Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3, Episode 1, “Hegemony, Part II”
These classicStar Trekaliens have been the main villains ofStar Trek: Strange New Worldssince season 1, but I hope we’ve seen the last of them.Strange New Worldsseason 3 began on Paramount+ with a bang, picking up immediately where the season 2 finale left off.
With the USS Enterprise up against a Gorn fleet,Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) faced a seemingly impossible decisionat theend ofStar Trek: Strange New Worldsseason 2. Starfleet ordered Pike to fall back, but several of his crew members remained trapped aboard the Gorn ship.
Meanwhile,Captain Marie Batel’s (Melanie Scrofano) life was left hanging in the balance after she was infected with Gorn eggs.Star Trek: Strange New Worldsseason 3 premiere, “Hegemony, Part II,” provides the resolution to these stories and,hopefully, puts the Gorn to rest for a while.
I Hope Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 Is The End Of The Gorn As Villains
The Gorn Risk Overstaying Their Welcome If They Return Again
While the Gorn have been an interesting foe throughoutStar Trek: Strange New Worldsso far,I hope “Hegemony, Part II” is the last we see of them.Strange New Worldsseason 1 revealed that the Gorn were responsible for the destruction of the colony ship SS Puget Sound, of which La’an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) was the only survivor.
The Gorn first appeared in the iconicStar Trek: The Original Seriesepisode, “Arena,” butStrange New Worldshas retconned and reinvented the lizard-like aliens.
The Gorn were also responsible for the death of Enterprise’sChief Engineer Lt. Hemmer (Bruce Horak)later inStrange New Worldsseason 1.The Gorn Hegemony then returned in full forcein theStrange New Worldsseason 2 finale, firmly establishing themselves as a threat to the United Federation of Planets as a whole.
Thanks to their knowledge and ingenuity, the crew of the Enterprise found a way to prevent the Gorn from invading and save their people from a particularly unpleasant death aboard the Gorn ship.Captain Pike and the Starship Enterprise’s crew sent the Gorn into hibernation,effectively putting an end to the threat they posed for the time being.
This feels like a good place to end theGorn’s story onStrange New Worlds, as the show risks overexposure if it keeps bringing them back. The Borg, for example, became less frightening the longer they stuck around onStar Trek: The Next GenerationandStar Trek: Voyager,soStrange New Worldsshould quit while they are ahead with the Gorn.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Doesn’t Need A New Enemy
Strange New Worlds Should Focus On Standalone Stories
Even ifStar Trek: Strange New Worldsmoves on from the Gorn, the show doesn’t need to replace them with another major enemy.Strange New Worldscan easily go back toStar Trek’srootsand deliver episodic stories that findCaptain Pike and his crewvisiting a new alien planet each week.
Not everyStar Trekstory needs to have galaxy-sized stakes or enemies that threaten the entire Federation.Star Trek: Strange New Worldsdelivered a solid two-part Gorn story, making now the perfect time for the show to focus its efforts on delivering fun and thought-provoking standalone stories.
