Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 Lets Its Characters Down — Batel’s Shocking Fate and M’Benga’s Missed Moment
Season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds continued to follow the USS Enterprise crew and introduced a number of major plot developments, while the show’s producers have spoken publicly about production difficulties. The season features arcs for Captain Christopher Pike, Captain Marie Batel, Dr. Joseph M’Benga, Erica Ortegas, and other crew members, and it includes callbacks to classic Star Trek episodes as well as new science-fiction elements.
- Pike and Batel: infection, treatment, and the Beholder reveal
- M’Benga and the Vezda possession of Ensign Dana Gamble
- Erica Ortegas, the Gorn, and the episode “Terrarium”
- Other character threads, cameos, and production notes
Pike and Batel: infection, treatment, and the Beholder reveal
The season opens with Captain Marie Batel still affected by the Gorn egg infection that closed season 2. In the premiere, “Hegemony, Part II,” the parasitic threat is visually prominent and the crew works to contain it. Subsequently, Batel receives an infusion of augmented Illyrian blood from Una Chin-Riley, and later undergoes a more radical treatment that results in a human-Gorn hybrid physiology.
Later in the season, Batel demonstrates increased strength and new abilities. In episode 5, after the Vezda possess Ensign Dana Gamble, Batel reacts violently and is able to physically overpower the Vezda-possessed ensign. Then, in the season finale “New Life and New Civilizations,” Batel is revealed to be linked causally to a statue called the Beholder; the story presents her as having been an eternal jailer for the Vezda and shows her using energy-based powers before becoming the Beholder statue herself.
M’Benga and the Vezda possession of Ensign Dana Gamble
Ensign Dana Gamble is possessed by an extradimensional species identified as the Vezda during the season. The Vezda uses the voice and appearance of Gamble to interact with Dr. Joseph M’Benga. In the finale, M’Benga discovers that causal anomalies tied to the Vezda mean that the Vezda can only escape if he opens a specific doorway again.
The Vezda also manipulates M’Benga emotionally, invoking his past and his relationship with Gamble. The season shows M’Benga confronting those ties, and it sets up a situation where Batel’s altered physiology is linked to the Vezda’s containment — a development that intersects with the Beholder reveal.
Erica Ortegas, the Gorn, and the episode “Terrarium”
Erica Ortegas is injured in the season 3 premiere during an encounter with a Gorn. That event amplifies her unresolved feelings from the Klingon Wars and informs several of her choices across the season. The episode “Terrarium” places Ortegas on a moon with a Gorn pilot; the two form a temporary bond while stranded together.
During the rescue of Ortegas, a member of the Enterprise crew kills the Gorn they had been working with. Ortegas survives and returns to the ship; the episode references the 1967 Star Trek episode “Arena” through its setup and structure.
Other character threads, cameos, and production notes
The season includes several other notable moments: Spock and Kirk’s relationship advances after the episode “The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail,” and the finale features a mind meld between them. Una Chin-Riley appears in a season courtroom episode, “Ad Astra per Aspera,” and later pursues a romantic subplot that involves a Vulcan character named Doug, played by Patton Oswalt.
Nyota Uhura’s storyline in season 3 includes a romance connected to Ortegas’ family, and some characters have comparatively smaller screen roles during the season.
On the production side, co-showrunner Akiva Goldsman described Strange New Worlds as focused on “serialized character stories.” Goldsman also said the team “struggled a lot on season 3” because of the 2023 Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes, and he added that “everybody is firing on all cylinders” in season 4 in the same interview.
Related note on influences
The finale includes an extended sequence that one cast member described as a tribute to the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Inner Light.” More details can be found in the linked coverage: this interview and explanation.
