SERIES REVIEW – Even “good Trek” can be a bit much sometimes. After binge-watching the first five episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3, any self-respecting geek will feel the saturation point. This show once jolted the galactic pond like Spock at a Vulcan drinking contest—mixing Roddenberry’s classic Trek magic with the Berman-era ’90s nostalgia, making us believe once again that absolutely anything can happen out in the stars. It was once a social mirror, a wild pop-art ride through space, and packed with moments that hit you right in the feels while serving up nostalgic goosebumps every other minute.

But somewhere along the way, this recipe lost its soul. Depth? Maybe out beyond the next wormhole. Sure, a character says that sci-fi is supposed to help us see our own world more clearly, but in Season 3, it’s all about self-entertainment. Don’t get me wrong—it’s a fun ride, and it belongs on the Trek menu, but every die-hard fan knows real Star Trek always reached for more than just a “who shoots first on the bridge” shootout. Strange New Worlds has already shown what it can do when it holds up a mirror to the present—remember when 23rd-century historians called America in the 2020s a “second civil war”? We’ve had legit courtroom drama over personal freedom, and that brilliant Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow episode where Kirk finally came alive as a flesh-and-blood, romantic hero. Compared to those, this new batch is all about shining up the surface.

Space battles, Gorn, LED overload – but the crew’s got real game

Season 3 picks up right where last year’s cliffhanger left us: Gorn attacking the Enterprise, swallowing up a few crew members, the rest running for their lives in the shadow of CGI monsters. The plot twists and turns with real skill—it’s smartly crafted, but you won’t find much philosophical depth. The payoff is classic Trek, but the visuals drown in a sea of LED-screen spectacle, making the whole thing look like a televised VFX bake-off. The Gorn threat isn’t just physical—it’s psychological, too, with everyone carrying around some emotional baggage. Whether that resonates with you is up to your own tastes.

The cast, though? Still on fire. Anson Mount makes Captain Pike feel like genuine Starfleet royalty with every gesture. There’s a time-honored tradition in Trek where captains are more than their command chair: Picard is a jazz buff and a hard-boiled detective, Sisko is part dad, part archaeologist, Archer is a horror-movie nerd, Janeway is a brooding loner in space—Mount’s Pike is the first in the streaming era who’s on their level. He brings more to the table than any script could demand; sometimes it’s all in a look, a raised eyebrow, and you’re right there on the bridge with him. The romance with Captain Batel (Melanie Scrofano) actually feels genuine—two adults with real chemistry, not just ticking a box on a showrunner’s to-do list.

Babs Olusanmokun keeps layering on new shades as Dr. M’Benga, whose not-so-subtle war-criminal-klingon-takedown from last season pops back up almost immediately. Jess Bush as Nurse Chapel remains an absolute standout: witty, earnest, and exactly the kind of modern Trek heroine you want to root for. Christina Chong’s La’an is a masterclass in snarky, buttoned-up comedy; it’s never been so entertaining to watch someone barely keep it together on a starship.

Ethan Peck’s Spock is practically a Jane Austen hero: stone-faced, hyper-controlled, yet barely suppressing a smoldering intensity beneath the surface. Someone needs to greenlight a “Pride and Prejudice in Space” miniseries, stat! (Honestly, even Nimoy might tip his hat to how he delivers, “I do not require a Bacchanale.”) These days, it’s all about the romance angles—and surprisingly, this Vulcan-with-feelings thread works.

Friends, zombie nonsense, and Frakes’ holodeck showstopper

Spending time with this crew really does feel like geeking out with old friends. What’s missing are the big, consequential story arcs—and when you get a straight-up zombie episode, you can tell the writers are half-joking. Star Trek and zombies? Nobody asked for this. Even an “escape room” dig episode doesn’t do much to shake up the formula—it just highlights a lack of fresh ideas.

But the season’s absolute banger is an episode that knows it’s just here for the fun—a Trek “lark” done right. Jonathan Frakes (Riker himself) directs with his trademark flair: the crew tries out the holodeck in a full-on Agatha Christie-style whodunnit, with La’an playing lead detective and every frame soaked in 1960s Hollywood glam. Imagine a repainted Original Series set, a side of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and all the Easter eggs you can handle. It’s moments like this that remind you how much we’re missing Rebecca Romijn (Number One) and Celia Rose Gooding (Uhura) in the spotlight. Hopefully, they’ll get their turn before the season ends, but for now, Mount’s self-parodying holodeck role is meme material for the ages.

Where’s Trek headed, anyway?

Even with those creative highs, every episode leaves you asking, “What is this show really about these days?” When everything’s a little too breezy, it’s like someone unplugged the Starfleet grounding wire under the captain’s chair. Maybe Paramount is just playing it safe ahead of the Skydance merger, steering clear of any hot-button topics—or maybe the show’s just running out of steam. Either way, with a six-episode final season on the horizon, maybe it’s time to let this crew dock for good.

After five episodes, there are probably only 21 left. If Goldsman and Myers have a killer endgame in mind, they could still pull off a small-screen Trek miracle before the final credits roll.

– Gergely Herpai “BadSector” –