves, but does so in a way that underlines how destiny is inescapable. Still, it wasn't entirely bleak, as an "Inner Light"-style vision of an entire alternate life with Batel gives Pike warm memories he can use to process both her fate and his.
I doubt it will be controversial to suggest that season three of Strange New Worlds was the weakest so far. And this episode, a B- in my book, was one of the weaker of the bunch. Still, I'm always eager to sit down for a new episode, and I find there's something good in every single one. I will remain eager for the fourth season, coming some time next year.
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